On the eighth day, Satan made the riff and saw that it was good. And in 2014 some Norse sludgemeisters have taken Satan’s work and made a right ruddy racket with it.
Leaning heavily toward the ilk of Kvelertak and Black Tusk, Hombre Malo’s fuzzed-up, groove-riddled sophomore release packs a harder punch than Tyson after he steps on a plug. The message throughout the album is clear – fuck prejudice. Using soundbites from news reports and George Carlin’s rant on religion, the snarling Scandinavians are about much more than making a lot of noise (although they’re very good at that, too).
The gravel-gargling vocals of Nacho ‘The Muerto’ Rengifo intertwine with the pounding onslaught of full-blast riffery with such fury your ears will weep. But don’t go thinking they just thrash it out faster than a rabbit at an orgy, the majority of the tracks are over five minutes and build to immersive, ferocious crescendos with gracious nods to the worlds of black and post-metal. It’s greater than the sum of its parts, but its parts are also fucking great.
