Funeral : "s/t"

This band from Peru makes a stab at making black metal. They thankfully throw more at the wall than Scandinavian riffs that would likely melt in the Peruvian heat. Punk is at the root of what they are doing here. They cite death rock as an influence, and the only touch is three songs in when the guitar tone gets creepy. It opens with a burly Motorhead-like bass line powering a more punk-driving song that works pretty well. Then they make more of a concerted attempt at black metal on "Averno". The drummer starts off more punk, and the guitar player is obviously the black metal fan, though the vocals have enough of a scowl to pass as well.  

"Almas En El Abismo" is where the guitar tone shifts to a mroe Halloween flavor, but they keep up the hard-driving backbone. Black N Roll Darkthrone is a better comparison than bringing up a band like Devil Master. Which might be what they are going for. Another Motorhead-like bass line cranks up for "Tumbas Vacias". The howl of the vocals is pretty one-dimensional.  There is a more deliberate breakdown-like riff that works well. 

The bass player helps set the tone on the last song. Though they speed up into a snarling temper tantrum with more punk-like blat beats than black metal, as there is little in the way of atmosphere to what they are doing as they bash it out. They tighten into the bass line, but not a huge dynamic shift. For all that they lack in melody that make up for an attitude that feels dead serious, so I will give this album an  8.5. When I am in the mood for this will likely listen to "Cvlt is Alive". It drops on September 25th on Caligari Records, 

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Heavy Maytal - lIlwind : "the Unfolding at the End of Light"

 

This Peruvian doom band is not content sticking themselves in one sonic box, despite what you are led to believe going into the album with the more traditional doom feel of "Crimson Skies." The epic bellow of the sorrow-filled vocals is what anchors their place here, rather than if they were another growing funeral doom band or death doom band, sub-genres I enjoy when done right, but these guys are focusing on songwriting rather than checking off the expected boxes for what the cool kids in doom are doing these days, perhaps that is due to being from Peru, and having to live off 80s metal vinyl if they are in a region with no wi-fi. Whatever the case, they are rocking it here, even with the first song being over ten minutes as they are jamming out.  

There is a touh of Candlemass in what they do. "Wanderer" has more of a fuzzed-out stoner rumble to it. They know who both Electric Wizard and Pallbearer are in Peru, it seems. There is more dynamic ebb and flow here as the riffs expand and contract, rather than jsut jamming out into guitar solos like they did on the first song. "Portal" moves with more grace in its rumble to just feel like reverbed out classic metal. There is more of a rock progression here. They are not overt Sabbath worshippers whih is something I appreciate. The first hint of it lies in the blues-tinged rumble of " God of Sleep." I like what the vocals are doing, but it falls pretty solidly within the expected boundaries of doom. It is an almost nine-minute song, so it drags slightly. It builds into some haunting guitar melodies to create a more melancholic tapestry that makes you headbang to, but it's pretty effective. 

It takes a minute for them to get "Lucifer's Mule" going. It carries a more monolithic chug that drives it. They allow things to drift off into more atamosoere a few minutes in. The chug grounds this and is a good sonic weapon for their arsenal of sound. Five minutes in, things begin to shift. A bigger, more metal riff comes in to build it up. They modulate it from their into something with a more aggressive crunch. The emotive feeling to the vocals brings My Dying Bride to mind at times. The guitar solos flow out of the steady build with organic grace. 

They close the album with a sludged out cover of the Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog' which seems like too obvious a choice. They do a good job with it andd I like how it's more deliberate to create a heavier tone. The vocals don't change their approach. I enjoyed this album; it was not predictable, though it did employ a few doom cliches, but was not chained to them. I will give it a 9. Dropping July 3rd on Personal Records

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Morbid Slaughter : "A Filthy Orgy of Horror and Death"

So I talked to the editor about changing it up a little this year on my end of the year lists and doing one for each sub-genre of metal....doom, black, prog, death  and thrash. So I am playing catch up on thrash. It surprised the hell out of me upon listening to this to find this band mentioned on lists , because right from the start this Peruvian band isn't blowing me away, with a style of trash that's as straight forward as punk rock, the worst element is the vocals which are a whisper of rasp that sounds like Gullom with laryngitis. The guitar solo is decent for this kind of thing kind of a Kerry King organized chaos, the chord progression shifts in a similar manner to the song "Hell Awaits" , though that comparison might be giving the band too much credit.

They shift into a more upbeat style of punk with thrash accent on "Zombie Splatter Axe". This song has at least two chords so it is doing better than some of their songs. The most thrash thing on the album is the punches that open up "Chainsaw Blade". The vocals begin to muster a little more on "Fuck Off (we murder)" with gang vocals to bolster them as they continue owing more to punk than bands like Dark Angel or Forbidden. The drumming does improve here and the song finds a more dynamic arrangement. "Death's Cold Blood" finds the band slowing down into a more deliberate stomp. The riffs are very crude and while originality has never been the stock and trade of retro thrash it takes another step backward here.


Things speed back up, as the snare sounds like wet pancakes are being slapped about. "Torture Without Anesthesia" is truth in advertising here, because it is how I feel about listening to this song. There is not even a change from the chorus to the verse , these guys just hang on the same riff. There is a similar pacing to "Slay With SteeL" The vocals are rasped faster , but without any more power of variance in tone. If you think softly clearing your throat into a mic with re-verb is singing or evening screaming then you will be impressed.I'm not this album gets a 3 which I feel is being rather generous. This was released back in September on Boris Records, who should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to see the light of day. Now off to hunt down the new Annihilator.