(In late June Reigning Phoenix Music released a new album by the Spanish band White Stones, and today we provide our writer DGR‘s interesting review of this new work.)

Much like an immortal Heinz condiment-themed musical group, we’re forever playing catch-up.

I could never claim nor want to pontificate about the inner workings of a group or their band dynamic. These sorts of things are private for a reason and more often than not maintained that way so that a group doesn’t just become the ‘such-and-such show’ with three other musicians hanging around. You could make some solid as a rock ballpark guesses with certain groups as to who is responsible for what, but the pontification is more intellectual exercise for fun than anything that could actually have an effect.

What I will say, though, is that every time I’ve listened to White Stones, it has been both reminder and revelation of just how important bassist Martín Méndez has been to Opeth‘s sound over the years. The projects are purposefully and determinedly different from one another – White Stones having been obtuse and strange since their launch with Kuarahy back in 2020 – but it’s hard not to recognize that dude’s bass playing and transpose it over the works he’s been involved in, only to realize how fiercely creative that other group’s rhythm section has always been, with White Stones bringing it to the forefront. Continue reading »