Album Review – Lucifera / La Caceria De Brujas (2019)

Let the witch hunt begin to the sound of the infernal fusion of Black and Thrash Metal by this dynamic duo hailing from Colombia.

Spawned in the year of 2008 in the ardent fires of Pasto, the capital of the department of Nariño, in southern Colombia as an hellish duo comprised of guitarist and composer David HellRazor and vocalist and bassist Alejandra Blasfemia, Black/Thrash Metal outfit Lucifera started off playing a much more conventional form of Thrash Metal,  evolving into an obscure and demonic beast over the years while still maintaining the amazing dynamism between the band’s founding members. Now in 2019 it’s time for Lucifera to spread darkness and blasphemy with their highly anticipated fourth full-length and defining opus entitled La Caceria De Brujas, or “the witch hunt” in English, taking the band’s primeval elements to a whole new level of malignancy, hatred and professionalism.

Featuring a menacing design by HR Design, from the band’s hometown Pasto, La Caceria De Brujas offers the listener a 39-minute tour de force of the blackest Thrash Metal and thrashiest Black Metal split into eight demonic hymns that will please all of fans of true, ancient metal music from the very depths of the underworld. In addition, one very interesting and important detail about La Caceria De Brujas is the fact that the lyrics for each song were pretty much written by a different musician. For instance, the lyrics for “Arde En Llamas” were written by Sonia Sepulchral (Bolivia), “Sigillum Diaboli” by Alicia Leguizamon (Colombia), “Sortilegio” by Clara Kultarr (Peru), “Ceremonia Secular” by the band’s own she-demon Alejandra Blasfemia (Colombia), “Pacto Pagano” by Melissa Kalissa (Colombia), “Conjuro” by Silvia Gers (Argentina), and “Brujeria” by Adriana Mavir (Mexico). However, that doesn’t mean the songs feel or sound disconnected; quite the contrary, the transition from song to song couldn’t have sound more powerful and thrilling, adding an extra touch of obscurity to the entire album thanks to this amazing “coven” of lyricists.

Evil distortions and vociferations kick off the blasphemous, belligerent and pulverizing opening track Arde En Llamas, with Alejandra sounding like the beast incarnate on vocals, while David blasts truly demonic sounds from his sonic weapons. Furthermore, you can sense influences from the early days of Slayer and classic Black Metal in their music, which obviously translates into absolute awesomeness. And Alejandra keeps growling manically (and always in Spanish, which makes her message even more obscure and vibrant) and punching us in the head with her rumbling bass in Sigillum Diaboli, a frantic hymn perfect for slamming into the circle pit to the vicious riffs by David, followed by Sortilegio, even more satanic than its predecessors by blending the speed and rawness of Thrash Metal with the darkness of Black Metal, with David sounding bestial not only with his riffs but also with his crushing beats. Then a disturbing intro taken from the original motion picture soundtrack “The Witch – Witch’s Coven” (written and performed by Mark Korven in 2015) ignites the demonic Ceremonia Secular, with the guitars by David bringing thunder to the overall musicality, resulting in a fantastic headbanging, mid-tempo display of extreme music that flows infernally until its grand finale.

Putting the pedal to the metal, the Colombian duo gets back to a more dissonant, high-octane sonority in Pacto Pagano, showcasing guitars and bass in absolute sync which consequently generates a menacing ambience for our total delight, while Alejandra’s gnarls sound like the utmost depiction of madness and rage. Following a similar disruptive, devilish pattern as its predecessor, Conjuro is another superb exhibit of underground Thrash and Black Metal by Alejandra and David, who by the way is on total fire with his riffs and solos, making our heads tremble in a demented way, which is also the case in Brujeria, where David demolishes his drums providing Alejandra all she needs to unleash her inner demon on vocals, or in other words, her anguished roars match flawlessly with the song’s thunderous bass and riffs from start to finish. Lastly, ending such sensational album the duo offers us Evocación Del Caos, by far the most obscure of all songs, an instrumental extravaganza presenting hints of Doom Metal and Blackened Doom forming a damned sonority that goes on and on, mesmerizing our senses and darkening our minds until all fades into a cold void, giving place to a final and very unsettling combination of evil sounds and tones.

In summary, let the witch hunt begin to the sound of the beyond fulminating fusion of Black and Thrash Metal found in La Caceria De Brujas, courtesy of this talented and electrifying Colombian duo, and in order to show all your support to Lucifera go check what they’re up to on Facebook and grab your copy of such blasphemous and sulfurous album from the Dunkelheit Produktionen’s BandCamp page or webstore in CD format or as a limited black, red or sun-amber edition LP (including an A2 format poster and a metalpin). Because if you’re going to be part of a coven, you better choose one where you can also enjoy first-class metal music, like what Lucifera more than succeeds in providing to our ears always avid for ass-kicking underground Extreme Metal.

Best moments of the album: Arde En Llamas, Sigillum Diaboli, Pacto Pagano and Conjuro.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2019 Dunkelheit Produktionen

Track listing
1. Arde En Llamas 4:07
2. Sigillum Diaboli 4:25
3. Sortilegio 3:50
4. Ceremonia Secular 6:23
5. Pacto Pagano 3:49
6. Conjuro 4:10
7. Brujeria 5:04
8. Evocación Del Caos 6:51

Band members
Alejandra Blasfemia – vocals, bass
David HellRazor – guitars, all instruments

Album Review – Evil Nerfal / Bellum Est Pater Omnium (2018)

Summoning the forces of chaos through the primordial horror of sinister music under the cloak of Satanic and anti-Christian opposition, here comes a Colombian infernal horde armed with their brand new opus.

