Destin

Considered by many Cargo’s best album, “Destin” (Destiny) picks up where “Povestiri din gara” left off. It is a progression, so to speak, to pure melodic heavy metal with no strings attached. With no further ad due, I shall emphasize why this album has a great significance in the Rumanian heavy metal.

The album starts with “Chemarea strabunilor” (The call of the ancestors), an instrumental epic masterpiece, which sets the mood for the entire record. From the beginning, the listener catches a tiny glimpse of what the album focuses on: destiny, as a traditional moral value, the cruel fate that spares no one, and the aspiration of the afterlife, which can be achieved only through death. Now that most of the lyrical themes of the album have been revealed, let us move on to the actual music.

“Tepes” refers to Vlad, the Impaler, the fiercest ruler of Walachia who reigned in the 15th century. I don’t know how they succeeded to come up with so many riffs into this song, not to mention that the guitar solos tear you apart. The keyboards are pushed into the background and the vocal performance is at Kempes’ best. Another song worth mentioning is “Ielele” (The wicked fairies). What am I saying? It’s not just worth mentioning, it’s the best song here. The moment the guitars kick in, you are just mesmerized by the spell of these fairies that lure you into their dance and then kill you. The wicked fairies are specific to the Romanian mythology and in order to understand the myth better, just imagine several naked women living in the mountains and dancing till you lose their mind and join into their circle…of death. Adi Barar unleashes again crushing solos from his bag of wonders and Kempes is infallible.

And here comes the title track…”Destin”. Judging by its length, and namely more than 8 minutes, everyone expects an epic from it. Well, it actually is an epic, a very well-done one, where all the instruments give their best…but... unfortunately the main riff of the song, which is repeated and recycled on the entire track, is none other than the riff from Black Sabbath’s “Electric Funeral”…so as doom metal as it may be, the grounding stone is stolen, guys…The then bass player of the band delivers some death metal grunts at the beginning and somewhere towards the end of the song. I can’t actually understand what he is saying there, but the approach fits well to the chemistry of the entire track. Morbid lyrics, morbid atmosphere, and morbid state of mind… they all conjoin with the Lord’s Prayer, spoken at the end of the song. Truly original for the Romanian rock music, especially the last line of the prayer, “Ne iarta” (Forgive our sins), which gives you the creeps when Kempes sings it at a higher note. Amazing indeed! Too bad the main riff is stolen.

Another great song is “Clasa muncitoare” (The working class), which again makes a reference to the Communist Regime (I know it’s the third time when I say it, but still…FUCK YOU, RUSSIA!). Speed metal is the law in this track with the usual rapid guitars and drums and catchy chorus.

The production is amazing, as you can hear every instrument loud and clear. It’s a great and important step taken by Cargo, establishing their unique sound in the Romanian heavy metal. Sometimes I put both Iris and Cargo on a scale and try to judge their potential and the scale tends to choose Cargo as the winner. In a nut shell, “Destin” is a must-have for all heavy metal fans, and taking into account that there are few chances that this review to be read by foreigners, I recommend this album to all Romanian heavy metals in particular.