Ancesthor – White Terror

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I’m not one to shy away from anything new, and this is no exception. Mexican metal is not something you get on your menu too often. But here I am, listening to ANCESTHOR from Mexico City. A place in a country that has a lot going for it, but makes us think of drug gangs, but also of taking it easy. Well, on “White Terror” the band does anything but the latter. This isn’t mellow, this isn’t slow, and it’s definitely not soft.

ANCESTHOR sound a bit as the missing link between VOIVOD and GOJIRA, mixed with some old school Thrash sounds thrown in for good measure. And it sounds absolutely fabulous. The intrinsic and overpowering emphasis is on making good music and showing off the musicality of the three members that make up ANCESTHOR and “White Terror”. This actually is their fifth full length studio album, plus they also have a live album out. As this is my first encounter with the band, the result of listening to all their efforts on “White Terror” have made me rather curious as to how they sounded before this album. On top of their musicality, the slightly deranged voice of Luis Soto makes the picture complete, resulting is the first four songs being of an outstanding nature. Modern Metal lovers as well as VOIVOD afficionados will not be able to escape the brilliance of these tunes. Riveting stuff!

Unfortunately, that stops with the fifth song, the operatic “La Llorona”. This is due to the band trying to accommodate the singer Ana Cristina Durán, who clearly has an operatic background. This song just doesn’t fit. Thankfully ANCESTHOR recuperate with “Shrouded In Light”, which, although a bit softer than the first four offerings, still has the quality that I was expecting from these Mexicans. And even the last song on the album, “The Waltz of the Sea” has a lot of those qualities, as here Ana Cristina Durán is accommodating the band by trying to fit her unique voice into their kind of soundscapes. And they succeed. All put together I can only say that I have been very pleasantly surprised by ANCESTHOR and their “White Terror”. Good music, brilliant musicians and an album that, in spite of one song, still has made quite the impression. I do hope the rest of their catalogue is in the same vein. If it is, it will make me quite the happy bunny.

Songwriting: 8
Musicianship: 8
Memorability: 8
Production: 8