Review: “Lost and Amsterdamned” by El Muerto

A new dawn, a new day, a new city, a new country, a new project. This is the life of multi instrumentalist and vocalist Ricardo Botello, who is now firmly rooted in The Netherlands after enjoying adventures in Mexico with Sekhmet and Australia with Conscious Comma. He has declared himself as the mastermind behind a new Blackened Death Metal project dubbed El Muerto which finds him joined by bassist Zigor Munoz (Adarrak, Thornedale) and drummer Robin Stone (Norse, Chestcrush, Ashen Horde). The promise is of a debut record in “Lost and Amsterdamned” driven by guitar-forward compositions and visceral vocals that is said to balance Old School extremity with cinematic vision. As if that wasn’t enough to get excited about, each track is further described as being both a personal exorcism and a descent into archetypal horror from a man who was lost in the black depths..

As well as working with some incredible musicians on this record, Botello also has the assistance of an amazing team behind the scenes. “Lost and Amsterdamned” is mixed by Tomas Skogsberg (Amorphis, Dismember, Katatonia) at Sunlight Studios in Stockholm, mastered by Stefan Brown (Coast Noir, Flesh Bouquet, Vecordia) at Abbey Road Studios in London and adorned by artwork created by Francisco Torres Beltrán. A six track affair, the half an hour of power begins with “Enthroned in the Tower of Shadows (The Witch)“, a powerful statement piece with obvious influences from the second wave of Black Metal. Sinister synths, raspy harsh vocals, an off kilter solo and the occasional death growl all chemically enhance the raw riffs, Botello’s story telling abilities surprisingly good. By the time “Ghosts of Torment” begins it seems as though Botello is indeed a master of the dark arts as his scalding vocals sound like the roars of an impaled Darth Sidious. Some of the guitars have that Scandinavian melancholia about them with some rich melodies while Stone’s percussion sounds like the waves crashing against the shoreline during a thunderstorm in the dead of night. “Lich King” introduces a speech sample from a black and white television alongside icy cold piano, the frostbitten riffs and delicate bass line melody making it a spellbinding and intoxicating piece.

Track Listing

“Lost and Amsterdamned” by El Muerto is out 21st November 2025 and is available over at bandcamp