Forged in the deepest fires of Pasto, the capital of the department of Nariño in southwestern Colombia, in 2007 by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Brannagh Bapheker, but currently located in Pereira, the capital city of the Colombian department of Risaralda located in the foothills of the Andes, the demonic Black Metal act known as Evil Nerfal is unleashing upon the earth their second full-length opus, titled Bellum Est Pater Omnium, which translates from Latin as “war is the father of all”, summoning the forces of chaos through the primordial horror of sinister music under the cloak of Satanic and anti-Christian opposition, inspired by the early days of Mayhem, Marduk, Sarcófago, Enthroned and Denial of God.

Bellum Est Pater Omnium is an album that mixes European Black Metal elements from the 90’s with influences from old school metal made in South America, also including elements of Death Metal and western classical music. The result of this symbiosis is a Black Metal characterized by extreme intensity and speed, overloaded with contrasts of times (medium and slow speeds), polysemic in its riffs, versatile in the configuration of melodies and, above all, polyphonic, full of nuances, harmonizations and superposition of musical figures. Furthermore, the philosophical substratum that sustains the repertoire of lyrics of songs is based on the ontological configuration of evil, a poetic that evokes the cosmic supremacy of Satan, imbricated in knowledge, the anti-christian force, the anti-culture par excellence, while the strength of an inner experience that advocates for freedom in the opposition, in the experience, because Black Metal is a “consistent existential praxis”. And if none of this makes any sense to you, simply hit play and let you soul be darkened by the scorching music by Evil Nerfal.

An orchestral intro titled Coriolan (Overture) lets the curtains fall majestically for the furious and austere Fuck Off Jesus Christ, with Brannagh Bapheker extracting sulfurous riffs from his guitar while at the same time gnarling like a demonic entity. Furthermore, Purson Dominus crushes his drums ruthlessly, spreading sheer blasphemy and hatred in this devilish hybrid of Black and Death Metal. After such demented start we have In Endless Torment, another infernal creation by this Colombian outfit that might sound slower than its predecessor, but it’s still as dark as the pits of hell, with Brannagh once again delivering ominous riffs and bass punches while the beats by Purson alternate between a Doom Metal-inspired pace and the utter aggression from classic Black Metal.

The temperature rises once again in a hellish display of old school Black Metal titled Foedus Versus Deus (Against The Great Drone Of History), with the vocals by Brannagh bringing nuances of the rage of classic Death Metal, resulting in one of the best songs of the album without a shadow of a doubt; whereas En Las Fauces Del Demonio (Taedium Daemoni) begins as a diabolical march of extreme music led by the thunderous beats and fills by Purson, exploding into cataclysmic Black Metal to the growls by Brannagh. Moreover, the beauty of this song is the fact it’s sung in their mother tongue Spanish, sounding even more pulverizing, wicked and eccentric. And their sonic onrush of otherworldly sounds and noises goes on in the belligerent Agon (Bellum Est Pater Omnium), with both Brannagh and Purson firing sheer Black Metal through their instruments, summoning all the evil present in our decaying society.

Satanic Madness Black Metal Unleashed is an instrumental extravaganza led by Brannagh and his classic guitar riffs while Purson keeps the pace at a dark and demolishing level, setting the tone for the hard-hitting Sathanas Kingdom Rises, a demonic, chaotic devastation bred by the duo that will please all fans of underground Extreme Metal where Brannagh screams and growls like a beast nonstop, and with the merciless pounding drums by Purson making the whole song even more impactful. Then we have Vestigial (Manifiesto De Misantropía), their second blast of unrelenting Black Metal sung in Spanish, also presenting hints of the most vicious form of Death Metal in its blasphemous waves with Purson showcasing a great performance with his intricate, raging beats and fills, before an epic and orchestral outro named Egmont (Finale) puts a climatic end to this precious gem of underground extreme music.

You can join Evil Nerfal in their blasphemous and sulfuric quest for Black Metal by visiting their Facebook page and by listening to their music on SoundCloud, and if you want to show your true support to devilish Black Metal from the underworld you can purchase the scorching Bellum Est Pater Omnium (which by the way is available for a full listen on YouTube) from the GrimmDistribution’s BandCamp page, on iTunes, on Amazon or at Discogs. May Evil Nerfal continue to pave their path of obscurity, blasphemy and hatred for many years to come, proving high-end underground Black Metal is stronger than ever even in places far away from its birthplace Scandinavia.

Best moments of the album: Fuck Off Jesus Christ, Foedus Versus Deus (Against The Great Drone Of History) and Sathanas Kingdom Rises.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2018 GrimmDistribution

Track listing
1. Coriolan (Overture) 2:25
2. Fuck Off Jesus Christ 4:20
3. In Endless Torment 4:44
4. Foedus Versus Deus (Against The Great Drone Of History) 4:31
5. En Las Fauces Del Demonio (Taedium Daemoni) 5:25
6. Agon (Bellum Est Pater Omnium) 4:16
7. Satanic Madness Black Metal Unleashed (Instrumental) 5:35
8. Sathanas Kingdom Rises 4:18
9. Vestigial (Manifiesto De Misantropía) 3:42
10. Egmont (Finale) 1:36

Band members
Brannagh Bapheker – vocals, guitars, bass
Purson Dominus – drums

Guest musicians
Óreidu – guitar (live/session)
Engram Zulphur – bass (live/session)