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IMPUREZA “Alcázares”
IMPUREZA “Alcázares”
By Dr. Abner Mality
Andres Segovia was one hell of a guitarist. If you don’t know him, look him up. I always thought Segovia would have been a great metal shredder. If you ever wondered what he would have sounded like in a death metal band, IMPUREZA provide a pretty good idea on “Alcázares”.
Do we really need another metal sub-genre? When it’s done as thoughtfully and powerfully as “flamenco metal” is done here, I think we do. Yes, IMPUREZA combine classical flamenco guitar and the flavor of medieval Spain with raging death metal to create a very spicy paella. This mixture of Spanish flair and sophisticated DM works really well! This is one of the best “ethnic metal” efforts I have heard since TENGGER CAVALRY created Mongol metal a few years back. And this is not a case where we get a few acoustic guitar interludes stuck into a mostly death metal album. No, the Spanish feel is deeply ingrained into every song. The riffage itself is full of Latin atmosphere even when it blasts forth in MORBID ANGEL or HIDEOUS DIVINITY mode. The Spanish feel makes its way into the vocals of Esteban Martin, who can growl like a beast or croon like a Catalan troubador serenading his senorita. The IMPUREZA songs are so cleverly crafted that both brutality and beauty walk hand in hand.
The great flamenco guitar stylings of Lionel Cano Muńoz shine on acoustic tracks like “Verdiales”, “Murallas” and “Ruina del Alcázar” but also function alongside the screaming metal leads, creating a unique sound. “Bajo las Tizonas de Toledo” demonstrates that these guys don’t play when it comes to laying down a heavy riff. “Pestilencia” is a good example of the merger of flamenco and death metal. Some tracks are almost progressive or have a slight black metal feel as well. No two songs sound the same...there’s a real attempt to give every track a unique identity. My one slight complaint is that a couple of them could have been pruned a little bit. Still, the album comes in at a very reasonable 45 minutes in length.
It’s great to hear a different take on metal that comes across smoothly and naturally instead of some whacked out, ill-fitting collision of genres. “Flamenco metal” sounds crazy, but as performed by IMPUREZA, it proves its worth. Even Segovia might have given this a thumbs up!
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