Watered-down thrash

Spanish metal band Rancor’s latest album Bury the World plays more like a watered-down offering to the big four of thrash metal (Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeath) versus being something truly pulled from their own ingenuity. It’s not bad, it’s just that nothing truly stands out on this formulaic album. Quick from beginning to end and taking clear directives from their inspirations, this album is technically flawless, but its heart and emotion is lost in translation.

Bury the World begins expeditiously with the track “Berserk.” A zippy climb up and down a guitar scale leads right into a stereotypical thrash metal groove. The following track “Bury the World” is in the same key as the first and basically follows the same pattern as “Berserk,” just speeding it up a little more and adding a guitar solo to the front end. To give them some props, for a metal band, these guys have pretty good diction. For example, the “r” in the word “Berserk” is fully pronounced and not just glazed over as most do. However, the music just doesn’t back up the lyrics and exemplary pronunciation.

“Hunting Humans” is a song that leans closer to a heavy metal sound than the others and it is unfortunately diluted as well. With only little guitar ditties here and there to help it stand out, both the vocals and the backing accompaniment falls flat. One would expect more vigor and scare from such a topic as the title suggests.

There are several little moments of heart on this album that attempt to come out but are quickly stuffed back into the closet. For example, the track “Daggers in the Chest” features a funky bass solo from Jorge “Serra” Serrano that is similar to the start of the Seinfeld theme song, and it is followed by some beastly technically proficient double-pedaling from drummer Jorge Sáez. “Bad Angel” shows off some Spanish flamenco flair in a smooth gliding middle section that seemingly pops out of nowhere and would almost be a vibe killer if it wasn’t so beautiful. If Bury the World had more elements like this versus dropping them in only as Easter eggs, they could come closer to finding a sound of their own.

While technically virtuous, the heart from their lives shows does not translate in Bury the World. It comes off as watered-down thrash metal, as something one would expect from a debut album versus a 4th album. The musical concepts on this album need a little more show and a little less tell and maybe listeners would be a little more impressed. Like the happy disorder found on the album’s final track “Rat Licker,” to truly feel the energy Bury the World is trying to express, it would be better saved for a live show versus home listening.