Silence Means Gold

I don't cover much death metal, it's true. Frankly, because there are enough people around these parts who do it infinitely better than me. But in this case, I was waiting for a long time for just about anyone to step up to the plate and give this one band and specifically this one album its rightfully deserved due. No luck. The cyberspace remained silent with exception of a few passing mentions. Guess I'll have to climb the hill myself, the best I can.

What's the story behind this band? A pretty typical one, save for a semi-exotic country of origin (Uruguay). Started in the early 90's, fermented and vegetated throughout the decade, released what turned out to be their only album years later in 2004, disbanded in obscurity afterwards. A usual trajectory for many an underground metal hero. The least I can do is try to draw attention of a few readers who might actually care.

My assertion here, if I may be so bold, is to claim "Silence Means Gold" as one of the better South American death metal records around, and most certainly one of the best unsung South American (and Latin American, for that matter) death metal albums.

I think it wouldn't be terribly far-fetched and presumptuous of me to position OSSUARY somewhere in-between a couple of certified, long standing Latin American luminaries such as Peru's MORTEM and Mexico's THE CHASM. "Silence Means Gold" is rooted in the traditional death metal tenets and influences but does not appear to be inveterately regressive. I suppose it acknowledges and then sprouts the "modern times" through the old-school prism, and, hence, combines crux of that old-school appeal with a moderately upgraded outlook. The latter manifests itself particularly in the production values and impressive technical facets, even if the band had to make their way to neighboring Brazil for their recording sessions. The said production is full and crisp, stemming a considerably heavy sound. Not something many an unknown South American DM band can easily boast about. Plus, the quality of the recording matches the band members' technical dexterity spot on. The compositions carry rather lean frames, both in terms of running time and structuring and never become overbearing with unnecessary amounts of riffs, time changes and lead work. Come to think of it, the album presents a damn near perfect balance of elements at hand, be it the technical (with a couple of nearly progressive sweeps on the track "Pentagram" and some slightly "exotic" sounding leads on the title track) and melodic, periodically harmonized, solo work with an occasional, and very fitting, heavy metal shred thrown in for good measure; adorning trickery in tow, from the widespread but not unduly usage of pinch harmonics, your fair amount of sweeping and tapping, and even a couple of flange effects here and there; not totally ostentatious but most certainly proficient and precise drum work and adequately brutish vocals that fall in the middle between the completely guttural OTT growls on the one hand and more mid-range type on the other. And then there is the riffing arsenal, which demonstrates that not only the band did their homework well but figured how to utilize that knowledge to great effect. From a considerable range of buzzing tremolos to plastering power chords, all riffs are applied with a sharp feel for placement, often endowed with effective, semi-melodic leads and licks and tied together by fluid rhythmic changes and chord modulations.

Death metal brutality certainly reigns and abounds here, but the band have a very clear understanding of how important nuanced subtleties, including the keen sense of pacing as well as breathing space, are to this sort of music, if it is to enjoy any sort of longevity, setting up some great atmospheric (i.e. more emotive and refined) injections during both slower, trampling segments and solo sections. As a result, OSSUARY nailed a very nicely streamlined and organic recording, devoid of awkward parts, that is neither simplistic nor overtly complex, winning you over with their tandem approach of force and finesse - something some of the band's more famous continental peers (KRISIUN anyone?) fail to comprehend. With "Silence Means Gold" the band appeared here not as militantly old-school as the above mentioned MORTEM (and, I am guessing, their own older recordings) and seemed to have cemented the foundation which theoretically could allow them to create something of a grander scope somewhere down the line (given that the band members continued to progress as musicians as well as composers), or, who knows, perhaps even move closer to the more transcending direction THE CHASM was able to turn. Alas, that we will not know. It's already been seven good years, so a reunion is not likely to happen for a project no one really cared about in the first place. All in all, a typical story. The disc, no doubt, is out of print, but I know Deathgasm Records here in the States still have it listed on their online distro, whatever few copies they still might have lying around. Otherwise, it shouldn't be too hard to at least find a free download on a music blog to familiarize yourself with.

(Originally published in Diabolical Conquest web-zine)