Despite writing this review amidst the TikTok & AI saturated modern era of extreme metal, there are still artists, bands and labels who stand on business and always deliver quality underground extreme music for nothing else but the love of the game. The marriage of Arizona’s long standing Death Metal outfit Lago and Italy’s Everlasting Spew Records is a shining example of quality being upheld above gimmicks, views and clicks. In other words, what underground extreme music used to be (and should be) all about.
Lago’s history spans the better part of the past two decades. Forming in Arizona in 2010 and remaining active up to the barrier of the black hole in time known as Covid 19, the band released two full lengths, one demo and one split across several labels including Unique Leader Records (‘Sea of Duress’), Battleground Records and Blood Harvest (‘Tyranny’). Lago’s latest effort, ‘Vigil’, comes nearly 8 years after the release of ‘Sea of Duress’ graced the Death Metal underground and (spoiler) did not disappoint.
‘Behold, Ruin’ wastes no time kicking down the door, steamrolling the first 30 seconds of the album with double bass, off kilter dissonance and an immediate warmth thanks to an ultra organic production. ‘In a House of Ill Repute’ and ‘The Land Was a Desert’ carry the torch for some of my favorite examples of the band’s love of strange and atypical sounding Death Metal riffs. The mid 90’s Floridian influence on Lago’s songwriting is no secret, and is evident here as the backbone to Lago’s muscle. However, I frequently found myself harkening the uncomfortable chord progressions and patterns more to some other abominable Canadian beast akin to the likes of Voivod and mid era Gorguts. The standout riff ideas on ‘Vigil’ keep things incredibly interesting and despite a barebones approach to production and layers of instrumentation, the record feels much more dense than others of this era who have layer upon layer of unnecessary melody, synth/keys and other effects. That, combined with the top notch lead guitar work from Gus Barr, place this album at the top of the heap as far as anyone trying to approach “real” Death Metal with a straight ahead approach in 2026.
After several front to back listens, I can confidently confirm that Lago’s awakening from the long slumber in between ‘Sea of Duress’ and the present day was built around patience, purpose and building something not only meant to hold up against the music of their peers but go a step beyond the traditional Death Metal guardrails in favor of making something entirely unique. ‘Vigil’ is yet another muscular entry into Everlasting Spew’s visceral Death Metal catalog, and a shining example of what the extreme metal underground is capable of.
