Mala Suerte – The Shadow Tradition

This band has been making the earth rattle for about 10 years now and with that sort of experience you would be expect some quality product from this band.What you get is not only quality but one of the most crust-filled Doom Metal release's to come out this year.This is bare-bones no frills Doom Metal,hell the band rarely even bothers with guitar solo's.This is non-stop riff based sludge combined with Rosa's trademark vocals and gifted occult based lyrics.A lot of bands that rely on the occult can be pretty predictable with the way they use all the occult cliches in their words but this band is different.The guy is truly gifted in the ways of dark story telling..Back to the music though,Mala Suerte are very stripped down Doom,not much solo's or even a chorus but a Heavy as Hell guitar tone that will shake your brain into submission.Highlights include "Entrance/Black Art",The Shadow Tradition" which as a lyrical composition is a mammoth piece of work."The Way Of The Reversal" breaks the mold with a more uptempo groove and there is a slight change of guitar sound in "The Monks Of Medenham" which heads off in a more Reverb soaked direction.The sound is thick and the songs have a definitive Psychedelic edge all blended up in heavy doses of raw,psychotic Doom.Think of bands like Grief and you will get the idea what this band sounds like,there is occasional twists into a more traditional Doom Metal but for the most part this is pure Doom sickness.The packaging is great and the production is also pretty damn good.I have only heard this album a few times so don't be surprised if i come back to this review to add and edit.This album is a grower and with every listen you will find something new to get excited about.Worth a spin....8.5/10