Album Review: Cancerbero - Sempiternal Decay
Reviewed by Sam Jones
It’s been a hot minute since I ventured over to Chile and any releases coming from there. Cancerbero is today’s subject as they prepare to unleash their third full length album; formed originally in 1987 out of Concepción, the band’s original run only produced two Demos before breaking up in 1994. However from 2001 onwards the band slowly began writing and releasing material, there was a Live Album, a Split, a Compilation, until finally come 2012 Cancerbero revealed their debut album: At The Portal Of The Evoked Blasphemies. Alongside more miscellaneous releases the band every few years produce a new full length. Reconquering The Throne Of Death came out in 2019, seven years after their first, and now six years following suit Cancerbero are here with Sempiternal Decay. Their first release via Memento Mori, Sempiternal Decay is planned for a July 21st release date and thus we have an opportunity to test the cut of their mettle and find out for ourselves what Cancerbero are really made of.
Given that Cancerbero aren’t going to hold back, noting the South American tendency to forgo all such mercy, it’s striking how clear Sempiternal Decay’s mix is. It’s evident the band are going all in as their riffs and solos just fly off the handle with little to indicate they’re about to let up. From the start you’ll know what you’re getting out of the band. But, as earlier said, this record is clear to the listen, not clean, there is a difference. Though its exterior has been polished and you can see through it, it’s still a muddied and grime-ridden sheen that bespeaks its malicious nature. The bass drums aren’t thrown in your face but every strike made is rendered with presence as you can’t help but appreciate the pummelling, rolling momentum they inject. The band assail you from numerous directions yet manage to coerce everything into organised uniformity.
Sometimes you’d like an album to get right to the thick of things and Cancerbero certainly provide that. People know what they’re looking for in a death metal record and the band had the foresight to do just that. There are no allusions to more nuanced songwriting or themes; it’s straight to the point death metal that’s able to propagate the band’s identity as something apart from others and thus worthwhile engaging with. But it’s fascinating how they can throw so much into tracks where seemingly little development occurs, yet you’re always waiting and ready for the next explosion to happen, where Cancerbero take you clean off your feet. That’s always been Chilean death metal though; it’s completely unapologetic in its destructive capacity.
It’s great how the band can create riffs that manage to pierce through the mire and crashing milieu of Cancerbero’s aggression yet still retain a crunching aesthetic that makes listening in that much more satisfying. Whether their tempo is steadier or they’ve undergone their more ferocious playing, the guitar work will always have you by the balls and can thus sway you in whatever direction they desire. Additionally, it’s great acknowledging when guitarists can genuinely play; it’s a joy revelling in the primal brutality these solos elicit. The guitar work may have a defined place at the forefront of the band yet you can’t say it outright dominates, there’s never a time where you’ll feel the riffs are overshadowing the vocals or the bass. The record may be honed for serration but the band knew how to restrain themselves for the sake of audience enjoyment.
The vocals on record are the sort you expect to find and possess the gruff tone that are most suitable for a Chilean death metal record, but with that said I appreciate that they’ve been brought a little more forward within the mix than other acts may opt to do. Some bands may have sent the vocals further within the mix to let them mingle more deeply amongst the riffs thus furthering the atmospheric quality Cancerbero may offer. But here you can tell they’re a little more in your face, however their volume has been carefully tweaked so they don’t dominate and thereby curtain off the rest of the band’s performance. But on the whole the vocals are pretty raw. You can tell little has been done to alter them as they were input into the record during the recording process; what you hear on record is what they were like in the moment of performing. It breaks down that invisible barrier between the product and yourself as you recognise this is an honest and unbridled effort, distilling death metal to its purest form, unconcerned with aesthetics of beautification or fashion. It’s raw and foaming at the mouth and the band know it.
In conclusion, Cancerbero’s Sempiternal Decay is a record made for death metal fans by death metal fans and never once meanders from its course. Maybe other acts would have provided more nuanced or greater developed songwriting but when you put a record like this on, you should know exactly what you’re in for and what you’ll get out from the band. Cancerbero are employed here in the elegant art of whipping the frenzy into you, leaving you a dishevelled and destroyed soul. But that’s not to insinuate their songwriting is basic and lacking competence, their instrumentation is excellent and when their tracks start reaching six minutes long they’ll always have you glued to what’s coming next. This is why I appreciate Chile’s extreme metal; it’s knows what you want and has a plethora of bands that work to fulfil that want. We may only get a new album from Cancerbero once in a blue moon but Sempiternal Decay demonstrates their catalogue is worth waiting for that new release.
