01. Slaves Of Death
02. Battlefields
03. Kill Or Get Killed
04. Soldiers Of The Unknown
05. Death Metal Forever
06. Wrath Intense Pain
07. Oh My God!!
08. Victims
09. Conflicts For Peace (Bonus Track)
10. Violentada (Bonus Video)
Comment:
With their 17 years of existence, Colombia’s MASACRE is without any doubt one of the most legendary Death Metal acts from South America.
“Total Death” is the band’s fourth full length album and this European release through XTREEM MUSIC means their return to Europe after their debut album through Osmose Prod. in ‘91. For the very first time ever, this album is entirely sung in english and it was produced in Florida by Erik Rutan (HATE ETERNAL, ex-MORBID ANGEL) and will for sure put the band in an outstanding place in the scene, just where they had to be since many years!!
In late 2005, MASACRE will tour Europe for their very first time and then they’ll be nearer on their way to the throne!!
I had never heard of Masacre before. A shame, since their music is well stabilized. For the first time in their musical career these Colombian artists have recorded an album entirely in English - and it's well worth it. Now there's something in it for the international listener too. Masacre offers extremely tight drumming krisiun style, guitar riffing which reminds me of the best guitarists in the world, classic raw gruntstyles, and that all in a brutal mortician-like dressing. This band proves to be communicating good enough (maybe obvious, after 18 years) to combine these aspects in one sound. Brutal and technical, that's what this is.
If you like the normal or technical modern death metal, you will definitely like Masacre too.
Amantes del más clásico death metal de principios de los noventa, los colombianos Masacre han grabado posiblemente el disco más fructuoso de toda su carrera, editado en su Colombia natal por HateWorks y en Argentina por Hurling Metal Records.
A pesar de que el disco salió editado el año pasado, gracias a su calidad y preeminencia este año ha sido editado por Xtreem Music con material extra; el video clip de "Violentada" (tema que venia en el disco "Muerte Verdadera Muerte" 2001), además del tema "Conflict For Pain" que es exclusivamente para Europa.
Es la primera vez que los colombianos hacen un disco en inglés, lo que podría abrirles muchas puertas (aunque en el death metal, esto importa muy poco, la verdad). El tema "Slaves of death", que abre el disco al más puro estilo Incantation es tan brutal que no deja que el siguiente, "Battlefields", le haga ningún tipo de sombra. "Kill or get
killed" es un tema a medio tiempo en el cual es inevitable recordar a Morbid Angel y donde hay un virtuoso solo de guitarra.
En el tema "Death Metal Forever", Masacre deja ver su clara influencia de Cannibal Corpse y, como indica el título de la cancion, es su himno personal al estilo que hacen. Otra clara influencia de este grupo es "Death" y esto está presente en el tema "Wrath Intense Pain".
Masacre sin duda alguna es una de las bandas más importantes del metal extremo latinoamericano. Su cuarto álbum de estudio parece que esta siendo el lanzamiento definitivo para captar las miradas de muchos, death metal hecho con mucha calidad. Cómo se nota que llevan muchos años en esto: su primera demo, "Colombia... Imperio del terror", data del año 89. Un buen disco de old school death metal……"Total death" ha sido grabado en los Sirio Studio en Colombia y masterizado por Eric Rutan en los Mana Recording Studios, quien ha hecho un excelente trabajo.
Las bandas de hoy en día deberían de seguir sonando así.
Masacre from Colombia (not to be mistaken with M.A.S.A.C.R.E. from Peru or Massacre from the U.S.A.) have been hunting the Latin-American underground for a stunning seventeen years by now. Releasing numerous demo’s, promo’s and full lengths on various labels they’ve always stayed true to death metal and gained a legendary status in South America.
“Total Death” marks the return on European soil after the deal with Osmose Productions in 1991 in two ways because it is being released by Spanish label Xtreem Music and Masacre will tour Europe for the first time in their existence promoting this album.
The European edition of “Total Death” contains a bonus-track (“Conflicts For Peace”), which is totally in line with the rest of the album, and a video-track . The video is from the song “Violentada” from the previous full length “Muerte Verdadera Muerte” and consists of footage from demonstrations, military scenes, dead bodies and several Masacre gigs.
It must purely be seen as an extra because the audio and video quality is shaky at best.
Masacre bears resemblance with the death metal bands from the early nineties and most noteworthy to Morbid Angel. Raw, blasphemous old school death metal all the way; Total Death indeed! The album was recorded in Colombia and mixed and mastered in the Mana Studios in Florida which are owned by Erik Rutan from Hate Eternal en Morbid Angel fame. He produced, mixed and mastered “Total Death” and the result is a like being kicked in the face. Powerful guitars with room for solo’s, fast technical drumming and the very distinct throat of singer and founder Alex Oquende make this a death metal fest for fans.
