First, let’s get this out of the way: keyboard intros are A) overdone, B) corny, and C) misleading, especially when paired with blazing death metal. The one opening “Hacia la Ruina del Agartha” is totally unnecessary; for 20 seconds I wondered if I was headed into a recycled Dimmu Borgir song, but thankfully that wasn’t the case. The rest of the opening track is decent, not mindblowing, but it pulses with a vibe that controls much of the rest of Vorex Deconstrucción – one that’s dizzying and reminiscent of later-era Morbid Angel. Tracks like “En el Eon de las Falacias” and “…Por el Delirio” are breakneck death marches, thanks to machine-gun drums and bayonet-edged riffs. “Deconstrucción” and “Confesion,” on the other hand, are odes to the old gods if such things ever existed, complete with crawling, pulsing Lovecraftian grooves.

As said at the beginning of the review, Vorex Deconstrucción doesn’t quite have the same bite of its predecessor, but the bark is undoubtedly still there. The production isn’t quite as thick either, but it’s clearer, almost as though the proverbial flesh has been ripped off to expose the taut musculature within Thornafire‘s collective musical body. Sure, comparisons to other Hispanic metal bands could be made, but Thornafire seemingly takes as much influence from the American scene as it does from the South American one. Besides, there’s something older and more sinister at play here, something that’s harshly angular and oozingly primal at once, which is what it’s really all about – not the band’s geographical location. This will probably not be a contender for album of the year, but it’s a good chunk of old-school slime worship.

Thornafire has captured the true spirit of a Southern American death metal style that worships at the altar of the ancient ones and takes it cues from the likes Morbid Angel, Krisiun, (early) Sepultura, and Pentagram (Chile), while putting its own unique spin on the genre. On Exacerbated Gnostic Manifestation, Thornafire burned through 46 minutes of more groove-filled pummel, killer riffs, and occult/anti-Christian atmosphere than even the truest believers could handle without bowing down in obeisance to the Chilean DM gods. The combination of Juan Pablo Donoso’s batter and clatter drumming, Victor Mac-Namara’s giant array of monster riffs, and bassist Alexis Munoz’s David-Vincent-meets-Tom-G-Warrior vocals was nothing short of explosive. The follow up to the monolithic debut, Vorex Deconstrucción, is sure to be another Metal of Death tour de force and will be released in July on Ibex Moon Records.