NWOTHM band from Zaragoza (Spain). Just a sharp and nightly sound wave, zero additives.
When I was commissioned to write this review and saw the band's name, I thought it was my fellow Argentinians Alakrán, that short-lived band formed by singer Mario Ian (who briefly played Rata Blanca) in the mid-80s. They only released two albums before disbanding (although they briefly returned for a live album in 2012). But hey, I should have looked more closely to confirm that lyrics make all the difference in this case, haha. Now it's time to talk about this Spanish band from Zaragoza with many years of hard work behind them. They are Sergio Lasmarias (vocals), guitarist Christian Oliva (guitar), and the rhythmic base is provided by bassist Diego Lafuente and drummer Roberto Monforte. The band has kindly provided us with their material, and (despite a few minor issues) it already shows great promise.
"Luzifer" consists of five songs where the band confesses their love for eighties-style heavy/speed metal, which easily falls into the so-called NWOTHM genre. The first three studio songs are full of relentless, frenetic speed, both in the riffs, pounding, and solos, as well as the rhythmic bases, complemented by the inevitable, classic high-pitched vocals, like the hyper-accelerated "Luzifer" at the beginning, moving on to the more riff-like "Halls of the Night," which give the atmosphere a bit of a break to give prominence to some excellent bass lines, and "Syndrome," practically fulfilling the same premise as the previous track, while always giving them a catchy and punchy quality. The last two songs are live, featuring "Corre" by the defunct Asturian band Antidoto and "Kamikaze" (nothing to do with the Argentine band of the same name, or is it?), recorded in a very rudimentary manner, but which doesn't detract from the material.
While the band is very clear about where they want to go, and they have everything they need to achieve that goal, at least the mix didn't completely convince me, especially regarding the vocals, whose delay effect, intended to give it a vintage touch, makes it difficult to understand the lyrics of the privileged vocalist Sergio Lasmarías at times; the drum beat was somewhat buried between the bass and the double bass drum, which I felt was very high. At least that was my impression. Despite these details, which will surely be corrected in their next album (well, that's what previews are for too), this "Luzifer" shows itself as a good example of what Alacrán is capable of and gives us an indication that we can expect great things from them. Let's not lose track of them!
Sample:
youtube.com/watch?v=cq2guzdTH4I
