Dorso

Last updated

Dorso
Origin Santiago, Chile
Genres Speed metal, thrash metal, progressive metal, death metal, goregrind
Years active1984–present
Labels BMG
Inferno Records
Members Rodrigo "Pera" Cuadra
Gamal Eltit
Álvaro Soms
Fran Muñoz
Website dorso.cl

Dorso is a heavy metal band from Chile. [1] While initially a speed metal band, their musical style has been variously described as progressive metal, grindcore and jazz. Common themes in band's music are horror film creatures, hyperbolic sexual fetishes and Chilean myths. [2]

Contents

The band's frontman, Rodrigo Cuadra, became a TV presenter in the 1990s.

History

Early years (1984–1988)

Dorso was formed in 1984 by Rodrigo Cuadra, who was 17 at the time. His vision for the band was for it to be a musical synthesis of extreme metal and progressive rock, drawing extensively from dark fantasy literature and gore films for inspiration.

Dorso made its first public gig in a Ñuñoa gym in 1984, with a setlist of heavy metal covers and original songs.

By the time of the release of their first demo, Parajes de lo Desconocido (1985), Dorso was a trio led by its original frontman and two new hires, Gamal Eltit in guitars and Jaime Palma in drums.

1989–1995

Their first album, Bajo una luna cámbrica, was released in 1989. It featured an eclectic blend of prog rock-inspired thrash metal, retrospectively described as progressive metal, odd time signatures and traditional speed metal.

The second album, Romance (1990) is considered by many as one of the best of the band. [2]

Romance was a moment of great pretension. We wanted to do something long and conceptual. We took advantage of the fact that we were signed with BMG at the time, which gave us very few restrictions. We wanted this album to be symphonic, yet metal.

Rodrigo "Pera" Cuadra [2]

Eltit and the newly hired drummer Eduardo Topelberg left the band citing musical disagreements after recording Romance. Two new members joined the band, ex-Nimrod Marcelo Naves in drums and guitarist Alvaro Soms. This line-up went on to record Dorso's best-selling album to date, El Espanto Surge de la Tumba (1993). The album's heavy use of Spanglish, black humor and bilingual puns, as well as Soms' distinctive riff-writing became the defining characteristics of the band's sound.

Their next album, Big Monsters Aventura was released to some success in 1995, with the eponymous song being featured on MTV's Headbangers Ball . This album featured more goregrind elements than its predecessor.

Dorso now (since 1998)

Following the release Disco Blood in 1998, the band went on to release two live albums followed by a short hiatus and the return of Eltit in guitars.

In 2008 the band released Espacium, and in 2012 Recolecciones Macabras del Campo Chileno, featuring for the first time some doom and black metal elements, with lyrical themes revolving around Chilean myths and legends.

Band members

Current lineup

Former members

Discography

Other albums

Note: Both items are included as bonus tracks on Espacium (2008).

Related Research Articles

Los Tres

Los Tres also known as The Tr3s or The 3, is a Chilean rock band. The band was formed in 1987 in Concepción by Álvaro Henríquez, Roberto Lindl, Francisco Molina and later Ángel Parra Jr. joined. They are one of the most influential rock en español bands.

Barão Vermelho Brazilian rock band

Barão Vermelho is a Brazilian rock band. Formed in 1981 in Rio de Janeiro, it was originally led by songwriting duo Cazuza (singer) and Roberto Frejat (guitarist), who assumed the vocals after Cazuza's departure in 1985. Frejat left the band in 2017 and was replaced by Rodrigo Suricato. They are considered one of the most influential bands in Brazilian rock.

Lucybell

Lucybell is a Chilean rock band formed by four students from the Universidad de Chile's Faculty of Art in 1991, in Santiago de Chile. The original four members were:

Los Miserables is a Chilean punk rock band formed in the early 1990s shortly after the demise of the military regime of Augusto Pinochet. The band is known for its songs charged with strong left-wing political ideas and anti-establishment commentary. The band has clearly presented itself as activist in its work with major participation in political events, international charity concerts, human rights events, and volunteer work in impoverished Chilean communities. The band has modeled itself in some ways after the famed Chilean band Los Prisioneros, who left a void after their initial break-up in 1990.

