Insepulto - The Necrodex [2015]

Latin death and thrash metal has always been a thing of intrigue for me. Though I've been tempted to plunge into the depths of a humble scene filled with top notch old school outfits like Korzus, Mortem, Atomic Aggressor, Krisiun and of course Sepultura, I never felt fully committed to a proper scrutiny of the scene in particular. With each band member having years' worth of experience with other, equally obscure acts, Insepulto is one of those acts which surely has the potential to stamp the name of old school Latin death metal on the 21st century, and their debut, ''Morbid Spawn of Resurrection'' was in no shortage of skill and the savory aesthetics of death metal antiquity borrowed from some 20 years ago.

This is both clinical, punishing proto-brutal death metal and equally on par with creepier advocates of genre such as Obituary, Death, Autopsy, taut with precision and absolutely unflinching in delivery. In retrospect, it certainly feels adherent to the same textbook by which the debut played, but these guys do a good job of writing fairly varied and hooking riff work which falls somewhere between ''Bloodthirst'' ear Cannibal Corpse in terms of brutality and technicality and Autopsy circa 1989-91 in sheer ghastliness. The drums are just amazingly neat: they definitely stand out but don't feel as 'modern' as, say Hail of Bullets or Decapitated, and get some excellent, audible fills here and there, and not to mention the sheer thrumming pleasure the kicks give. The vocals are Deicide-esque in their mannerisms, ranging from guttural Craig Pillard lows to raspier growls where the rather comical broken English is more audible, justifying comparisons to early Sepultura, Mortem and other well-known Latinos.

While songs like ''Cremated Alive'' or ''The Morbid Spawn of Resurrection'' are penalizing in any way a brute neanderthal would want, fell of twisted yet fleshy guitar riffs and morbid melodies, there are lengthier tracks here like ''Ars Magna in Evisceratus'' that weigh double in creepiness and death/doom dementia, moving along mid-paced rhythms with a heavier focus on atmosphere. I couldn't fully appreciate these compositions however, because these guys are evidently better at fast, chug-filled tempos and crushing tremolos than anything, even though I was had considerable fun in pretty much every song. There isn't a huge refinement in terms of originality when compared to the debut album, so certain moments lacked the horrific shock value of it which made about half of the songs here slightly underwhelming. Overall, it can't be denied that the Costa Ricans have their own nifty brand of death metal by fusing melodic elements with some of the classical components of Floridian brutality, even with rare hints of the Swedish faculty (''Grand Black Messiah'' is a great example of all these influences melding together) and it's hard not to enjoy the majority of this record if you're a fan of early 90's death metal, even if it doesn't emerge as great as the debut. And, assuming  that Lovecraftian metal is your bag, (why shouldn't it be?) there's no point in not adding ''The Necrodex'' to your playlist.

Highlights:
Grand Black Messiah
The Return of the Impious 
The Morbid Spawn of resurrection
Cremated Alive (Together we will)

Rating: 75%

Insepulto - Morbid Spawn Of Resurrection

Insepulto is band of certain peculiarities. Firstly, the trio hail from Costa Rica, which, although is closely on tact with some of the ruling countries which present the most bombastic brutality and cavernous void-filled obliteration of the last ten years, still doesn't have an extraordinarily spacious array of bands to keep up with their fellow South Americans. Second, peeking at the gloriously fashioned craftsmanship imbuing the archaic font of the logo, I honestly anticipated a far more esoteric, cathartic performance from these brutes, and thus, the occult themes retain plenty of mesmerizing subconscious elements into the forlorn heart of the music, a traditional paroxysm leveling at the main tendencies of the classic early 90's US death metal sound. The group is stellar in the execution in the riffs however, and the sense of boredom so scarcely passes by that you might feel as if you're being battered by a ugly horde of brute demons, a twisted, daunting seminar of pain.

''Morbid Spawn Of Resurrection'' has roots generally hovering over typical US death metal inclinations, but it's more of a patchwork than a strident, predictable path, really. Amid its rich texture, I hear numerous hints of late 80's/early 90's brutality; British influences for one, seem to be as dominant as the US influence, a composite of Cancer, Benediction and Bolt Thrower forms the frontier line of base punches and dexterous blasts, especially when the tremolos, deep and suffocating, flash into a flurried death/thrash engorgement, along with inimical South American elements to represent a bit of traditional fervor, for example, Sepultura or Executer, and even even tidbits of a frothing Sarcofago surge, for listeners who seek that sordid sauce in their dish. The rhythms are, as stated, ostentatious when rupturing with the pernicious spite of the hellish gutturals, and the band has an almost amazing sense of producing grooves and spectral moods to infuse with them, and furthermore, the brevity of the tracks is what holds the bridge between them efficient; whether you'll feel the pulverizing emissions of ''Epitome'' being hurled at your stomach, the semi-epic melodic black metal output of ''Misfortune'' or the rhythmic rumbles of the metalpunk insanity ''Orthodox'', you'll always get a sense of the album's well-constructed delivery and the band's potency in creating such dangerously shattering riffs.

Insepulto manages to create a notably strong, and very enjoyable effort, despite not quite sauntering through spurious territory. It's always good to get some fresh air out of good 'ol death metal brutality out of any utensil lying around, and the item these South Americans have picked is the dark, brooding murk of Incantation, which is, to me, a brilliant fit. What else can be said about the album? They've clearly nailed the formula even with  a bit of their own flaunting succession hinted here and there, they're old fucking school, they've perfectly executed their compositions, so the only remaining gap to fill is penning even better material - not that this isn't great, it's just not outstanding. I'm not quarreling to ask for some death metal convolution, I just want even better written brick-wall riffs, I want deeper moods; I want more. Let's just hope that these devils turn all miscreant against their ancestors like the others and disappoint us on the sequel. I don't think they will, either.

Highlights:
Summerian
Epitome
Carnal 
Orthodox

Rating: 86%