An acoustic intro. That will score points!. After this the first song kicks in, and it’s everything but a standard structured song. Brutal death metal grunts, heavenly female vocals, a flute, bagpipes, and all that in one song without sounding chaotic or something. No, this is one hell of a song!

I hear you thinking: what kind of band uses this much variety in their music? Well, that will be User NE. A band from Malaga, Spain. A total of 9 (!) musicians. They already released an album in 2000, entitled Nibelum Das Uhort, but it didn’t lead to a breakthrough. Maybe this album will. The fact that they sing in Spanish doesn’t disturb me. Normally I hate it when bands sing in their own language except English or sometimes Dutch. But with User Ne, it doesn’t irritate me. Actually I think it’s the perfect language for this type of music!

The album knows some strange moments.

For example in “Tras El IV Caos” with strange samples of a guy who is laughing his ass of and I noticed tribal influences there as well. “Andaluci” is a perfect piece of instrumental folk music with flutes, while the female vocal parts of “..And Ape Ar” remind me of Kate Bush, although the song ends like a death metal song. “An Mis Theimous” is a great traditional song with harmonious vocals. A perfect campfire song. Well, I can go on for hours, but you have to listen to it yourself.

This is the surprise of the month for me. A band that mixes death metal, traditional music, folk, gothic and tribal on one album and does that with this kind of perfection needs all the attention they can get. Buy this album. It definitely adds something to your collection.