Llamas de gloria primera

Finding good black metal in Spanish is a bit difficult but if you search in the right places you can find some surprises. South America has been known for the good extreme metal that comes out of its entrails, from the distant albums of Sarcófago and Sepultura, to the darkness of Maleficencia and the bestiality of Nefario. This is the case of Enoquian, an Argentine duo who has recently released their first album - "Llamas de la gloria primera" - through the Russian label Satanath Records in coalition with Morbid Skull Records of El Salvador, limited to 500 copies that includes OBI strip with Russian translations, with pit art. The titles of the tracks and the symbols we find in this album are full of mysticism and anti-Christian diatribes, and this is just the prelude to what is coming.

The sound is raw and aggressive, but it does not sound like the demos regurgitated by decadent eighties bands. The combination of a drummer and a guitarist / vocalist who achieve this sound consistency is somewhat surprising; the bass becomes totally unnecessary in this album. Considering the possible creative limitations that such an alignment may have, F. Dieser's guitar manages to fill the environment with concise riffs, sometimes a little "thrashy", from the intro of demonic voices in "Poderes Perdurables" to the last note in "Equilibrio" the album is a journey through melodic dark musical passages based on the tremolo picking superbly executed. The performance in the rhythm section by F.T. is excellent, so that the experience of both musicians is noticeable at first glance; these are not novices when it comes to music making. The vocalization alternates highs and lows that recall the vocal style of death metal but the atmosphere reminds us that we are facing an implacable black metal attack.

The band was formed in 2015 but they took their time to complete this first production. After having released only one demo called "Poderes Perdurables" in 2016 that included tracks we can find in this release (Tracks 8, 1, 5 & 4) these Southerners went straight to a full-length album and they certainly did well. Other outstanding tracks are "Herencia Terrena" and "Control Trapezoidal".


Recommended for those who explore Latin American underground metal and for those who want to become familiar with the current South American black metal and stop living attached to bygone eras, the present has its own darkness.

Originally written for Metal Extremista Webzine

This chaotic sounding black metal cohort originates from Argentina. The band itself was formed back in 2015 and this is their only release to date.

Their sound production is very raw and totally unpolished. It sounds like a pure rehearsal recording that has to do with their honest and conscious dedication to the past times, where it was done exactly this way. Don't be scared, their debut CD was mixed & mastered properly, just the approach they used during the recording process of their 8 tracks was defined by pure old-school underground spirit.

If I listen to the vocal parts, I can conclude they are definitely about those blood-spitting black metal screams we used to call "true". Regarding the overall music of Enoquian I would say differently as even if the core structures are black metal-ish, we can find a lot of elements coming from the death & thrash metal styles, especially if we look more closely at the guitar playing.

The lyrics respectively to the album title were written in Spanish. I am poor at that language, but the occult symbols and sigils in their booklet suggest me they are about anti-religious and misanthropic themes.

Those who hate modern sounding records are deeply encouraged to get their hands on this wickedly underground black metal item. The CD comes with vinyl-style design on the topside and also includes a killer pit-art on the bottom side, while the booklet is set to 12 pages. You can listen to the entire album at their label's bandcamp profile. Enjoy the crude sounds from the deepest depths of the underground!

Originally published at the website of Encomium 'zine.