Hecho en Venezuela

Sadly forgotten, Hecho en Venezuela (Made In Venezuela) stands as one of the first metallic productions of the continent, together with fellow country men Arkángel's debut and the early works of Riff from Argentina (a band that was kind of far away of the metalness portrayed by the two Venezuelan acts), and previous to anything V8 ever recorded -still, they are acknowledged as the forefathers of metal in our continent by most people-.

But this album is a masterpiece not just because of it's historical value -depicted by such a tongue in cheek album title-: this is one of the finest traditional metal pieces ever recorded, capturing all the power that was being developed at that point in the UK, but with an original touch provided not only by the spanish vocals (the most notorious and ovious difference), but also by several rythmic variations that were strange to British metal in general, as well as very innovative bass lines and some abrupt breaks that weren't seen in the global scene until thrash appeared.

The music is aggresive and it's mixed with a sometimes melancholic and sometimes adventurous vocal line that is quite interesting, being very clean -although, if it has to be harsh, some exceptions can be made as in Hassan Ben Sabbath's chorus or the last verse of Muerto en Vida (Living Dead)- and moving in a weird gray zone between low ranges and high ones. It's, in general terms, a very fast album; it's biggest influence would be, in my opinion, Priest's Stained Class, mixed with some of the raw power the NWOBHM had acquired at that point and the melodic side of that same movement as well: you can see some riffs ala Blitzkrieg in songs like Templo de la Oscuridad (Temple In The Dark) or Tierra Prometida (Promised Land) and some that are even heavier and "thrash predicting", but you can also capture powerful melancholic songs like Ángeles Cayendo, where early Quartz comes to mind with ease. A honorable mention goes to Muerto en Vida, the heaviest song on the album and one of the most memorable I've ever heard, showing the perfect balance between aggresion and melody.

Lyrically, the band experiments with some historical tale telling, as in Tierra Prometida, that deals with the Jewish exile of Egypt (the "Exodus") or the mystical Templo de la Oscuridad; some personal rebellious issues, as in Pared de Concreto (Concrete Wall) and Muerto en Vida or even the song Resistencia (Resistance) that predicts further experiments with social issues as a main topic; and some that move between those two main topics with rather ambiguous lyrics, like Hassan Ben Sabbath, the most complex song on the album.

It's really a brilliant effort without a low point, highly recommended.