Dorso is a Chilean

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

band. Common themes in the band's music are horror film creatures, hyperbolic sexual fetishes and Chilean

myths Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

. The band's frontman, Rodrigo Cuadra, became a TV presenter in the 1990s.

History

Early years (1984–1988)

''Dorso'' was formed in 1984 by Rodrigo Cuadra, who was 17 at the time. His vision for the band was for it to be a musical synthesis of

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

and

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

, drawing extensively from

dark fantasy Dark fantasy, also called fantasy horror, is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporates disturbing and frightening themes. The term is ambiguously used to describe stories that combine horror fiction, horror ...

literature and gore films for inspiration. ''Dorso'' made its first public gig in a

Ñuñoa Ñuñoa (; from Mapudungun ''Ñuñohue'', "place of yellow flowers") is a communes of Chile, commune located in the Northeastern zone of Santiago, northeastern sector of Santiago de Chile, Santiago, the capital of Chile. Bordered by Providencia, C ...

gym in 1984, with a setlist of heavy metal covers and original songs. By the time of the release of their first demo, ''Parajes de lo Desconocido'' (1985), ''Dorso'' was a trio led by its original frontman and two new hires, Gamal Eltit in guitars and Jaime Palma in drums.

1989–1995

Their first album, ''Bajo una luna cámbrica'', was released in 1989. It featured an eclectic blend of

prog rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed "progressive pop", the ...

-inspired

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

, retrospectively described as

progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...

odd time signature Odd means unpaired, occasional, strange or unusual, or a person who is viewed as eccentric. Odd may also refer to: __NOTOC__ Mathematics * Even and odd numbers, an integer is odd if dividing by two does not yield an integer * Even and odd functio ...

s and traditional

speed metal Speed metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It is desc ...

. The second album, ''

Romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

'' (1990) is considered by many as one of the best of the band. Eltit and the newly hired drummer Eduardo Topelberg left the band citing musical disagreements after recording ''Romance''. Two new members joined the band, ex-''Nimrod'' Marcelo Naves in drums and guitarist Alvaro Soms. This line-up went on to record ''Dorso''s best-selling album to date, ''

El Espanto Surge de la Tumba Dorso is a Chilean metal band. Common themes in the band's music are horror film creatures, hyperbolic sexual fetishes and Chilean myths. The band's frontman, Rodrigo Cuadra, became a TV presenter in the 1990s. History Early years (1984 ...

'' (1993). The album's heavy use of

Spanglish Spanglish (a blend of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is mostly u ...

black humor Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

and

bilingual puns A bilingual pun is a pun created by a word or phrase in one language sounding similar to a different word or phrase in another language. The result of a bilingual pun can be a joke that makes sense in more than one language (a joke that can be tra ...

, as well as Soms' distinctive riff-writing became the defining characteristics of the band's sound. Their next album, ''Big Monsters Aventura'' was released to some success in 1995, with the eponymous song being featured on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's ''

Headbangers Ball ''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consists of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more obsc ...

''. This album featured more

goregrind Goregrind is a fusion genre of grindcore and death metal. British band Carcass are commonly credited for the emergence of the genre. Goregrind is recognized for its heavily edited, pitch shifted vocals and abrasive musicianship rooted in grindco ...

elements than its predecessor.

Dorso now (since 1998)

Following the release ''Disco Blood'' in 1998, the band went on to release two live albums followed by a short hiatus and the return of Eltit in guitars. In 2008 the band released ''Espacium'', and in 2012 ''Recolecciones Macabras del Campo Chileno'', featuring for the first time some

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and

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

elements, with lyrical themes revolving around Chilean

and

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

Band members

Current lineup

* Rodrigo "Pera" Cuadra – vocals and bass, bass overdrive, synths, keyboards, percussion, acoustic guitar (since 1984) *Gamal Eltit – rhythm guitar, lead guitar, lute, percussion, programming, backing vocals (1984–1991, since 2001) *Álvaro Soms – lead guitar (since 1991) *Fran Muñoz – drums, percussion (since 2008)

Former members

*Mauricio Castillo – lead guitar (1984) *Alvaro Cuadra – rhythm guitar (1986) *Claudio Alfaro – bass (1984) *Juan Francisco Cueto – bass (1995) *Marcelo Castillo – drums, percussion (1984) *Gonzalo Lara – drums, percussion (1984) *Jaime Palma – drums, percussion (1984–1989) *Rafael Alfaro – drums, percussion (1989) *Juan Coderch – drums, percussion (1989) *Eduardo Topelberg – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1989–1991) *Marcelo Naves – drums, percussion (1991–2008) *Bernardo Riquelme – percussion (1984)

Discography

Albums

* ''Bajo una luna Cámbrica'' (1989) * ''

'' (1990) * ''

'' (1993) * '' Big Monster Aventura'' (1995) * ''Disco Blood'' (1998) * ''Espacium'' (2008) * ''Recolecciones Macabras del Campo Chileno'' (2012) * ''Gore and Roll'' (2019)

Demos

* ''Parajes de lo Desconocido'' (1985) * ''Guerra de Criaturas'' (1987)

Live albums

* ''Lari la live!'' (2002) * ''Unplugged Cósmico'' (2005)

Other albums

* ''Gallinazeous Death SQVAD'' (pronounced "Squad") (1989) * ''Sangre Eterna'' (2002) * ''El Huésped'' (2005) Note: Both items are included as bonus tracks on ''Espacium'' (2008).

References

{{Authority control Speed metal musical groups Chilean thrash metal musical groups Chilean death metal musical groups Groove metal musical groups Progressive metal musical groups Avant-garde metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1984