Moribundo - Raíz Amarga

There’s a great season of doom metal bands coming from all over the globe. But what makes Moribundo (Moribund) different from the pack? That’s a question that I always make to myself when writing about any band. That’s what I keep in mind during my analysis. Moribundo’s “Raíz Amarga” is faithful to doom musical caractheristics, but Moribundo go further with it. I mean, Moribundo’s songs are even more slow and cadenced focusing on guitars. In “Raíz Amarga” the guitars are responsable for bringing more melodic intent and some background sounds that other bands do using the keyboards. The guitars in “Raíz Amarga” stress the melodic parts, or duel with vocals in order to give some more melody to them. Each note is very well put, one can notice that the guitarists gave a lot of thought on them.

Moribundo’s music is thick. Even in the more lyrical parts as in the middle of “Antitesis,” that brings a beautiful piano, the atmosphere gets dense. And that’s the intent. It’s something like when you go to the bathroom at night and sense some presence. It gives you the creeps. Moribundo are the band of creeps. The female lyrical voice you hear in the background instead of bringing some conventional beauty to “Antitesis,” reinforce the that atmosphere of fear I told before. Moribundo are a band that focus on guitars, thats I told before. Because of that, any additional instrument is there to give its contribution to the song. They are additional, not lead, and that’s the beauty of it. We’re talking about Metal, right? A guitar driven musical style. That’s the way it should be. It doesn’t mean that Moribundo neglect other instruments, on the opposite, all instruments have their share of importance as in “Luz (Ciego Color).”

All “Raíz Amarga’s” songs are long, as says doom metal tradition. But that’s a two faced knife. If you aren’t as creative as Moribundo are, the songs get boring. If the musitians don’t focus on applying a great repertoire of techniques and sounds, the thing goes down. Moribundo deal with that very well using some musical breaks, with other instruments or techniques, to change completely the song as in “Suicidio Ilustrado.”

By guitar driven band, one may think there a bunch of guitar solos in “Raíz Amarga,” right? Not even close! Moribundo’s guitars are also part of the game. They’re important, but not show off, so the guitar parts are to reinforce the songs. To bring melody, power, and heavyness.

Moribundo’s “Raíz Amarga” is a great deal of album. There’s no doubt that it deserves a place in your discography.

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