Su ta Gar is one of the torchbearers of the Basque metal scene. For the last forty years, they have been one of the most influential bands in Basque Country, even inspiring artists who don’t play metal. Their sound combines elements of traditional heavy metal, thrash metal, speed metal, and, later on, influences from various hard rock styles, with highly political lyrics in the Basque language. Arguably, there may not have been other influential metal bands singing in Basque, such as Latzen, Asgarth and Idi Bihotz, had Su ta Gar not done it before them.

The band carries its influences on its sleeves in a fairly particular way. It is very clear that Iron Maiden and Metallica have been sources of inspiration for Su ta Gar, but there are portions of songs where that suddenly becomes very clear rather than the band being a soundalike of either of them. They also aged in a way similar to both bands, with recent albums clearly being the work of experienced metal veterans. Su ta Gar tends to have much better self-editing skills, however, resulting in tighter songwriting and more energetic performances.

For a band that has been around since 1987, Su ta Gar has kept a surprisingly stable line-up. Guitarists Xabi Batisda and Aitor Gorosabel Garai – the latter of whom is also the band’s singer – have been around ever since. Monster drummer Galder Arrillaga joined in the mid-nineties, but he replaced his permanently injured brother Borxa, who was quite the impressive drummer in his own right. The band did cycle through a handful of bassists after co-founder Asier Osoro left in 2008, though Igor Diez has been part of the band for a decade and a half at this point.

12. Maitasunari Pasioa (2016)

Here’s my problem with albums that feature ballads exclusively, especially studio albums: no matter how good the songs are, they are not going to make the impact they would have if they were surrounded by songs in other styles. Collections of ballads are at a relatively large risk of being very samey tempo-wise, and rock bands in general tend to structure nearly all of their ballads more or less the same. This is exactly what happens on ‘Maitasunari Pasioa’. So despite the classy arrangements full of beautifully strummed acoustic guitars and a few excellent guitar solos, and the fact that it is better than some of the higher-ranking albums in terms of both compositions and performances, ‘Maitasunari Pasioa’ just doesn’t work as an album. It’s just over 46 minutes long, but it feels like it never ends.

Recommended tracks: ‘Bowiek, Denborari’, ‘Erresistentziara Kondentuak’, ‘Sumendia Sutan’

11. Sentimenak Jarraituz (1996)

‘Sentimenak Jarraituz’ suffers from a serious case of the nineties. However, Su ta Gar isn’t so much bitten by the groove metal bug. Instead, they attempt to keep up with alternative metal trends. Metallica’s evolution through the nineties clearly intrigued the band, though thankfully, not enough to record an album as dreadfully dull as the black album. Because ‘Sentimen Jarraituz’ isn’t dull. Su ta Gar threw everything they had against the wall to see what would stick. Some of it does, but when it doesn’t, it really interrupts the flow of the album. ‘Zuloaren Zuloan’ is one of the band’s worst ballads; the vocal harmonies are just off. As a whole, the album is a bit of a mess. It’s also far too long at fourteen songs; another typical nineties flaw. The highlights have stood the test of time, though.

Recommended tracks: ‘Beldurraren Jainkoak’, ‘Putreak’, ‘Gure Bizitza’

10. Munstro Hilak (1993)

The third Su ta Gar album sees the band branching out beyond their metallic roots. There are still plenty of great metal riffs here, and Borxa Arrillaga delivers his final fantastic drumming performance before a serious accident paralyzed him from the waist down, forcing him to make place for his brother. As a whole, ‘Munstro Hilak’ just doesn’t resonate with me. I feel like the disparate elements enhance each other much less than they are at odds with each other, especially during moments when the aggressive riff work clashes with fairly upbeat melodies. However, Aitor Gorosabel Garai’s particularly good vocal performance and the powerful production do drive the overall quality up a bit. Ultimately, though, ‘Munstro Hilak’ is generally an album on which I think the performances are better than the songs.

