El Muerto, a solo project by musician Ricardo Botello, has made The Netherlands his canvas for a blend of black and death metal. His musical portfolio spans more than one country, as he's worked with Australian group Conscious Coma, and Mexican group Sekhmet. Ricardo's one-man band has officially started with the debut EP, "Lost and Amsterdamned." The EP is a blend of blackened death metal with intricate sensibilities, and I wonder how it'll be pulled off. I'm aware session musicians exist to help out, but solo projects are pretty hit-or-miss with me. The album cover pulled me in, and the genres are promising, so my hopes are up.

The opener, "Enthroned in the Tower of Shadows (The Witch)," could have a name stripped right out of a sci-fi book from the 80's, and I'd never notice. The music however is much more aligned with a dark fantasy-type style. Raspy blackened vocals echo throughout the soundscape created by bombastic drums and quiet but noticeable riffing. Session drummer Robin Stone is credited with such work, and they kill it from the intro to the end. This is a black metal track through and through, with hints of death metal influences that I'd like to see more of in the upcoming tracks. The next track is the progressive-sounding "Ghosts of Torment." Complicated sounds arise, with entertaining drums with a plethora of cymbals and bells clashing and clanging on. There's still room for the typical dense compositions of blast-beats and sonic riffs key to black metal. Still a bit scarce on death metal elements, but I'm sure they'll shine at some point. The pained, depressing groans just solidify the greatness of this track. "Lich King," while straightforward, works great in simplicity. The drums get a little too fast, almost to the point of overdoing it, but still a great song all together. A very strong first half, and I'm very impressed with El Muerto.

The longest song, "A Song for Ren," starts with some haunting organ, and we're back to prog, but with clean vocals that remind me of a certain period of Opeth, just with weaker singing. The death metal vocals finally debut, and they're way stronger than the cleans. I adore progressive rock, metal, and especially combinations of both. Jesus, there's even a djent segment. This may be the best song on the EP, even though there's little black metal to be found. The interchanging part of somberness and brutality pair like wine and good cheese, and while the clean vocals could be stronger, I want more of that wine and cheese in the next two tracks. "Blood Crypt" brings back the black metal with full force - howling vocals, rapid sixteenth-note drumming, and low-pitched bass. The singing blends into the atmosphere, per usual kvlt standard. The EP finally ends with "Wolves of Den Haag." This may have been a single due to it's artwork appearing different than the album, but who cares! Unfortunately, this isn't on par with the rest of the songs on the EP - it sounds like a demo in terms of sound quality, and the beginning riffs sound a tad off-kilter. The good thing is, it doesn't weigh down the rest of the album.

For a solo project and a couple session musicians, Ricardo Botello and his brainchild El Muerto delivered a great package of black, death, and progressive metal in the debut release "Lost and Amsterdamned." There's a plethora of styles that many extreme metal fans will love, and parts where the calmer fans of metal will find fun. "Lost and Amsterdamend" is a resplendent yet dark album, and I want to hear more of this project down the road.