Review Summary: Excellent, though low-fi, recording of metal's jazziest Latin band.
Puya is a band that I feel really should have taken off more than it did. Somehow the metal world needed its own
Santana (Band), and, if combining Latin music, metal and jazz wasn't enough, Puya also brought in elements of funk and sporadic rapping. Comparison wise, Puya stands on their own in the metal and jazz worlds, but the best comparison I can make is, Puya is not only a Latin
Candiria (the jazz-fused prog-metal hardcore punk hip-hop band), but they were Candiria before Candiria ever existed. Puya formed in 1991, while Candiria didn't form until the following year -- and Candiria spent its early years as a death metal band; by the time Candiria introduced jazz fusion and progressive metal into their musical style, Puya was already well established as a jazz-metal entity. While there's no evidence that Puya influenced Candiria, it's still a striking coincidence that two bands coming around at the same time would end up blending the same influences (jazz, metal, prog, punk and rap).
While "Whisker Biscuit" is a demo recording, Puya are pretty sharp musically, with the biggest downside to this release being the occasionally mediocre sound quality, which is most apparent during the sections spotlighting Ramon Ortiz's heavy metal guitar playing. The Latin horn sections are much clearer sounding than the more metal-sounding sections of the tape, which are comparatively more "demo"-sounding.
The demo of "Mire Nino" is comparatively different from the studio recording which later appeared as a bonus track on international versions of the band's second album, "Fundamental" (1999). The demo jumps right into the faster section, with metal guitar riffing combined with Latin horn blasts, whereas the re-recorded version opened with a Latin jazz section. The overall song is a mixture of salsa, Latin jazz and metal. "Chisme" is the only other cut on the demo which was re-recorded (the more flushed out version appears on 1995's self-titled album). "Chisme" is more salsa oriented, as for most of the track, the distorted bassline is the only part deriving from a metal influence, until the song builds into an innovative, awesome thrash-salsa fusion. It's also one of the better-sounding recordings on the demo.
Elsewhere, there's cuts that aren't available on any subsequent album, and everything's great. By the recording of this demo, Puya was very much aware of what they wanted to do musically; according to my research, the demo was titled after their original band name, back when Puya was originally a
Rush-inspired progressive rock power trio. With this demo, the band shifted into their final, more varied sound, with more metal, Latin jazz and salsa influences, but they did not have a full vocalist until after recording wrapped on 1995's self-titled album. Sergio Curbelo was the lead vocalist on the 1995 release and later to become a full member of the band starting with 1999's "Fundamental". Without definitive evidence, the singer on the "Whisker Biscuit" demo is most likely the band's composer and leader, bassist Harold Hopkins Miranda (who also contributed vocals on the 1995 album).
There's some very progressive riffing and polyrhythms on "Pikalante", which also varies the band's sound with rapping. The guitar solo section of the song has a Latin jazz fusion sound, with some very soulful playing. "La Raza" shows the band mixing it up with the Latin jazz horns mixing with funk, metal and rap. It has a great guitar solo. "Al Palo" has the clearest production on the album, drawing musical elements from thrash metal and prog, and also including some rapped vocals and clean singing.
As most of the lyrics on this release, as much of Puya's discography, are in Spanish, I can't really decipher what the subject matter of these songs really is (some of the lyrics on "La Raza" are about the band's musical fusion style, self referential in rap fashion), but as with all jazz music, the music is at the forefront of Puya's musical composition, and while "demo" might scare away some listeners, if you've already heard and love the band's more polished releases (as I do), "Whisker Biscuit" shows an extremely talented and original band, fully determined and knowing exactly what they want to accomplish musically, making it well worth hearing for fans of the group.
