Label: Dunkelheit Produktionen
Date: July 18th, 2020
Just out of curiosity, what does the back side of the CD look like? With “Sanguinaria ejecución de individuos despreciables” being among the shortest song titles on the album it must be one hell of a mess out there. Perhaps it is a bit clearer on the LP, but still… I see no point in giving a whole synopsis of a song in its name. Seeing how I don’t understand that much of Spanish language, it doesn’t help me one bit. What it does is make it downright impossible to connect a certain song which might be more attractive to its title. Confusing situation, but I’ll give it my best.
As Spanish language is quite widespread, mostly by the selfless efforts of God fearing conquistadors, I need to tell you that Abatuar comes from Panama. It is still a rare occasion to find a band coming from such an exotic destination. Especially one that is signed to a German label. However, the music performed on “Mortandad” is a much more common on the global level. Grinding death metal has had its heyday, only to be given a bad name by countless bedroom projects mostly focusing on spewing as much noise as possible. While Abatuar is a one-man project of a man proclaiming himself a Cadaver (though very much still alive), there’s a couple of session musicians involved. Also, the mastering of the record is outsourced, so that the rehearsal room recording session doesn’t ruin your chances of hearing what is actually played.
When it comes to the music itself, I find a certain Abatuar as a mixture between the European grind legends and that inevitable South and Central American death metal roughness. There’s a definite attention to creating clear and memorable riffing patterns, with added layers of brutality and unsuppressed diabolical wrath. Given the filthy production work, “Mortandad” simply oozes from the dissected ulcers. Most prominently in the slower sections which are a minority but an effective one. Also, Abatuar does not resort to multitude samples from horror flicks. It is through the musical creativity that the atmosphere is achieved.
The weakest point of Abatuar is the vocal. I find it lacking strength. The voice is not convincing enough, be it growling of screaming. Speaking of other instruments and the general ideas behind this album, these are keeping up to a certain level. Let me be completely honest. There are real good parts. Ones that will definitely move the listener and find room in the tormented brains of grind freaks. Still, much of the record is set somewhere in the middle. The genre has had a lot better releases throughout its history. But, as I said above, there’s been millions of much worse. Quite frankly, this is an honest attempt at a style long forsaken by those who still claim to worship it. “Mortandad” is an album that should very much appeal to the fans. Probably won’t get into anyone’s all-time favorite list, but a decent reminder of what grindcore is capable of.
