Ravenous Death - Visions from the Netherworld

The astonishing 2nd full-length by this Mexican band. Hailing from the vast Death Metal hotbed of Mexico, Ravenous Death feature current members of such other bands as Remains, Demonic Manifestation and Death´s Forsaken. The band´s embryo was brought forth in 2016 during the recording of Remains´ 3rd full-length in Mexico City, when vocalist/guitar player Miguel Angel and drummer Esteban Salcedo toyed with the idea of creating a Death Metal band influenced by Vomitory, Torture Division and the likes. Later on, both musicians shared their vision with lead guitarist Enrique Fray, and the three of them agreed to push the idea forward and carry it out as a side-project due to the commitments they all had with their main bands. Soon after, Enrique and Miguel Angel began writing songs for the newborn abomination, and the three members decided to name the band after a Vomitory song titled "The Ravenous Dead". Fast forward to October 2016, and the recording of Ravenous Death´s debut demo/EP, "Ominous Deathcult", is finalized (although not released as a Bandcamp download until March 2017), including five songs chock full of rotting maliciousness that showed great poise in combining blasting brutality, crushing heaviness, somber ambience and fierce intensity, with the lyrical themes revolving around death, occultism, blasphemy and other classic topics of the olden Metal of Death. On May 13th, 2017, the band made their first live performance in the city of Guadalajara. For this occasion, two new members were recruited -namely, bass player Alejandro Mendez and guitarist Diego Gomez- leaving Miguel Angel on vocal duties alone. After the excellent crowd response, both Alejandro and Diego joined the band as official members. Emboldened by this patient momentum, and featuring new vocalist Victor Mercado, Ravenous Death at last released their debut album, 2019´s "Chapters of an Evil Transition", courtesy of Memento Mori. Aptly titled, "Chapters of an Evil Transition" indeed displayed the band´s transition into an evil Death Metal juggernaut. The album found great favor among the Death Metal faithful, for it absolutely bled the molten-yet-mildewed essence of 90´s Metal of Death. Now Ravenous Death are back to fuck fashion and especially fickle tastes with the longer and stronger "Visions from the Netherworld". Not for nothing is the album titled as such: "Visions from the Netherworld" is an epic 63 minutes, and conveys a moodiness perfectly suited to these slicing and sluicing songs. The atmosphere is hideous, evil as ever but without any cloying "cavernous" touches; the production is professional and powerful, skillfully balancing gleam and grime; the leads are more prominent, and blackened to a crisp; and the songwriting itself twists and turns and twists some more, opening infinite labyrinths but always with a (crooked) direction in sight. Whereas the previous full-length displayed trace elements of Mexican forebears Shub Niggurath as well as Sadistic Intent, Seance, old Grave, 90´s Immolation, 90´s Vader, Demigod and Vomitory, here do Ravenous Death strike upon new-yet-old ground that can only be qualified as Ominous Rotten Death Metal. And as its epic length suggests, "Visions from the Netherworld" is indeed a concept album as always; the cover art, once again by the masterful Mörtuus, represents all the twisted visions that the band have about Hell, the underworld, punishment, etc. Enclosed in era-authentic mastering courtesy of Loïc Fontaine at Krucyator Studio (France), Ravenous Death have eclipsed their momentous debut with their "Visions from the Netherworld"!