An Interview with SOLAMENTE
For Raza S. Mahmood, the principal artist behind SOLAMENTE, heavy music has always been about more than volume or aggression. It is a vehicle for atmosphere, emotion, and storytelling. Drawing from influences across metal, goth, alternative rock, and melodic music, SOLAMENTE has developed a sound centered on expansive arrangements and deeply personal themes. Following the release of the ambitious concept album Requiem: Grief in Five Stages, Mahmood is now revisiting the band’s roots with a newly recorded version of “13:13 (LoL)” in celebration of the tenth anniversary of SOLAMENTE’s debut album, Savor the Dissonance. We spoke with Mahmood about his path from drummer to songwriter, the process behind Requiem, his musical influences, and what comes next for SOLAMENTE.
Hey, thanks for chatting with us. Tell us a little about yourself.
Well, thanks for the opportunity to talk about me. My name is Raza S. Mahmood, and I’m the principal artist behind SOLAMENTE. Music and art have been a part of my life from my earliest memories, but in terms of releasing cohesive songs in an album format, that happened well into adulthood for me.
Solamente released its third full-length album, Requiem: Grief in Five Stages, on Halloween 2025, and I’d say it’s the most ambitious project I’ve been a part of. It’s essentially a five-part concept album inspired by the so-called five stages of grief. So, there are five epic, 8–10-minute songs corresponding with denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Grief is certainly a heavy topic, but it’s also a universal one. It’s a fundamental human experience, and everyone goes through it at one point or another in their life. From a lyrical perspective, it made sense to use something relatable and objective to bind with heavy music.
Who or what inspired you to start making music? And when did you start?
I’ve been creating art in one form or another ever since I can remember. Around high school age, there was a shift from drawing and sketching to playing drums. I became obsessed with heavy music like Metallica and Guns N’ Roses, and that led me down the rabbit hole of more obscure bands and subgenres like doom and goth metal.
Playing drums and understanding rhythms, time signatures, and groove was fun, but there was constant frustration that you can’t create melody on drums. While I played drums with friends at local college gigs and elsewhere, there was always a guitar lying around my dorm or apartment. By the time law school was behind me, there happened to be enough material from my after-hours guitar noodling that it made sense to package it and release it as an album.
By that time, around 2015, technology had advanced to the point where a realistic drum performance for album purposes could be programmed. That was a game-changer for me. Also, by then, the iTunes and streaming revolution was in full swing, so quality-produced music could be made accessible without the need for a record deal. Those two factors—programmed but realistic-sounding drums and the ability to release music for public consumption—were the main motivations for me to want to make and release my music.
What is your biggest challenge as an artist?
Honestly, my biggest challenge is learning to get over the limitations and fears in my own head.
What is your favorite project or single you have released?
The last album, Requiem: Grief in Five Stages, was fun. It was fun to piece together the various guitar riffs, rhythms, and other ideas, and I especially enjoy lyric writing. By the time the five main songs were starting to take shape, I realized that the only way to make sense of these epic, moody, heavy songs was to have a singular, cohesive theme for the lyrics. In other words, it was going to have to be a concept album.
I had read somewhere about the grieving process and the various stages people go through as they navigate emotions after experiencing a significant loss. Five stages corresponding with five songs—voilà.
For starters, there was one track with a driving drum groove and a killer melodic riff, which to me “sounded” like acceptance. Then, there was a faster-paced, abrasive track with lots of heavy guitars. That became a stand-in for “anger.” There was an odd-time track that changed song keys—it sounded like “bargaining” to me. And there was a standard verse/chorus/verse/bridge-type track that I thought would make a great opener. That became “Storm Corrosion,” which starts the album and is inspired by the denial stage of grief.
Once the album was completed, mixed, and mastered, I remember thinking to myself that it was indeed a huge accomplishment. As an artist, I felt satisfied, and that’s a good feeling.
Who are your inspirations? What artists or bands are you listening to?
I mean, heavy music, especially from the ’90s, makes up the core of my DNA. Obviously, without Metallica, heavy music as we know it would not exist. Of course, there’s Pantera, NIN, Type O Negative, Alice in Chains, and then the next phase with Lamb of God, Slipknot, and Korn.
But I do love a good melody as well. Muse is a perfect bridge between heavy music and melody. Then there are other influences that add different layers, especially female vocals and harmony layers—everything from Tori Amos, Garbage, and Fiona Apple to Evanescence and Spiritbox.
As an adult, it’s harder to invest the kind of time and dedication needed to listen to newer music, but I do browse various playlists, and it’s fun to hear what the newer generation of artists sounds like. I came across A.A. Williams recently—she has a brilliant new album of goth/doom metal anthems. And Violet Grohl’s new album sounds awesome too.
What’s the process behind working on a song like?
Well, I’m a huge advocate for the iPhone Voice Memos app! So, anytime I pick up my guitar at home, my phone is close by so I can record ideas—I call them “noodles”—riffs, rhythms, and so on. Over time, a collection of these ideas develops into verses and choruses, and then, when they seem to make sense in the context of a song, I’ll add drums and grooves. Vocals always come last, and so far, I’ve only sung on my own material.
Tell me about your upcoming music and what inspired you to create it!
The next release is actually a revamped, rejuvenated, completely re-recorded version of a track called “13:13 (LoL).” This year marks the ten-year anniversary of the release of Solamente’s debut album, Savor the Dissonance, and I thought it would be fun to give this track a bit of an update.
We’ve been playing it live, and the opening riff and guitar solo seem to get the crowd going, so I thought it would be good to release what is essentially the live version of that track. It drops September 1 on all streaming platforms.
What are your plans for 2026?
Playing live and continuing to support Requiem! The opening track, “Storm Corrosion,” was released as a single just before the album dropped last year, and it seems to be a good crowd-pleaser. Ideally, I’d love to release another single, and I have some ideas around a possible video or visualization. If it pans out, I think it would be a good bookend to the promotion for this album.
Have any shoutouts?
I’d like to shout out anyone and everyone who has supported Solamente in any way—family, friends, fans, and especially the fellow artists we’ve played with at our various shows. There’s such an awesome spirit of camaraderie within the artist community, and we can’t wait to keep expanding our circle and taking this show on the road.
Ten years after the release of SOLAMENTE‘s debut album, Raza S. Mahmood continues to find new ways to develop the project’s sound while staying connected to the music that inspired him in the first place. With Requiem: Grief in Five Stages representing one of his most ambitious creative achievements to date and a reimagined “13:13 (LoL)” bringing an earlier song into the present, SOLAMENTE is balancing reflection with forward momentum. As Mahmood continues performing live, developing new visual ideas, and considering what comes next, the project remains driven by the same impulse that started it: turning riffs, rhythms, melodies, and emotion into something worth sharing.