Witchnight - Old Steel Breath (2022)

Few would argue that they offer much by way of creativity, but so many of these South American bands seem like they are right on the cusp of excellence within the blackened/speed/thrash realm, which is obviously popular elsewhere in the world, but comes out in large concentrations from counties like Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. Witchnight's debut Old Steel Breath is appropriately titled and monikered, as a blast straight from the leather-clad 80s with all the appropriated influences, from Venom and Slayer to Bathory and Sarcofago, and an attitude and atmosphere to match. It's another record that could have come out 37 years ago and haunted the record bins until it was discovered as a sort of uncut gem, mainly for such pure devotion to its aesthetics.

It's got a rather clean mix to it, so it's not as muddled as those first two formative Venom records, and I'd compare it more to Brazil's Power from Hell, although it's also a bit sharper than their earlier work. The guitars have a savage but polished feel to them, nasty enough when they're spitting out chords, but also quite clear and strong with the more melodic tremolo picked riffs. The leads are a little more taut and structured than one might expect, and there's just a nice atmosphere to the mix. Drums are rather basic but get the job done, I think if they put a bit more thunder to some fills and breaks then it would strengthen the material, but it's not that I go into an album like this one expecting to hear them. The bass isn't doing much of interest, but you can hear it in there fluttering along to the guitars, and the vocals have a harsh bark to them which is offset by some Schmier-like screams, or perhaps a bit of Tom Araya's first couple albums with Slayer, you know those sorts of stereotypical screams for this particular style which seem almost caricature at first until you realize they are really awesome.

Things like the brooding synth/organ instrumental intro, and the atmospheric, creepy kickoff to "Revenge of the Vampire" really set an appropriate mood, and the metal itself does not disappoint, though they're not working with a very unique tool set. I think the difference Witchnight might have from other bands working in this field, like Midnight is just the clarity of their riffing, which is also a good contrast to the more smothering, mouthy vocals. This isn't super sleazy despite the great cover art, but it's well worth a listen if you're into this inescapable style, whether its contemporary heroes or the earlier works of the Teutonic thrashers or West Coast US dirt merchants. Add the band to a long list of talents including the aforementioned Power from Hell, Whipstriker, Atomic Roar, Cult of Horror and at least a dozen more from this burgeoning South American scene, and it's also a good time if you're into all your classic horror and exploitation from the 60s-80s.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100062809074462

Bloodfiend - Dead Blood Madness (2014)

Bloodfiend is an Argentinian metal act doing its part to channel the death metal deities of yesteryear, only from a slightly fresher angle due to what I can only assume might be a more localized regional listening influence. Judging by the cover artwork alone I wasn't sure whether I would be faced with some indistinct, brutal death via the mid-90s style. The zombie-strewn cover art looked cool, but as a subject matter many would argue that they've long outworn their welcome as vehicles for horror. So it was a positive surprise to hear a group reaching even further backwards to the 80s roots of their genre and twisting them just enough that they've manifest a sound which is conventional and predictable, perhaps, but also authentic enough that you never get the impression they were just setting out to copy any one of their forebears in particular, but rather calling upon a whole host of inspirations.

To be more specific, I'd liken Dead Blood Madness to a Scream Bloody Gore, or Cause of Death, only infused with the South American blood of a vintage Sepultura or Sarcófago. Primitive riffing patterns splayed out in familiar patterns that juggle between evil tremolo picked open notes and a more chugging, meaty substrate. When they erupt into the faster tempos, they walk...or shamble, along a fine line between Chuck Schuldiner's earlier rhythm progressions and those you'd equate with Schizophrenia and Beneath the Remains, but the larger percentage of slower, grooving riffs are rife with the DNA of bands like Obituary, Cianide ("Rage War" is covered at the end of this album), even a little Bolt Thrower for good measure. I really enjoyed the guitar tone, just fat enough for the palm mutes and lower chords, but really slicing through you like a surgical knife though suture and flesh; just about perfect for their style. They also include some higher pitched, simplistic melodies that also recount sepultural atmospherics, but seem to shy away from the unkempt, explosions of lead guitar, which does seem to create a vacancy here that those melodies can't entire fill, especially on the instrumental tune "Decaying Madness", which would have been truly excellent with more lead work, or at least some vocals.

Gabriel Rotten's vocals possess a natural, nihilistic growl which really anchors the old school riffing into the graveyard, with just enough sustain and resonance, and he'll occasionally pitch a higher or louder guttural into the vaulted ceiling of the album's sonic envelope to curb the monotony that this style often faces. The drums offer up some concrete death/thrashing aesthetics, occasionally burst out into controlled blasting but never going too extreme that the album is turned loose from its decidedly throwback feel. The bass guitar really got lost for me behind the rhythm riffs, and doesn't seem to do much of anything interesting throughout the 33 minute playtime, but to be fair I can't imagine that fattening up the tone or wandering off into disparate, distinct lines would have done much to strengthen the overall presentation Bloodfiend was reaching for, which is more like a spade full of clumped cemetery soil being tossed into your face. The band really knows what it's trying to capture here and I think the production choices are seamless towards that vision, the riffs and beats are placed at complementary levels and the vocals are loud enough to dominate without stealing your attention away from those ravenous rhythm guitars.

Ultimately, Dead Blood Madness is a sort of record that I might not reach for above classics of its genre, or even the better retro bands of the current day, but it definitely engages the imagination and nostalgia once you've gotten caught up in it. I could have spun this record in 1989-90 and gotten the same chills as I did some of its peers back in that era, though whether it would have held up as much is unlikely. The horror themes course through its veins like dried up, blood, and for a good chunk of this you can feel the hopeless claustrophobic press of lumbering, mobile corpses as they prepare to chew the life out of you. Pairs well with a can of cheap beer while you ingest an afternoon of B or C-grade zombie flicks, and if you think that's anything but a compliment, then you and I are just never going to work out, so we'd best see other people.

