Embrujo is born.
Created by Lebzul Darkambient (all instruments), assisted by John McGovern (vocals, Chalice of Suffering, Forever Falling, Solemn Echoes, Utter Failure) and Margul Demonic (vocals, Dysenteric Excrementation, Ceremonic Buryment, ex-Witchuary), the band unveiled their debut album, Versos Malditos, in 2024.
The album consists of three tracks with a total running time of over fifty minutes. Nothing out of the ordinary for Funeral Doom, especially when you hear the progressive, chaotic introduction to Primer Embrujo (Espíritu Sombra), where noise, saturation, dissonance and two voices mingle in unfathomable chaos. Screams of despair and roars take turns to haunt the disorienting rhythmic pattern, which unfolds with hellish slowness until Segundo Embrujo (Hijos de la Maldición), where the hazy vocals resume, giving the oppressive riffs an unhealthy flavor while anchoring themselves in melancholy towards the end. The mood changes with Tercer Embrujo (Posesión Demoníaca), the final composition, where we feel that the band is seeking to achieve a certain majestic aggression, notably thanks to the keyboards and massive growls complemented by sampled vocals and noisy passages before the progressive final.
Somewhere between Doom and Drone, Embrujo forged a rather oppressive identity which the musicians have succeeded in bringing to life. Versos Malditos is clearly not to be recommended to neophytes, but the raw sound will please.
75/100