Cultura Tres - El Mal Del Bien [2011]
Posted by Captain Beyond Zen on Wednesday, July 27, 2011
"Now hailed as the national rock/sludge pride of Venezuela, Cultura Tres came from far. With the first EP “Seis” (2007) the band already outgrew the South American continent. But only after releasing debut album “La Cura” in October 2008, the band started to get noticed worldwide. During the preceding year of rigorous composing, Cultura Tres incorporated many influences into their sound, ranging from sludge to doom metal and from death metal to classic rock.
In the summer of 2010 the members locked themselves up in the studio to prepare the second album: “El Mal del Bien”. The result is - in the band member’s own words - “an album with a single clear direction”. Cultura Tres delves deeper into the dark atmospheric vein that already showed itself at moments in debut album La Cura. The daring album opener “Propiedad de Dios” sets the mood: it sounds like the soundtrack of a tragic cult movie. The songs that follow evoke the witchery, slavery, oppression and religious madness that influence the South American continent to this day. Being a concept album adds another dimension to the individual songs. A patient listener will be dragged into a hallucinating trip around the insane world the album paints.
Interestingly, the band has chosen to cover what might well be the first doom track in South America: “Holy Graveyard” (1992) by Epitafio. Alejandro Londoño, having been a member of this band in the past, has now fully closed the circle. Cultura Tres is living proof that the genre of doom/sludge was not dead in South America but merely dormant. Now it has woken again, not only speaking Spanish, but more importantly, with its own face." (www.facebook.com/culturatres)
Cultura Tres from Maracay, Venezuela, released their second full length album "El Mal Del Bien", which steamrolls the listener like a juggernaut. Dark doom/sludge mixed with many influences, especially the metal genres death/thrash and even nu metal, roars like a wounded beast and sometimes Cultura Tres come as close as possible to the South American uber-band Sepultura. This is the biggest compliment you can give to a South American band. It all started with Sepultura in South America and it will not end with Cultura Tres. Another band, which comes inevitably to the mind, is Los Natas from Argentina. It is not first and foremost the music, but rather the dark atmosphere and the exceptional sound. "El Mal Del Bien" is a musical revelation for those tired of the usual. Cultura Tres is the harbinger of the dawn of a new Doom/sludge era in South America. Outstanding!
Members
Alejandro Londono - vocals, guitar
Juan Manuel de Ferrari - guitar, backing vocalsAlonso Milano - bass, backing vocals
David Abbink - drums
01. Propiedad De Dios
02. Purified
03. Los Muertos De Mi Color
04. El Sur De La Fe
05. No Es Mi Verdad
06. The Grace
07. El Mal Del Bien
08. Voices
09. Tres Seis Diez Dos
10. Your Call
11. Holy GraveYard (bonus track)
12. Black Sabbath (bonus track)
Produced and mastered by Alejandro Londoño
