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Queen Marsa Premiere Video for Title-Track of Debut LP I Am the Land; Album Out Sept. 15

Posted in Bootleg Theater on September 4th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Mallorca-based heavy rockers Queen Marsa are set to release their debut album, I Am the Land, on Sept. 15 through Spain’s own Discos Macarras and also-Mallorca imprint Metalway Records. The video premiering below for the title-track presents the first single taken from the record, which follows the double-guitar/standalone-vocal five-piece’s 2020 self-titled EP with eight songs across a tight but groovy 33 minutes that pull from a swath of influences within the heavy sphere. Crisply produced, I Am the Land necessarily gives up some of the warmth of the EP, but in trade, the record brings a largesse of sound and clarity of intention beyond what one might generally expect from a first full-length, opener “Gaugamela” — a shorter piece at 2:51 that bookends with the finale “Outlaw on the Run” (3:30) as the only two cuts not between four and five minutes long — setting a heavy ’90s backdrop against which much of the proceedings take place. It’s got big tone from guitarists Xavi Cárceles and Jaume Rado, big swing and push from bassist Toni Coronado and drummer Juan Bonet, and the first of, well, about eight big choruses that show off the malleable and melodic but nonetheless belted-out vocals of Manuel Pintos.

It is not a style you would call humble, but it certainly is righteous, and Queen Marsa wield it fluidly and build palpable momentum as they course through “Gaugamela” and “Made for Lovers,” the latter expanding a bit on the metallic undercurrent of the leadoff while also hinting toward C.O.C. in its later chug and Dozer in the way it seems to burst, clean and vibrant, into its riffier instrumental hook. Between the two guitars and Pintos‘ ’70s-via-’90s vocal style, a Trouble comparison feels inevitable, and the chorus of “The Trick is You Don’t Mind” sees that manifest and complements with a fittingly shred-intensive solo to get the point across. The penultimate “The Truth (You Don’t Want to Know)” soon enough echoes that trad-metal/semi-doomed vibe with a darker mood to go with the inherent threat of the title, but stops for a second ahead of a particularly fervent solo finish in a way that touches on psychedelic without losing the firm sense of structure found across the album’s entire span.

With “I Am the Land” bringing together shades of Soundgarden as well as the aforementioned C.O.C. and Trouble — I also can’t help but feel like Pintos going topless in the video is an Iggy Pop reference — and even a little Blind Melon in its chorus, the title-track offers more than fair representation of the LP whose name it shares, and emphasizes Queen Marsa‘s ability as presented here to shift from one aspect of their sound to another. A hard and heavy rock band putting a bluesier spin on a song as Queen Marsa do with side B’s “Treat Me Like You Do,” or that momentary psych divergence in “The Truth (You Don’t Want to Know),” isn’t unheard of, and the fivesome don’t sound like they’re trying to claim they invented anything so much as to explore the process of craft, develop along their own path, and reach out to as many ears as they might catch with their mostly uptempo, deeply energetic take. The ultra-’90s “Stop Dry,” which picks up after “I Am the Land” careens to its finish, is a declarative stomper. This is who this band wants to be.

And so it’s who they are. When they get down to “Outlaw on the Run,” they’re accordingly ready to go. The verse arrives soon enough to focus the immediate tension of the motor riff of the intro, layered-in note-pulls and all on the guitar, and rolls into the chorus with no need for pretense or aural trickery. Some peppered-in doubling of vocals adds to the atmosphere, and they end it sharp and purposeful after a tempo-kick under the solo. Queen Marsa don’t need nearly the entire half-hour-plus to announce themselves as songwriters, but their argument is stronger for the variety that side B brings to the all-go foundation on which I Am the Land is constructed. It’s a rocker, by rockers, for rockers. Yeah, as a debut it’s a sign of the potential in what Queen Marsa are doing, avenues to grow, all that, but to think only of the future is missing the present, and the fact is the band have everything they need right in this material. Whatever they do next (or don’t), this is a strong opening statement.

Phew, right? Yeah, it’s a burner, but you’re up for it. I believe in you and I believe in the power of good rock and roll. The video for “I Am the Land” premieres below, followed by more from the PR wire. Queen Marsa play release shows Sept. 17 at the Fira Del Disc Mallorca and Oct. 6 at Es Gremi. More info, of course, can be chased down on socials, which are linked at the bottom.

Please enjoy:

Queen Marsa, “I Am the Land” video premiere

QUEEN MARSA – I am the land (Official video) First single from our album “I am the land”, out on September 15, 2023.

VIDEO CREDITS
– Direction: Andres Quintana
– Direction of photography: Andrés Quintana.
– Camera operator: Pilar Alcalde
– Assistant director: Marta Lladó
– Editing: Mad Hernández
– Production: Patricia De La Mata
– Drone images: Eduardo Dengra

2023 – LP – “I am the land”.

RECORDED, MIXED & MASTERED by Miguel Ángel Riutort (MEGA) at Psychosomatic Studios. Edited and released by Discos Macarras Records and Metalway. Artwork by Toni Coronado. Released at September with the videoclips “I am the land” (Andrés Quintana) and “Outlaw on the run” (Sara Álvarez).

RELEASED BY:

– Discos Macarras Records
www.discosmacarras.com

– Runaway Records “Metalway”
www.runawaymusica.com

Track list:
1. Gaugamela
2. Made for lovers
3. The trick is you don´t mind
4. I am the land
5. Stop dry
6. Treat me like you do
7. The truth you don´t want to know
8. Outlaw on the run