Catacombs of the Grotesque

There is not a lot of talk about Mexican extreme metal scene published already in the 21st century - almost not at all, to be honest. It's a pity, because there are also absolute gems, not inferior in originality and general level to the rest of the globe. One of such unique band is Denial - a group with a very technical and twisted style of death metal. Their beginning dates back to 2006; then, Óscar Clorio (who is also a drummer of, among others, Cenotaph and - in the past - Shub Niggurath), Marko Guevara, Ricardo Gil, Iván Velázquez and Miguel Ángeles Tavera decide to start a band to compose original material at a very efficient pace. After a small line-up changes, a year later a short ep "Immense Carnage Vortex" was released, and two years later - a crushing debut entitled "Catacombs Of The Grotesque".

Terms such as crushing debut or an absolute gem are not accidental. "Catacombs Of The Grotesque" is death metal that perfectly combines with avant-garde technique of Demilich with the heaviness of early Funebrarum and the extreme sounds of Incantation (mainly from the times of "Diabolical Conquest"). Noteworthy is the original approach to writing riffs, the fleshy sound of the guitars (also by to the low tuning), no less technical style of drumming (full of accents, but sometimes also very chaotic - see: the end of the album) and the generally technical, though still underground, feeling of this music. In other words - it's unconventional, but consistent and with the atmosphere of the catacombs (sic!). It can be heard most clearly in "Immense Carnage Vortex", "Abominable Undead", "Inhuman Incarnation", "Lifeless Void Of Darkness" or "What Lies Beneath", although to be honest in each of the regular songs. All of them perfectly show the talent of Mexicans to inspire from "Nespithe" and at the same time lock these influences into the style of underground death metal - there is no of exaggerated showing off skills on "Catacombs..."! Well, the vocals of Iván Velázquez fit in the least with the whole of this album. To be honest, his manner would be more suited to...Polish Dies Irae! A low guttural vocals like Antti Boman would be much more interesting than this type of forceful growl here. Nevertheless, the vocals on "Catacombs..." are a minor fault, not depriving the high level and extraordinary ingenuity of the instrumentalists.

"Catacombs Of The Grotesque" is therefore one of the best examples of twisted extreme in the spirit of Demilich, which appeared in the 21st century. The Mexicans knew perfectly well how to take these influences into their own and managed to close this madness into one coherent whole. It's a pity that shortly after the release of their debut, Denial fell silent for many years.

Originally on A bit of subjectivism...in metal

Denial is one of the few Mexican bands that has achieved success quickly in the Mexican and world scene, with ex-members of Cenotaph and Pulverized among others. This last detail has been mentioned a lot and it wouldn’t be fair to place that stigma on them, so I’m sure that Denial will achieve more success soon because they have enough quality and they promoted themselves out of Mexico.

Catacombs of The Grotesque is their debut album, it came out and 2009 and has been well accepted in the world scene. This is death metal from the old school scene, mainly with a European sound and some American touches with a dark and sinister sensation. Their malevolence is evident and they just have a great execution with evil riffs. This is not a very technical style, I would say it is raw and direct like some people say: “a proper sound with no compromises!” There are macabre sounds like an evocation to the evil mainly in slow parts; sometimes Denial reminded me a Greek band called Septic Flesh. The voice is ripping and guttural like the old Suffocation, the drums are in the most intense and powerful form - I liked a lot the execution and variety on this instrument. The guitars provide the band style with even more of the necessary power and that’s good; killer solos and rhythm guitar that go with them. All the music is surrounded by a Lovecraftian environment with lyrics full of death, invocations and abominations.

The constant factor is the quality which is something that cannot be denied, what else could we expect from a band with experience? If we add the fact that this album was recorded by people from Ripping Flesh (Agony Lords' leader Jesús Bravo) and it was mastered in Sweden by the famous Dan Swano of Unisound, it is just more quality added! Denial already deserves to be included with the best bands at a world level and I have confirmed that in the underground world media by chatting in the web with people from other countries. The artwork is other complement on this CD, there’s a good conceptual cover art (is the Chtulhu of Lovecraft?) and an artwork inside the booklet into the old school style in black and white.