Recommended tracks: ‘Lanik Zailena’, ‘Denborak’, ‘Munstro Hilak’

9. Agur Jauna Gizon Txuriari (1997)

Superficially, ‘Agur Jauna Gizon Txuriari’ shares a lot of issues with its direct predecessor ‘Sentimenak Jarraituz’. Having the aggression dialed way up for about half the songs on the album gives a lot of the material a meat-headed wrong-side-of-the-nineties vibe, and Aitor Gorosabel Garai spends too much of his time yelling rather than singing. And yet, the album is a massive improvement over its predecessor in many ways. Being three songs and a good ten minutes shorter definitely helps, as does the tighter production. Most importantly, though, the songwriting on ‘Agur Jauna Gizon Txuriari’ is much more focused. The ballads are a lot better as well. A shortage of truly melodic tracks keeps ‘Agur Jauna Gizon Txuriari’ from being an essential Su ta Gar album, but it’s a reasonably pleasant way to spend forty-seven minutes.

Recommended tracks: ‘Rotaflexa Garraxika’, ‘Gau Iluna Amaitu Da’, ‘Amerika’

8. Bizirik Gaude (2013)

For ‘Bizirik Gaude’, Su ta Gar takes a somewhat more melodic turn than on the albums preceding it. It’s still largely cut from the same cloth as the likes of ‘Jainko Hilen Uhartean’, and the band can still thrash your face off if they put their minds to it – look no further than ‘Txakurrak Solte’ – but the album leans more heavily into a mainstream rock sound that works better on some songs than others. Su ta Gar knows how to write a good, hooky melody, they just stand out more if they are surrounded by strong riffs. ‘Bizrik Gaude’ fortunately has some great riffs. It just needs a bit more time to get going than most Su ta Gar albums, which given the fact that it’s under forty minutes long is quite surprising. However, once it does, it’s a great album.

Recommended tracks: ‘Txakurrak Solte’, ‘Giza Harresia’, ‘Nana’

7. Homo_Sapiens? (1999)

Although ‘Homo_Sapiens?’ isn’t necessarily one of the most memorable Su ta Gar albums from a songwriting perspective, there is so much spectacular guitar work from both Aitor Gorosabel Garai and Xabi Bastida here that it’s hard not to get carried away by the music. Intense riffs and exhilerating leads are all over the album, giving even the more pedestrian songs on the album something exciting. The album also sees the band moving away from the nineties-style mainstream metal sound that increasingly characterized their albums over the years prior its release, which is appropriate enough for an album released two months before the decade ended. If it had a few more songs with the impact of the last few, ‘Homo_Sapiens?’ might have been a top five Su ta Gar album.

Recommended tracks: ‘Ekiozu’, ‘Geroaren Hazi Heziak’, ‘Bada Itxaropena’

6. Itsasoz Beteriko Mugetan (2003)

While ‘Itsasoz Beteriko Mugetan’ is a little short on true highlights, there are very few Su ta Gar albums with this pleasant a flow. It would not surprise me if multiple track listings have been tested before they landed on the final one. Stylistically, it is their first true attempt at combining their thrashy heavy metal roots with a more accessible alternative rock sound. Most of the riffs are quite propulsive, but the production is relatively smooth, to the point where it smoothens out a handful of moments that would probably have been more memorable otherwise, especially by reining in the power that returning drummer Galder Arrillaga naturally has. Interestingly, the relatively upbeat nature of the songwriting would usually be a turnoff for me, but it gives ‘Itsasoz Beteriko Mugetan’ a hopeful quality that benefits its overall sound.

Recommended tracks: ‘Tartalo Etsai’, ‘Beti Zu Gabe’, ‘Itsasoz Beteriko Mugetan’

5. Hortzak Estuturik (1992)

Just a year after their debut album was released, Su ta Gar went full-on thrash on ‘Hortzak Estuturik’. This is both a blessing and a curse. The album is full of excellent thrash metal riffs, and both Aitor Gorosabel Garai and Xabi Batisda really let loose on the guitar. On the other hand, the focus is on the aggression of the guitars, which doesn’t leave quite as much room for melody as on the debut. ‘Ixtaropena’, the first attempt at an earnest ballad for the band, does a lot for the dynamics on the album, and there are still melodic themes and interesting vocal harmonies, but the emphasis is completely on violent riffing. This would probably not have bothered me as much if the rhythm guitar sound wasn’t so annoyingly trebly, because there are some damn good thrash songs on ‘Hortzak Estuturik’.

