The album title alongside the track list might deceive you into thinking this is a Spanish band, but this combo actually hails from Athens, Greece. Kind of like the Japanese doom band Corrupted who just happen to sing all their lyrics in the tongue of Cervantes.

They receive their divine inspiration from Spanish Catholicism with the album title referring, for instance, to the tears of gold from the Holy Virgin Mary. However, I do get the feeling they might not actually be that pious and they’re actually rooting for the other team really, if you know what I mean.

At the center we find the lovely Senora Dolorosa surrounded by her merry Congregation of Penitents. Her voice reminds me a lot of Sarah Ann Vincent from Smoulder, even though this congregation does not really fit the metal moniker. Their music is much closer to vintage seventies rock like the Blue Öyster Cult or especially the more occultly inspired bands like Coven.

Now you’d be inclined to simply file them under the same banner of other occult rockers like Jess & The Ancient Ones, Sabbath Assembly, Lucifer or Jex Thoth, but that doesn’t really ring true. There is that, of course, but there is a certain flair of pop sensibility that also likens it to another somewhat more prolific act that also loves to dabble in religious imagery cloaked in cheeky pop rock songs. We’re talking about Ghost here, obviously. Maybe it’s not as easy on the ear as Papa Emeritus’ own tunes, but its tongue-in-cheek catchiness is unmistakable.

The band is relatively new: ‘Lágrimas de Oro’ is their first full-length album after two EPs called  ‘Heart of Guilt’ and ‘Goya’s Witches’ respectively. Before that, you can even find an earlier version of a song like ‘Blood Madonna’ out there on the interwebs from 2022.

Fan of the sadly defunct The Devil’s Blood will fall down to their knees and worship this band. And rightly so, as this is definitely one of the more captivating acts coming out this little occult niche lately.

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