20 years into their career, Los Angeles mob Sangre are still sticking to the same DIY spirit they’ve had since 2001’s Carrion. Though releases have been sparse over that time, they have returned to the studio this year and the result is the brutal Mas Fuerte Que La Muerte.
There is a lot to digest in what makes up Sangre’s sound. There is more than a fair amount of groove metal and hardcore in their sound, along with some Latin metal flair, although this time out there is also a lot of melodic death metal added to the mix, particularly in the high screams of frontman Henry Sanchez and fast-paced drumming of Josh Durante. Sanchez in particular doesn’t hold back against his targets throughout the album’s lyrics, taking on the police corruption and racism (“Law & Disorder”, with special disdain reserved for the border wall across the US-Mexico border), America’s lax gun laws (“American Nightmare”) and the futility of war (“At What Cost?”). Some of the lyrics fall a bit flat or feel like square pegs in round holes, but the conviction is certainly behind them. With 5 years since the last Sangre music was released (through 2015’s Atonement EP), there’s been a lot of things happening for them to sing about, so it’s not really a surprise that it’s taken time for them to process what exactly they can fit onto one album.
It’s actually where Sangre explore their Hispanic heritage and allow that to seep into their music, though, where Mas Fuerte Que La Muerte is at its best. The guitar work of Mike Reyes on “Pharmakon” and the acoustic work on “Silent as the Tomb” are completely outside the band’s comfort zone but work so well, giving extra layers to their sound which would have been sorely lacking otherwise, and prevent the album from getting too mired down in the same patterns. These moments also allow Sanchez to show off his clean vocals, which in reality do need to be heard a lot more. That’s not to say their more standard work doesn’t have its own merit, with the militaristic “Death March” being an absolute rager, with Sangre firing on all cylinders in an old-school groove metal fashion, with a punishing metalcore breakdown to boot.
As mentioned previously, one of the weaker points in Mas Fuerte Que La Muerte comes in the lyrics. While earnest in execution, not all of them seem to fit in the right place, feeling forced or ill-planned. The biggest example of this comes in “American Nightmare”. There is nothing wrong with what is being said, it just… doesn’t sound right the way it’s performed. Aside from that, the DIY nature of the band means there will always be a certain roughness to the production and this is mostly felt in the drums, where the cymbals tend to stand out awkwardly with a strange fuzz to their sound, like they’ve been overly compressed.
There is a lot to digest in what makes up Sangre’s sound. There is more than a fair amount of groove metal and hardcore in their sound, along with some Latin metal flair, although this time out there is also a lot of melodic death metal added to the mix, particularly in the high screams of frontman Henry Sanchez and fast-paced drumming of Josh Durante. Sanchez in particular doesn’t hold back against his targets throughout the album’s lyrics, taking on the police corruption and racism (“Law & Disorder”, with special disdain reserved for the border wall across the US-Mexico border), America’s lax gun laws (“American Nightmare”) and the futility of war (“At What Cost?”). Some of the lyrics fall a bit flat or feel like square pegs in round holes, but the conviction is certainly behind them. With 5 years since the last Sangre music was released (through 2015’s Atonement EP), there’s been a lot of things happening for them to sing about, so it’s not really a surprise that it’s taken time for them to process what exactly they can fit onto one album.
It’s actually where Sangre explore their Hispanic heritage and allow that to seep into their music, though, where Mas Fuerte Que La Muerte is at its best. The guitar work of Mike Reyes on “Pharmakon” and the acoustic work on “Silent as the Tomb” are completely outside the band’s comfort zone but work so well, giving extra layers to their sound which would have been sorely lacking otherwise, and prevent the album from getting too mired down in the same patterns. These moments also allow Sanchez to show off his clean vocals, which in reality do need to be heard a lot more. That’s not to say their more standard work doesn’t have its own merit, with the militaristic “Death March” being an absolute rager, with Sangre firing on all cylinders in an old-school groove metal fashion, with a punishing metalcore breakdown to boot.
As mentioned previously, one of the weaker points in Mas Fuerte Que La Muerte comes in the lyrics. While earnest in execution, not all of them seem to fit in the right place, feeling forced or ill-planned. The biggest example of this comes in “American Nightmare”. There is nothing wrong with what is being said, it just… doesn’t sound right the way it’s performed. Aside from that, the DIY nature of the band means there will always be a certain roughness to the production and this is mostly felt in the drums, where the cymbals tend to stand out awkwardly with a strange fuzz to their sound, like they’ve been overly compressed.
However, if you’re already familiar with Sangre then you’ll know exactly what to expect from them on Mas Fuerte Que La Muerte: brutal riffs, tight grooves and socially conscious lyrics. The additional flourishes they’ve presented on the album are a nice treat, and are an extra incentive for those unfamiliar with the band such as myself to want to dig a bit deeper. There’s plenty to think about on this album, but also enough appeal for those who just want to mosh. In that respect, you can’t really go wrong.
Stream the album below and follow Sangre on Facebook.
Comments
Post a Comment