You’ve likely never heard of him, but Mauricio Guerrero has been a busy man of late. I hadn’t either, until Peruvian stoner-doom band Illwind, featuring lead guitar from Guerrero, dropped their debut album in early July. Clarkkent’s positive review of The Unfolding at the End of Light drew my attention to this ‘chill record with some outstanding moments,’ many of which arrive via Guerrero’s transportive solos. Not two months later, Guerrero returns with another stoner/doom debut: Argul’s Soledad & Orgullo (‘Solitude & Pride’). In Argul, Guerrero shares guitar and vocal duties with Jose María Venturi, both of whom formed the band in 2014. Filling out the lineup are Peruvian scene veterans Jian Holmes (bass) and Alonso Guerrero (drums).1 In snatching Soledad & Orgullo from the promo bin, I was quite curious whether Argul’s debut would continue Guerrero’s hot streak or flood Peru’s stoner-doom market with middling/subpar wares.
Argul build their musical edifice on doom and stoner cornerstones, old and new. Based on Soledad & Orgullo’s cover art alone, you wouldn’t be wrong in guessing that this Peruvian quartet primarily channels early Black Sabbath. While its sylvan visual aesthetics scream ‘self-titled debut!’, Argul’s debut more closely parallels the tones and riff-work of Master of Reality. Indeed, M. Guerrero and Venturi generally keep the guitar lines dark, slow, and bluesy (“Ritual”), but they also bust out some livelier boogies that get the head boppin’ (“Hor Hodin”). The duo frequently melodicize in funerary modes (“Animal Dog”), sure to bring joy to those wallowing in sorrow at the extinction of old Pallbearer. And in their droniest moments, Argul recall Matt Pike’s minimalist axe-work in Sleep (“Engendro”). Soledad & Orgullo’s artwork perfectly portends its open, earthy music; the production is spaciously organic, and the interplay between the guitars, Holmes’s exploratory bass runs, and the backbeat drumming feels refreshingly present. You can hear minor deviations during rhythmic shifts, which is not a criticism—the album sounds like a well-curated live band.
Vocally, Argul avoid the bombast frequently found in doom and the coarseness often favored in stoner metal/rock. Instead, M. Guerrero and Venturi utilize not quite reverb-drenched ethereal lilts, frequently harmonizing with one another. This isn’t to say that Argul are peerless in how they drape voices over doom/stoner metal. Their approach reminds me of the way bands like Windhand and REZN summon ghostly atmospheres through singing, emphasizing the somber, resigned aesthetics of the genre. Soledad & Orgullo doesn’t deal out memorable hooks like the above-mentioned acts, but M. Guerrero and Venturi stitch a warm vocal blanket that’s enchanting in its own right. Other than the occasional sound clip,2 which took me out of the album’s aura, Argul have a compelling vocal duo on their hands that could be further enhanced with more attention to memorability.
Soledad & Orgullo plays as a consistently enjoyable album, though it suffers from some issues. For starters, the album can be divided into stronger/weaker cuts. Epic opener “Ritual” sits in the stronger category, itself opening with an instantly striking descent that’s harmonized to Pallbearian heights. “Hor Hodin,” a shorter track, also triumphs, developing absolutely delectable Iommian shuffles. Meanwhile, “Engendro” and closer “Animal Dog” are comparatively weaker tracks, though they aren’t bad by any means. Soledad & Orgullo can also be knocked for its occasionally overdone songcraft. While “Ritual” mostly succeeds as a long song, “Animal Dog” definitely drags at times. Nevertheless, this four-track album runs for a reasonable 31 minutes, if you don’t count the concluding bonus track. With “Kamog,” Soledad & Orgullo clocks in at 45 minutes. Yes, that’s right—the bonus track (which could be trimmed) adds a whopping 15 minutes to the runtime.3
On the whole, though, count Soledad & Orgullo as another solid stoner-doom offering from Mauricio Guerrero. He and Venturi are a talented duo that know how to dress irresistible riffs in morose guitar melodies and gossamer vocal harmonies. While Argul’s songwriting is a bit hit-and-miss, they possess a captivating sound out of the gate that bodes well for the future. Argul should be proud of this debut, which fans of doom and stoner metal should certainly sample.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Personal Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: August 21st, 2026
The post Argul – Soledad & Orgullo Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.
