Siniestral is the brainchild of the Chilean multi-instrumentalist Victor L. Zamarca, who had previously released Thrash Metal recordings with his other bands Deathrone and Ectoplasma. With this entity he threads into new territories, and to be specific those of Black Metal. The first product of that newfound project is the 2023 released demo ‘Contemplando el Abismo’.
A sinister acoustic intro with piano form the prelude of what’s to come, which is a rapid bursting out of the gates with an authentic South American sound. This includes a somewhat muffled and not too distorted appearance, but that doesn’t stand in the way of making the direction of Siniestral very clear. This band is there to channel Victor L. Zamarca’s inner melodic Black Metal visions, leading to a highly melodic sound full of interesting guitar riffs that sound incredibly charming and still have this raw and primitive atmosphere. These melodies turn into folky directions in the intro of the final track of the record, but overall the melodies are more on the epic side. No matter what you call them, Victor L. Zamarca has no issue whatsoever coming up with one catchy riff or lead after the other, and by Black Metal standards this is a proper riff fest. The solid drumming and especially the creative bass lines are quite worth a mention here as well. When it comes to the vocals, these are downright sensational. They stay away far from all too high-pitched shrieks, but the raspy cries, howls and growls are brought with an enthusiasm and intensity seldomly heard. Epic, highly melodic Black Metal from Chile brought with passion and dedication in true underground spirit, this is an excessively charming demo. Someone please sign Siniestral and release this on vinyl!
