Mientras las abejas duermen – MLAD

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · April 18, 2026

Music is a universal language that doesn’t always need to be explained or translated. Although, well over ninety percent of what I do listen to is in the English language, there have been bands in the past that I have really enjoyed but sing in a different language. The heavy rockers Abramis Brama from Sweden, have mostly all of their lyrics in their native language, and they rock! Ratos de Porao, the Brazilian hardcore/ punk band, mostly screams in Spanish, etc. I don’t judge music on necessarily whether I can understand it completely, I used to listen to grindcore and I enjoy many different instrumental heavy rock bands that really move me. Anyways, all of this leads me up to the discovery of Mientras las abejas duermen, a fantastic stoner rock/ heavy psych band from Cádiz, Spain.

Mientras las abejas duermen means “While the Bees Sleep” in English. My understanding is that when the band was recording this record, they had to do all the recording in the evening hours because the studio was infested with bees. They had to wait for the bees to be dormant at night time. The trio released MLAD, this debut album on February 26th 2026 on Estudio Mazmorra. It contains seven tracks at forty three minutes long.

The album begins with “Huellas y rumores”, an epic, almost nine minute excursion into some interesting sonic landscapes. The music starts off with the bass and airy guitar effects, and a solid drum beat. It’s a slow and steady expansive build up of dynamic instrumental rock, in the league of Monkey 3, My Sleeping Karma, and even bands like Elder or Colour Haze. Over four minutes into the song, the heavy doom shifts into a more riff rocking groove where the vocals finally make an appearance. They have a smooth and calming tone to them and are a suitable fit for the incredible music. These talented musicians are telling stories with these songs. The song titles are all in Spanish but they include the translations on their Bandcamp page. This one means “Footprints and rumors”.

The second track is a short acoustically driven instrumental song “Cruz de Benalfil” that translates to “Benalfil Cross”. It’s a beautiful psychedelic introduction to another massive song entitled, “Los hijos perdidos de Umrica”. The eight minute monster is full of sonic twists and stoner grooves that sound fantastic. “The Lost Children of America” is the English version title, and the song is just a banger! Heavy and fuzzy tones erupting into progressive leads and an undeniable feel good rhythm. The band likes to separate the longer and more elaborate tracks with short musical sequences, giving the album more depth and texture. “Cruz del Tajo” is another psychedelic tribal ensemble of musically atmospheric sounds. Mientras las abejas duermen masterfully pieces all of this music together meticulously, and the whole recording is a pleasure to listen to in its entirety.

“El camino silencioso” is yet another musical masterpiece with the dynamics of light and heavy tones, blooming with patience and sonic articulation. The cosmic musical passages are deep and powerful. “The silent path” leads us into “The law of the room. Who is 67?”, translated from “La ley del cuarto ¿Quién es el 67?”. The nearly twelve minute musical expedition has a full spectrum of desert rock grooves and spacy atmospheric psych, that transitions back and forth with such seamless exploration. The band are very talented musicians and songwriters that can entice the listener with their music alone. I kept finding myself revisiting MLAD, whenever I wanted something more spectacular and expansive to listen to. The final track on this album is called “Cruz de la Viñuela”, another divine acoustic guitar guided composition. Don’t sleep on this excellent band and debut album. These guys write very interesting and captivating music that should be enjoyed by all, absent of any language barrier or cultural differences. Great music is the universal language of all human beings and creatures of nature alike.