Licurgo (Spain)

Licurgo (Spain): Strongest
One of the best things about these traditional, no-nonsense black-metal-hellhearts Licurgo is their ability to carry over the raw-black-metal values to a professional-sounding album: you can hear the drums, which have a particularly natural feel to them, and the bass (!). There just seems to be room for all the instruments to breathe such necrofire through the lungs.
“Anti Human” brings the raw-black-metal aesthetics to a better quality. This is does not sound like garage-recorded black metal, but rather like raw black metal recorded in a studio, but with the intention of sounding raw in a big way, where you can hear things clearly. It’s nice to hear them do things this way.
The vocals often sound like endless, carry-on screaming black metal agonizing, howling, and growling, with a definite death-metal gruff, as a plus.
“Forgotten Identity” is a wonderful exhibition of the spiral riff hordes advancing to take their positions upon the plains of black metal. This particular song combines both traditional black metal screaming and some death metal low-guttural growling. This song is a hit around the headquarters and administrative offices of Metal Bulletin zine! (an abandoned van down by the river, under the freeway, actually.)
“Numantia” takes traditional raw black metal and packs it with Licurgo action. It spirals and revolves around itself, in an effective repetition-trance-meditation of 5:53. Nasty piece of work that sounds so good. Ridiculous, yes!
All the songs are great and this is about an hour of Licurgo. Wonderful job, human beings!
www.myspace.com/licurgoband