Artist: Lugubrious
Country: Spain
Label: Discos MeCagoEnDios
Formats: LP
Year: 2024
Out of the deepest pits of the Spanish Extreme Metal underground comes Lugubrious, a four-piece Death Metal band that never got beyond one demo tape in 1993 – besides an official rehearsal tape that was brought into circulation a year prior and only reached a handful of tape traders. Although the band’s sole demo tape, ‘In Nomine Domini Nostri, Jesus Christi’ was released by one of Spanish first underground labels Drowned Productions (currently operating as Xtreem Music), the band didn’t get as much attention as some of their label mates and, frankly, these days is hardly remembered at all. If this band ever comes up again, it is mainly as “the first band of” Fernando “Lugubrious” Errazquin, who has been providing Haemorrhage with his signature vocals since 1993.
Lugubrious might not have “made” it big and seemed to have slipped out of most people’s mind, but its impact in their native Spanish scene is undeniable. Mainly due to the large network in the underground and strong work ethic of Drowned Productions owner Dave Rotten, the majority of the bands on his label’s roster helped spawning whole new generations of Extreme Metal bands in Spain. And Lugubrious were an indisputable part of that.
Still, in 2012 the Pathologically Explicit Recordings label gave these five tracks of the original demo tape a second life. But late in the year 2024, these songs got another reissue in the form of this vinyl edition that doesn’t present you the original demo songs, but the B-sides offers some additional rehearsal tracks as well. Basically, just what you would expect from a retrospective release such as this.
On a musical level Lugubrious delivered a very solid demo, the five tracks basically are a window into times gone by. The year of its initial release, 1993, can perhaps be seen as the last really big year for Death Metal before Black Metal would largely take over. And in a way ‘In Nomine Domini Nostri, Jesus Christi’ for the most part feels like a crossroad on which the best of the heydays of Death Metal comes together. You don’t necessarily have to have a very trained ear to hear the obvious influences from bands like Suffocation, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel (‘Reddening The Twilight’ evolves around an awfully familiar melody/rhythm) and a whole bunch of other classic bands from these vivid Death Metal years. The chunky riffs with mildly technical twists to it do offer enough bite for those who are averse to all too simple song writing characteristics, yet more than Old School enough for the true connoisseur. Thereby, the occasional pitch shifter used might also provide a satisfied look from seasoned Necrony and General Surgery fans.
Given the short time the band was around, the B-side of the record obviously offers largely the same tracks. Yet, all presented in a rawer and rougher guise. The first three tracks are taken from the aforementioned 1992 rehearsal tape, the remaining songs are rehearsals from March 1993, but as far as I know, were never officially released before. Consequently, while the A-side is mainly to preserve the music for newer and future generations and to satisfy vinyl lovers, the B-side is particularly interesting for the people who were there at the time and/or those who like to study Spain’s remarkable underground metal scene. This record certainly provides a valuable historical retrospective and should be cherished as such.
To add to that historical value, the record features not only beautiful artwork by Eduardo Naranjo, which looks a lot better on this scale than on the cover of a cassette tape, but also a 12-page booklet equipped with lyrics, photos, flyers and a lengthy interview – alas, though, only in Spanish. Definitely value for money and a worthy release that highlights the importance of Lugubrious for the development of (particularly) Spanish Death Metal.
