For a start the musical tags that this band receives..... there are only two that seem important to me and that is sludge metal and hardcore. Indeed this album is very hardcore influenced and that hardcore is filtered through a sludgy, doomy, metallic sound. Their 2011 début 'Madre Mia Por Los Dias' was tagged as being a "metalcore" album but they have since moved to Southern Lord records with the focus being to make one of the most crushing records ever released. Well they don't quite get there even though this is extremely heavy and punishing but the novelty of the over-the-top guitar sounds and the wall of sound production wears off pretty damn quick after a song or two. The hardcore element is what in the end makes this album seem average after a few songs. The sound is heavy, their approach is lethal but their songwriting is less than impressive most of the time. There is also a couple of unforgivable flaws. One track 'Mala Mujer' has female vocals that sound seriously out-of-place and simply don't work but there are a couple of other elements within this album that sound like a hasty mashing of styles. The title track and the 8-minute 'Lujuria' has the band stretching their musical horizons but I am not sure a blending of black metal, sludge and hardcore really works for them in the long run.
That question marks aside, the rest of the album is pretty good. There are fine breakdowns, tempo changes and the guitar attack can be jaw dropping at first. Out of all the songs I haven't mentioned, there is no clear favorites for me personally but they are at least consistently decent. It is all about simple guitar riffs so don't go looking for unique drumming or interesting bass lines because there isn't any really. Those instruments are just here for the ride and to fill out the sound just that bit more. This is all about guitar riffs and mostly shouted hardcore vocals but if that is your bag then you must check this band out. To sweeten the deal they have Greg Anderson who adds some extra guitar here and there. The strangest thing for me is who do you recommend this album to? It is sludgy and has doomy overtones but it is also likely to appeal to fans of death metal bands such as Morbid Angel and Dismember and fans of metallic hardcore acts. I can also see many doom and sludge-metal fans getting a thrill out of this but then again, I could be wrong. The production is great and the performances seems passionate and they certainly don't seem to be faking anything. If you want to hear something hardcore that still has enough musical ideas to take it above and beyond the average hardcore outfit then this band could be up your alley.....6.5/10.
Words: Jack Sabbath
