Review: Transmetal - Muerto en la Cruz (1988)

 

Muerto en la Cruz. 1988. Avanzada Metálica

Rise up the volume... Now!

A brutal album, straight to the brain and full of that aggressiveness that makes you want to wreackeverything, which begins with an opener that immediately dictates the sound that not only the rest of the recording will have, but the band itself. What is this sound called? Transmetal!

At times, the aggressiveness rises and falls in intensity, showing short and fast guitar solos by Juan Partida that, although not memorable, are full of fury and fit perfectly with the impassive riffs. A devastating drumming in songs like 'Castigo del Creador', which could well sound like a lost song by the Germans Kreator dubbed into Spanish, as well as 'La Horca' and the title track, which undoubtedly show the energy and endurance of a young Javier, who does not hesitate to deliver all what he got.

There are times when the influences of sounds like Black Sabbath's can be noticed in the instrumental 'Milicia Infernal', which makes you think you're listening to Tony Iommi with a broken amp, navigating through a tide of riffs; Another example is Lorenzo's bass base, which is barely seen in the rest of the album, for the song 'Killers', very much alike to Iron Maiden and which would be precisely the two most contained works for this album. 

In the same way, since this is a work by a new band, there are areas to be polished, such as in the songs 'Enviado del Infierno' and 'El Enterrador', which despite having the "adequate" musical elements, fail to take off and shine. It should be noted that the lyrics are quite decent in terms of what you would expect; however, at times Pimentel's performance fails to do them justice.

Songs like 'Rostro Maligno', 'La Horca' and 'Muerto en La Cruz' stand out from the recording for their speed, aggressiveness and agony that are translated into a live experience that seeks to shake heads and raise fists with imaginary axes (torches, maces or any other weapon of your choice). No surprise to anyone that they would become classics for performances, as they represent the quintessence of the band's work both on this album and those to come.

For speed lovers, in case the rest of the album had not yet fill your quota of savagery and overwhelming brutality, without a doubt 'Desciende a la Oscurida', 'Los Criminales Morirán' and 'Tiburón de Metal' are those that do not show no mercy from beginning to end, so much so that you can sometimes even notice Pimentel's lack of air to keep up with the song.

Finally, we have to close with 'The Gift of Satan', although in the list of songs it appears with the initials 'R.D.S.' (Regalo de Satán), perhaps to avoid censorship. Another collection of insane and malicious riffs that incite you to smash everything and join aloud the "R.D.S." in choruses. An abrupt end, for an equally abrupt album, whose silence makes you try to assimilate your experience when listening to it, which would be akin to a group of thugs breaking into a house, destroying everything inside and leaving with the same speed with which they entered. That, if we think about it, is a great feeling for a debut album.

Overall, it's a great job, despite the rudimentary production and somewhat exaggerated reverb, but its core would overcome time, with various versions, both on reissues of this album and on other recordings and re-recordings. Without a doubt, it would become a vanguard for the thrash scene, coming out months before the first NEXT album (already reviewed here), not to mention that over time, the fusion with the death metal sound would become more and more present in the other works of the band and a great influence for upcoming bands inside and outside of Mexico and Latin America.

Personal:

Alberto Pimentel             - vocals and rythm guitar

Lorenzo Partida Bravo     - bass

Juan Partida Bravo             - lead guitar 

Javier Partida Bravo     - drums

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