jueves, 24 de marzo de 2016

Blackthorn "The Rotten Ways Of Human Misery" Avanzada Metallica (1992)


En la escena mexicana de los años '90s cuando las bandas del país estaban influenciadas por las escenas de Florida, la sueca, la inglesa así como la finesa del Old School Death Metal trataban de abrirse paso a través de sus propios medios al no existir estudios así como ingenieros y productores que les produjeran un auténtico sonido demoledor que transmitiera la verdadera esencia de su estilo así como la esencia musical de las bandas, aún así encontramos a bandas que lograron posicionarse con una producción decente ante las producciones extranjeras si bien no igualándolas en el nivel si acercándose mucho ante la influencia de las mezclas y producciones que tenían las labels de otro país. Ahí fue un gran logro de la mítica label Avanzada Metálica quienes con su visión permitieron que los fans del metal extremo del país fueran conociendo más bandas así como algunas hordas nacionales de poco tiempo de formación. Es el caso de la banda de culto Blackthorn quienes con un demo en 1991 se pusieron a las órdenes de la label para dar paso a una de las producciones más emblemáticas de la escena mexicana: "The Rotten Ways Of Human Misery" en 1992.


El track list de ese disco fue el siguiente: 

1.     Throes of Death
2. Gangrene
3. Embryonic Mutilation
4. Criminal Ecstasy
5. Human Abattoir
6. Harrowing Beheading
7. Slow Extinction of Life
8. Traumatic Survival
9. Buried Alive (Underground Agony)


La alineación de 1992 utilizada por la banda estaba conformada por Mark D'Santiago en el bajo, Armando Mondragón en la batería, los maestros Eric Olvera y Guillermo Anaya en las guitarras, mientras que Paul John Mallory (R.I.P. 2013) se hizo cargo de las vocales de todo el disco. Las letras de la agrupación hablaban de la muerte, el sufrimiento, la pobreza, del caos que la humanidad pudiera estar pasando ante los millones de pobres existentes en el mundo, una gran temática de las bandas de aquella época alejada un poco de los tópicos comunes como los asesinatos o mutilaciones de las bandas extranjeras, pero que encajaban perfecto con el estilo de la banda. 

El estilo de la banda se enfocaba en el Old School Death Metal combinado con algunos riffs que rozaban el Black Metal de las escenas europeas haciendo de su sonido algo diferente con respecto a los demás, todas las canciones rozan la brutalidad y la técnica en los riffs de las guitarras dobles con muchos cambios de ritmo dentro de su composición sin llegar a tener pasajes acústicos o instrumentales largos. Las canciones te atrapan desde el inicio con esa tremenda técnica de los instrumentos debido a que despliegan excelentes riffs en todo momento con la adecuada introducción de las voces. 


En verdad que éste disco gozó de buena aceptación en su tiempo ya que formó parte de la discografía con la cual la escena mexicana se daba a conocer, es importante no confundir a ésta banda con una del mismo nombre integrada por mujeres, ya que es justo reconocer la esencia de la agrupación mexicana en todo momento debido a que el full-lenght fue el único que grabó lamentablemente pero que nos dejó como herencia musical para todos aquellos adeptos de los años '90s cuando en el metal extremo se encontraba en todo su apogeo en el mundo y parte de la contribución a esa escena es la grabación de éste disco de 1992. Celebramos su reedición por ser una obra de culto a través de la label Gates Of Hell productions con el mismo arte y diseño.


Aquí algunos links de las piezas del disco.


"Gangrene" 


"Human Abattoir" 


"Harrowing Beheading" 




miércoles, 16 de marzo de 2016

Sarcófago "I.N.R.I." Cogumelo Records (1987)



This is indeed my favorite black metal album of all time, although it is quite a shame the bands later releases suffered that true raw and classic feeling this released had. This release has had as much of an impact on black metal as early releases by other 80's black/thrash bands such as early Bathory and early Sodom. Everything about this album is pure evil, the obscure "vomits", the dirty guitar riffs, the over the top blast beats and to much malignant sound in this line up: Antichrist in vocals, the master DD Crazy in drums, Incubus in bass and Butcher in the guitars... this is epic man! is that guys beating the shit out of his kit. The vocals surprisingly vary a lot, from low growls, to your average black metal vocals, and to ultra guttural voice effects that perhaps were borrowed on Beherit's "Drawing Down the Moon" release. 

There is indeed a big german thrash influence that can be found on this release, from acts like Sodom and Kreator, infact the riffs on this album are more thrashy than they are black metal. But its satanic atmosphere and lyrics make up for it. Speaking of the lyrics, I really do not think their vocalist/song writer Wagner knew english during this release, no, it seems as if they simply translated every word from portugese to english, the majority of the words spoken are in fact pronounced entirely wrong but this can be forgiven as the band comes from Brazil. I am not exactly sure about the original vynil release, but for the first 1987 via Cogumelo Records release of this album, the sound is very good, the guitars do not sound static, the voices are not muffled and bass can actually be heard. This is infact a very raw release and would be most enjoyed by any fan of black, thrash or death metal. Any fan of old extreme acts such as old Beherit, early Sodom, early Bathory, early Sepultura, Blasphemy, and Possessed should own this album.

Side A - Side of Ascenssion
1. Satanic Lust
2. Desecration of Virgin
3. Nightmare
4. I.N.R.I.