My favorite songs from Catacombs of the Grotesque are: Remains and Abominable Remains (the macabre and obscure riffs that I mentioned before are captured here) and What Lies Beneath, with no doubt I have done other good acquisition. Mexican Death Metal with the best weapons to face the best battles inside and out of Mexico!

Denial is a new Mexican Death Metal band that consists of local veterans form Cenotaph and Pulverized, so it’s not really surprising that this debut album already sounds “ripe” and not like a band that’s still looking for its own direction and sound. Talking about the sound – it’s very tight and there’s not a single note you can miss there from what the musicians have to suggest.

As for the music – it’s very strong and heavy sounding (as expected from a Mexican band) Death Metal, at times reminiscent of bands like Bolt Thrower, Demilich and a bit of Dismember’s heavy as Hell guitar and bass sound. Most of the time fast-paced riffing (here and there more calm parts can be found too) and sharp solos are present here, really well executed I must say. Plus very deep guttural growling, which sometimes sound a bit annoying if you’re not into really low deep DM grunts…

Overall it’s a well done album and it’s obvious that these old guys know how to handle their instruments and how they want their music to sound, but personally I would prefer my Death Metal rawer and more straightforward sounding, and better with less guttural grunts, so I wouldn’t call if “album of the year” for sure. It’s still worth a try if you’re obsessed with Death Metal!

Mexico's Denial which features members of Cenotaph and Pulverized. Has released a true death metal maniac whirlwind of insanity. Damn this one of my favorite death metal releases of 2009.

The songs (8 songs with a intro) are strong and powerful shows the band grasp of musicianship. Man this is the way death metal should be played, dark-heart skilled and straight in your face like getting hit with a sledgehammer of sonic brutality.

The production is flawless, nothing fancy shows the bands talented skills without slowing down. Alot of it reminds me of old Monstrosity "Imperial Doom" meets Cenotaph. Out of all the cds i have recieved. I highly recommended this cd for it stands out to the millions of bands out there who is calling itself death metal.

This band plays heavy metal death the way it needs to be played with lots of aggression. Denial is band I know we will hear more about in the future. So posers get ready to get slaughtered for this not for the weak.

I've never been a fan of much Mexican metal, aside from the rare exception like Hacavitz. This applies to not only death metal but most of the styles popular there. However, the debut from Denial is out to change my perceptions. Try and imagine a hybrid of Bolt Thrower and Demilich. Yes. The tone and style of 'Catacombs of the Grotesque' ends up somewhere in this realm of possibility.

These gentlemen are no new kids on the chopping block, they hail from Mexican death veterans like Cenotaph, Pulverized and Shub-Niggurath, but I'm going to be honest: this album destroys anything I've heard from their past bands. Lurching and shuddering like a hellish titan unleashed from cavernous depths, the album captures the horrific, unrelenting aesthetic of true death. You can pick any track at random here and be floored. "Abominable Undead" is a disgusting, slower paced fist in the eye of the living, and Marko Guevara's vocals are so huge and dominating (in a good way) that it took a forklift and several laborers hours to retrieve my jaw from the floor. "The Pestilent Pits of Disgrace" is another monolith of gutwrenching death, and "Necrotic Invocations" is one of the faster tracks, one of my favorites here. The band have revived a few of the tracks from their previous 'Immense Carnage Vortex' EP for inclusion, and they also sound great.

Denial knows exactly what tone will render their creations most effective, and bombards you with these extremely dense and meaty guitars. The material here is not technical, it's just effective in a darkly old school sensibility. Each track burdens you with an impossible weight of despair and dread. You feel the alien subterranean force of the cover art creature calling to you at each turn. Give yourself to me! Feed yourself to me! Truly cavernous and unnerving debut album here, once of the best death debuts I've heard in 2009 alongside Tribulation. Essential listening for the morbid purist and flesh florist.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com