I could zero in on any track of this jaw-dropping, espresso-shot of a metal album, but I'll first mention the electrifying, "El Efacto Diablo" (in case you haven't figured it out, all songs are sung in Spanish). This song pours out of the speakers like a swarm of angry hornets, surrounding the room with tight Gibson riffs and brilliant, infectious lead guitar fills. About 2 ½ mins into the track, the guitar leads pan left, then right, dissolving into a kickass shake-your-fist tribal drumbeat. At this point, I think you'll start to get the idea of why I'm so taken with this record. Call it air-guitar-heaven, headbanger's delight, whatever you like. It's like the first time I heard "Fire Woman" or "Rocks Off".

That's pretty much the story with "Diablo Blvd". There's a ballad or two present, they're dark, heavy, introspective, and dripping with attitude, not unlike classics "Shelter" and "Redemption City" . "Yo Era Yo" adds in a greasy slide guitar, set against Sergio's superb Latin-grit vocals. You can just picture the smoke floating in the air of a small Spanish dive, past a couple of dark-haired senoritas bobbin' their heads, seated at a worn oak table, with shot glasses and bottles strewn about. Production-wise, this thing just has that "bounce" and color that most of the American FM-radio bands strive to create. But "Diablo Blvd" flows naturally, sounds perfectly organic, and carries with it a fiery sense of flash and pure danger. This is an album that is impossible not to "rock out" to.

- Marchman

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