Acero y sangre

Ah Spain, winter of '86, I can almost feel it... No, I wasn't even alive in that year, but thanks to Muro's debut live album one can really feel the heat and energy that was transmitted simultaneously between the audience and the band, bringing us closer to the experience of attending to the concert of one of the pioneers of speed metal in Spain.

Despite being pioneers, Muro were not innovators but rather imitators of bands like Accept or Running Wild, they took their style and replicated it, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse, this is what we can find in this album in general. All the songs follow the same scheme with an anthemic chorus as the climax of the song with a simple but functional approach, personally the songs where it works best are "Acero y Sangre" (the best song of the band) "Juega Fuerte" and "Mirada Asesina" which are without a doubt the highlights of the album, the rest of the songs follow exactly the same line but without reaching that high point. In fact maybe it's because the only song I listened to from this band for a while was "Acero y Sangre" but I feel that although it follows the same scheme as the others this song is somehow unique, it feels different from the rest, maybe it's the tribal sound of the drums that proceeds it, maybe it's the vocalist's intonation that is in his best moment of the night, I don't know the reason, but if all the songs would work at the level of this one, we would be talking about a much higher score.

Indeed, the album doesn't have much more, I could talk about more concrete aspects like the fact that all the vocalist speeches make me feel very embarrassed, it seems that he is on drugs (it was the 80's so it's likely that he was) or that although his vocal performance is solid during most of the album when they start the Accept cover you can really see the difference between a solvent vocalist like Silver and a true master of the voice like Udo. However, Silver's voice conquered a country where few vocalists had the audacity and the anger that he had on stage, which is probably why his ego grew so much that he went around with airs and graces like a diva.

Perhaps this album has more value in a historical/cultural aspect and for how well it portrays the live performance, but that doesn't take away from the fact that there are flashes of brilliance, but nothing that would surprise a fan of the genre.

Summer camp to which Muro obviously assisted, and possibly several times. Yes, surprisingly Spanish bands are capable of delivering the goods when it comes to speed metal. The legendary Muro’s debut – they also released a demo in 1984, but it’s not in the MA –, Acero y Sangre, is a live album recorded in 1986 and released in 1987, for all the Spaniard metalheads to rejoice. Keep in mind that this is the first speed metal album to be spawned by that country, hence the importance of this recording. However, this live album doesn’t lack quality or talent. Furthermore, I’d say it’s the perfect example of how a speed/thrash/heavy metal albums should be done; a compact pack of songs that catch you from the very beginning and never get too repetitive or long. In fact, you can listen to it several times in a row and never get bored of it – early Running Wild anyone? So if you think Port Royal or Death or Glory are immortal classics, and you always keep your fist raised whenever “Prisoners of our time” or “Under jolly Roger” are playing, you are going to love this one.

To start with, we get a short intro with the tune of “For a few dollars more” (the one that sounds when “El Indio” is about to kill the blonde guy that betrayed him) to get into the mood of moshing, and then some guy starts yelling “Speed metal to the max! The hardest band, the hardest musical group is called Muroooo!” – it rhymes in Spanish, so don’t worry if it sounds lame in English. Immediately after, the album explodes with the anthemic “Acero y sangre” (“Steel and blood”), which is extremely catchy, and completely sing-along in the best Running Wild fashion. In fact, if we analyze the music in Acero y Sangre we’ll find several elements common to the German band; the simple, yet effective and extremely catchy riffs; the guitar tone and the sing-along choruses, with several chances of “uoooooh”-ing. Moreover, the formula used for songs is essentially the same; songs are either speedy ones or catchy, mid-paced/up-tempo anthems. On the other hand, the music of Muro never gets complex or as elaborated as some of Running Wilds tunes though; no epic tunes like “Treasure island” or “Genesis” that will take you to other lands or reveal the nature of the world. Even though, the trip offered by the Spaniards is also an entertaining one, so it won’t let you down.

Muro’s performance was top-notch the night they recorded this; drums and singer - who got favoured in the mix - sound energetic and possessed of the attitude Manowar advertises so much, but with far less pointless solos and guest players from the audience. In fact, the singer has little interaction with the public, so the bullshit is reduced to the minimum and you will fully enjoy the album without getting impatient. Taking the performance up again, drums sound so powerful, and add so much energy, that every song sounds like a steamroller. The singer is also great. Although he has neither a particularly good tone, nor a wide range of action (mid-ranged baritone voice), his singing is always heartfelt and devoted; he won’t bring you to tears, but he’ll surely make your adrenaline to increase. If that isn’t enough, guitar players are great as well, but due to the production they are a bit opaque when all members are performing at the same time, therefore, the listener won’t really appreciate their performance until solo parts come in. And it’s a shame, because some powerful guitars would work wonders on this album, and then we’d be talking about a way higher score. Finally, the bass player is kind of intermittent; sometimes I just can’t hear him, other times he is there with very good lines (for example in “Juega fuerte” or the superb “Ciclón”).

There are no bad songs in here and highlights are obvious; the title track, the powerful “Mata”, the also speedy “Ciclón” and the catchy “Mirada asesina”. The title track is full of glory; a glorious melody full of warrior pride, glorious guitar lines reminiscent of Running Wild’s diabolic force, and glorious choruses that call to arms: “they have arrived from the north, devastating Europe in their way”. “Mata” is the pure speed metal song that every band wants to compose; a highly effective one-note main riff at full speed, a very aggressive sing-along chorus, hellish pierced screams here and there, and Accept like superb solos. Everything put together in around 4 minutes of pure condensed energy. This song is the one that resembles Accept the most, and not only for the soloing style, but also the contrast between the riffs and the thick, powerful drums. “Mirada asesina” comes right after “Mata”, and possibly has the best and most melodic chorus in the album. Something that I love in this song is the simplistic approach it takes, where structures and melody progression are quite logical and even predictable, and still manages to be as enjoyable as it gets; this album doesn’t try to surprise you, it’s just trying to entertain you with simple, catchy speed metal. The last highlight I’d like to mention, “Ciclón”, floods the listener with overwhelming bass and drums. This is possibly the bass highlight in the album; it doubles the power of the drum beats and produces the cyclonic atmosphere along the song.

Not everything is perfect, though. The production is definitely bad; you can hear all the instruments, and the public is audible – getting the correct environment for a live album -, but the overall sound is too thin, and guitars are in real need for more presence in the mix. The final result is an album that sounds empty and reduces the band’s power. I can imagine how obliterating and relentless this would be with some crushing guitars, and I guarantee you that this would be the speed metal equivalent of The IVth Crusade. The other flaw, surprisingly, is the Accept cover “Fast as a shark”. The singer lacks Udo’s ability to properly hit the higher notes, so, to compensate this lack, the chorus lines are sensitively lower, and what’s worse, out of key. The result is a lame vocal delivery, and the perfect song to close a speed metal concert ruined. There are also some “yeheeeeaaaa”s that will remind you of Hetfield’s obnoxious live performances, but these aren’t long enough to get really annoying.

After the amount of pros and the cons it’s obvious that this album is solid as a rock, and any fan of pure speed metal should have it, close to his beloved Running Wild, Accept and Judas Priest collections. It’s a pity that this band seems to lack international recognition, because they certainly got this one right.