Colombia: A Brutal Paradise

If you have any interest in Brutal Death you should now the amazing music the South American country of Colombia has given us. Not one other country on the continent comes close to the quality coming out of Colombia. There must be something in the water, but whatever it is, it is good for us brutalheads.

I'll start by talking about Amputated Genitals. They have released one album entitled Human Meat Gluttony. Like it's name it is exceedingly brutal. Wet gutturals similar to those of Cenotaph (tur) and Disgorge (us) cascade down backed by loud blasts. The guitar riffs are relentless and often remind me of the aforementioned Disgorge. What really makes me love the band though is that they add a few elements here and there to complement the excellent brutality. For example on the song Chessman Red Monday they do a nice melodic part that'll get you headbanging. On the song Garavito Attacks Again they begin with a nice vocal solo. It is this package of brutality-plus that makes me love them.

Another great band from the area is Ancient Necropsy. This is a one man band that makes extremely interesting death/grind. Not only is the music brutal, but the riffs and song structures will keep you engaged. My only issue is that the vocals tend to be weaker than I would like, but this is minor and forgivable when the man behind the project has to do everything else.

If you are looking for the more slam side of things, then you need to check out Carnivore Diprosopus. Listening to them reminds me of a zombie, flesh dripping off, staggering around. If this doesn't get stuck in your head I don't know what will. The slams are infectious and heavy. On the album Madhouse's Macabre Acts the production is a little shabby, which is unfortunate, but recent rerecordings have sounded excellent so I am optimistic about this band's future.

Lastly I'd mention the undisputed ruler of Colombian Brutal Death: Goretrade. God damn these guys are good. If these guys were the Beatles I would be a 16 year old schoolgirl screaming and tearing at my hair. Goretrade marries Brutal Death and Old School death perfectly. They are just as brutal as their contemporaries, but utilize the riffing style that made death metal great in the first place. Just when you want to bang your head to a nice tremelo old school riff, they bust it out. Then when you're sick of that, they descend into a mammoth slam. The vocals are well patterned and add a lot. A lot of people complain the drums are too loud, but I would disagree. Basically if you take one thing away from reading this, it should be BUY GORETRADE ALBUMS!

I know I haven't covered all the Colombian BDM (far from it), but these bands are a good starting point for anyone interested in the scene, so go out and get some Colombian BDM senor!