Catalonian combo Cendra return with their second album, 666 Bastards, after 2013’s Sang, Suor I Alcohol (independently released). In mean time there was some other material, like a compilation, but I did really look forward to this new collection of lullabies. This time the material was recorded at the (legendary) Moontower Studio with Graveyard’s Javier Félez, who did some studio work for bands like Nominon, Svartgren, Decapitated Christ, Lords Of Bukkake or Mean Machine before, so I did have a specific expectation about both execution and sound. And believe me, my expectations are fulfilled…
666 Bastards has a total running time of thirty three minutes and it does go on in the vein of Sang, Suor I Alcohol or the EP L’Extermoni Dels Humans (also self-released). And hey-ho, what a cool successor this is! More than half an hour of old styled thrashing and blackened grandeur à la earlier Sodom and Bathory, Discharge, Toxic Holocaust, Possession or Barbatos - and why not to mention the likes of Kreator, Nocturnal Breed, Profanatica or Desaster - including the punkish violent attitude (everything in between Misfits and The Exploited might ring a bell), the old schooled deadened loud presence ( the nice tunes of NunSlaughter or Vomitor included), or – no, it does not matter: this shit does smell big times!
The sound quality is extremely professional. Many times this kind of sonic terror suffers of an inferior production, but that surely is not the case right here. Yet still the result is quite rough, razor-wired and piercing, yet focusing on quite a cool equilibrium in between all players.
Damn no, there is not one single moment that ‘renews’ the music(k)al scene, but the energy, the conviction, the spirit behind this concept is like an aural orgasm for die hard Old School fans. That’s not just a bold statement; it’s a promise! Just do not deny the lack of variation in between the individual songs, which might cause a minor dose of irritation.