It doesn't really matter if you like 'em or not, but you definitely gotta respect a band that's been around for 17 years already and never sold out to the mainstream! Colombia's very own MASACRE (not to be mixed up with the Florida bunch that gets spelled with a double "s") is one of those bands. Ever since their origin way back in 1988 they constantly recorded and released material and (apart from a bunch of promo / demo releases and mini albums) "Total Death" is their fourth full length now. It is their first one with English lyrics though, perfectly produced by HATE ETERNAL's Erik Rutan at Mana Recording Studios in Tampa, Florida. It was an absolute wise choice to name this record "Total Death" as no other title could sum up its content so perfectly! This is indeed total Death from start to finish! The nine featured songs (incl. 'Conflicts For Peace', the bonus track on the European edition) are nothing but raw, uncompromising, blasphemous oldschool Death Metal at its best! It's really cool to see how immensely MASACRE have matured as songwriters over the years and they have never ever sounded better than on "Total Death"! I have no idea how big Erik Rutan's influence on this record really was, but the material definitely benefits a lot from the band's overall increased brutality and tightness. Just imagine how it would sound like if members of INCANTATION would adopt the writing style of earlier MORBID ANGEL and you almost get an idea of what to expect here! This is nothing but pure Hell and to me one of the finest releases in this genre this year so far! The CD also features a video track for the song 'Violentada', which is taken from their previous, 2001 album "Muerte Verdadera Muerte" (as far as I know) and reminds me a bit on older SEPULTURA videos due to its rather political footage, which gets mixed with live sequences of the band. So my advice to anyone into DRAWN AND QUARTERED, INFERNAL LEGION, INCANTATION, DISCIPLES OF MOCKERY and the likes is plain and simple: get this album at all cost!
"Total Death" is the first album from the Colombian death metal band Masacre that is completely sung in English, yet it is their fourth full length album in their 17 years of existence. All of their former releases were in Spanish and were not really available on the European market. In 1991 the band released a split CD with Profanatica on Osmose Records that should be the most wellknown release from this band on the European continent. I personally have never heard of this band before and even though their band name is very familiar they should not be confused with Florida's Massacre, France's Massacra, Argentina's Massacre or the Peruvian band M.A.S.A.C.R.E. "Total Death" was recorded at the Sirio Studio in Bogota and produced, mixed and mastered by Erik Rutan at his Mana Studios in Florida in 2003. The album was released in South America through Hateworks Records last year and now Xtreem Music from Spain will release this piece of death metal violence on the European market, and the band is preparing to tour Europe for the first time ever later this year. "Total Death" contains eight regular tracks plus a bonus track, which is a re-recorded song from their Requiem CD from 1991, and a videotrack of "Violentada". The music of Masacre is of pretty high standard and the sound of the songs is very much into balance. Singer Alex Oquendo has a powerful and varied death grunt, the guitars are heavy as fuck and the melodic solowork is really killer. The propelling drums of Victor Gallego are a solid foundation for the energetic songs that are moving in the direction of somewhat old school death metal. At times Masacre remind me of Cannibal Corpse, even though their sound is far from that of Cannibal Corpse's. Masacre sure know how to hit the spot with their powerful death metal and it absolutely doesn't hurt to give this release a chance if you're looking for a solid death metal album!
Brutal death metal incumbents Masacre have returned to office for the first time in many years, and Total Death is quite an accomplishment. But, as is the case with their Xtreem Music (great label with a less-than-great moniker) peers, the originality factor tends to play an insignificant role while songwriting, musicianship, and downright punishing instrumentation occupy the forefront. Sometimes, that arrangement is fine by me.
My chief complaint with groups attached to Xtreem Music is that the records are too damn short. Releases by Human Mincer and Kataplexia don’t even brush against the thirty-minute mark, though thankfully Total Death fares better due to lengthier presence. Of course, the music that inhabits the disc kills, to put it simply. MetalReview aficionados will, undoubtedly, recall the opener “Slaves of Death” as it just barely edged out fellow contenders Adramelech (review forthcoming) and Defleshed to secure an Mp3 War trophy. On the whole, Masacre have a penchant for speed, but they also like to incorporate elements such as guitar leads, inventive drumming, and top-heavy growls in order to get their points across.
Really, one could argue that Masacre don’t necessarily fit into the brutal death metal corral; however, when listening to songs like “Oh My God!” and “Conflicts for Peace,” I’m not as concerned with categorization as I am with paying attention to the notable riffwork and other idiosyncrasies. Those rummaging for comparisons could do much worse than sifting through the Xtreem Music back inventory for similar acts, and I’m positive that Total Death – the group’s fourth full-length – is one of the label’s most appetizing platters.
