Reencarnacion – 888 Metal

Colombian-based Reencarnacion is something as rare as a still-active First Wave Black Metal band (You know, from back in the day where the genre was still heavily influenced, both musically and lyrically, by the Thrash Metal scene). This means that they were formed back in 1986, and have a musical style that is, by modern Black Metal standards, simple, relentless, distorted and with a more gruff vocal track (as opposed to actual growling). Basically, it has a far more thrashy feel than more modern day counterparts: However, that does not mean that it is without its charm. Sure, the tracks are short (not necessarily a bad thing) and the recording is kept very low (which results in the near-famous underground sound or effect + definitely not a bad thing), but both of these things actually help to to showcase the underlying brutality of the band (after all, this was one of the more extreme bands back in the day). Now, all of this also means that Reencarnacion will most likely cater to old-school Thrash Metal fans a great deal more than to Second Wave Black Metal fans, however do not be fooled. Many of the sounds, ideas and methods that were later picked up by Norwegian bands in particular (such as the powerful drums, aggressive vocals and, of course, the legendary underground sound) are all present on 888 Metal, so it is still to be recommended. On top of that, this version is technically a re-release, where all they did was adding more tracks to the album, bringing its track total up to eighteen. But returning to the musical aspect, tracks suchs as ”Armageddon” are the ones that I like to point towards, since they show off (quite excellently so) both of the bands’ musical roots. All in all a very welcome blast from the past.