‘Alcázares’ is their third album after the debut ‘La iglesia del odio’ and the second one on Season of Mist after the sophomore ‘La caida de Tonatluh’.
‘Verdiales’ opens the new record with acoustic Spanish guitars. I’m obviously no flamenco expert, but this does sound like the real deal and not just a parody. This is not Electric Callboy taking the piss and having a few laughs, this is clearly done with a great love for Latin music.
This goes straight over in ‘Bajo las Tizonas de Toledo’ which pull in the death metal elements which is quite sophisticated also. This is not the caveman, knuckle dragging blunt assault in the vein of Autopsy or the like, this is much more akin to the complex orchestrations of Fleshgod Apocalypse, Nile or even Rotting Christ if you want to look a bit wider than death.
What makes the songs stand out even more is the combination of the typical deep grunts with clean male vocals, which are both sung exclusively in the tongue of Cervantes, of course. Together with the rather medieval themes they tackle, these epic roars give the music a bit of a power metal feel as well. Thematically, the lyrics recount the rich history of the Andalusian region, with the Reconquista and the Inquisition to name but two topics.
I really do like the fact that the Latin influences are not just an easy gimmick without much depth. This is not a collection of silly sing along drinking songs like you would get from some “themed” pirate metal bands. These guys take their Spanish roots quite seriously and try to incorporate those influences in a sincere way both thematically and musically, which again reminds me of Rotting Christ.
The end result is a rather coherent set of exotic sounding grand death metal hymns that are surprisingly easy on the ear, all the while sweeping you away with lush Latin tones that take you back to epic tales of Andalusia’s past.
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REVIEW SCORE
| 8 | It might sound like a bit of a joke on paper, but this passionate Mediterranean mix of technical death metal with Latin traditional music does actually work. |
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