Info
- Genre
- Members
- Matt – Vocals
- Scott – Guitar
- Jay – Bass
- Jeremy – Drums
- Hometown
- Record Label
- About
- He came dancing across the water with his galleons and guns. Looking for the new world in that palace in the sun.
- Biography
- Cortez. Conqueror. Killer. Oppressor. Madman. The great god Quetzalcoatl returned as a blood-mad Spaniard. And now, head-cracking rock n’ roll band. Take a listen, and it’ll all make sense.Formed in 2006 from the ashes of several of Boston’s stoner rock and punk n’ roll institutions, including Fast Actin’ Fuses and Sin City Chainsaw, Cortez has taken everything good from their old bands and made them bigger, louder, and heavier than ever before. Borrowing their name (but precious little else) from Neil Young’s classic and controversial song “Cortez the Killer,” the band has been electrifying local stages with a pulverising live show and an arsenal of instant-classics like “The Highlife,” “Stone the Bastards,” and “Floodwater Rising” that mix classic 70’s hard rock with rumbling, doomy stoner-metal. With influences ranging from the proto-metal fuzz of Cactus and Deep Purple to sludge-masters the Melvins and speed-weed monsters High on Fire, this is a band that’s done its homework, and its sound stretches back through the decades, a timeless throb of heavy metal thunder and endless, rolling grooves.Regional success is one thing, but a band like Cortez can’t be contained by the borders of Route 495. Cortez has recently signed with Belgian dope-rock label Buzzville, home to like-minded midnight ramblers like Artimus Pyledriver, Gonzalez, and Generous Maria. A new album titled Thunder In A Forgotten Town, produced by Marc Schleicher, head party-wrecker in the infamous Coke Dealer cartel, is due to land sometime this year. A six-track orgy of southern-fried riff n’ roll, heavy on the acid-for-blood wah-wah and the thundertrain rhythm section propelling the whole bruising chain into the arena-burning stratosphere. For a band that’s only been around for a year, they sound like they’ve already crashed their first private jet. This is thick, gristly rock music that sticks to your guts and leaves you clamoring for the next mind-frying riff, the next chest-thumping chorus, the next bout of shameless, heads-down superchug. Cortez is the real deal, brother. No wonder the estimable Arzgarth at Stonerrock.com wrote, “Cortez is rapidly becoming a killer band in Boston . If there’s such a thing as classic stoner rock, these guys are doing it.” Said album was recorded in December of 2006 at New Alliance Studios, the same house of horrors that spawned seminal releases from blister-rock champs like Roadsaw, Cracktorch, Scissorfight, Throttlerod, and countless others. Soon then, the world.So, what does Cortez want? The usual rock n’ roll bullshit. Frothy crowds, brisk CD sales, six figure download numbers. Women, leather, and Hell. Mud n’ blood. Power and Glory. And someday, they hope to tour with ZZ Top. Or at least play at a bar that has ZZ Top on the jukebox. – Sleazegrinder.
- Press Contact
- Influences
- Black Sabbath, Black Flag, Corrosion Of Conformity, Clutch, Kyuss, QOTSA
- Band Interests
- Play The Assassin Records, Black Thai
- Likes
- Kyuss, Black Sabbath, Melvins, Deep Purple, Clutch, Corrosion Of Conformity, We’re All Gonna Die, Cocked N Loaded
- Websites
Press
- “Perhaps “heavy” doesn’t describe the guitars of Cortez. Perhaps “a gigantic cave of underground distortion,” or “mind-blowing weight and power” and “bone-crushing bass” will help paint the picture. For undisputed heavy, absurdly impressive stoner riffs, check out Cortez.” – Sean Mahan – Performer Magazine
- “If you’re lookin’ for a thunderous combination of 70’s Hardrock and classic Heavy Metal then you should add CORTEZ to your list. My anticipation for their first full-length is huge, because this is really good music. Thanks to Buzzville Records for delivering one of the first highlights in 2008!” – KK – Cosmic Lava
- “CORTEZ have delivered a superb debut album.” – Walter Scheurer – powermetal.de
- “Atmospheric Desert rock on “Thunder in a Forgotten Town” which recalls the sweet smell of “… and the Circus Leaves Town” from Kyuss, especially the fantastic “Floodwater Rising.”” – Layne – vs-webzine
- “These guys know that deep down, under all the fuzz music essentially comes down to one thing…the songs and these guys write some very cool songs!!! Yep, don’t be afraid to say it, they write songs!!!!” – Ollie – The Sleeping Shaman
- “The riffs Cortez play are heavy, fuzzy and rocking like thunder indeed. The volume that blows out of my speakers immediately creates a big grin on my face.” – DemonDust – metalrage.com
- “No matter which of the six songs on “Thunder In a Forgotten Town” you evaluate, it always ends with the same result: class!” – Markus Müller – Osna-Metal
- “CORTEZ come to conquer, nothing more, nothing less.” – Stelios “Cookie Man” Basbayiannis – Metal Invader
- “I’ll keep it short. If you still really like Stoner Rock, no doubt, go for “Thunder In A Forgotten Town” from the American band Cortez. Six stone good songs in the style of Fu Manchu, Nebula, Kyuss and others of the genre.” – soundslike.be
- “Earthy sound and a reserved producer round “Thunder in A Forgotten Town” into a very mature and complete work. Hard to believe that they only formed in 2006.” – Christian – metal.de
- “Cortez from Boston release their first-born and we’re very impressed. Give us some earplugs and stimulants!” – Joris Vanden Broeck – goddeau.com
- “For all fans of Melvins, Monster Magnet and all other stonerbands, this is a must have.” – Basil Cahuzak – keysandchords.com
- “Cortez have done everything right. “Thunder In A Forgotten Town” should be in bold print on the shopping lists of all Heavy Music disciples.” – Christian – metalglory.de
- “Few bands these days are able to employ so many aspects of the genre in such a cohesive manner – mixing crunchy low-end riffs, southern groove, memorable choruses, inventive rhythm and bluesy leads.” – Cardona – peacedogman.com
