Matando güeros

I don’t think there’s one person who listens to death/grind that hasn’t at least heard of Brujeria. And if there is, then that individual is really missing out on some of the sickest music ever to come out of the Americas.

The first thing that people tend notice about Brujeria - and let’s face it, it’s hard not to – is that all
lyrics are in the band’s native language, espanyol. Unfortunately, some people tend to pass them by on that account, which is a real shame, as this album is one the best grindcore albums around. And you can go hack yourself up with a machete if you don’t believe me.

So what do you get from a Brujeria record, let alone “Matando Gueros”. Well, you get blast beats, double barrel drumming, shredding riffs, low bass, brutal death metal vocals and tongue in cheek lyrics about sacrificing “white boys”, drug trafficking, illegal immigration, prostitution, cum, protecting narcotics with satanic rites, molestation and well, big dicks. I know it may sound bizarre, but anyone with just an ounce of a twisted sense of humour will be pissing himself laughing upon a good reading of the lyrics page (assuming they speak Spanish fluently or can find translated lyrics on the net, like I did). But the highly enjoyable, yet sick and twisted, lyrics take a secondary role to grinding riffs full of blastbeats and killer vocals. The beauty of the album is the way that it bombards you with blastbeats aplenty, yet keeps you guessing as it throws you songs totally different than anything else on the album.

In contradiction to the chaos of songs like the 40 second blast “Santa Lucia (Saint Lucia)”, the brutal, rollercoaster “Seis Seis Seis (Six Six Six )” and the imposing “Grenudos Locos (Crazy Headbangers)”, which are all full of fast riffs, heavy bass and pummelling drums, you’re treated to tracks like the interlude “Culeros (Faggots)”, the ginding mid-tempo instrumental “Chinga Tu Madre (Fuck Your Mother)”, the slow, menacing “Verga Del Brujo/Estan Chingados (Dick of the Brujo/You’re Fucked)”, the surprisingly catchy “Matando Gueros (Killing White Boys)” and the brilliant “Molestando Ninos Muertos (Molesting Dead Children)”. It’s always nice to listen to a grindcore band that shows it’s not afraid to take it’s foot off the acceleration a little bit.

The album’s best tracks are the last four, taken from the “Machetazos (Machete Hacks)” demo. The production on these tracks is quite different from the rest of the album. For starters the bass sounds like a fucking chainsaw, the guitars are louder and the vocals are a little bit better. The songs are also complimented by poor production, which give them an extremely raw sound. Of course, that’s not to say that the rest of this awesome album has squeaky-clean production, far from it.

So, for those looking for fast, heavy death metal founded on a grindcore blue print, should go for “Matando Gueros”. On the other hand, if it sounds like a bit too much for your liking, you can always go for one of Brujeria’s lesser albums, “Raza Odiada” and “Brujerizmo” – which are great albums too.

Either way you won’t be disappointed.
VIVA LA BRUJERIA!