Chilean doom act Condenados first graced the scene five years ago with their debut A Painful Journey Into Nihil for Shadow Kingdom Records, and their follow-up has finally arrived in the form of The Tree of Death. The trio of Fernando Vidal Salas (guitars, vocals), Matias M.H. (bass), and Arcano (drums) clearly take their influence from legendary doomsters Candlemass, as these six weighty tracks have an epic, melodic feel stocked with plenty of operatic vocals and crushingly slow & heavy riffage. "The Lamb" knocks it out of the park with some deliciously evil riffs that will tear at your very soul, "Burn" is just so heavy it will mash you right into the ground in its wake, and the more upbeat "Demon's Head" will prompt any metalhead to thrust the horns in the air, headbang, and crank out the air guitar. Plenty of tasty lead guitar work to go along with some crunchy riffing on the powerful closer "Marchosias Oath", ending a fine album in potent fashion. The only really weak track here is the lengthy opener "Star of Punishment, a 9-minute song that meanders for way longer than it should, showing a band that is clearly better at writing shorter, more concise compositions to maximum effect. Overall, good stuff here that any old school doom lover will enjoy.
Track Listing
1) Star of Punishment
2) The Lamb
3) Burn
4) Demon's Head
5) Sea of FIre
6) Marchosias Oath
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