Washington D.C. Heavy Rock trio Borracho returns with “Eternos,” released on February 19, 2026 via Ripple Music — a five-track EP that stands apart from the band’s catalogue not merely in scope, but in fundamental purpose. “Eternos” is not a conventional release. It is an act of devotion — a carefully considered tribute to five musicians who shaped, defined, and gave life to the Heavy underground, and who have since left this plane: Dave Sherman (1966–2022), Rev. Jim Forrester (1974–2017), Will Mecum (1972–2021), Bruce Falkinburg (1969–2022), and Robert “Strings” Dahlqvist (1976–2017). As guitarist and vocalist Steve articulates in the liner notes, these were not merely peers — they were giants, sources of inspiration, brothers in arms. “Eternos” is Borracho‘s way of letting the music speak where words inevitably fall short. Produced by Borracho alongside Frank “The Punisher” Marchand, and recorded at Waterford Digital in Pasadena, Maryland in December 2025 — mastered by Kent Stump at Crystal Clear Sound — the EP benefits from a production approach that prioritises the physicality of the trio’s sound: direct, dense, unvarnished. Steve handles guitars, synths, keys and lead vocals; Tim anchors the low end on bass and backing vocals; Mario drives the compositions from behind the kit. Together, they form one of Washington D.C.’s most cohesive and battle-tested Heavy Rock outfits, and “Eternos” captures them operating at their most focused and purposeful. This is not a casual covers session. Every arrangement carries the weight of its intention. “Fang” opens the EP with immediate authority, establishing Borracho‘s sonic identity without hesitation or ceremony. The track arrives as a monolithic wall of distortion — guitars locked into a riff of considerable mass and structural precision, driven forward by a rhythm section that functions as both foundation and forward momentum. Tim‘s bass line is not merely supportive here; it is load-bearing, thick and resonant, operating in the lower registers with a presence that gives the track its gravitational density. Mario‘s drumming is granite-solid, the kind of timekeeping that feels physically immediate, locking grooves into place with confident, unwavering authority. Steve‘s vocal delivery is sharp and incisive — the kind of performance that cuts through the instrumental density rather than submitting to it. The verse sections are driven by compact, well-constructed riffing that rewards close listening: not merely Heavy, but purposefully composed, each repetition reinforcing rather than exhausting. The chorus sections strike with a catchiness that is characteristic of Borracho’s approach — hooks embedded within the heaviness rather than imposed upon it. The solo work throughout is surgical, the guitar cutting through the textural mass with clean, aggressive lines that provide relief from the tonal density without ever undercutting it. As an opener, “Fang” does exactly what a great opener should: it locks in the listener, establishes the sonic coordinates of the listening experience, and sets a standard the rest of the EP is measured against. “Keep on Shoveling” is the EP’s longest composition at five minutes and twenty-six seconds, and it earns every moment. Where “Fang” announced itself with immediate impact, this track operates through accumulation and sustained pressure. The rhythm section here achieves something genuinely impressive: a monolithic, locked-in groove that generates tremendous forward motion while simultaneously creating an atmosphere of deliberate, almost ritualistic weight. Tim‘s bass is particularly commanding — a driving, resonant force that sits at the structural centre of the composition and refuses to yield. The guitar riffs are rougher and more abrasive here than on the opener, carrying a rawer texture that suits the track’s more confrontational character. Steve‘s vocal delivery shifts to match — graffiante, as the original notes aptly suggest, with a harder-edged delivery that lends the performance an added urgency. The pace is deliberate without being slow; there is a distinction between heaviness and sluggishness, and Borracho navigate it with experience. Mario‘s drum work is particularly noteworthy within the track’s dynamic architecture: the transitions and section changes are handled with a musicianship that elevates what could have been straightforward Heavy Rock passages into something considerably more engaging. The final stretch, where guitar lead and vocals exchange the foreground, brings the composition to a close with controlled intensity — a track that demands and rewards concentrated listening. “Twenty Nine” is the EP’s most singular moment — a fully instrumental composition that strips the band’s dynamic to its structural essentials and finds enormous power in that reduction. Opening on a bass line of exceptional weight — the sort of low-end statement that communicates its intent with physical directness — the track builds its identity on rhythmic solidity and guitar-bass dialogue rather than vocal narrative. At