Horror-meter: Seven out of ten decaying neighbors.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/BLOODFIEND-111620068394/

Infernal Curse - The End Upon Us EP (2014)

As the pestilent pulpit of old school death metal continues to preach into the ears of more parishioners, the sounds continue to grow uglier and more unrefined, as is evidenced by the latest EP of the Argentinian graveyard union known as Infernal Curse. Similar to several bands from their neighboring Chile, you're being presented here with an alternative accumulation of late 80s/early 90s death metal tropes which have been twisted into something mildly unique due to what might or might not be a more exotic interpretation of the seminal works of acts like Autopsy, Rottrevore, Necrovore and Incantation, though this is restricted more to production choices than musical technique.

The End Upon Us is a great looking EP, with cover artwork that does well to visually ascribe to its musical aesthetics, which are unapologetic in their primacy. Stripped down. Base. Smeared in offal and viscera. Like the unearthing of some dirt tomb where plagued paupers were recently buried alive. You can never quite shake the stench of this from your ears after listening, with voluptuous and bruising bass lines and soiled, smearing chords and tremolo guitars which don't evoke a lot of variation or melody throughout their evocation. The drums seem peppier and able to offer a contrast to the dinginess of the strings, with enough reverb on the fills to lend some atmosphere to the muddy script. Chord progressions are exceedingly primitive and unfortunately don't arrive at any creative ideas; I'm getting to the point where I'm well beyond loving this stuff just because of its purism alone, and when they concede into even more simplistic doom death grooves, it feels agonizingly retread and dull.

A shame, because I'd be much more compelled if they used this same, impenetrable production and then wrote some resonant licks or leads into it which could cultivate the feel of alien, obscure death metal so missing from many of its nostalgia-addicted champions. Infernal Curse has been at this awhile, but apart from the fact they promulgate an even more deformed visage to the music than some of their better known peers, there's just not a lot here that I felt myself wanting to return to. Again, The End Upon Us has that initial, visual stimulation where the artwork and musical goals seem aligned, but then there is no surprise awaiting you behind each leaning structure, each withered limb, each whorl of blackened miasma sucking on the soul stuff of the intended victims. Even the Hadez cover doesn't sound much different apart from the possible chord placement, and while I've heard much worse, the EP ultimately dissolves amidst the blurred, swelled ranks of its fellow retrogressors.

Verdict: Indifference [5.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/bandinfernalcurse

A Cloud in Circle - Depression's Suicide [DEMO] (2009)

Perhaps the title and cover to this release are a bit too obvious, but if it's not readily apparent, Argentina's A Cloud in Circle perform depressive black metal with more than the lion's share of ambient and non-metal influence. This latest demo is quite fascinating for its monstrous sound, in particular the non-metal sequences which would make a perfect soundtrack to any laid back, pensive moment in which one debates their very existence and which path they shall assume: slogging forward through a dreary, mundane world or making a beeline for the gods-damned gallows.

"Ethereal Sense of Solitude" is an amazing ambient into, with ringing pianos and vocal choir synthesizer over an ominous landscape. "By Myself" opens with the bustling sounds of rains and what seem to be train tracks as the buzzing of the black guitars comes into focus. The vocals are extremely painful, suitable to please fans of Weakling, Burzum, Silencer or many other bands of a similar nature. "Dying's Vision" is a bleak ambient track with some background wailing, and "I Lost My Hope (Part I)" is a crashing wall of doomlike depressive black metal with amazing, piercing guitar tones. Pretty incredible track. "Wounds In My Arms" begins with a lengthy piano sequence, but more of the band's tormented black noise follows. The title track is another dark ambient instrumental, and the demo closes with the swelling "I Lost My Hope (Part II)", a graceful and expressive track which meshes black and new age influences.

Musically, I have no qualms, A Cloud in Circle offers the superb, adventurous tones that I relish. The vocals don't bother me much, though I'm still undecided on whether these types of bands would be better served with another style. Lyrically, the band seems sedate and pedestrian, with obvious titles to their subject strata. But nonetheless, this is an amazing demo, and if you've enjoyed any of the other black/ambient stuff I've given a favorable review in the past 5-6 months, you'll probably feel this too.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

http://www.myspace.com/acloudincircle

Gorecult - Murder Notes EP (2008)

This is the debut EP from a new Argentinian death metal band with a straightforward, brutal sound and some fairly guttural vocals, with a Cannibal Corpse influence to the some of the riffing. Though I didn't love the material, it's got some catchy parts to it as well as a nice thick production.

After a piano instrumental the band breaks into the mid paced grinder "Vomit to Death". There are a few sweet guitar lines to the track but it's otherwise forgettable. "Blood Retribution" is more exciting, sounding like something you'd hear off Bloodthirst or Gallery of Suicide but a little simpler. "Dismembered Alive" has a lot of start/stop, while the cymbal rides between the bursts of death. "Behold the Art of Gore" is a slower track with a rock out riff under the guttural discharge. It did not have me taking my cock out though. The EP ends with one of its best tracks "The Scythe Madmen", which has some nice old school ripping guitar riffs, some squeal and very old Cannibal Corpse/Six Feet Under groove to it. I really liked the end to this song with its great, evil speed melodies.

I might not have been impressed with the material, but there is little negative I can say for the band. They have a thick and crushing sound to them, and despite the lack of doing anything original they sound like they're having fun. They've got the potential to develop into a pretty destructive force, so I shall keep my eyes and ears open.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.myspace.com/gorecultband