Chile has one of the most abhorrent and deepest rooted underground Death Metal practices out there. MERIDION is one of those Chilean bands that started their expedition in 2018 with their debut “Rise From The South”. Their sound comes as a chaotic storm of dark Death Metal that instantly sends the sensations of listening to demos from the foundational era. But what’s distinct about MERIDION’s approach is that they blend all these influences into their brew. It’s heavy and crushing as hell but also really experimental at times with a distinct taste of South American atmosphere that can pull the minds deeper the more you listen and explore. This is why their brilliant debut deserved widespread appreciation and now with their second full-length “Caverns” surfacing six years later, it is important to summon up slightly about that debut and its very significant antiquity that MERIDION sonically conveys. In the six tracks of the debut, the Chileans delivered crushing, experimentally tinged Death Metal which tells a profound story of ancestral reckoning and unimaginably horrific extermination their ancestors suffered. Immediately one senses the dark undertones, as the lyrics express mounting dissent against the “Western world” that destroyed the last remaining free indigenous people. The album’s narrative tells about the Selk’nam people, indigenous inhabitants of Patagonia’s Tierra del Fuego islands for 10,000 years. Also called the Ona, they were one of the last peaceful tribes encountered by European colonizers in the 19th century. The Selk’nam sadly faced horrific atrocities – removed from their lands and exhibited in cruel “Human zoos” for spectacle in Europe. Spanish photographer Julius Popper even documented those as he killed Selk’nam’s to fund his gold expeditions. Through mass killings and bounty hunting, the Selk’nam met their end in a brutal “utilitarian genocide” as colonists seized their territory for farming and mining. It’s a tale of colonial horror against one of the region’s original peoples and this also forms the backbone of MERIDION’s visions and sound approach. This latest formation is now speered by guitar player Claudio Salinas (TRIMEGISTO, DOMINUS XUL) and Juan Pablo Vallejos (TRIMEGISTO) slits for real, and understandably these guys honing their craft for this second full-length which is provokingly titled “Caverns”. And, it will immediately strike your mind, if you’re remotely into weird, dark underground Death Metal. From the opening with ‘Empty Altars’, and forward with ‘Darkness Unleashed’, ‘Calafate’ and ‘Cold Primitive Land’, they will crush ears and minds like waves. Even if anyone just skips the first numbers by chance and puts on track ‘Cold Primitive Land’ at first – still they will surely utter inside, what a nasty and bewitchingly empowering sound it is! You can hear how these musicians’ different skills and styles blend fluidly despite how experimental and boundary-pushing the song structures get. The approaching numbers, ‘Consecration’, ‘The Curse Of Maquehua’, ‘Behold Man From Monteverde’ and the record closer ‘Hidden Chant’ will unexpectedly leave you with awe and also craving for more. Especially anyone will be tempted to repeat ‘The Curse Of Maquehua’, the almost shamanic ritual beginning of ‘Behold Man From Monteverde’ or the very short yet highly bewildering and mind-altering instrumental ‘Hidden Chant’. The affiliations of Southern Curse on guitars, synths, horns and vocals, Bonefucker on bass, Shoort Dagon on drums, Condanatore on keyboards and guest participation on voices by Ninhursag on ‘Darkness Unleashed’ and Sitar on ‘Behold Man From Monteverde’ by Anuradha will be felt like a perfect unison of all of their inner spirits and energies and it flows like a force. Compared to the menacing sound of the debut, the band opted for a warmer and more framed production this time, yet didn’t leave their essence atmospherically. With these, it’s the type of record that’ll definitely stick with me as it has the strength to take minds and lure for deep explorations. This establishes that MERIDION is a force to reckon with and their second full length should entice wider spectators. To explore more about the band and label, please visit www.facebook.com/meridionoccult, www.facebook.com/ibdc666