3 years after their debut EP, PÁNICO AL MIEDO’s debut album "Formador" hits the streets with their Thrash / Death Metal hybrid with lyrics completely in Spanish. Also graced by a cover illustration from Ed Repka (EVILDEAD, MEGADETH, MASSACRE and countless others). First off, let me tell you that this is a well crafted album. Obviously these guys know what they are doing since their performance is top quality. Production wise, "Formador" is really good. It has a clear, modern sound. Everything falls into place nicely with the mix and the mastering is not blown at all, which gives the album some neat dynamics. Hell, they even have two amazing guest stars: James Murphy (ex – OBITUARY / ex – TESTAMENT) and Bobby Koelble (ex – DEATH). They play one and two guitar leads respectively. Now, on the other hand, most of the songs are slow and mid-paced with some speed outbursts that bring much needed variation. Marc Jufré’s vocals are aggressive and controlled, but too one dimensional for my taste. Sometimes, I think they even sound a little forced. Instrument wise, the drums sound kinda plastic (triggered) and the bass is almost inaudible. Maybe it is just playing the same riffs the guitar plays, so it ends up overshadowed. The guitar tone is gnarly and thick, but the other instruments don’t work well with it and ends up feeling too polished. From the song titles and what I can make up from their lyrics, I do think there is a concept behind "Formador". My guess is based mainly on the intro ‘Popol Vuh’. The Popol Vuh is the creation story and mythology of the K’iche people of the ancient Guatemalan Highlands. Which I think is a pretty cool concept to base an album on. But until I actually read the lyrics, don’t take my word for this. Again, "Formador" is a solid Thrash / Death release. But it just didn’t move me. Not an inch. Contact the band here: www.facebook.com/panicoalmiedo and their labels here: www.cimmerianshaderecordings.com, www.unitedbychaos.net, www.satanath.com/sodp

PÁNICO AL MIEDO is a Spanish band that was formed in 2012. This is their debut album, after a 2015 EP, and it begins with an intro that immediately reminded me of the intro to AT THE GATES’ 2014 album "At War With Reality", taken from a literary absolute masterpiece by Argentinian author Ernesto Sabato and spoken in Spanish by Anton Reisenegger of Chile’s PENTAGRAM. The intro in the presently reviewed album is also about God as the "Formador", the one who forms, but its origin is the Popl Vuh, a 16th century book about the Mayan culture and its creation mythology. This is in a rather tragic way much connected to Spanish history, so it’s interesting that they include their personal cultural references in an album that is in most other ways a direct homage to the Death / Thrash scene of the eighties and nineties. Beginning with the Ed Repka cover, totally in line with the glorious days of old, and going on to the guest solos by none other than James Murphy himself, who needs no introduction, and Bobby Koelble, who played guitar in DEATH’s "Symbolic". Concerning this, the album begins and ends with the song ‘Formador’, but in different versions. The opening one with a solo by Murphy and the closing one with one by Koelble. An unusual move, but it doesn’t hurt the album at all. Koelble also plays in the song ‘Cebos Vivos’ of which the band released a lyric video. Getting these details out of the way, the album itself is superbly produced and the songs are all very much in line with what you are expecting by now. Aggressive Death / Thrash Metal that harks back to the old school days. Their technical abilities are very good and the vocals are raw and savage. However, I do feel the singing style is too monotonic and in this respect unlike the old school bands. This sometimes enhances a certain impression of unwelcome modernity to their sound. Still there is quite a bit more melody and complexity than might be expected, and there are many riffs and variations. All the lyrics are in Spanish, and this lends a certain individuality within this kind of sound. An impressive album. To know more about it, go to www.facebook.com/panicoalmiedo, www.satanath.com/sodp