Stillborn - Los Asesinos Del Sur Review

Hailing from Poland, Stillborn are a Death/Black metal horde whom simply blow away some of the big hitters from their native country. Judging by ‘Hymn of Destruction’, you can hear a Behemoth influence, an earlier incarnation of them that is. There is thundering cavalcade of sound hitting your receptors. The tacks lengths are pretty much spot on, I cannot stand groups that go on and on with the same riff and melody just for the sake of it. Stillborn hit you hard then leave you for dead, ‘Diamonds of the Last Water’ dutifully emphasises this. 

One thing I also find appealing is the artwork, it’s not your standard black and white devil worshipping contender for art attack, it has a little soul, a little mystery and the way the bands logo is morphed into the colours works rather well to my eyes. Other things that work well is the consistent level of furious musicianship, without the need to go overtly technical, or far beyond necro, the mix of death and black metal sits perfectly balanced, in some quarters you even gain a bit of groove. ‘Los Asesinos del Sur’ (loosely translated to ‘The Assassins of the South’ is the longest track on the release, at over 6 minutes I am expecting something a little different. This is personified with tempo changes from a slow build up to a near SweDeath riff experience until the speed really up’s the mood whilst poking through a little more of their blackened influence, but in this quarter, the change from black to old school death is seamless, I have to commend the level of musicianship and the arrangement. 

Breeding many a killer, certainly no filler, Stillborn (Pol) really have their musical cross genre nailed to a tee. ‘Los Asesinos del Sur’ is both aggressive, entertaining and on the whole, a very good place to spend your time and money.