With “Ouroboros,” their sixth full-length album, Washington D.C.’s Borracho deliver one of the most cohesive, urgent, and thematically charged statements of their career. Stripping away previous Psychedelic excursions, the band returns with a tighter, Heavier sound that feels both philosophical and visceral. We had the pleasure of speaking with the band about the creative process behind “Ouroboros,” the themes that shape their music, and their continued evolution within the Heavy Rock landscape.
Let’s start with the big picture — what were your intentions going into “Ouroboros”? Did you have a specific vision or concept in mind when you began writing?
When writing this album, we made a conscious decision to make it more of a collection of songs as opposed to a real concept album like our last couple of records. We didn’t go into writing this album with any particular theme in mind. But it does appear to have taken on a life of its own in that regard.
The album feels more direct and urgent than some of your previous releases. Was this a conscious decision to strip things down and focus on a heavier, more aggressive sound?
I think by default it sounds that way because we focused on writing individual songs over songs that share a theme and flow together. We also booked studio time far in advance without having a lot of the ideas worked out, so we put ourselves under a little pressure and chose to focus on the collection of tunes that we were really digging on. As the songs developed and took more concise shape – I mean, they’re all still 6-7 minutes long – there was less of a need to push the conceptual envelope with additional production, effects and interludes like we did with Pound of Flesh or the high concept long-form approach of Blurring the Lines of Reality.
The title “Ouroboros” carries deep symbolism. How does that ancient concept of cyclical destruction and rebirth relate to the themes of the record?
It’s frankly amazing that you can point to almost any topic, any aspect of human behavior and find something that reinforces the ouroboros symbolism. Like, we’ve already said that we didn’t intend to write a concept album, and we absolutely set out to just write individual songs with stories that could be interpreted by the listener. But at the end of the day the damn thing ends up being such a commentary precisely because it’s impossible to ignore. It was kind of an epiphany when we considered the title. We were describing or pointing to examples of this symbolism happening now and it was surprising that every track was doing this.
Tracks like “Machine is the Master” and “Lord of Suffering” seem to explore societal and existential topics. Can you talk about the lyrical direction of this album and what inspired it?
I think there is a common theme that ties these songs together and it’s a theme that really runs through all of our albums, and that is the human condition, ego and behavior. We as a species seem to be hell bent on self-destruction. We are stuck in a never-ending vicious cycle of greed and stupidity. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of good and beauty in this world. But with all the crazy shit happening on our little planet right now it’s kind of hard to not focus on and write about the negative aspects of human behavior. But I will say that these two songs in particular were inspired by unique sources. “Machine Is the Master” is based on a Harlen Ellison short story from the 70s that accurately describes a post-apocalyptic hellscape brought on by sentient computers (sound familiar?). “Lord of Suffering” is about Vlad “The Impaler” Tepes, a 13th- century nobleman from what is today Romania, the source for the popular myth of Dracula. But the song is about his ability to hold back the Ottoman Empire from invasion partially though one of the most brutal displays of torture and death the world had ever seen. So the song is about winning battles but asks “at what cost security?
Let’s talk gear — was there any change in your rig or recording techniques that contributed to the rawer, more crushing tones we hear on “Ouroboros”?
There were a few changes. Tim switched up his bass rig from the usual Ampeg SVT Classic to an Orange AD200. SVTs are great amps, but the Orange is a real game changer in terms of tonal range and gained tone. His main bass is still the mid-80s Fender Precision, but he’s since swapped in a new Fender Jazz Bass neck. In the studio I usually run my trusty Flying V through a first-generation Sunn Model T and an early 70’s Orange OR80. But my Orange decided to not cooperate, so I ended up using a Soldano with the Sunn which gave me a little more of a modern sound. I also did most of the rhythm tracks with a Les Paul doubled with a Strat which are much brighter sounding than my V. With Frank Marchand as our trusty production partner, we kind of followed our usual process, but honestly the production follows the songs, and I think each of our records has that in common.
“Vegas Baby” and “Freakshow” hit with massive energy but also show technical complexity. How do you approach balancing groove, heaviness, and detail in your songwriting?
We try not to overthink things too much. It’s really about feel and where the music takes us. That being said, sometimes we will come up with a section for a song that is a little more complex or seems to come out of left field then we discuss what we want to do with it, where does it fit and how to make it sound like it fits. It’s a very organic process.
The instrumental passages throughout the album feel deeply considered — particularly the spoken-word elements and keyboard textures in tracks like “Succubus.” How did those ideas evolve in the studio?