Side B - Side of Fall
5. Christ's Death
6. Satanas
7. Ready to Fuck
8. Deathrash
9. The Last Slaughter


Sarcofago's "I.N.R.I." is considered a Black metal classic for obvious reasons. It made everything else seem like pale imitations and it called bands out due to their wimpiness. Sarcofago in their very early days were already a cult act who were pushing boundaries with their demos and appearance on Cogumelo's Warfare Noise I compilation. Alongside fellow up and-coming band Sepultura, Mutilator, and Vulcano who had already released the godly first ever South American black metal album "Bloody Vengeance," Sarcofago pulled out all the stops and injected an unholy dosage of breakneck speed to the already fast-evolving Black metal scene, and not just in South America but worldwide. The only other band that was playing anything as extreme as this were England's grindcore bastard song Napalm Death. That should give you an idea on how groundbreaking this album is. 


Not only was the music extreme but so was their image. Sarcofago took the standard spikes and leather and made it even more demonic. Sarcofago were also the first band to properly use what is now modern-day corpsepaint. King Diamond, Celtic Frost, Bathory and early Slayer had sewn the seeds of the macabre facial paint; Sarcofago made it fucking evil. Sarcofago even started the trend of black metal fans standing around in the graveyard looking goofy, but Sarcofago made it look like they were for fucking real. Take Destruction's look on the first Destruction E.P "Sentence of Death," put it on steroids and that's what you get. The drummer DD Crazy with hi two foot high mohawk, corpsepaint and bullet belts is possibly the coolest fucking thing I have seen on an album cover. Also as a trivial note, this is the band Mayhem's guitarist said he wanted every band to sound and look like.

For the most part, Sarcofago's music could be described as crude and ugly. Wagner Antichrist's vocals are low and demonic-sounding without it sounding corny and a few high falsettos. Guitars sound like a chainsaw with the throttle on full blast. Drummer D.D. Crazy...how the fuck is he playing THAT fast? The drums are so fast it will induce a few dizzy spells. There's little to no bass on this album which actually fits perfectly. The sound production is probably the ugliest there is next to Beherit's "The Oath of Black Blood."


I really can't say there is a bad song on here, just some will be stuck in your head for years to come; "Nightmare," "Satanic Lust," "Desecration Of Virgin," "Deathrash," "Ready To Fuck," and "Christ's Death" will have any fan of black metal or extreme metal in general salivating and going absolutely fucking nuts.

P.S. I don't think anyone has mentioned this, but if you get your hands on "I.N.R.I." try to get the original orange cover or if you are a die-hard vinyl collector, try getting the Nuclear War Now Productions picture disc. Stay away from the shitty Pavement Music release where they completely omit the classic graveyard photo for some shitty stock photo and even misplaced track listing.



Here a few link´s album "I.N.R.I." from masters Sarcófago. 




Hails SARCOFAGO!!!!


viernes, 4 de marzo de 2016

Urgehal "Aeons Of Sodom" (2016) REVIEW


Urgehal band is back with most brutal and sickness album, the norwegian band are amazing in this return at the Black Metal scene with new album call "Aeons In Sodom". This digipack format are beautiful at the design.
The album show the roots of Norwegian Black Metal in the middle of '90s, the guitars, bass, drums and atmosphere´s dominated all the songs with majesty darkness because the enginner production mixed really perfect all rythm changes and the voices are sepulchral and brutal in the vein of great norwegian masters. The guitars really have an amazing job with the far riffs and malignant delays, this album don´t include to much guitar acoustic in the intros, in this album the band show our best sound in the raw parts, melodic riffs are included a few parts but the trascendental are the raw guitars. 

The tracklist in this album is:
Side A
1.     Dødsrite (instrumental)
2. The Iron Children
3. Blood of the Legion
4. The Sulphur Black Haze
5. Lord of Horns
6. Norwegian Blood and Crystal Lakes

Side B
7. Thy Daemon Incarnate
8. Endetid
9. Psychedelic Evil
10. Woe (instrumental)
11. Funeral Rites (Sepultura cover)
12. Twisted Mass of Burnt Decay (Autopsy cover)


The song´s and guitars are writed by the deceased master Trondr Nefas (R.I.P.) and the other part by guitarrist Enzifer and the bass too, Uruz play the drums. In this album the lyrics are misanthropic and satanist with a dirty sound, the norwegian scene contributed in this album paying tribute at master Nefas, in this album appear with performance unholy vocals many musician of norwegian bands like Nocturno Culto (DARKTHRONE), Hoest (TAAKE), Niklas Kvarforth (SHINING), Sorath Northgrove (BEASTCRAFT/ VULTURE LORD), Nattefrost (CARPATHIAN FOREST) and many more. 

The destruction are comming since beggining because enter the chaos riffs and explicit lyrics in malignant vocals in the song "The Iron Children", third track "Blood of the Legion" are good, "The Sulphur Black Haze" is a complete sepulchral sound for the dissapear and darkness world, "Lord of Horns" are the best example of this style album; all tracks are hymns for the warrior deceased Trondr Nefas. 
I hope you enjoy it this amazing album and you have in the collections, because is a cult album.


You can enjoy it this few song´s at this amazing and legend album from underground. Hail URGEHAL!!!


Lord Of Horns


Thy Demon Incarnate


Norwegian Blood And Crystal Lakes