All in all, the music fits together nicely and seamlessly meshes with my tastes. Like I mentioned, however, the pioneer spirit (i.e. forging new paths) does not reside within Masacre, though this trail is just as worthy for traversal as anything else I’ve come across. So, in other words, take a hike.
This Colombian band has released this disc in 2004 already but now re-issued by Xtreem Music and with a bonus song and video. Well, what kind of metal would they play? Read the bandname and you know: brutal death metal. Smashing around with doublebass drumblasts, guitars that speed things up and with nice leads, all covered with deep vocals gurgles. Tunes that hook you up and grab you completly if you love brutal death metal. Yeah, this is total death!
Prior to corporate magazines and Johnny-come-latelies started to call sell-out commercial acts like In Flames and Dark Tranquillity death metal the sub-genre had a timbre all its own. That belief and that attitude are unremittingly alive with Colombia's Masacre.
Last time the sounds of the brutalizers was heard at Metallian Towers was 1991's Requiem which was issued through Osmose Production. The band and album were bestial and exceedingly primitive. Fast forward to 2004 and the band is a fully developed death metal band that, while not delivering anything particularly new, performs the basics exceedingly well. In fact, Total Death (the band is not kidding here), is quite seriously excellent in sound, production, tone, lead solos and vocals. By the time track five surges forth one has no reason but to fully trust the band's "death metal forever" chant. Fact is that every song is constructed on a number of stimulating and provocative parts that are death metal at its finest. Even a song like Wrath Intense Pain manages to convince without question in spite of its relatively melodic construct.
Masacre compels one to get off the fence for there are no in-betweens.
MASACRE are probably best known for being the other band on the sought-after PROFANATICA split CD on Osmose, which went for ridiculous amounts of money on eBay and, I believe, was re-released in mass quantities not too long ago. They have released three albums and an array of splits and EPs since, but this is the first MASACRE material I have heard aside from the EP and it is a good 'un.
The material on the Ola de Violencia EP, as their half of the split is called, was raw, sounding like it was recorded in a cave. MASACRE came off very much like so many JL America bands (EXCRUCIATING PAIN, ACCIDENTAL SUICIDE, etc.): nasty, under-produced, underdeveloped, but appealing. I was surprised to hear Total Death, as it is far from unpolished. While still brutal and ugly, the music is refined, and more akin to the giants of the genre, like MORBID ANGEL and MONSTROSITY. There are some good hooks, like on "Death Metal Forever," lots of groove, sub-sonic vocals, fluid lead work, and massive sound courtesy of Erik Rutan. This is straight up death metal. No tricks, no surprises... just solid, meat-and-potatoes stuff that, like a Snickers, really satisfies.
Czas powrotów jeszcze się nie zakończył. Świadczyć o tym może kolejny atak kolumbijskiej grupy MASACRE, która wprawdzie już w roku 2001 podniosła się z letargu, ale jakoś tak przeszedł ich ówczesny powrót bez echa. Obecnie tak nie będzie, a to za sprawą albumu „Total Death”. O wiele mówiącym tytule. Krótko, zwięźle i na temat! Potężny „Slaves Of Death” już ukazuje potęgę Kolumbijczyków. Słychać tą precyzję, zgranie i lekkość w graniu tak ciężkich riffów. Mielący „Battlefields” zaczyna dopierdalać jeszcze mocniej. A potem już tylko jesteśmy stopniowo dobijani. MASACRE nie forsuje tempa, raczy nas niczym doświadczony mistrz. Przyśpieszy, zwolni, przemieli. Zaciągnie pętlę solówką, by potem rozhuśtać wisielca odpowiednio dawkowanym death metalem. Atmosfera płyty przypomina tą jaką znamy z płyt IMMOLATION, NILE, INCANTATION, choć, bez urazy, rzeknę iż Kolumbijczycy grają prościej, czytelniej. Do tego wbijają się, jak dawno nikt, z tytułami, które odzwierciedlają zawartość - „Death Metal Forever”! Równa, wyważona i mroczna płyta. Daleki jednakże jestem do określenia MASACRE „kultem”, z tego tylko względu, że to stary i w dodatku południowoamerykański zespół. To po prostu jedna ze starszych formacji, która przez te wszystkie lata osiągnęła taki a nie inny poziom. I chwała im za to, bez zbędnej „kultowości”. Na dokładkę otrzymujemy teledysk do kawałka „Violentada” - 6-cio minutowy walec, Kolumbijczycy w wydaniu ‘na żywo”, plus wstawki z ichnich dzienników-przemoc, wojna, partyzantka itepe.
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