Time is money in the studio, so we try to come as prepared as possible with most of the ideas kind of worked out, whether that’s main music or any additional elements. But most of the time we’ll need to hear some demos or rough mixes of like drums, bass and rhythm guitars to finalize vocal melodies, create those synth and other atmospherics and consider each track as a stand-alone whole. All to say, most of the time even if we don’t have the exact idea for an additional sound somewhere, we’re probably thinking “something will go there” and we’ll make room for it in the studio, and either create it right there or bring it in from outside.
“Vale of Tears” stands out as a shorter, more introspective piece. What role does it play in the album’s overall structure and emotional pacing?
“Vale of Tears” is an instrumental break that resets the record for side 2. It is an introduction to “Machine is the Master” in that it borrows or reinterprets a break riff in “Machine” and references Machine lyrics in the title. It is also one element in our deliberate efforts to make this record – like all our records – an album experience – sequencing, flow, pacing, it works on multiple levels. But at the end of the day, shouldn’t all records have a sweet Sabbath-esque reset?
How did the writing process work this time around — were the songs developed together in the room, or did they come from individual ideas and demos?
When working on this record we were still supporting Blurring the Lines, and so we really had been working away at a couple songs at a time between shows and festivals until we had what we wanted. So, quite a few started with a couple of parts I brought to practice, and we would work on them together adding parts and capturing evolving ideas until we were satisfied. A few of these songs went through some different versions – we probably reworked Freakshow 5 times before we landed on the final arrangement. This was a bit different than Blurring, which I was writing through COVID and really had a conceptual core and full arrangements worked out for most of the record, and the band brought those compositions to life.
Ripple Music has been a strong platform for Heavy underground artists. How has your relationship with the label influenced the band’s trajectory?
We’ve been connected with Ripple since around the time our first record Splitting Sky came out. We put out a split with Geezer as the first chapter of the Second Coming of Heavy split series, which was a mini follow up to our second record Oculus in 2015, and they also put out our Riffography compilation in 2017. We spent some years with Kozmik Artifactz but the stars aligned to do this record with Todd after years of just not lining up. I think the hope is that we bring our reputation and DIY successes to help the label, and they bring their platform, reputation and distribution to further our reach. It feels very much mutually beneficial. Ripple is one of those great labels with fans who trust their curation and buy every release, so we’re stoked to make some new fans and reach new audiences.
After six albums, what continues to drive Borracho creatively? How do you keep things fresh while staying true to your core sound?
Friendship and fun keep us together and I think staying together with the same heads in the room keeps us true to the sound. Our sound is the three of us, our chemistry, our approach. But I’ll say that the same dynamic of friendship and fun allow us to explore anything without fear or favor. We’ve always said we give ourselves the freedom to do whatever we want. That’s how we have 12-13 minute long psych-doom epics, straight ahead 4-5 minute rockers, burly riffs, gentle passages, and everything in between across our discography. After six records we kinda know the Borracho sound when we hear it so when we’re exploring something a bit more out of the box, we can evaluate it and take it as far out as we feel we want to go, or bring it back in to serve the song. That’s the fun of writing music. You can do whatever you want!
How do you see “Ouroboros” fitting into the broader evolution of Borracho’s discography? Is this a turning point or a refinement of what came before?
I think Ouroboros is – like all our records – a turning point. We see each record as an opportunity to build on what we’ve done before. We very much want each release to be both familiar and surprising, while providing a full-album experience. We really care about this. And I think if anything is sort of a conscious decision in the record-making process, it’s that it has to sound new and exciting, and you want to hear it uninterrupted from start to finish. But we like nothing more than hearing from a fan or a critic that the new album is our best yet, because that’s always how we strive to feel when the recording process is finished.
You’ve always had a strong live presence. How do you envision these new songs translating to the stage? Any specific track you’re excited to play live?
We’ve just started playing these songs live, and the reaction has been great. These songs are immediate and in-your-face, and full of hooks that really translate well to a live setting. Even when they are slower to build they are doing it loudly and with menace. As you’d expect this can put a snap in your step as it were and really inspires the stage antics. It’s just impossible to ignore and we can’t wait to keep sharing these songs live. The only song we haven’t played live yet is Freakshow, so really looking forward to breaking that one out!
Looking ahead — what’s next for Borracho after this release? Any touring plans, videos, or new material already in the works?
Our 2026 plans are coming together, and we’ll be returning to California in the spring, and returning to Ripplefest Texas in September. There will be more announced as it all takes shape. We’ve got a couple of other cool recording projects in the works, and it’s never too soon to start planning and writing for the next record, so we’re keeping busy on multiple fronts.
Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us! “Ouroboros” is a powerful and inspiring record — we’re excited to see how it connects with listeners. Wishing you all the best for the release and what comes next.
Purchase “Ouroboros” on Bandcamp: https://borracho.bandcamp.com/album/ouroboros
Read our Review of the album here: https://progrockjournal.com/review-borracho-ouroboros/