Nemesis

South America is home to many an underrated thrash act, with many featuring groove undercurrents likely influenced by Sepultura's dominance and sonic shift during the 90s. Venezuela's Maskhera lace their particular brand of punishment with scant death metal posturing and distilled aggression, making Nemesis a competent sophomore effort on a structural level. The rhythms pursue a punchy, concussive appeal propelled by the very modern, sleek production values. This is a big, loud sounding album, with occasional moments of melodic introspection courtesy of clean vocals and some smooth melodeath-inspired leads.

The belligerent impact of "Lucharemos hasta el final" dictates the tone that will be repeated for much of the record, resulting in a listen that is devoid of long term impact even if it is a fun listen. The notation is enthusiastic but somewhat primitive and lacking in verisimilitude. The stronger moments of the album revolve around the more lightweight, melodic incursions like the cleaner breaks of "Despues de todo." The rusted, gut-wrenching impact of the riffs carries these tunes far enough to consider the final product a success, but this is all loud, boisterous fare that we have heard many times before, and oftentimes better. Roiling tremolos make occasional appearances, alongside high-octane blasting pursuant to the death metal comparisons mentioned above. The thick, stolid crunch of "Iskander" resonates more with me personally, with Kreator-esque verses and a bouncy subtext.

Maskhera's groove constituent isn't as marked as I anticipated at first blush, with more of a crossover-esque jaunt applied only piecemeal and never in a lowbrow manner. Walter Gangi's rabid, threadbare inflection feels desperate and coincidentally quite powerful. I also enjoyed his shouted cleaner fare, allowing more variety than typically implemented in bands of this style. At many times, Nemesis feels like a modern take on early '90s death/thrash hybrids, with some Demolition Hammer-esque virility thrown in regarding the capacity to stack riff upon riff for better or worse. The biggest standout has to be "Némesis," which is an eight-plus minute epic with a progressive slant and some sticky, cerebral leads and interesting construction. A good song that somehow validates its pretentious running time.

Nemesis is maybe worth tracking down, featuring a grab-bag of constituents that I honestly didn't expect due to the band's groove/thrash tagging. While it will satiate the lowest common denominator crowd who enjoy Sepultura's worst material, Maskhera have more to offer, proffering a death/thrash/groove amalgam with a modern twist. Not a rousing success, but a solid, admirable effort.