LAGO – Tyranny
- Posted on 22-04-2015
This Arizona four-piece deliver brutal death metal from an older, American perspective on their "Tyranny" album. Decapitated, Morbid Angel and Suffocation do factor in to a lot of the frantic riffs, high end guitar transitions, and deep guttural bellows for "I", the hive swarm "Concede to Oblivion" as well as dramatic 6:54 closer "Pox of the Weary". Lago excel at varying speeds, often being just as aggressive and tuneful at controlled pacing as they are when the accelerator pushes full throttle.
Sometimes you just need to hear passionate, underground oriented death metal without the excessive intricacy or technicality that some of the new generation chooses to inject into the proceedings. The production allows you to handle the double bass and snare hits without thinking things are excessively triggered, while the guitar team of Manuel Dominguez and Cole Jacobsen provide sledgehammer impact. Fluid leads make many of the arrangements slightly more melodic, before the next flurry of riffs and kicks careen across the temple. You have to love the dark red and black hues on the cover art, as well as the logo that is slightly illegible, another hallmark for the death scene.
8 songs in 40 minutes never burdens the body, making return trips to "Tyranny" easy and pleasurable. I’d imagine Lago unfurl quite the pit action during their live shows, and I for one look forward to where the follow up will take us. Let the brutality soothe your troubling, stress filled days away.