BrujeriaPocho Aztlán

A Brujeria record without Dino Cazares—it’s something that’s going to immediately divide fans. The Fear Factory axeman, who co-founded Brujeria—brings his distinctive guitar sound to anything he touches, and you can immediately hear his absence on Pocho Aztlán, no matter how triggered the blast beats get lending songs that mechanical sheen. While that will be enough to turn some fans off, those fans are turkeys. 16 years after they released Brujerizmo, Pocho Aztlan proves that Brujeria is a better extreme metal band without Cazares’ cult of guitar personality overshadowing proceedings. They are more dextrous, can better transition between death metal and grindcore influences and overall create an album that remains more interesting for the nearly 50 minute run time.

Pocho Aztlan might stand out against Brujeria’s catalogue, but in a genre where songs, albums, sometimes entire decades of bands, bleed together, its difference is a clear strength. ¡Viva Brujeria!

A lot of that can be attributed to what Napalm Death’s Shane Embury and Carcass’ resident curmudgeon Jeff Walker bring to the record. These two dudes seem to be embracing the styles that their main bands pioneered, only to leave behind. Plata o Plomo, with its slower pacing and heavy groove could have fit on Napalm’s often-maligned-but-objectively-still-awesome Diatribes, and Bruja—sounds like if Carcass had done Swansong right.

Pocho Aztlan might stand out against Brujeria’s catalogue, but in a genre where songs, albums, sometimes entire decades of bands, bleed together, its difference is a clear strength. ¡Viva Brujeria!

STAND OUT TRACKS: Angel De La Frontera, Plata O Plomo, California Uber Aztlan
STICK THIS NEXT TO: Napalm Death, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Misery Index

Read our interview with Brujeria in Hysteria #46