Mentat vs. Cementerio Split 2012 ...

Several months passed since the release of this charmingly gloomy split between two cool Spanish, Valencia-based bands, Mentat and Cementerio. Both bands are in the roster of the French underground label Boue Records which has by now become guarantee of quality and eclectic taste for doom, sludge, black and dark metal in general.  This is one of those split releases where  there seem to be more discontinuity than affinities between the bands involved, at least at a first, surficial approach. However what links and justifies the coupling of Mentat with Cementerio here is something beyond the geographical provenance, it’s a basic, archetypal element, let’s call it “Doom”. Mentat and Cementerio elaborate Doom with different approaches and spirit, and their being in the same “cage” offers a cool trip into contrasting forms of dark and heavy music.   In the split Mentat contributes two suites, the 6:21 minutes-long opener Un Juego Estupido and the 7:44 minutes-long track Dependencia Y Sustrato (XV). On their side Cementerio quartet offer a single 18:19 minutes-long track including three parts called "Consumidos Por Las Probabilidades" + "Y Acabamos En Un Afluente" + "El Cielo os Banaba".

Mentat are not new to Doommantia (see Here) and Cementerio are not new to the old Sludgeswamp devotees. Both bands and Boue Records have been generously sharing their previous fine outputs in the blogosphere in a recent past. In their substantial 2010 full length album Amarillo Abyssal the Mentat quartet had fully expressed their eclectic style encompassing powerful, dark sludgecore/doom metal blended with post-metal and experimentation, in the vein of bands like Rorcal, Neurosis, Flatlands, and Spanish acts like Lords of Bukkake, Warchetype, Aathma etc.. The link between the new tracks and Mentat’s previous major release is not only in the band’s stylistic continuity but also in the employment of Roman numbers (XV) related to the sequence adopted in the previous release. Mentat’s leading melodies may possess a dirty, distorted and sinister core stemming form the band’s mixture of dark, dramatic doom-sludge and drony post-metal. However the band mold this grim core via tempo changes and with the employment characteristic atmospheric parts varying from intense epic doom to delicate acoustic piano-/cello-driven sounds. A somber cello- and piano-driven melody coupled with a soft, occult background mumrmur is actually what opens the split on Mentat’s side. But it doesn’t take long before a dramatic, dark and epic, beautiful slow melody develops where harsh screams alternate with a solemn epic chanting. The second track, Dependencia y Sustrato, is again introduced by a rather long, soft and slow piano-driven melody which gradually fades when the leading distorted, almost sabbathian riffs and the tortured screams burst almost like a storm. However heaviness and gruesome sounds are again tempered by a growing intense, epic, atmospheric post-metal melody, so that the intimate acoustic, keyboard-driven outro sounds almost as natural.

Senses benumbed by the charming, dark, heavy but somber trip lead by Mentat will be then shaken up by the crushing onset of Cementerio’s side of the split.
Cementerio are wild! They sing, or better roar, in Spanish and mix sludge and metallic crust punk/ hardcore with some infectious doom/stoner groove. They were duly described as being a bit “like Eyehategod playing with Discharge and Slayer” in the (Spanish) desert. Other influences may be seen in Moho, Amebix, Electric Wizard, High on Fire, Khanate, and so on. So you have to expect, and you’ll get, much heaviness, radical tempo changes and furious riff and drumming blasts. The first part of Cementerio’s single long track is a rumbling charge of frenzied, mid- to up-tempo, sludgy , abrasive riffs and raw nasty vocals. This happily goes one for a while until the pace gradually slows down and the band enters pure doom territories via a sequence of plodding, genuine early Sabbathian  riffs. Fierce booming drumming and a new explosion of boosted riffs mark a shockingly rapid transition to fierce, rumbling heavy doom metal of straight High on Fire memory. Samples from horror movies and noises separate the first part from the second of the track which develops more or less according to the scheme seen before. The second part is dominated by a relentless mid-tempo heavy doom metal assault lead by a tremendously powerful, distorted riffage and majestic war-like drumming. Halfway through the second part there’s some slowing down in the pace and the sound becomes heavier, if possible. A final, breathless acceleration in riffs, roars and drumming abruptly stops  and after dark, gloomy background chanting Cementerio’s no-mercy, heavy sludge/doom metal storm of wildly galloping riffs and pummeling blows comes back again for the last minutes until a roar marks the sudden end of everything.

Yes, I guess it is not so frequent that two bands in a split are so different in style. However these two bands, Mentat and Cementerio, fit together in building up a solid release extremely rich in shades and greatly enjoyable especially for those who approach an album also like a stimulating, unpredictable trip full of surprises. This split was released during early 2012 as black vinyl via Boue Records and on co-release with labels Odio Sonoro, Disco Macaras, In My Hear Empire, Nooirax records and Tu Pa Tu Tu Pa. I saw a note that at Boue Records the album is sold out. Well, I like it when I see such notes! People still support the underground …  A digital version of this great split had been and still is available for free download on the Bandcamp page of Boue Records. There you can also find the digital versions of the other two albums by Mentat and Cementerio, well worth getting hold of in case you missed them before. Or else go and visit Boue Records for the smart solid, vinyl versions of them …

Words: Mari Moroni

Mentat vs Cementerio Split | Bandcamp
Boue Records | Official Website
Mentat | Myspace
Mentat | Facebook
Cementerio | Myspace