WHITE STONES

Few bands have the kind of progressive death metal intuition that WHITE STONES are packing. Formed by OPETH bassist Martin Mendez just over five years ago, the Barcelona-based quintet have already released two well-received and intriguing studio records. The spirit of his other band was undeniably present and discernible throughout both, but by the time WHITE STONES released "Dancing Into Oblivion" in 2021, they seemed to have already outgrown any need to directly emulate the Swedish titans. Instead, Mendez's band started to get weird and experimental, albeit still within a framework of prog-inclined heaviness.

Their third album marks a much bigger leap into the unknown: "Memoria Viva" is a mind-bending, era-defying piece of work that goes deeper, darker and further out than its predecessors. It flows like all the best prog records do, while relinquishing any obvious debt to other things. This is where WHITE STONES really get interesting.

If there was any criticism to be levelled at their first two albums, it was that WHITE STONES were occasionally guilty of sounding too reliant on standard progressive death metal tropes. Here, those are all gone. The title track slithers into view with whispered threats and amorphous drones, before a solitary, three-note bass motif ushers in skewed storm of musical ideas. Angular, stuttering riffs with a deathly air puncture the ambience, and a heartbeat pounds in the distance: this is more like some peculiar '70s horror soundtrack, than anything more familiar or metallic. Effectively the first "proper" song, "Humanoides" shines a powerful light on WHITE STONES' ongoing mutations. A very slight nod to OPETH makes the first main riff the only real anchor to normal service here, but as the song evolves, it becomes harder, darker and weirder, with vocalist Eloi Boucherie's growls blending in with the swirling maze of riffs, frenzied blastbeats and Mendez's beautifully fluid bass runs.

Changing mood and direction at will, "Humanoides" is seriously impressive and raises expectations for the rest. In stark and thrilling contrast, "D-Generación" takes a more direct route, piles up the wonky riffs and skitters away on a sparse, groovy detour, with shades of '70s rock informing the guitar work. On "Zamba de Orun", WHITE STONES twinkle and glow amid meandering, mellow mischief, as psychedelic tones and wispy, featherweight flute infiltrate the serenity, which soon scuttles away to embrace the avant-garde. Aside from being very strange, "Zamba de Orun" is also utterly gorgeous.

The laidback approach never lasts for long here, however. "La Ira" is a tour-de-force of thudding, KING CRIMSON-esque belligerence, with windswept, widescreen passages that share some DNA with IHSAHN's solo material, and an underlying thunderousness that adds to the general air of macabre delight. Similarly, after an impossibly pretty bass interlude, "Somos", the epic "Grito al Silencio" offers a thrilling rush of death metal subversion that steadily morphs into a blissfully sinister post-rock reverie.

WHITE STONES are meticulous when it comes to these arrangements, but it is freewheeling fearlessness that defines these songs. Ending with the urgent clatter of "Vencedores Vencidos" and another stunning instrumental piece, "Yemayá", "Memoria Viva" is a relatively short but endlessly fascinating journey through the dark, outer limits of prog metal. Their best album so far by a mile or three, this sounds like a launchpad towards other, even more immersive and unusual heavy music. Good fucking job, señors.