For some reason this 2016 effort entitled "Metamorfosis" by the French death metal combo named Mezcla did not end up in my mailbox until quite recently, so this is not exactly a brand new album or anything like that, but still, let us see what these guys have to offer, shall we?

Musically, Mezcla is rooted in death metal with quite a few thrash metal influences to it, which is to say that it sounds more akin to bands such as Testament and latter-day Exodus than Death at times. There are some strong riffs and great solos to be found throughout and I dig the slightly experimental bits and pieces that creep in from to time in that the acoustic flamenco-like guitars stand in sharp contrast to the brutal and bombastic parts. Variety is a good thing. Unfortunatey, the vocals do leave something to be desired. They get the job done, but just barely. Some more variety and conviction certainly would have done wonders for them. Athough the production is solid and the musicianship competent, I do wish that the tracks were more engaging, inspiring, and memorable. The instrumental tune named ”Entomofobia” is awesome, the thrashy yet melodic ”Luciernaga” is pretty wicked, and ”Otra Dimension” is definitely memorable, but the album as a whole is simply too uneven and uninteresting, and way too few songs truly stand out, which is frustrating.

 

https://soundcloud.com/mezclagrupo