Among the current bumper crop of stoner metal output, Totimoshi’s Ladrón is a sophisticated release, carrying the distinction of being one of the more compelling and patently enjoyable entries in the genre. The band’s third release, Ladrón is a heavy, idiosyncratic album that reveals a tightly disciplined band in extraordinary form. Led by guitarist/vocalist Tony Aguilar, the band’s syncopated playing style and taut, chugging riffage are heightened by the raw production of the recording, courtesy of Page Hamilton (of Helmet renown). The stop-start dynamics of “In Virgo,” in particular, recall Helmet’s playing style as well.
Totimoshi’s rhythm section, consisting of bassist Meg Castellanos and drummer Chris Irizarry, is the very essence of control on Ladrón, and proves the perfect foil for Aguilar’s aggressive, riff-heavy delivery and bluesy attack. The album is steeped in the tried and tested anti-hate and anti-war stoner themes, which are forcefully evoked via Aguilar’s seasoned, adenoidal croak. Ladrón’s political overtones, however, are reasonably subdued. Aguilar’s skills as a songwriter stand out as well, and he seems to have taken more than a few cues from Black Sabbath, in terms of both subject matter and playing style.
The album’s self-titled opening track could almost be considered a logical successor to Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” on a number of counts. Although this power trio’s sound is relatively varied and draws from a number of stylistic influences, Aguilar’s lead technique is informed by Tony Iommi’s guitar sound to a near prodigious degree, lending a strong '70s hard rock vibe to the music. The overdriven bass guitar and fuzz-drenched six-string playing, frequently executed in extended chord figures that threaten to spill over into jam-rock territory, liken the band’s sound to a form of psychedelic revivalism.
The fluency of Totimoshi in both the electric and acoustic settings analogizes the band to both Danzig and Masters Of Reality (the latter of whom have also been highly influential among the stoner doom genre), as do the loose, fluid playing style and chord progressions. The album is composed of two discrete sections that serve to highlight two distinctly separate characteristics of the band. The first half of the disc focuses on sludgy, doom-laden Camaro-rock riffs, while the second half is geared toward the band’s bluesier, more experimental side, which manifests itself in the form of lengthy, free-form jams and acoustic sections that adhere less to conventional song structure. There is perhaps even a little bit of Tool in the band’s structured and methodical approach to composition, and like Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan, Tony Aguilar is a passionate and formidable presence. His vocals possess that impressive but unlikely coupling of attitude and maturity, and his muscular guitar-playing style, while technically proficient, is never ostentatious. His slowed-down, sludgy riffs augment the band’s doomy vibe nicely, and his tasteful, economical leads embellish these tracks with arena-rock overtones and elevate the music above the level of pedestrian stoner doom.
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