The past year we witnessed a surge of strong debuts from Death Metal bands, young and old. OMINOUS CRUCIFIX are one of the what seems like a growing number of new talents worldwide. Mexico already has a proud Metal tradition, but there’s always room for fresh blood. “The Spell Of Damnation” is their debut album, and it comes after a near three year silence from 2009 to late 2011. There’s very little, if any, blasting on this album. Instead, the Scandinavian, AUTOPSY-inspired style permeates the record, but of course I intend this as a positive criticism. In addition, the somewhat dry, parched production is highly evocative, and suits the band’s songwriting quite well. One may think of the awesome, monolithic atmospheres of THE CHASM on songs such as ‘Putrid Purity’, a 7 minutes Death Metal epic. Another feature of the album which I greatly appreciate are the catchy and, dare I say, rather groovy riffs. Perhaps an ASPHYX influence is at work, but whatever the cause OMINOUS CRUCIFIX know full well how to get one’s head banging by the sheer strength of riffs alone. Listen to ‘Defiling The Altars Of An Absent God’ or ‘Primitive Sin’ or ‘Secular Omens Of Doom’ to get my meaning. Alternatively, you could listen to the entire album, which would be ideal because the entire record really is quite good. The fifth song, ‘Secular Omens’ stands out (for me at least) as a hallmark of the album and of OMINOUS CRUCIFIX’s potential. The song keeps a steady drum beat, but the guitars build upon and accompany one another, producing haunting, echoing sounds that cause the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up. If nothing else, treat yourself to a listen of this song. A mighty impressive band who deserve support! www.myspace.com/ominouscrucifix, www.fda-rekotz.com

Nat Shapiro

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