SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE
SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE "Arkanum"
By Dr. Abner Mality
Kind of strange that in the 30 plus years of death metal history, nobody has ever called themselves SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE before. Apparently this Mexican band is the first. Comprised of four women and one dude, this is a band that's got some promise in them, but it's not realized fully here.
They have their strong points for sure. "The Infection" blasts in with straight up US style death metal and you can see SOYG are big on the classics like MORBID ANGEL, NILE and IMMOLATION. Marlene Munoz has got one hell of a deep and angry roar...not quite to the extent of STABBING's uncanny Bridget, but for sure a gal who means business. The band can do some unusual and intriguing riffs, like on the ominously excellent 'Vigilia" and the choppy, almost djent-ish "Dark Lullaby"...but then they also indulge in some pretty flat groove-oriented tunes. These unfortunately pop up more on the back half of the album..."Self Sacrifice" is very by-the-numbers and final cut "The March of the Innocents" is a mess that's all over the place, including some poorly placed acoustic bits. It's like they start in a blaze but end in a puff of smoke.
They're not the only act to suffer from this. And I would say there is more good than bad here on the whole. It should be interesting to see what SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE do next.