22nd December 2020

Review: “Beyond Blackened” by Jorge Gomez

“Beyond Blackened” is a Metal album that started life as the final degree project of self taught guitarist Jorge Gomez at University in Madrid, Spain and was supervised by the opera singer Laia Falcón. Once the project had concluded and Gomez had finished University he entered The Metal Factory Studios during June 2020 to record with producer Alex Cappa who also mixed and mastered. Hoping to take the project to the next level he enlisted the help of Vita Imana drummer Dani García while taking on both guitar and bass duties himself to breathe new life into the something that he held dear…

…while the title maybe “Beyond Blackened“, Jorge Gomez style is Thrash orientated with the guitarist laying down plenty of nitro injected Metallica esq riffs during “Despotic Disorder” with the rose tinted spectacles of nostalgia for the 80’s San Francisco Bay area but also plenty of his own ideas and good use of modern tones. Dropping out for a melodic mid song moment before tearing back into a virtuoso solo makes for a finale that most instrumental players would be proud of. Having Dani García from Vita Imana on board makes a real difference as the presence of real drums and not programmed ones on material like this and with “Emperor’s Threads” in particular, his impact is felt. A longer cut that again, like all the best cookies has that softer moment in the center and a face melter of a solo, it’s a sure fire winner. It’s often said that instrumental music has to make up for the absence of vocals by being more engaging and Gomez certainly has a hatful of ideas and throws down the gauntlet in terms of quality. There are definitely passages that would suit vocals in each of these songs, like the glorious melodies of “Hollow” which while beautiful in their own right would be interesting to hear with someone like Christina Rotondo singing over. Those melodies continue into the start of “Last Rites” with somber overtones before ripping up the script with some full on Thrash-mageddon. If anyone is looking for a guest musician to lend some leads to their material, Gomez has what you need, lightning in a bottle [7.5/10]

Track listing