Selbst : " Relatos De Angustia"

Any metal that comes from south of the equator without being somevariation of bestial war metal , is a feat. This band from Chile has a darkness to their throb. At first it feels more like sludge. The snarl of the vocals is the first element that owes anything to black metal. The first track is an instrumental. They have a great tone . The first acutal song, takes some twists and turns to stay more interesting than the bands that just blast at you. Their sound might not be wildly original, but it is nuanced. When they do go into the more blasty moments that can be found onb songs like "the Depths of Selfishness" they being ot sound like every one else.

They drop back and create a more hypnotic and brooding tone going into " Silent Soul Throes" . Once it gains momentum itbegins to lose this more chilling quallty. I appreciate the fact that the bass doesn't get lost in the mix as it's rumble makes things heavier. The vocals stay in a dry mid range rasp . Like many harsh vocals they serve as a narrative at best, an obligatory layer at worst. I would not say they totally fall into the trap of being more of a sound than they are song writers., There is a fairly melodic guitar solo that adds a nice melodic atmosphere to things. "the Weight of Breathing" has a more majestic classic metal feel, but the way it starts makes it feel like it is a very dynamic ending to the previous song. It does include sung vocals and when it builds in intensity makes blast beats make sense. If you are a regular reader here , you might think since I complain about blast beats that I hate them. This is not ture I think too many black metal bands just rey on them and become one trick ponies due to this reliance.

We are half way into "Scuplting the Dirtiness of It's Existence" before things get interesting, I prefer the darker more sinister mood that they summon for "Let the Pain Run Through " to close the album. Thevocals have almost a sung quality to them. This means they serve at least some form and function over the throbe of this song. There are many subtle layers to this song making it more well thought out than most .I will give this album an 8.5, it doesn't fall into as many black metal tropes as some album that have come out this year, though not quite on the same tier as the new Kall or Vous Autres. Out on Debemur Morti.