three minutes and thirty-four seconds, it is economical but entirely substantive. There is no excess here. The instrumental architecture is dense and deliberate, a demonstration of how effectively Borracho operate when given space to let the music itself carry the full communicative burden. The guitar work throughout is restrained in the best possible sense — present, purposeful, and always in service of the composition’s internal logic. In the final movement, the solo guitar work becomes more expressive, a series of interwoven interventions that explore the sonic space opened up by the rhythm section before the track resolves back to its central riff with the kind of inevitability that marks genuinely well-constructed Rock music. For those who argue that Heavy Rock at its finest requires no vocal embellishment, “Twenty Nine” is the evidence. “Damyata” is the briefest entry at two minutes and fifty-five seconds, and it functions with the concentrated precision that great short-form Heavy Rock demands. The opening riff arrives with substantial weight — a thick, distorted statement accompanied immediately by a deep, prominent bass line and Steve’s incisive vocal delivery. There is nothing tentative about this track’s arrival; it announces itself and proceeds with the confidence of a band that understands economy as a form of discipline rather than limitation. The composition is concise and direct by design, and Borracho execute it with corresponding efficiency. The heaviness is unrelenting, the production giving full presence to the distorted guitar and the dense low-end interaction between Tim‘s bass and Mario‘s kick drum. The vocal character here is among the EP’s most aggressive — raw and cutting, matching the compressed intensity of the instrumental arrangement. The solo guitar passages, though brief, carry their weight: sharp, abrasive interventions that punctuate the composition with characteristic directness. “Damyata” does not linger. It arrives, delivers, and exits — the kind of track that rewards multiple plays precisely because its impact is immediate and unambiguous. “A Heart Without a Home” closes “Eternos” with a composition that expands the EP’s tonal palette while retaining the essential character of Borracho‘s sound. Of the five tracks, this is the one that operates most explicitly within the tradition of classic American Heavy Rock — the hooks are more prominent, the architecture more openly melodic, the overall texture warmer without surrendering an ounce of the band’s fundamental weight. The interplay between guitar and vocals is the defining element here: a sustained dialogue that runs throughout the first half of the track, each element complementing and extending the other’s expressive register. Steve‘s solo work is among the most developed on the EP, threading through the vocal passages with fluency and care. The second half of the composition undergoes a significant structural shift — accelerating into a dynamic instrumental section of considerable energy, where interlocking guitar lines build and resolve with the kind of compositional clarity that signals a track designed to function as a definitive closing statement. It succeeds. “A Heart Without a Home” brings “Eternos” to a close with the same combination of directness and craft that characterises the entire release — energetic, cohesive, and genuinely satisfying. “Eternos” is a tribute record in the truest sense: not a mechanical exercise in replication, but a considered act of creative homage delivered by musicians who understand both the emotional weight of what they are doing and the technical demands of doing it well. Borracho bring the full authority of their experience to five compositions that honour five individuals whose contributions to the heavy underground are not merely remembered here, but actively celebrated. The production is clean and purposeful, the performances are tight without being sterile, and the emotional sincerity of the project infuses every track with a dimension that straightforward studio output rarely achieves. For those already familiar with the Washington D.C. trio — through their six critically acclaimed full-lengths or the 2025 “Ouroboros” — “Eternos” represents a different but equally compelling facet of the band’s identity. For newcomers, it serves as an excellent entry point: a concise, powerful, and expertly executed demonstration of everything that makes Borracho one of the most consistently impressive Heavy Rock outfits operating in the contemporary American scene. Five tracks, five tributes, one essential listen.
Tracklist
01. Fang (05:12)
02. Keep on Shoveling (05:26)
03. Twenty Nine (03:34)
04. Damyata (02:55)
05. A Heart Without a Home (04:45)
Lineup
Steve / Guitars, Synths, Keys & Vocals
Mario / Drums & Percussion
Tim / Bass & Backing Vocals
Read our 2025 Exclusive Interview with Borracho here: [Exclusive Interview] Washington Heavy Rockers Borracho on their new album “Ouroboros”
Read our Review of their latest album “Ourobros” here: [Review] Borracho – Ouroboros