Cortez

“A record that’s beautiful, boisterous, and bold.” Rock and Roll Fables (USA)

“A furious expression of motivated dissent.” Riff Relevant (USA)

“Catchy riffs, superbly crafted guitar harmonies and solos, soaring clean vocals, and a quintessentially doom-laden groove altogether leave you no choice but to get instantly hooked.” Metal Assault (USA)

“Their epitome, and unquestionably the finest work Cortez have done to-date.” The Obelisk (USA)

“Ruthless, heavy, groovy and melodic.” Metal Insider (USA)

“With Sell the Future, Cortez carries the torch for classic Hard Rock and Metal with more guitar riffs than you can handle. It’s the right balance of intensity and passion.” Metal Express Radio (Norway)

“The record is absolutely filler free.” Musipedia Of Metal (UK)

“‘Sell The Future’ van Cortez is over de hele lijn echt geslaagd te noemen zodat.” Musika (Belgium)

“Un clásico instantáneo.” La Habitacion 235 (Spain)

The future is fast, the future is sharp, and the future has already been sold, baby, so you missed your shot. Better luck next time.

Boston heavy rockers Cortez have always embodied an underdog spirit, from their 2007 debut EP, Thunder in a Forgotten Town, through their 2012 self-titled debut LP and 2017’s The Depths Below, but they’ve never sounded as supercharged as they do on Sell the Future.

With the precision of heavy metal, the soul of classic rock, and the unbridled attitude of a band who care less about your expectations than they do about writing kick-ass, drive-fast, dynamic, hugely-grooved, hugely melodic and expansive tunes, Cortez arrive at their third album with a well-earned sense of freedom in their approach. It isn’t about what style they play or the genre niche you want to fit them in — it’s about the crawling sleek of Sell the Future’s title-track, the crash of drums in “Sharpen the Spear” and the urgency of songs like opener “No Escape” and “Look at You.”

Sell the Future is a record of and for turbulent times, but its working themes aren’t so pointed as to sound already dated in the fast-moving, unending “No Escape”-is-right news cycle the universe seems to inhabit. As much as the band have come into their own operating as the five-piece of vocalist Matt Harrington, guitarists Scott O’Dowd and Alasdair Swan, bassist/backing vocalist Jay Furlo and drummer Alexei Rodriguez, their dedication to classic, timeless rock and roll songwriting is unflinching.

After taking part in Ripple Music’s The Second Coming of Heavy split series in 2018, Cortez have pushed themselves even further with Sell the Future, finding a passion and instrumental fury that comes through regardless of tempo and makes their songs all the more memorable. Whatever the days ahead might bring, Cortez stand ready.
-JJ Koczan