Review Summary: Extremoduro truly managed to solidify their compositional quality with "Deltoya," an authentic cornerstone within the band's discography!
After "Somos Unos Animales", an uneven but undoubtedly influential album that helped increase Extremoduro's popularity in Spanish underground rock circles, the band took a giant step forward by signing with the DRO record label, which at that time was one of the most important labels dedicated to rock in Spain.
Fortunately for Robe, the collection of songs with which he was going to debut in his new company had unquestionable quality. The group maintained the lineup from the previous album with Robe on guitar and vocals, Salo on guitar, Luis von Fanta on drums, and Carlos El Sucio on bass. The sound production was handled by the group themselves, and the cover art was created by Chuti, with drawings in the booklet by regular collaborators such as Rafa Gallego (he designed Extermoduro's logo and the cover of the first album), Azagra, and Revuelta.
And what is "Deltoya"? It's an album that marked a musical giant step for Extremoduro, showcasing a compositional maturity that was already hinted at in previous albums but is astonishingly realized here with even darker, more progressive, and profound songs. The urban and street rock themes from "Somos Unos Animales" are almost completely set aside, and the introspective style of some tracks of "Tu en tu casa, Nosotros en la hoguera" is revived but with an extra dose of bitterness, likely a result of the complex personal situation Robe was going through when composing the album.
Many references to the damage humans are causing to the world are added, accompanied by an ecological plea, which would become a regular theme in Extremoduro and Robe's songs from this album onward. There's also a somewhat more anarchist and nihilistic message in tracks like Estado Policial and Ultima Generacion.
In essence, it's a much more mature, better-produced, and considerably deeper album, possibly constituting the band's first masterpiece (or close to it)
Top tracks: Sol de Invierno (a perfect song to open the album, featuring outstanding guitar work and one of the best choruses on the album), De Acero (a heavy hit with overwhelming lyrics and the guitar collaboration of the talented Salvador Dominguez), Deltoya (a true classic of Spanish rock, terrifying at the beginning and overwhelming in its development—an authentic masterpiece of dark poetry and sonic intensity), Volando Solo (Robe doesn't like this song because it makes him sad, but the rest of Extremoduro fans love it. It offers the usual mix of optimistic melodies and lyrics about lost and suffering love), and Ama, ama, ama y ensancha el alma (a poem by Manolo Chinato turned into a song, serving as a true anthem of Spanish rock, often used by Robe to close his live performances)
Special mentions: Como un Latido de Reloj (a great hard rock song with another good set of lyrics, somehow related to ...Y Rozar Contigo from Robe's first solo album) and Bulerias de Sangre Caliente (excellent lyrics for a good song that lacks something to be truly brilliant).
Conclusion: Although I've only mentioned a few representative tracks from the album, I must say that "Deltoya" deserves to be enjoyed in its entirety as it is an essential record within Extremoduro's discography where almost nothing is superfluous.
The production might not be the best, but the use of echoes, reverb, and the overall dirtiness even magnify the work, providing a special, ethereal, and unique sonic atmosphere. This stands out, even within a discography as extensive as that of Robe and Extremoduro, making "Deltoya" a true genuine experience.
Moreover, it is also the last album of Extremoduro's most "classic" lineup, as with "Pedra" and "¿Donde estan mis amigos?" everything was about to change, and significantly so.
