"Face of Madness" by Tritton

 For the first time, this blog will be heading to our neighbor to the south, Mexico, but not the part of Mexico that the lure of drunk college kids have turned into America's socks. The real heart of Mexico, Mexico City.

At an elevation nearly fifty percent higher than the Mile High City of Denver, the air is thin. Originally, founded as the capital of the Mexica (later Aztecs) in 1325, it was conquered by the Spaniards. There is a lot about this city to make one angry enough to become metal. It's a very far cry from the paradisiacal cities like Cancun and Playa del Carmen. (The latter where I spent not only my honeymoon, but my last trip to Mexico.)

Enough of the Mexican history lesson, but if you'd like more, please email me and I'll tell you all about my visit to the archaeological site of Chichen Itza and send you photos.

El grupo de Mexico

Tritton has been together since pre-2010, sort of. About half of the members were in another band called Dracko with a different singer and drummer. After that band split into two separate camps, Tritton was formed.

The first track, "Martyr," was a bit jarring. The music is quite good, but the singer is strikingly different than what anyone would expect from a metal band.

She has a very strong Grace Slick like quality to her. Both women have this edge to their voices that is rather hard to articulate, but the listener knows what that edge is. It is the kind of vocal quality that's going to be either loved or hated. By the time the second song started, her voice had just melded into the music. Most fans of Huntress will find a lot to like about Lorena Cabrera's vocals. She does not have the range of Ms. Janus, but who does besides Mr. King Diamond?

The guitars are very strong, but a touch more subtle than my preference during the solos, a bit more face melting was in order. However, the craft of the solos could not be denied. After hearing the melodic openings, the shred parts sounded even more shred. In "Flash of the Blast" the trading off of leads was just awesome.

All in all, this is a very good effort by a new band trying to make a name for themselves in the giant world of metal. Though I talked a lot about their being from Mexico, there's not really much to this album that would point to their being Mexican. The lyrics are in English and the title of the record isn't Red. White. Green.

Release: 2/25/14
Genre: Metal
Label: DIY
Run time: 34:24
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Tracklisting:
1) Martyr
2) Wanton War
3) Face of Madness
4) Insurrection
5) Flash of the Blast
6) Asphyxia
7) 33 Degrees North