UMUR
"Hay Daño En Casa" is the debut full-length studio album by Argentina, San Miguel e Tucuman based progressive metal act Senegal Grindcore Mafia. The album was released in November 2015 through the band´s official site and their Bandcamp profile. In other words...a self-released effort. Senegal Grindcore Mafia was formed in 2015 from the ashes of Los Random. A band that Raul Garcìa Posee (guitars, vocals), and Pablo Lamela Bianchi (bass) played in and released the two albums "Todo.s los colores del (2011)" and "Pidanoma (2014)" with. Compared to the lineup who recorded "Pidanoma (2014)", drummer Marcos Luis Crosa has been replaced by Germán Gomez, and Gaspar Rojas has been added as a second guitarist. This is of course a whole new band though.
That´s not really audible from listening to the music though, as Senegal Grindcore Mafia pretty much continues where Los Random left off. It´s of course not entirely true as "Pidanoma (2014)" was a very experimental and at times quite ambient release, so maybe it´s more correct to say that "Hay Daño En Casa" is a continuation of the music style on "Todo.s los colores del (2011)". The music on "Hay Daño En Casa" is progressive metal played by very skilled musicians. The vocals are both raw and clean, the riffs are heavy, and the rhythms tight and relatively adventurous. Comparisons to artists like Mastodon and Baroness aren´t completely wrong. There´s generally less focus on technical playing and more on groove and atmosphere here though, and I hear some Gojira leanings in the music too (and some stoner/psychadelic metal references too). A band like the French Klone is also a valid reference. Senegal Grindcore Mafia have opted to sing in their native language, and it´s a really charming move, which works very well for them.
The material on the 5 track, 45:16 minutes long album is well written and preodominantly quite catchy too. There´s a great balance between the heavy and raw, and the more melodic and atmospheric parts, which makes "Hay Daño En Casa" quite a dynamic listen. Although the tracks are pretty long (two of them exceed 10 minutes in length) and structurally relatively adventurous, they are still hook laden and memorable.
"Hay Daño En Casa" is a well produced album, and all details are audible in the mix. Paired with the skillful delivery of the music, and the intriguing songwriting, it makes for quite the enjoyable and adventurous release. With their sense for melody and catchy hooks, there is no doubt Senegal Grindcore Mafia could have created a more mainstream oriented release and probably have enjoyed greater success with such an album, but there´s something admirable about a band like this one, who sacrifice the possibility of commercial success for innovative playing and creative ideas. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.