There is a particular vibe of anguish & desperation found in Metal/HC/Punk recordings from South America in the 1980's. Peru's Curriculum Mortis released a demo in '88 called "Sentencia De Muerte"(Death Sentence), that stands among the most vital testaments to an era that most people do not remember or wish to forget.
I wrote the following liner notes to the recently released vinyl Lp reissue (only 500 made) of said demo, on Ultra-Sonido records. The 7 songs, clocking it at 30 minutes or so, manage to encapsulate a decade's worth of a dark chapter in the country's recent history. The obliterating trash metal attack slays everything in its path, bearing witness to a whirlwind maelstrom of events & a generation caught in its clutches.
Pick up the Lp: http://ultrasonido.bigcartel.com/products
Curriculum Mortis Page: https://www.facebook.com/curriculummortis
Play the demo: http://soundcloud.com/curriculum-mortis/sets/demo-i-sentencia-de-muerte-1/
Lp liner notes:
"Life in Peru during the mid-1980's was a cauldron of simmering tensions threatening to push society over the edge. A Maoist inspired insurgent group promised to level the country into a killing field, Khmer Rouge style. The state's security apparatus responded in kind, through a scorched earth policy, a catch-22 scenario of killing the patient to cure the disease. Teenagers growing up in the capital of Lima had few outlets to channel the overwhelming dread of those times.
The worldwide Trash Metal explosion coupled with the more extreme HC/Punk sounds provided a source of inspiration; a way to exorcise the doom & destruction via the creation of their own apocalyptic noise. This wasn't easy, in a country with limited resources: a lack of equipment, indifferent studio engineers, frequent power outages, antagonistic adults/peers & the all-too real possibility of being "mistakenly" shot by the army or the police.
It is to Curriculum Mortis credit that in spite of all these obstacles, they succeeded in creating such a vital document. The title of the demo, Sentencia De Muerte, takes on a morbid literal meaning. End times were here; society would either be destroyed or irrevocably altered during the year of zero. The pummeling rhythm section, howling guitar riffs & the agonizing vocals reflect dark days. Listen closely & you'll hear the executioner's song heralding the end of this life/death sentence"
Freddy Alva 2012
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| Original 1988 Demo |
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| LP reissue in 2012 |
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| Reunion show Sept 6, 2012 |
