It’s pretty safe to say, as far as velocity goes, it’s been a long time since we’ve covered a ragingly fast blackened death metal band. While the early buzz around the new Krisiun doesn’t bode particularly well, Moribund records have somehow managed to push the debut full length from Mexico’s Hacavitz through the cracks of metalcore, and into a surprisingly high profile position in the sparse crop of current groups that specialize in this kind of supreme sonic destruction.

About a month or so ago while hauling at Metal Haven, one of the guys there asked if I’d heard of Impiety, to which I replied yes. It was then suggested that I give ‘Venganza’ a try. Why not? It was during the holidays, so if the album was a dud, I could just eat more cake and get over it. Well, the cake kept getting eaten, but ‘Venganza’ is anything but boring. At nearly 53 minutes long, Hacavitz blend disturbing samples of unnerving ambiance into a soundscape that Angelcorpse, and Anaal Nathrakh devotees will projectile vomit in delight over.

Man, is this stuff nasty. Unrefined, but produced with a natural and clear sound, there’s absolutely nothing that stands between you and the oncoming obliteration of your eardrums. Opening with some timid tribal percussion and deceptively calm melodies, it quickly becomes apparent the beats aren’t welcoming you, instead, you are being forcefully brought to something, and have pretty much lost control of your fate. What follows is just chaos, pure and simple. The name of the game is “Let’s see how many diving minor chords we can decapitate these fuckers with”, and yes, the heads do fly.

The vocals alone are nightmarish enough, much less the music itself. A melding of black and death metal focusing more on the animal than the mechanical in execution, the incensed delivery of Antimo Buonanno stands front and center among the tornado of blastbeats, and wildly arranged tremolo riff drilling. Occasionally, crunchy thrash raises it’s ugly head, and things slow down to a skin melting crawl, but the breaks don’t last too long. The addition of rather wet and unpleasant samples thrown in to help break things up are rather vivid, and don’t leave a whole lot to the imagination, especially at the end of the rampaging closing tune, ‘Viaje a Mictlan’, which sounds like something eating…something else. Who knows what, but it sounds bloody as hell, and there’s someone in the background who also isn’t too pleased with the events.

While ‘Venganza’ is a lightning fast album, this isn’t speed done for the sake of speed alone. The guitar riffs are amazingly pronounced and audible, and even at the highest speeds things never get out of control. It’s in no small part the result of the thoughtful mix & production job of Carlos Padilla, a guy who should be twiddling the dials for Immolation or Origin. This really has to be heard to be believed, and I’ve yet to hear a Krisiun album with this great of a sound. You can really notice and hold on to the sweltering rhythms and breakneck picking when the situation reaches a meltdown tempo, the problem is letting go.

With highlight tracks like ‘Old Rancor’, ‘Lightning Bolts Ov Dead’, and the title track, ‘Venganza’ is about two steps away from being completely overwhelming. There are no half-assed ideas, no basic 16th note E string safe zones, and no desire to spare anyone. They really go for the throat and don’t let go once they’ve got it, and I’m thoroughly impressed, if not a little beaten up. While it might be hard to find, if flesh-searing death metal with black metal nuance is your thing, it would be foolish to pass this up if you can manage to get your grubby paws on it. Damn, what a fucking shredder!!!!!

This entry was posted by Dekompoze on Monday, 30th January, 2006 at 5:51 and is filed under Reviews, Hacavitz. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response below. You may view a   printable version of this page. You may download this page in   PDF format.