ALBUM REVIEW: 'Lost and Amsterdamned' by EL MUERTO

TRACK LISTING:

1. Enthroned in the Tower of Shadows (The Witch)

2. Ghosts of Torment

3. Lich King

4. A Song for Ran

5. Blood Crypt

6. Wolves of Den Haag

Listen to tracks #1 and #6 by clicking here:

REVIEW:

EL MUERTO is a Netherlands-based, one-man effort from Ricardo Botello (SEKHMET, CONSCIOUS COMMA), but many different, gifted hands helped make his debut EP Lost And Amsterdamned his personal salvation, and an introductory opus which commands respect.

Mixed by renowned Swedish producer Tomas Skogsberg at Sunlight Studios (who has worked with heavy-hitters like GRAVE, AT THE GATES, and KATATONIA), the album, which was recorded in various Dutch studios, was co-mastered by Botello himself and Stefan Brown from London’s Abbey Road Studios. Brown has worked with a wide sampling of artists, and he’s dabbled in various genres from Pop to Metal. The artwork for Lost And Amsterdamned was helmed by Spanish artist Francisco Torres Beltrán (AKA Tobelart).

What was once intended to be Botello’s goodbye to this mortal plane became - thank the gods of Metal! - a launching point for his own personal renaissance, and a deliciously blackened route to rediscovering his own purpose in the scene and in the world.

The lyrics to both tracks available for listening now, “Enthroned in the Tower of Shadows (The Witch)” and “Wolves of Den Haag” are at once rhyme-y and poetical, but clever in the unerring horror they portray. I particularly liked this stanza from the former track: “From the stones of obsidian, the tower climbs the night / A beacon of malevolence, a harbinger of fright / She weaves her wicked sorcery, with runes of blood and bone / Summoning the ancient ones, to reclaim her darkened throne.” And I quite enjoyed this chunk of the latter, “Wolves”: “The palace weeps in spectral gloom / Hollow eyes stare from the hanging room / A sovereign devoured, the night enthroned / As justice sleeps in a crypt of loam.”

“(The Witch)” brings to mind a bloody surrender after a fateful chase through hopelessly dark woods: it’s like you’re being pursued in the night, so deep under treetop and overgrowth untouched by moonlight, by a horde of clawed and horned imps which all gnash and rend and tear away at your flesh, all while gloomy guitar riffs and preternatural organ tones seem to mock your cries of despair. And of course, there’s a wicked witch observing, and orchestrating the affair from the height and safety of her blackened tower! Her cackles endure, as does the savagery threaded throughout all facets of the album.

“Ghosts of Torment” is reminiscent of old-school SATYRICON, a la Dark Medieval Times. It’s a war of the elements within and surrounding the self, of madness manifested. Your inner defenses mangled in the effort to oust the demonic forces, you succumb to the grips of crippling insanity wrought by dissonant instrumentals and infernal voices…

In “Lich King”, a creeping funereal dirge unfolds, burning slowly but surely with pummeling drum work and wailing, lamenting guitar riffage. A bouquet of beheaded roses, and watery, haunting echoes of innocence lost.

“A Song for Rán” is the artist’s favorite track, according to our interview. It is probably mine as well. It’s a gradually-climbing ode to the Norse sea goddess, Rán, which conjures images of a stormy night on the ocean, and the unforgiving goddess reaching out to pull you screaming beneath the waves into a sodden grave… Yet, the guitar work reminds me of the death roll of a crocodile playing with its food – just when you think things are calm and you might stand a chance of escape, the beast whirls you senseless again. It all ends with rueful organ notes as you sink bloodily into the depths of the unknown, reclaimed by the ghosts below…

“Blood Crypt” features the most searing vocal work, with galloping percussive assault, vengeful guitar, and mournful organ flourishes – all while the bass tramples darkly about on your weary bones, smiling down at you with a rictus grin.

The carnage concludes with the sixth track, titled “Wolves of Den Haag”, a cautionary tale about how even the most powerful men can be plucked from their ivory citadels and quite literally fed to a furious mob. Such was the fate of Dutch statesman Johan De Witt, whose pitiful memory, lurid assassination, and ultimate dismemberment the song commemorates with twisted riffage that laps like fire, gnarly snarls and eerie organ touches. The drums rain down like barrages of perfectly-timed flaming arrows.

This album is set to be released on the 21st of November, 2025.

RATING: 4.5/5. I quite liked this product of the artist’s reclamation of self from his own wreckage, and the thematic execution of the record was quite intriguing.

Recommended for those who enjoy the works of: OPETH, IMMORTAL, EMPEROR, MGLA, DEATH

LINKS: Bandcamp here, Instagram: @elmuerto_