What we have here is a vinyl-only release that compiles the Blasfemia tracks from their 2015 release split CDR with Ramón as well as some tracks from their second album from 2018, ‘Mundo Que Apesta A Rata Muerta’. Yet not all tracks are easily traced back to its origin, but if this LP serves one purpose it is to pay homage to one of Colombia’s oldest Black/Thrash Metal bands.
Blasfemia, a band that was rather short lived, from 1986 to 1988, formed by Ramón Reinaldo Restrepo managed to gain some cult status not only in their native country of Colombia, but even abroad. Their self-released ‘Guerra Total’ 12” EP is one of the most expensive and sought-after Latin American releases, co-founding the booming extreme Black/Thrash Metal scene in South American countries during the 1980s.
Ramón resurrected his band from its grave in 2013 and although many years have passed since 1988, the musical ideas seem not to have changed all that much. Of course, the music created and appearing on this compilation LP is certainly not of the same level of power and, above all, purity of these earliest recordings, but it still sounds fairly authentic. The most striking is the production, being still as raw and demo-like as if it was still 1988. That kind of whacky sort of sound actually increases the ambiance of these considerably later recordings.
It is fair to say, however, that these newer songs do not live up to the early, youthful material on the ‘Guerra Total’ EP. The fierce energy and extreme angularity is missing, also the buzzing bass and digital sound (similar to what can also be heard, for example, on Sarcófago’s ‘I.N.R.I.’) make that first EP merciless and, simply put, much better.
That is not to say, by the way, that there is nothing to enjoy on ‘Muerte Psicológica En Marcha’. Should you have a soft spot for South American extreme metal that falls nicely inside and outside all genre boundaries, this LP is definitely worth considering. On the other hand, I also think it would not be a crazy idea to just re-release ‘Guerra Total’ on vinyl.
