Strappado – Exigit Sincerae Devotionis Affectus

Band: Strappado
Title: Exigit Sincerae Devotionis Affectus
Label: Comatose Music
Release date: 9 August 2019
Country: Spain
Format reviewed: Digital Promo

Is the brutal death metal a living dead? I mean the gore one, the chopping one, the one which was thriving at the beginning of the 90s. The true one, when every band was racing to be heavier, to have deeper guttural growls and the gorier the lyrics and the cover art, the better. This was long ago, and I must say, I haven’t listened to many exciting new bands in this particular sub-genre most recently. Or did I lose my excitement for this sub-genre? Well, I’m always willing to discover, to listen to more new stuff and I always give a chance. I don’t have prejudices or stay stuck in time discussing and praising the same bands or classic albums which everybody knows by heart.

So long with my lyrical detour and introduction. STRAPPADO is a Spanish brutal death metal band, releasing their debut album “Exigit Sincerae Devotionis Affectus” in the present August. Originally I was intrigued by the cover art and wanted to check the music. So when we got the promo I was in. I didn’t read many details prior to listening to the album, but I was expecting a bit more “occult” death metal. Although the artwork is torturous enough and supposed gore and brutal tunes.

A quick search shows that “strappado” is “a form of punishment or torture in which the victim was secured to a rope and made to fall from a height almost to the ground before being stopped with an abrupt jerk.” (Google). “The strappado, also known as corda, is a form of torture wherein the victim’s hands are tied behind his or her back and suspended by a rope attached to the wrists, typically resulting in dislocated shoulders. Weights may be added to the body to intensify the effect and increase the pain.” (Wikipedia)

Very deep guttural vocals (love them!), chopping riffs, very good drumming, often changes in tempo, but overall I had the feeling I was listening to one and the same track all the time. Those 27 minutes seemed long enough for me. Not much surprises or interesting ideas. You may argue, what should be expected by brutal torturous death metal? Interesting opening with “The Rack”, and continuing with interesting song titles like “Plastered Anus” and “Holy Office”. Somewhere around the here and the beginning of the forth, title track, the record began to get painfully boring for me. Despite the good production and the technicality of playing by the guys. I was stubborn and continued with “Atoning Delusions of Sinful Repentance”, “Death By Sawing” and “Dislocated by the Rope”…I didn’t feel something was changing. Damn, I hate when it gets like this, especially with a debut album by a new band. I’m not saying STRAPPADO don’t have potential. The record is heavy, underground, brutal and probably will win over the very, very die-hards of this genre. However, in 2019 my basket with expectations is obviously too big.

My mind was still wandering and wondering. Have we already heard everything in this particular sub-genre before? Or does the cover art speak better than the music in the case with STRAPPADO? Well here comes the Truth Through Torture in the Abbey of Painful Screams – in both cases – yes, I think so. 5/10 Count Vlad

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5/10 Floating in the sea of mediocrity
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