Desalmado, Hereditas
Hereditas was originally recorded four years ago and is now just seeing a U.S. release in anticipation for the band’s first full-length effort (to be released later this year). The brief span of time from when this album was first released to now doesn’t make a difference in Desalmado’s impact on the grind scene. The six songs (just over 13 minutes play time) on this EP carry a sound that is anything but dated. Infusing influences from Napalm Death to Brujeria with great effect, the Brazilian band rip through death metal tinged grind core with ferocity and a focused determination.
“Condenados Pelo Ódio” opens up the mayhem with a methodically building tempo that culminates in a bruising grind attack of thick, buzzing guitars and ferocious vocals — lead growler Caio Augusttus covers the low gutturals as well as the high end, flying shrapnel-like shrieks. The band throws in a solid bit of mosh toward the latter half of the opening track that will have necks snapped in no time flat. “Em Sua Honra” unleashes crushing blows upon your upper torso with reckless abandon with a rapid fire rhythm and driving, buzzing guitars. The vocals throughout the EP are on point for the style of thick, death/grind that these Brazilians seem to have tamed and bent to their own maniacal will.
After that one minute eruption of violence, the band settles things down a bit with a solid groove to kick off “Miséria Escravatura” before ramping up the carnage with a quickened, machine-gun drum blast and chugging guitars. The Napalm Death like opening to “Chagas Abertas” is familiar in the way that your favorite instrument of blunt force damage is. Dealmado do a great job entwining their influences into the music without directly aping it — which ultimately makes for one hell of a song.
“Manto de Sangue” which loosely translates to “Cloak of Blood” is a beast of a song complete with Slayer-like guitar tones and maniacal drum work. The song is ferocious and as in-your-face as you can get with grinding death metal. The title track rounds out the EP as my favorite of the album. It’s rumbling nature is like that of an enraged silverback gorilla, teaming with pent-up aggression and ready to let loose on any one and anything at the drop of a hat.
Man, if this EP is any indication then the four years the band has spent since it’s release — presumably working on their full-length debut — are going to make for one hell of an album. Had I heard Hereditas when it was first released, I’d have flagged it as one of the best releases of 2009 despite it’s truncated length. It’s an album that I’ve been spinning repeatedly for a little while now and will continue to do so until I get a full album’s worth of Dealmado’s brand of grinding death metal.