MENDOZZA – White Rhino

Mendozza are flying the red, white and red for all of the Canadian Metal fans out there. Made up of two guys and one gal, this band plays a Doom / Stoner style of Metal. Deuce takes care of the guitar and vocal duties, while Jeff handles bass and Bina abrades the drums. The names of the band members may be short and to the point, but their music isn’t. Then there’s the name of the album. It’s appropriately called White Rhino. When you first play this one, it quickly becomes clear that Mendozza is just as heavy and daunting as a rhino. The group is inspired by Black Sabbath and is easily as heavy as them. The subject matter they tackle is mostly dark and dismal. Things move along like a freight train and Mendozza doesn’t hesitate to beat listeners senseless with jarring riffs and some really gravelly vocals.

The very first track on the album isn’t really worth listening to and it could easily have been sacrificed. It’s little more than a minute of feedback that leads into a number called “Iluminairus”, which seems mostly about ghosts, devils and really heavy guitar work. “Otzi the Wanderer” comes next and sounds equally as sinister as the preceding track. In addition, this particular track is noteworthy since it seems to be a blueprint for three other songs on the album. “White Rhino”, “Halo of Crows”, and “The Hounding” are similar to “Otzi” in structure. After the last line / verse ends in all of these songs, the band delves into a minute or two of pure metallic heaviness. The formulaic nature of these tracks doesn’t hurt things so much as it signals Mendozza’s sense of style.

The pace of this release could be considered a downfall if you’re fond of speed. As mentioned, this one’s more freight train than bullet train. The riffs are thick, and the content is really gloomy. If demons, devils, repeated mentions of burning, and hell are your thing, you might want to pick this one up. That’s not to say every track is about denizens of the dark or sounds the same. There’s a track called “Pink Slips” on here that seems like a contorted version of Metallica’s “Fuel” and Deep Purple’s “Highway Star”. In addition the group isn’t afraid to go acoustic (if only briefly) with a number entitled, “Interlude”. These two tracks prove that the band is capable of mixing things up a bit. For those that are Melvins fans, there’s a “hidden track” once you skip past the meaningless nine to ten minutes of noise on the closer.

Overall, this isn’t a bad performance by Mendozza. There isn’t any one tune that stands out and the total package doesn’t seem at all designed to be catchy. What you get here is a lot of slow paced and bulky metal with no shortage of bleak and not-so-cheery themes. Every member of the band comes off sounding strong, weighty and evil. If all this sounds appealing, add Mendozza’s White Rhino to your collection.