Cultura Tres, Rezando al Miedo: Saying Prayers
Posted in Reviews on June 14th, 2013 by JJ Koczan
Venezuelan sludge metallers Cultura Tres have their thing pretty much down at this point. The band made their debut with 2008’s La Cura and followed it in 2011 with El Mal del Bien (review here), an album that opened doors thanks in no small part to their touring throughout both South America and Europe and helped establish Cultura Tres among the stronger and most resonant acts blending metallic aggression and weighted sludge-fueled grooves. In 2013, the Maracay four-piece return with Rezando al Miedo (Devouter Records), a 55-minute, eight-track collection that furthers the band’s anti-imperialist/anti-colonial thematic and moody atmosphere even as it affirms what El Mal del Bien established as the chosen Cultura Tres aesthetic. Tonally and sonically consistent owing to production by vocalist Alejandro Londoño — who also helmed the two prior outings and shares the credit here with guitarist Juan de Ferrari — Rezando al Miedo gradually unfolds an identity of its own over the course of repeat listens, and though even unto its morose artwork (though admittedly the cover to the third album, taken from the painting Day of Judgement by Damian Michaels, is far more haunting) it may seem to fall in line with what Cultura Tres brought to the table stylistically in their last effort, there are nuances to be had throughout Rezando al Miedo that speak to growth within the band’s approach, whether it’s the sense of space Londoño brings to his echoing vocals in the closing “Forget I’m Here” or the surprising classic rock influence that shows up in some of de Ferrari‘s solos, filtering a wide sonic heritage through Jerry Cantrell-style wah theatrics that blend remarkably well with the lower, chugging-riff layers of rhythm on “Es Mi Sangre” and other cuts throughout.
The guitar work on Rezando al Miedo is a standout factor across the board, de Ferrari proving fluid and able to drive the atmosphere of a needling insistence on “Hole in Your Head,” one of the highlights of the album. Cultura Tres — the foursome rounded out in the rhythm section by bassist Alonso Milano and imported Dutch drummer David Abbink (ex-Cheesy), who returns from the second LP — don’t necessarily rely just on the guitars to convey their moody sensibilities, however. Londoño plays a huge role as well, and though he knows to step aside and let de Ferrari hold sway toward the end of a cut like “En Esta Tierra,” his half-in-Spanish/half-in-English lyrics are a force unto themselves, his monotone drawl immediately lending drama to opener “La Selva se Muere” that stays with Cultura Tres through closer “Forget I’m Here” no matter what musical moves the band is making behind him, a summary of a decent portion of his lyrical perspective provided by the only two lines of the title-track, “Rezando al miedo/El miedo es dios” — translated to,” “Praying to fear/Fear is god.” An anti-Christian lyrical take is nothing new for metal — make no mistake, Cultura Tres are a metal band, whatever elements of doom or sludge they may incorporate; they are well at home within the churning thrash that emerges in “1492,” including Abbink — but the specifically anti-colonial edge Londoño brings to the lyrics of “Hole in Your Head” speaks to an individuality of voice and critique that the cluster of heavy metal faux-satanists is sorely missing. Coupled with the band’s ability to turn fluid rhythm changes into dynamic songwriting shifts — again, see “1492” as it rises from a droning opening to rage and then descends again to a slower, hypnotic pulse — this perspective is a key element in what sets Rezando al Miedo apart from the output of Cultura Tres‘ peers the world over. When was the last time you heard anti-colonial sludge?
