By: Ernesto
Aguilar
Album Type: Full length
Date
Released:
13/10/2017
Label: Avandadoom
Records
Volume
Death" is, a valuable new entry to the Mexican doom metal milieu, and this
trio ensures you feel every bit of the chill its vision puts forward.
"Volume
Death" DD track
listing
1.
I. Descend
2.
II. Culto del Chivo Negro
3.
III. Hypnos
4.
IV. Enki
5.
V. Reverse Inquisition
6.
VI. Ascend
The Review:
One
of the worst kept secrets – though still a secret, perhaps due to language
barriers, or assumption thereof, since many perform multilingual songs – are
the number of high quality, metal, punk and extreme music acts in Mexico. In
addition to the widely loved Brujeria, the Mexican heavy spectrum includes
everything from Leprosy
to Asesino,
Introtyl
to the emerging crop of new performers, like doom metal three-piece Chivo Negro
(in English, "Black Goat"). Hailing from Sinaloa, Chivo Negro
has a high bar to reach. Some of the most widely recognized musicians in not
just Mexico but all of Latin America, and whole genres of music such as banda,
came from Sinaloa. The state has currency in English-language popular culture
as an epicenter of the narcotics underworld and ghastly violence, too. No
ultraviolence here, however. In the case of Chivo Negro, the action is
molasses dense and psychedelic.
The
group debuts with its full-length, "Volume
Death," as an entirely instrumental affair. You read that right. Not a
single lyric is presented on Chivo Negro's introduction to international
metal. Other than sampled clips offering continuity, there are no vocals. This
sort of step is incredibly risky: band chemistry and song orchestration both
become everything and a misstep can sink whole songs or the entire release.
As
with any good doom record, "Volume
Death" brings audiences a large, ambitious concept. The squad wants to
tell a tale of the destruction in religion, nature and humanity wrought by
human and otherworldly forces. Because such is a common theme in the genre, the
music should reasonably be expected to stand out far more.
Although
it is solidly a doom/sludge band, Chivo Negro also features a considerable dose
of drone as well as classic metal in its debut album. Rhythmic drumming
courtesy of Abel Lizarraga steadies the swells of mood throughout. With the
opener, "I.
Descend," distortion and dark psych start us off. The air is
oppressive as Lizarraga crashes the kit again and again. Even without lyrics,
the trio makes sure you feel every bit of the chill its vision puts forward. "II. Culto del Chivo Negro" has
one of those aforementioned clips, but it's nearly forgotten when Ramon
Arellano's guitar rips into a gargantuan chord. That progression repeats, as bassist
Fausto Arellano joins the drums for a tremendous psychedelic jam.
Where
Chivo Negro
lacks in lyricism they make up for in deep, sheer power. "III. Hypnos" continues the low tunage and noise as the
group gets into more of a drone doom mode. "IV.
Enki," regarded among some as one of the album's best cuts, continues
the drone doom method. At 13 minutes, it is the biggest song on "Volume Death," The sparse
arrangement is nonetheless lumbering in that classic doom metal way. As Chivo Negro's
last tracks descend, a big question may be what it does with a full-on
vocalist, or if this will remain the group's ultimate format, in the spirit of
bands like Major
Kong. "Volume Death"
is, either way, a valuable new entry to the Mexican doom metal milieu.
"Volume Death" is available here
