We are going south of the Equator all the way to the beautiful Chile to check an EP called Ethereal from the Santiago born band BLAXEM. I may be bias, but Metal from South America fucking rules! The band was created around 2014 and has already released a full album in 2017 called Who Cares. This new EP starts with “Grey Summit” , which is an automatic punch in the nose. Fry and guttural vocals that would destroy an untrained throat, some extra low tuned crunchy guitars, and all the djent you can handle. The vocal screams are provided by the guitar player Guillermo Malatesta who is helped by Daniel Hidalgo who plays the other guitar and can provide some backing vocals as well. “Miscellaneous” is next and you can see that the boys ain't here for the chit chat. This one uses some melodic singing with some nice backing vocals mixed with pure chaos and some crazy riffs.

Bands from LAMB OF GOD to ANIMALS AS LEADERS come to mind as possible influences. The guitar solo on this track is also tasty. For this style of Metal you need a bionic drummer and this band has one in Robert Unger Burmeister that is the most non Chilean name I have heard. The guy takes care of the job with competence locking the double bass drum madness with the riffs from bass player Marcelo Romanini that has a small place to shine by himself on the track “Ethereal “ that names the EP. We are definitely talking about well seasoned musicians that not only can perform at a high level, but are also able to compose interesting tunes like “Radiant Abyss” that starts with an acoustic levity and some nice melody and vocal work taking you to a momentary place of peace before the chaos returns. Interestingly, the vocals on this one are more tamed but still surprises with a well structured track with a lot to unpack for the attentive Metal listener.

This track reminds me of MASTODON and is also rewarding to learn that they are not afraid to get out of their shells. We end our short journey with another banger in “Images Of Tomorrow” that for me takes the best of the EP title as it mixes gutural with melodic in the same singing chorus and has a weird time signature. They also add to this closer track, some tasty guitar solos with a nice bed of bass and drums bringing the tune to an epic conclusion. I should not be impressed with this band as Metal from South America never disappoints. This is definitely a keeper and I hope that the full album comes soon and that they keep exploring all the possibilities as they did on this EP.