Panico al Miedo - "Formador" (Symbol of Domination Prod/United by Chaos, 2018)

Band: Panico al Miedo
Title: Formador
Genre: Mid-tempo Thrash Metal with Death and Groove Metal influences
Time: 53.10 min
Release Date: 27th April 2018
Rating: 57/100












Recording and mixing by Juan Urteaga (already at work with bands of the calibre of Vile, Testament, Machine Head etc...), mastering by Jens Bogren (famous for his collaborations with Opeth, Amon Amarth, Paradise Lost etc...), a fantastic cover artwork full of absurd characters by nothing else than Ed J. Repka (do you know who he is or do you need an embarrassing refresh?), and the participation of some illustrious guitarplayers like James Murphy and Bobby Koelble, both ex-Death members. What an ambitious debut album for this Spanish quartet called Panico al Miedo! Is all this enough for a metal masterpiece? Not exactly...

The bios in my hands says that Panico al Miedo plays a combination between the Floridian death metal and the Bay Area thrash metal with the result that they could be appreciated by fans of Testament, Death, Atheist and Autopsy. But, for me, it's totally wrong! In fact, I say that they play a sort of mid-tempo thrash metal with groove metal influences and some progressive touches. Instead, the death metal tunes are confined in some riffs, some drum tempos (occasionally there are also blast-beats) and, especially, in the vocals of Marc Jufrè. In practice, I think that this sound is closer to Annihilator and not to Testament or Death.

Unfortunately, the general result isn't so impressive for my insatiable ears. The main problem is that there are so many mid-tempos that the album is too little intense and too little violent, so it doesn't moves so well the listeners also because, for example, the blast-beats don't sound in a really powerful way. This problem is increased by the fact that the tracklist is composed of too many songs (11 + intro and outro) for the beauty of 53 minutes, a lenght very excessive since the results. Another problem, less relevant in comparison with the first one, is about the vocals of Marc, that I consider too tough and even one-dimensional, so this kind of album needed a more imaginative and expressive vocal department.

Anyway, all this isn't a disaster because there are good things here and there. To mention a few, I appreciated some very groovy tempos and riffs of "Cebos vivos", or some hallucinated guitar solutions of "Bautizado por la arrogancia", or also the ultra-wicked (and seriously in Florida-style!) death metal moments of "El final de la grandeza". Plus, there are to appreciate the guitar solos, that show often a nice melodic taste, and I like the total use of the Spanish language (it isn't the first time that Satanath Records and its sub-labels release bands that sing in Spanish, like in the case of Moribundo, Granada or Bastardös). But all this isn't enough to please me this "Formador".

Released by Symbol of Domination along with the Finnish label United by Chaos, this album is closed with a bonus track that is simply a different version of the titletrack with a Bobby Koelble solo. I confess I expected to listen to a better release, since I amazed already by the outstanding cover artwork. Instead, I must say that the band has surely a personal sound but I suggest to them, for their next productions to come, to make more violent, faster and also more death metal-oriented their music, so to offer a more massive and engaging sound. After all these bullshits, it's time for some action now, so please watch the official video of the song "La fuente" and, then, tell me if you like it, ok?

Tracklist:

1 - Intro - Popol Vuh
2 - Formador (James Murphy solo)
3 - La fuente
4 - Hermanos de sangre
5 - Cebos vivos (Bobby Koelble solo)
6 - Rompe el cepo
7 - Bautizado por la arrogancia
8 - Puños
9 - No voy a perder
10 - Asfixiar con verbo
11 - El final de la grandeza
12 - Outro - Popol Vuh
13 - Formador (Bobby Koelble solo)

Line-up:

Marc Jufré - vocals
Jordi Creus - guitars
Gerard Comellas - bass
Alfred González - drums

Guests:

Bobby Koelble - guitar solos ("Cebos vivos", "Formador (bonus track)")
James Murphy - guitar solo ("Formador")
Toni Mena - guitar solos ("Formador", "La fuente", "Rompe el cepo")
Joan Crosas - vocals ("Intro - Popol Vuh")
Oscar Araujo - music ("Intro" and "Outro - Popol Vuh")

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/panicoalmiedo/
BandCamp: https://panicoalmiedo.bandcamp.com/
Symbol of Domination Productions: http://satanath.com/sodp
United by Chaos: http://unitedbychaos.net/