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░ ██ ██ Artist: Dezaztre Natural ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Asfixia █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2018 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2020-01-26 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Thrash Metal ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Australis Records ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Chilean crossover thrash: now thereÆs a great way █
█ to get my attention! Dezaztre Natural (translating █
█ to Natural Disaster) put out their most recent █
█ effort near the end of 2018 titled Asfixia █
█ (translating to Suffocation). For a breed of █
█ crossover hailing from a country heavily rooted in █
█ extremely chaotic and aggressive thrash metal, █
█ theyÆve actually got a high level of █
█ sophistication to their music. Now granted, I █
█ canÆt say for sure what the lyrics are about, but █
█ on a musical front, this is pretty mature for █
█ crossover. █
█ The easiest way to hear this is with how clean the █
█ delivery with everything is. The riffs carry a █
█ fair amount of variation in tempo and donÆt sound █
█ so formulaic in any way. This makes for songs that █
█ inject a large amount of melody, with speed-tastic █
█ palm muted chugs as a base ingredient, and dialed █
█ back grooves as bridges. The vocals are also very █
█ clear and lay atop everything quite smoothly, █
█ making this the perfect balance of not too raw and █
█ not produced to death. █
█ On the other hand, the way that the bass takes █
█ prominence in many a track is quite stellar. Not █
█ only do bouncy bass rhythms back the lead guitars █
█ when they jump into the tap-happy solos, but they █
█ work quite well as fills to replace the groovier █
█ sections. Even the drums go outside the box too, █
█ serving as more than just a booming timekeeper by █
█ shifting in techniques to follow the basslines █
█ which include blasting machine-gun like kicks █
█ behind the more monotone riffs. █
█ Really, IÆve never gotten more out of an album █
█ entirely in a foreign language than this one. The █
█ only thing that really makes Asfixia a crossover █
█ album is the fact that it has so much punk █
█ attitude to it; beyond that, it really doesnÆt █
█ have the typical barbaric nature that many a band █
█ of this brand will strive to create. Nothing █
█ against those bands of course, but this made for a █
█ unique treat. █
█ █
█ --- █
█ █
█ When reviewing music, there are very few times █
█ when an album leaves me stumped with which I █
█ cannot find much to say. I find this issue common █
█ as I skirt along the genre spectrum and locate █
█ myself listening to works like Asfixia by the █
█ thrash metal/crossover band Dezaztre Natural. Even █
█ though IÆm fairly cultured with most sub-genres of █
█ metal, -core included, the term ôCrossoverö █
█ initially had me at such a loss, I had to educate █
█ myself with what I was dealing with. So after a █
█ brief read, I hope to paint the ChileansÆ third █
█ full-length album in an accurate light, as IÆd █
█ hate to misrepresent what some might like about █
█ such a genre, in this case, thrash and crossover. █
█ I actually wasnÆt too repulsed by the genre at █
█ hand, as when I first gave this band a sample █
█ listen I though it sounded a bit like one of my █
█ favorite bands, Gwar, so I took it upon myself to █
█ give this an honest listen and a fair shake. █
█ To begin with, there are a lot of minuscule and █
█ bizarre issues I find myself having with the █
█ album. Firstly, itÆs digital only, yet the █
█ previous two full-length albums were released, █
█ albeit in limited quantity, on CD. To the casual/ █
█ modern music fan, it may not be much of an issue, █
█ but itÆs an incongruency that doesnÆt ruin the █
█ album, but dampers my appreciation of it. The next █
█ issue which miffed me was the intro track, as it █
█ fell into the horrible pitfall, of an ambient █
█ intro. These are absolutely the worst, especially █
█ to a fan of ambient music such as myself, as the █
█ dissonance in the rapid shift of music on the █
█ track Persadilla Senil, just makes me want to █
█ switch to something with a consistent tone. The █
█ intro is very much an ambient underwater piece, █
█ with warbles of unknown fear, and impending danger █
█ of a submarine sonar, contrasting sharply with the █
█ natural darkness of the deep blue. But then the █
█ intro is jarred with fast-pace, crude with an █
█ attitude, thrash/crossover. I find it especially █
█ misleading when looking at the cover, depicting █
