What is it with South America and their death metal bands? It seems as though each one is forced to read some sort of how-to guide about their metal because the overwhelming majority of metal bands from South America have the same goal: create and unleash absolute fury and hell with every single album. Ever.
Nepente is no different. On their second full length (and first in four years), the Colombian savages have cooked up one hell of a vicious cyclone. Suffering is the Seed is pure mayhem from start to finish, a pulverizing cacophony that is unrelenting for every second of every song. A potent blend of brutal death metal and sadistic black metal, Suffering is the Seed is an album that will undoubtedly render the listener unconscious, disembowel him, and then fill his carcass with bags of cocaine in order to cross borders.
Whether it’s the pummeling blast beats, hyper double bass, or the lethal riffs, Nepente is out to destroy everything in sight. However, unlike the vast majority of the brutal death metal subgenre, Nepente adds a few twists into the mix like some thrashier elements and bits and pieces of groove. Granted, these bursts of versatility are about as short-lived as William Henry Harrison’s tenure as President, but they are extremely impactful and grab the listener by his throat. “Merciful Death” rolls out of the speakers with a catchy main riff and album highlight “Slaves will Always be Slaves” is a rollercoaster of grindcore-esque fury and an almost ‘80s thrash vibe. “Die for Me” and “The Swamp” are other album highlights as well.
Production-wise, Suffering is the Seed is spot-on. The final mix is the near-perfect blend of raw, abrasive guitars, though it’s clean enough to hear everything. Though the drums aren’t as thunderous as they ought to be, they still are boorish enough to accentuate the rest of the music.
There’s not a ton of diversity on the bulk of the album, though the times there are some changes of tempos, Nepente fires on all cylinders. The major drawback is that the album is a little too repetitive. When the dudes aren’t ripping out some catchy riffs, they are blasting away at full throttle. Sadly, that’s about 75% of the entire album, though Suffering is the Seed doesn’t ever get stale toward the end.
Nepente is not here to make any friends or try anything remotely soft or melodic. Their primary objective is to carpet bomb the world with searing violence and they’ve accomplished that to the ninth degree. It’s clearly one of the best extreme metal albums from South America in recent years; hopefully it won’t take Nepente another four years to create another record.