Some may be forgiven for thinking many of the bands hailing from the South American region are all similar in sound. All are sorta just primal, dark and oozing with a more of primitive evil old school approach to Death Metal. All it takes is just one listen to MANIACO from Oserno, Chile and your perceptions will change immediately. Think of Steve Tucker – era MORBID ANGEL, mixed with a tad of KRISIUN and more than a passing sound of HOUR OF PENANCE. I took a brief moment to listen to some of their past material and gone is the more predominant MORBID ANGEL worship. Granted it is still there but they seem to have gotten more chaotic in sound with plenty of twists and turns and dive more into the tech Death and also some Slam elements in their songwriting. The band name meaning Maniac in English fits very well. The dueling tremolo picked guitars, the slightly off-kilter time changes, and the vocals all represent them to a T. On the first initial sound grabs that was what I felt but after some repeated listens, I began to hear more cohesion in the songwriting approach. If you need to hear a good starting point in the (new-ish) approach start with track # 6 ‘While My Body Laid Asleep’. You got the chaos, and the tech stuff but also in vocalist / guitarist Felix Llefi and his vocal approach, you get elements of Slam as well. I was noticing here and there in the songs but with track # 6 it just cements it. Back to the music and the whirlwind of sound emanating from my speakers, I slightly prefer the earlier more basic approach to their sound. The overall steps taken in the more tech Death sound may put off some, but I’m sure there will be just as many of those who will embrace the new approach. The production is spot on and with this type of music you need a clear and concise sound, so all instruments can breathe and be heard. Having said that and as usual with Death Metal bands the bass is almost non-existent. Also just gotta make mention of the cover art. The color scheme and overall dark feel are done really well. A tip of the hat to artist Joan Rigo. So another great band bringing in some tasty elements in their sound to set themselves apart slightly from their geographical brethren. You can find more info here: www.facebook.com/maniacoosorno, www.facebook.com/ibdc666