Utopia Platafórmica

Short Review Massacre Marathon Month of February 2023 La Inquisición - “Tenebrae” (Contra Records, 2020) The idea behind these short reviews would be to lure people in, make them check out A or B, but as I was scrolling through YouTube, I came across an album that I considered to be one of the best of 2020. La Inquisición, and “Tenebrae”. La Inquisición is a Punk Oi! band from Barcelona. Man, do they have a melodic vein! One thing I find interesting about Spanish Oi! bands is the fact that they are, indeed, very melodic. Punk Oi! is not an immensely aggressive sub-genre in any way (in most cases, of course), but the lads from the piece of land next to me, really have this melodic bone, if I may say. You still owe me an interview, you hear me? Again, the fact that they sing in Spanish gives it that special thing.   Barcelona is a hotbed for Punk Oi! along with the Basque Country, and I have always wondered on much of that comes from the political side of both communities. Neverthel...

Nethermancy - “Worship Evil Sacrifice” (Hellprod Records, 2023)   Nethermancy appears in 1996 at the hands J.A. from Decayed, that mythical Portuguese Black Metal institution, along with a series of comrades from the Portuguese Heavy Metal scene. After a few entrances and exits, the band is currently composed of J.A., Angel-O (from Velório) and Aion (Pedro Pedra, from Grog), and "Worship Evil Sacrifice" is a beautiful blast of Old-school Black Metal.   I am pleased to know that, once again, the band returns, as we have become accustomed, to keep the spirit of the Old-school Black Metal alive, bluntly, without modern approaches! To mention that Pedra’s vocals are, once again, the element that catches my attention the most: they are "old" in a good sense, obviously. This is one of the beauties of the band: they go old school without any effort, essentially because they are the musicians they are, with the bases that are more than known to them. In summary: Old School ...

G R A V E L A N D “Thousand Swords” (Lethal Records, 1995) Graveland comes from an immensely creative origin that has given birth to plenty of amazing bands, despite their dubious - and sometimes quite crystal clear - background. Bands like Veles, Infernum, Iuvenes or Fullmoon have many things in common: superb Black Meta artistry, as well as shameful political and social ideals. One does not understand how Black Metal is seen as a natural common ground for some specific ideals, and I do not support them in any way, quite the opposite , especially when Black Metal is, in short: hate for all and everyone. Oh well…   In reality there was no need to contextualize, as I assume a large majority of Black Metal fans are aware of the Polish Black Metal scene of the 90ies, nonetheless I felt there was a need to make things clear. Graveland is one of those bands that has been crafting the type of Black Metal I feel closer to, today. The Pagan and Folkish melodies, intertwined with the more ...

Plainchant - “The Sun Sets on Our Time” (Independent, 2023) Every now and then we get a glimpse of what Artists can pull off when their focus is maximized. Wonderful things can happen when creative people are inside that bubble that allows thoughts and ideas to be materialized into real, existing, things. Music is one of those fields; one where the Artist permits himself to be as visceral and honest as one can be, and that is when we are offered magic. The idea of Atmospheric Black Metal is one that haunts me, to be honest. It is quite easy to label music as A or B, even if A or B do not completely describe what we are listening to. North American Atmospheric Black Metal always - or at least 90% of the time - give me images of snowy mountains and massive forests, which is superb. That is what I look for whenever I decide to dwell in this sub-genre of Black Metal, and that is what I normally get. Plainchant was “discovered” today, while scrolling on social media - and people say soc...

Temple of the Dog “Temple of the Dog” (A&M Records, 1991)   And we are it again, I reckon. I have always wanted to take on the task of providing my personal view to 2 specific Seattle records: “Temple of the Dog” and “Above”. Quite different, but both extremely important releases in the history of Rock n’ Roll music in general, and the Seattle scene in specific. Let’s get the Grunge out of the equation for starters. Labelling can, sometimes, extract the essence of music, so let us ignore that and focus on the important: the Music. No need to give information on the lineup, I guess. This was a bloody super-group before super-groups became a thing, and before one of the best records of all time came out; well, the band was non-existent at that time, but let us recognize that TOTD “gave birth” to Pearl Jam, ok? Just to contextualize, this record is pre “Badmotorfinger” and pre “Ten”! Not just two Rock n’ Roll albums, but these two Rock n’ Roll albums. Class. The album is an ...

Pearl Jam - “Ten” I have written a lot about Grunge and Grunge bands, I guess; nevertheless, it is one of those subjects I never mind going back to. Musically, it is one of the most amazing genres ever created by mankind. Although mainstream only had access to a parcel of what was coming out of Seattle - me included - some of those mainstream albums were, in fact, a deep hole in which one would not like to be buried in.   I never paid much attention to the depth of the music when I was growing up, which is normal. Years later it hit me, and that is why it still has the effect it has on me, from time to time, whenever specific songs come up on my playlist. I did not understand what was being sung on any of these songs, and just enjoyed them for their musical value. In a way   I played the part, you know? I still have the flannel checkered jacket my parents got me when I was 12 or 13. I was not getting it because it was related to Grunge, I was getting it because I liked the jac...