Satanic Union from the South

Here we got another short yet hefty piece of music from the Dunkelheit camp. This time two beastly outfits from South-America have joined forces to attack with 3 tracks each, adding up to an overall playing time of a little bit less than 27 minutes. Both bands share quite a lot of trademarks, but also have enough own DNA to make up for an interesting combination. Fans of heavy and rotten music should take a closer look at “Satanic Union from the South”.

First up we got Putrid from Peru. These lads have been active since 2010 and they have been quite productive. They can look back at two full lengths and a bunch of demos, splits and EPs. They play kind of blackened thrash/death metal, but with a brutal and dirty edge to it. At times the main riffs are sounding a little bit quirky yet somehow addicting. The basic arrangements are twisted and slightly varied to keep things fresh and interesting. Themes are repeated at later stages and the lead harmonies often work as accompaniment for the brooding main chords. The buzzy sound and the fierce vocals are rounding off a very competent and relentless introduction to this band.

After Putrid have turned most of their enemies to cannon fodder Grave Desecration turn the remaining ones to dust. An epic and somehow relaxing intro soon turns into a buzz-sawing piece of destruction. The sound of these black metal aficionados is probably even dirtier and more putrid than the one by their countrymen. Extreme metal has moved in many different directions since its heyday in the early nineties. But regardless of what new and various sonic directions it runs headlong into, at its core it remains a subgenre obsessed with primal energy and rawness, and the three tracks by Grave Desecration offer just this. Some crazy lead solos show that these lot also know their instruments very well, and the raspy voice underlines the rough charme of the music.

Overall this EP is a nice little gem, introducing two interesting bands from Peru that might otherwise would have gone missing in the sea of new releases. Innovation or complicated technical patterns is not what you will find here, and also no sweeping and swirling guitar harmonies. The tracks here are just an expression of primitive fun, and as such they absolutely deserve their place in some collections. The cover is very old school and nothing your kids should see, so in case you decide to go for the nice looking LP version (splatter, red or black) make sure you do not put it to the front of your shelf.