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Sol Negro (Spanish translation for “Black Sun”) is a quite rare band from Mexico/USA which plays black metal. I haven´t heard nothing about them before receiving this demo. Frankly, the first notes of opening track “Into The Black Vortex” told me nothing good. In fact I thought I was before another crappy boring band. That doubtful beginning, with some drum beats out of place, the guitars moaning dull notes and so on... luckily the rest of the song (and the rest of the demo) is far better. “Helpless Young God” is a great song, indeed! After hearing it several times, I think that first song is not that awful but it´s clearly the worst of all and maybe it should have been re-recorded or changed in some way. Unlike one could expect, their brand of metal is halfway between thrash and black. Some old school bands devoted to the past as Pentacle or Soulburn have come to my mind often along the listening of “Hellish Furnace”. Yes, Celtic Frost is the main influence of Sol Negro music, I´d say, but other elements make think of other bands. Moreover, Sol Negro are way faster than CF in the fast parts, and more evil in the vocal focus –Luis´ throat sounds truly raspy, flawless throughout the recording.
The music is hard to describe properly, but if I say “old school thrashy black metal” I wouldn´t be really missing the point. They´re aggressive, but melodies flow everytime and keep the malignant essence with no remorse. The good thing about Sol Negro is that they are inspired by the old legends of the genre and one can hardly feel the Scandinavian black presence in these tracks; therefore, you won´t find here another Immortal clone whatsoever. Although the sound of the recording is quite efficient, the band´s technical skills are certainly not quite impressive. The sound of guitars is a bit too primeval at times, lacking tempo discipline in some thrashy passages, not in the chords. The vocals are fine, and the drummer is a very talented guy who hits with a lot of energy. Too bad some drum fills and breaks seem to need more work, just my opinion. In a few words: Celtic Frost essence has another bearers of the torch. Pure black metal without make-up nor extravaganzas; straight between the eyes, honest and uncompromising.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Into The Black Vortex |
| 2. Helpless Young God |
| 3. The Future Of Man |
| 4. Painful Bliss |
| 5. Gone With The Flames |
: 27.45
| Buy other Sol Negro albums |
