Recent Reviews

January 2025

December 2024

November 2024

October 2024

September 2024

[ More Music Reviews ]


Condenados: A Painful Journey into Nihil
Condenados A Painful Journey into Nihil album new music review

Condenados: A Painful Journey into Nihil

Heavy/Doom Metal
3.5/5.0

Shadow Kingdom Records
Website MySpace
by Craig Hartranft,  05.30.2011

I know little about Chile's Condenados except for a few facts I've culled from the Internet. They play traditional heavy/doom metal. They've released two demos, two EPs and a split since 2006. A Painful Journey into Nihil is their first full-length work for the US label Shadow Kingdom Records. Some songs are sung in Spanish, but most in English. And, oh yeah, Condenados means 'doomed' in Spanish, certainly appropriate for this disc.

A Painful Journey into Nihil is classic doom, a gnarly and bitter mix of ancient Black Sabbath and Saint Vitus, if not something deeper and more sinister. Fernando "The Wizard" V (v,g) drones with depressive perfection. The tunes rumble along with that slow density you would expect. The Spanish lyric numbers Las Puertas de la Catedral and Cargando la Cruz pure edge of darkness doom metal. You would expect much enthusiasm or liveliness, for that matter, for music for the undead, but Welcome to My Grave kicks a little in an old school metal way. You'll find some of this in Centuries of Darkness, perhaps the best song, especially in the guitar licks and drumming, and it kicks up a little dust around six minutes in. But mostly, shadows, darkness, and foreboding rule A Painful Journey into Nihil an album built upon deep dense riffs and a moody tortured spirit. The finale, Final Transmutation, also offers classic metal spark of light, thanks once more crafty instrumentation from guitar, bass, and drums. But gloom of darkness still lingers like a creeping fog.

For certain, Chile's Condenados knows their chosen genre, heavy/doom metal, quite well. Merging a dark atmosphere with advanced arrangements, expressive instrumentation, and just a necessary, but meager, hint classic metal life, Condenados has delivered a solid work; if it were not so damn depressing.




CraigHartranft.net - New fiction, crime fiction by Craig Hartranft

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

In Short

For certain, Chile's Condenados knows their chosen genre, heavy/doom metal, quite well. Merging a dark atmosphere with advanced arrangements, expressive instrumentation, and just a necessary, but meager, hint classic metal life, Condenados has delivered a solid work.

Find A Review

Alphabetical Index

a b c d e f g h i j
k l m n o p q r s t
u v w x y z #
New & Notable
Read the Powell-Payne: Voilá Album Review

The Powell Payne project, created in 2022 is the collaboration of Mark "Penfold Powell (ex-drummer of Psycho Kiss) and Adam Payne (former vocalist of Airrace). With guitarist Adam Davies and keyboard player ... [ Read More ]