GILLA BRUJA (Tooth And Nail) MCD
Ten songs in 27 minutes (and one intro) and if this reminds you to some Grindcore bands you nearly got, what GILLA BRUJA (named after a Mexican death cult) is about. But there are not only well-played blast-beats in a few of the songs ("Barrelroll" or "Exitwound"). In the press info overview I can read, that this band combines the intensity of sludge metal with the technological influence of industrial and the brutality of death metal and I can agree with this describtion. I would also add a Sepultura-influence, especially the guitar-sound, some samples and the production reminds me a lot to the "Roots" album. "Dogboy" is a good example for it. I prefer tracks like the neck breaking "Itfadesaway", the energetic "Nogoodwillcome" with its awesome riffing or the above mentioned songs.But GILLA BRUJA are more brutal and sinister than the Brasilians. They've got this rough intensity and "Tooth And Nail" doesn't sounds to clean. This band isn't exactly my cup of tea with every song, and I hope next time they make a bigger step out of the Sepultura shadow. That's my only point of critic, but if they use more sludge and grind elements GILLA BRUJA could soonly become one of my faves. Check out RETRIBUTE RECORDS for more infos.
(KK)