With strong political and social factors influencing a lot of metal these days, it comes as no surprise that bands coming out of countries like Spain have been labeled as having crust metal influences. The term was coined back in the mid 80's and referred to strong punk, metal and extreme metal that have political along with the dark and depleting society themed lyrics. LITOST hails from Valencia region of Spain that borders the Mediterranean Sea. Formed in 2015, they released a two track demo in 2019 and followed it up later that same year with their first full length album Ethos. After tweaking the lineup and signing on with Blood Fire Death, the band has now released their sophomore album Pathos.

The album opens up with growing anticipation on the track "Tromba". With hints of atmospheric progressive guitar work the track grows into a multi-layered assault featuring rich and deep bass lines, including in black metal with melodic undertones. The vocals are a faded scream but hold up well in front of the music. With crippling double bass and blast beats being aided by a heavy rumbling bass line, the track "Espectro" is born. The rhythm section is the highlight of the track setting the platform for the guitars to work in an unsettling serenade. The band on the whole album seem comfortable with mixing styles and progressing from being a one dimensional band.

After a drum instrumental track set for roman times finishes up, the song "Emboscada" begins with a more in your face and direct style. A more thrash and punk influence with soaring and creative guitar work taking the song to a higher level. "Simún" follows the trend of aggressive and forward tempo and takes a more death metal route and includes some backing vocals that adds a nice touch to the sonic guitar notes. "Vendaval" confides in the trend of a more up-tempo second half to the album. The track is an instrumental and features oriental style guitar that mesh into a heavy hitting drum attack. The track stirs up various emotions of sadness, empowerment and anxiety that can be a bit of a rollercoaster the first time hearing it. After one or two more times you can begin to be more appreciative of the music instead of the mix of emotions associated with it.

"Galerna" ends off the album as it starts with variations of riffs revolving around a strong rhythm section utilizing a mix of tempos and timings. The track can sooth you into a sense of comfort before striking you down. The release is a short one with eight tracks, two of which are instrumental intros, but the album feels longer than the thirty three minutes that it is. It is embedded with a mix of emotions that flow effortlessly throughout the tracks. All instruments and musicians are heavily involved with inputting a teamwork style into the music. A solid release that should gather anticipation for future projects by both the fans and the guys involved.