Bala – Maleza
Release Date: 14th May 2021
Label: Century Media
Pre-Order/Pre-Save
Genre: Stoner, Punk, Grunge.
FFO: The Distillers, QOTSA, Kyuss, Hole.
Review By: Paul Cairney
Mazela is the third album by Spanish duo, Bala, and it crams more into its 24 minutes and 17 seconds than you would ever think possible. Featuring the talents of Anxela Balter on guitars and vocals and Violeta Mosquera on drums and vocals, Bala have a sound that is very hard to pigeonhole. Part punk, part grunge and part stoner, it is a heady mix that delivers on each song.
As stated, this is a short album, only 9 songs, with the longest being the 4th song Mi Orden at 3 minutes 43 seconds. The speed of the album literally leaves you breathless, but it never feels rushed. Each track is as long as it needs to be, you do not feel cheated when a song finishes in just under 2 minutes. X sounds like a fucked-up Distillers with Mosquera channelling her inner Brody Dalle.
Interestingly, or perhaps more accurately, coincidentally, Bala also display hints of Dalles former beau’s bands. Cien Obstáculos sounds like the confused offspring of Kyuss, QOTSA and the aforementioned Distillers. Quieres Entrar is next up, and this one displays hints of Tool. It is really quite impressive the way Bala have taken their influences and created an album that is all their own sound.
Special mention must be made about the disgusting tone Balter extracts from her guitar. It is filth through an amp, pure and glorious filth, and when you add in the superb vocals, you are left wondering what these Spaniards will sound like in a live setting. This prompted me to check YouTube, where there are enough live videos telling you to go and see this band as soon as you possibly can!
For their major label debut, Bala have just about nailed it. Displaying enough balls (or the female equivalent) to keep singing in their native Spanish with the occasional English thrown in, you will find yourself singing along without having a clue what you are banging on about.
Mazela is an album that will gut-punch you just for shits and giggles, as such, it sits in the ‘must listen’ category.
(4.5 / 5)
