Band: Letal Cross

Album: Maldita Nación

Label: Self-released (digitally on Bandcamp)

Release date: December 31, 2015

I bid you shiggity shiggity shwa and other early naughties viral internet references as greetings. We at DIAG frequently get sent material to review, and Letal Cross’ guitarist, Karl, did exactly that; he wanted us to review their latest (and, to date, sole) demo, 2015’s “Maldita Nación.” All right Karl, I’ll bite. I had never heard Letal Cross before, and after a cursory investigation to get a vague sense of what I was getting myself into, I gave their demo a spin.

And holy shit does this thing ever rip your face off. Letal Cross are a blend of black metal and thrash metal with riffs from here to the fucking horizon. There’s no slowing down; “Maldita Nación” is 100% full-tilt with double kicks, vicious vocals, and solos that Lemmy would raise his glass of Jack Daniels to. Fans of bands like Abigail, Nifelheim, Craven Idol or Nocturnal Graves will eat this up in no time; in-your-face, confident blackened thrash with mondo cojones. The whole bit is great, but if I had to pick out a few highlights, they’d include the obnoxious stomping riff that’s just totally GAH MY NECK at the 1:45 mark on “Hijos de la Obscuridad” and vocalist Carlos’ particularly savage screams on the title track.

Don’t let the fact that this is a demo throw you – this sounds professionally produced, and the mix is just right. The guitar tone is crisp but with just enough grit, and the drums are powerful and driving. Everything is in its place at just the right level for it to have the impact it needs.

“Maldita Nación” is cruelly short at not even fifteen minutes long; I know, I know, a demo is meant to be short, but god damn it Karl, you got me hooked. You can’t just do that to someone and leave them high and dry after four tracks. Since “Maldita Nación” came out in late 2015, an album should be coming soon, right? Right, Karl?

Letal Cross aren’t reinventing the wheel here, nor are they trying to; they’re trying to purvey some deadly, old-fashioned shit of the highest quality, and they succeed. Pay attention, boys and girls: this is how it should be done. Do your neck vertebrae a severe disservice and give Letal Cross a listen: https://letalcrossmetal.bandcamp.com/

You can find Voidhanger on twitter talking about br00tal music, weird horror stuff, and his crush on Cult.