Recommended tracks: ‘Nazka’, ‘Suak Pizturik Dirau’, ‘Amaren Negarra’

4. Jainko Hilen Uhartean (2006)

Su ta Gar does accessible rock music well, I just think they do metal even better. That is why many of their more rock-oriented albums don’t resonate quite as much with me. However, ‘Jainko Hilen Uhartean’ might be the Su ta Gar album that best combines their metal riffs and their rock influences. There is a strong, aggressive bottom-end of riffs, but the album is also home to some of Aitor Gorosabel Garai’s best vocal melodies. Galder Arrillaga’s drumming is once again nothing short of spectacular, further upping the metallic energy of the album. Ultimately, the album could have done with a little more variation, especially tempo-wise, but it is a highly enjoyable album if you want to hear the best possible balance between Su ta Gar’s accessibility and their aggression.

Recommended tracks: ‘Ametsa Ote?’, ‘Jainko Hilen Uhartean’, ‘Estralurtarra’

3. Ametsak Pilatzen (2011)

‘Ametsak Pilatzen’ feels like a fairly logical follow-up to ‘Itsasoz Beteriko Mugetan’ and ‘Jainko Hilen Uhartean’ stylistically, but it’s also notably more metallic. There are still some traces of hard rock to be found on ‘Ametsak Pilatzen’, but those tend to be rooted in the seventies rather than the nineties this time around. Even more prominently, though, a lot of the songs on the album have this NWOBHM filtered through very early Metallica sort of vibe running through them. Overall, the album is still very melodic, though, and it retains the general hopeful atmosphere of its two predecessors. ‘Ametsak Pilatzen’ finds a near-perfect middle ground between the aggressive riffing of thrash metal, the melodic majesty of classic heavy metal, and an approach to writing hooks not too dissimilar to modern power metal.

Recommended tracks: ‘Poza eta Tristura’, ‘Piztia’, ‘Norbera Bere Ametsen Jabe’

2. Alarma (2022)

Su ta Gar’s most recent studio album is easily one of their best. While it retains the melodic songwriting and the smooth production of its predecessors, the aggression and the muscular riffs are far more prominent on ‘Alarma’ than they have been in a while. In a way, ‘Alarma’ is exactly what one would expect Su ta Gar to sound like in 2022 if their earliest work is the main point of reference. It’s not quite as thrashy as their early albums, but the riff work occasionally gets quite aggressive, while the guitar leads are melodically extremely strong, frequently bringing Iron Maiden’s first few albums to mind. Some of the best vocal harmonies the band ever recorded, as well as some distinct melodic hard rock leanings, keep it firmly within the twenty-first-century Su ta Gar camp, though.

Recommended tracks: ‘Enborra’, ‘Astindu Hegoak’, ‘Harrapaturik Gaude’

1. Jaiotze Basatia (1991)

Where it all started for Su ta Gar, and their only full-on speed metal album. There are prominent early Metallica influences, but the overall sound is far too melodic to classify this as thrash metal. In fact, for their melodic themes, the main inspiration for Su ta Gar appears to be early Iron Maiden here – to the point where ‘Sistematik Ihes’ sounds suspiciously close to ‘Prowler’ when the guitar theme enters – with maybe a hint of pre-Michael Kiske Helloween. Despite its melodicism, there is something raw and unpolished about ‘Jaiotze Basatia’ that gives it a unique charm even within Su ta Gar’s discography. Many of these songs are live staples for the band to this day, and it’s easy to see why. Nearly every song is highly memorable and distinctive, and none of its fifty minutes is wasted. Genuinely one of the best European metal albums of the early nineties.

Recommended tracks: ‘Begira’, ‘Jo ta Ke’, ‘Mari’, ‘Etsi Gabe’, ‘Diruaren Esklabu’