Costa Rican sludge metallers Sorewound are set to release their five-track debut EP, Espanto, on Dec. 4 through Cursed Monk Records. The EP consists of five tracks beginning with the grueling, harsh strains of “The Gorge (Where Things Come to Die),” signaling a punishing intent from the outset. The chug that emerges in that leadoff at about two minutes in is faster but dense to the point of opacity, and “Miseria” (premiering below as the second single) follows that with a more mid-paced initial groove and chug. The barking vocals of Fernando Garcia, cutting through the thick distortion from guitarist/vocalist Christopher de Haan (VoidOath, Crypt Monarch) and bassist Pablo Umana, as Felipe Tencio‘s drums wait to punker-gallop the track to its finish.

For atmosphere, a sample from David Lynch’s The Amputee tops most of two-minute interlude “Spitefuck (Te Detesto)” (what I love about that title: 1) it’s bilingual, so you really know they wanted to get the message across; 2) there are no lyrics to the song, so the ‘Te Detesto’ is just a pure parenthetical saying ‘I hate you’) as a woman, who in the film is the titular amputee, writes a letter about relationships or somesuch. It starts with Tencio‘s drums, but eventually a riff joins in as well, swallowing the sampled speech because yes, indeed, sometimes life is like that. Perhaps “Relicarios” feels that much nastier for the comparatively subdued centerpiece stretch just before it, but it’s a peak just the same. You remember all those on-pills Ohio sludge bands from like 15 years ago? Sorewound give those vibes in “Relicarios,” riding a biting riff with a biting verse into a biting solo with some biting noise at the end. Now what would you guess was the artistic intention of a piece like this?

To bite, just to answer my of rhetorical question. Espanto isn’t trying to be subtle about its intent, and just because I’m glib about it doesn’t mean those efforts didn’t produce brutal results. In fact they did, and the EP ends in kind with “Vomitous Trypsteria,” taking a quiet half-minute at the front end to strum out a lonely dirge before the band joins in quieter brooding, more sampled speech over top, building up. They dig into the verse a short time later and the affect is no less violent for the momentary turn. At 23 minutes, Sorewound have enough time to demonstrate to their audience what they’re about on this first EP, and they do that in sharp-tooth-plus-digestive-acid sludgemaking. Whatever their forward trajectory might be, if they’ll grow more or less extreme, build on the hints of ambience here or dig into the rawer aspects, Espanto showcases a willful crush. Don’t be fooled into thinking it’s unconsidered because the sound is raw. These guys know exactly what they’re doing.

PR wire info follows the track on the player below. Please enjoy:

Sorewound, “Miseria” track premiere

Espanto is a raw, distorted storm of 5 songs that sink listeners slowly into the most miserable depths only to pull them back into the surface with violent outbursts of fills and pumping bass work. The guitars focus on maxing distortion and crushing weight. The vocals cut through as rabid animals destroying their surroundings. Lyrics dwell into human despair, corrupt politics, stranded relationships and emptiness in the absence of connection.

Tracklisting:
1. The Gorge (Where Things Come To Die) 06:02
2. Miseria 4:29
3. Spite Fuck (Te Detesto) 2:43
4. Relicarios 4:58
5. Vomitous Trypsteria 5:43

SOREWOUND is:
Felipe Tencio – Drums
Pablo Umana – Bass
Christopher de Haan – Guitars, Vocals
Fernando García – Vocals

Sorewound, Espanto (2025)

Sorewound on Instagram

Cursed Monk Records website

Cursed Monk Records on Bandcamp

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Cursed Monk Records on Facebook

Tags: Costa Rica, Cursed Monk Records, Espanto, Sorewound, Sorewound Espanto

This entry was posted on Monday, November 24th, 2025 at 8:45 am and is filed under audiObelisk, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.