Coprofago is a technical death metal band formed by Sebastián Vergara, Pablo Alvarez, Pablo Solari and Ignacio Suit in Santiago, Chile, in June 1993. The name of the band is taken from the Greek "copro" ("feces") and "fago" ("eat").

Mortem is a death metal band formed in 1986 in Lima, Peru. They are the first Peruvian metal band to have toured Europe and the United States. Mortem’s musical style is firmly rooted in the death metal, black metal and thrash metal of the 1980s. Mortem's characteristic heavy sound is defined through slow death metal alternated with fast and aggressive counterparts. Tremolo picking in the style of early Possessed and Death built on rhythmic percussion topped with wailing atonal and melodic guitar solos. Vocals are forged from guttural rasps and often develop into high shrieks while lyrics deal mainly with the occult and anti-Christianity.

Los Bunkers

Los Bunkers is an alternative rock band from Concepción, Chile, formed in 1999 by brothers Álvaro and Gonzalo López, Mauricio Basualto, and brothers Francisco and Mauricio Durán.

Cholomandinga is a Chilean music band, formed in Concepción in 1996; the band is characterised by its Latin rhythms and ironic lyrics.

Criminal (band)

Criminal is a Chilean thrash/death metal band which formed in late 1991 in Santiago by Anton Reisenegger and Rodrigo Contreras. Later they were joined by J.J. Vallejo on drums and Juan Francisco Cueto as bassist, completing the original lineup. The band incorporates elements of thrash metal, death metal, groove metal and hardcore. They later moved to Colchester, England.

Pentagram Chile is an extreme metal band from Chile, formed in 1985. They were part of the first wave of extreme metal in the mid 1980s, along with bands like Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sepultura and others. Considered as a very influential band in the Black metal and Death metal genres, they have influenced bands like At The Gates, Dismember, Napalm Death and Avulsed among others.

Massakre is a Chilean thrash metal band, and a pioneer for the genre both in Chile and throughout Latin America.

Holocausto are a heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, Brazil. They were formed in 1985 by Marco Antônio, Valério Exterminator and Rodrigo dos Anjos. To date they have released five records through Cogumelo Records. They have been described by the journalist Eduardo Rivadavia as "Quite possibly the most controversial Brazilian heavy metal band ever".

Supersordo was a Chilean rock band, formed in 1991 and separated in 1997.

<i>Bajo una luna Cámbrica</i> 1989 studio album by Dorso

Bajo una luna Cámbrica is the first album of Dorso, released in 1989. In this album the band undergoes a merger of thrash metal with death metal but without abandoning the progressive side in some compositions.

Romance is the second album by Chilean metal band Dorso. In this album the band experienced the same elements of the last album that made them famous in the underground scene. Here Rodrigo Cuadra focuses on a conceptual history, taking its best Dorso to Progressive metal, away from the heavy riffs and speed of Thrash metal. Romance for many is considered one of the most creative of Chilean folk music, stand alongside conceptual works as Pichanga of Congress and even heights of Machu Picchu to Los Jaivas, Cuadra groups they admire.

El Espanto Surge de la Tumba is the third album by Dorso. In this album the band wanted to try a more brutal and extreme sound.

<i>Big Monster Aventura</i> 1995 studio album by Dorso

Big Monster Adventura is the fourth album by Dorso. Like the album El Espanto Surge de la Tumba the band wanted to experience something brutal and extreme.

Rodrigo "Pera" Cuadra Burgoa is a Chilean musician, TV presenter and movie critic. From 2011, he has worked as a panelist in the television show Sin vergüenza, from the Chilevisión open channel, where he comments on paranormal and strange topics.

Altazores is a Chilean rock band founded in 2004 by the multi-instrumentalist songwriter Mauricio Herrera who after writing, recording and producing his songs, formed a group of musicians for live performance.

References

  1. "Metal: Chile's favorite music genre?". The Santiago Times . 22 June 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Entrevista a Rodrigo Pera Cuadra". Archived from the original on 10 December 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2015.