PROSCRITO "Llagas y Estigmas"

PROSCRITO

"Llagas y Estigmas"

Filthy death-doom is the order of the day for PROSCRITO, a band hailing from either Spain or Portugal, I know not which. This is the kind of rotten sounding trudge that evokes names such as CIANIDE, ASPHYX, DEAD CONGREGATION and the slower moments of CELTIC FROST/HELLHAMMER. A lot of you bottom dwellers are already starting to salivate after hearing those names, but I have to say that while PROSCRITO shows a lot of promise, they are not on the level of those bands yet.

There are only 5 tracks here, but they are all of considerable length. The first cut "Persistiendo" establishes the funeral pace right away...this song crawls along like a slug inching up a tombstone. It's authentically creepy and ultra-heavy but drags just a little too much...a common failing of funeral doom. "Tronos de Oprobrio" increases the speed to a war-like plod, which livens things up, although it is still quite the sepulchral tune. The standout cut is "Exequias", which rips out of the gate with an awesome CIANIDE/HELLHAMMER type riff before changing to a deadly plod 2/3 of the way through. More like this, please!

"Marcado por le Pezufia" is even more primitive and tribal in its approach, with caveman drumming driving a Neanderthal riff...more overtones of CIANIDE, here. The album wraps up with the longest track "Pantalgia", which returns to a slow and monotonous plod. This is another one that just drags on for too long. It's a sign that while PROSCRITO thoroughly understands the form of death-doom, they have yet to master the substance of it. Hopefully that will come in time...

MEMENTO MORI RECORDS

PROSCRITO