brutal and downtuned stuff from Mexico with AKÛMA / WEEDSNAKE split

During quite a long while the Mexican scene has been really reknown for revealing some killer Death Metal bands, eventually some HC and Grind too but until now Stoner/Sludge/Doom never really emerged from there... So it's with a particular pleasure that I received recently a mail (thanx to Gallo Mc Coy) with a link to this split with AKÛMA and WEEDSNAKE, two young bands who gather their efforts on this fresh release.

With 2 songs for each band and a total length of about 20 minutes, this is more of an Ep than an Album. Both bands have the particularity to be hardly classified, mainly due to their rather harsh Metallic approach of Stoner/Sludge... 

I feel that WEEDSNAKE is closer to the usual Stoner/Sludge type of riffing, the basis of their songs is gnarly and extremely heavy but the tempo is sometimes doomier which gives a great  consistence in the moods variation... Vocals remain always agressive, screamed; they are almost too violent in my opinion on those gloomy downtuned parts which could have been a real problem if this was for the length of a full album but is still enjoyable here , I definitely feel that some nuances and  deepness  in the vocals should be brought for the future though. Musically I think that WEEDSNAKE plays very tightly and already show promises of a striking identity, on the song "Freedom" especially, certainly they just need a bit  more time to gain in cohesion; I will willingly follow that !

On their 1st song "Aphasia Universal", AKÛMA are very different... This sounds more like old Voivod meets Crusty Black Metal, than Sludge or anything else related to heavy weedy sounds ! Not disagreeable at all, I like very much the 2nd part of the song with great dissonances, but this is pretty brutal and disconcerting, especially when you listen then "Earthspell" which is more of a groovy mid-tempo and clearly shows that both bands belong to the same scene which wasn't that obvious with the beginner ! 

This "Earthspell" is far more solid and distinctive, it's still a bit filthy but there's a great dose of groove and catchy power, vocals are less omnipresent and the musicality of the band is greatly valued. I think this 2nd song shows the way they should take for the future...

Even if there's imperfections, this Split is very interesting and constitutes a good and exciting promise for both bands future and the Mexican scene too... This deserves attention and support ! 

https://www.facebook.com/Weedsnake
https://www.facebook.com/weareakuma