█ the aforementioned environment with a monstrous █
█ kraken surrounded by monuments. The cover actually █
█ mingles with the thrash/crossover style and █
█ message well in fact, ripe with figures buried █
█ under the mass of water, but itÆs intro that █
█ shuffles everything up for me. But hey, it █
█ couldÆve been worse, they couldÆve dedicated the █
█ entire track to it! █
█ Speaking of messages, the message of this albums █
█ is lost in translation, quite literally. As you █
█ may have guessed from the bandÆs local, name and █
█ track/album titles, these guys are singing in █
█ their native tongue of Spanish. Decoding some of █
█ the track titles (see shoving into google █
█ translate) I could infer the topic being on the █
█ dystopian topic of fascism and too much government █
█ control. Singers singing in their native tongue █
█ may be a deal breaker for some, as not being able █
█ to understand the lyrics could be a huge █
█ detriment, but I donÆt mind putting in a bit of █
█ extra work, but then another problem arises. █
█ Barring the first track, which had a lyric video, █
█ none of the other tracks have apparent lyrics. So, █
█ unless youÆre a native Spanish speaker, or are in █
█ just for the performances, youÆre out of luck in █
█ understanding whatÆs going on aside from the track █
█ names. This once again is not a deal breaker for █
█ myself, but another dampening of appreciation, as █
█ IÆd give the band the benefit of the doubt that █
█ maybe theyÆre breaking new ground lyrically, █
█ however for now IÆll probably never know. █
█ Moving on to the more positive side of the album, █
█ Asfixia has some of the best production for a █
█ thrash/crossover band IÆve ever heard. ItÆs █
█ reminiscent of Beyond Hell by GWAR, with its █
█ aggressive guitars, twang filled bass that has a █
█ generous amount of volume, and firm drum sound. █
█ The only thing holding it back is the vocals, and █
█ the mix as a whole is bit too clean, and with a █
█ scruff a dirt to it, itÆd be near flawless. The █
█ instruments all carry an aggressive and moody punk █
█ sound to them, ripe with anger thatÆs been fed up █
█ with being told what to do. The bass is the █
█ highlight of the mix personally, as it is a █
█ miracle to have this instrument so prominent and █
█ involved with the music, instead of just playing █
█ in the background like a third wheel. IÆd say Rene █
█ Dizaster does a fantastic job on bass, but seeing █
█ as the bandcamp page for this album lacks a proper █
█ line up describing the specific personnel, take █
█ this thanks with a grain of salt. The guitars are █
█ also sharp in this regard, as they convey a █
█ certain power, without being overbearing over the █
█ other instruments at hand, providing a █
█ complimentary sound that meshes well. █
█ Without being able to understand the language █
█ presented, the vocals are average and serviceable, █
█ but nothing special. After being spoiled with the █
█ cartoony antics of crossover bands like X-Cops and █
█ Gwar, itÆs hard to think that anything can top █
█ their over top performances. On their own however, █
█ the (I believe) two vocalists are chocked fill █
█ with energy and spirit that can really only be █
█ found in their own tongue, and are hard to █
█ recreate on their own merit. The vocals are very █
█ punkish in nature, and rarely border on the line █
█ between hardcore and metal, contrary to the music █
█ itself, which varies from straight forward thrash, █
█ to more technical riffs, and even semi-death metal █
█ stylings, as seen on the last track Nuevo Orden █
█ Mundial, which especially had me head banging. The █
█ music is the all-in-all thrash style with some █
█ hardcore thrown in here or there, but itÆs █
█ unmistakably metal, and offers the occasional solo █
█ that melts your face clean off. █
█ Though I had my fair share of issues with album, █
█ at its core, itÆs very apparent it had some talent █
█ going into it, that I just so happen am not able █
█ to appreciate fully. And for just a dollar on █
█ their bandcamp, the album is more than worth it, █
█ even if youÆre not a thrash/crossover fan. Out of █
█ the 10 tracks on the album, thereÆs bound to be █
█ one that everyone can enjoy. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Pesadilla Senil 4:23 ░
░ 2. N.M.P. 3:33 ░
░ 3. Patriofobia 2:46 ░
░ 4. Medicina del Estado 4:22 ░
░ 5. Ni±o Pestilencia 3:35 ░
░ 6. Valle Putrefacto 3:56 ░
░ 7. Decadencia 3:49 ░
░ 8. Aut≤matas 3:28 ░
░ 9. Mensaje Suicida 3:11 ░
░ 10. Nuevo Orden Mundial 3:25 ░
░ 36:28 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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