HIDALGO COUNTY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Pizza, memes, cats, surreal art, angst, composition notebooks; These are things many teenage boys have on their minds.
And the first thing you’ll notice about Sonoroum’s Anthems for a Disgruntled Mind is it has all of those elements on its album art. The thrash metal album represents almost everything a young metalhead is interested in.
Even though the band’s sole member, Chano Martinez, has not been a teenager for a few years, he is able to capture that youthful aggression on his debut release.
Martinez bounced around metal bands in his younger years as a guitarist before settling with a group of musicians who formed Sonoroum. The band wrote some songs and was ready to record and release some music.
But that was around 2018 and some members’ personal lives and commitments continuously delayed the recording. These issues left the project almost defunct, but Martinez decided to take matters into his own hands.
“The main thing I wanted was to be able to hear it and have other people hear it,” said Martinez. “I thought these songs were good and we all did so I just wanted to finally put them out there.”
Using a makeshift studio at his McAllen home, Martinez recorded 10 songs for the release. Martinez performs vocals, guitars, bass, and drums on Anthems for a Disgruntled Mind, which was released in November 2021.
The album’s music is a mash of heavy riffs, wailing solos, and tight drumming that creates a product reminiscent of Pantera and other hard-charging metal bands.
He took a straightforward approach to the songs using ideas worked on when he was a teenager in bands such as Among the Desecrated. This gave the album a youthful and bombastic vibe reminiscent of the noise made by bands practicing in a garage.
Adding to this attitude was Martinez’s choice for the album cover. He took a snapshot of a composition notebook covered in stickers, doodle art, Spongebob quotes, and special touches only truly understood by the artist. It’s a neat nostalgic theme that made the writer of this article think of the piles of notebooks he once had resembling this very artwork.
“I was recording these songs with a juvenile or angsty appeal and thought it would be neat to incorporate a composition notebook like many of us had back then,” said Martinez. “The general feel was you’re 16 and you’re mad at everything and you’re writing all these angry poems and songs in the notebook.”
The album’s lyrics reflect this message as well. Songs like “Watch the World Burn,” “Smile as you Suffer,” and “Kamikaze” reflect this youthful spirit where teenage boys just want to crush cans and break stuff.
“Watch the World Burn,” the album’s opening track, features a line that reads “I’m just an idiot with a pen,” which Martinez says is a thesis statement for the whole album’s focus on the teenage mindset.
“Using that statement kind of sets the mood for the album’s point of view,” said Martinez. “I wanted to paint an ominous picture.”
Upon the album’s release, Sonoroum received praise from audiences near and far. Local people chimed in to give commend the album. Reviews even came in from other parts of the nation and Brazil, who compared the album to Pantera and early Slayer.
With the first Sonoroum album in the books, Martinez looks to get band members together to play gigs across the RGV and plans to release a new single in May. A second album, titled The Magnificent of Oz, is also in the works to be released at the end of 2022.
You can find Sonoroum’s music on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube.
You can follow the band on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
The Rio Grande Valley is full of musical talent that deserves exposure. If you know a musician or band who should be featured on RGV Sounds, email KVEO-DigitalDesk@nexstar.tv.
