Band:	M.A.S.A.C.R.E.
Album:	En Pie De Guerra
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	August 13, 2004
A review by:	Undercraft

01. Reaccionando
02. Prevalecer
03. Conciencia Magra
04. Hambre X Dios
05. Beso La Traicion
06. Sentencia
07. En Pie De Guerra
08. Despertar
09. La Marcha
10. Los Niños Del Futuro
11. Eternidad
12. Prevalí [Track bonus]

Finally the chance to review a Peruvian band in the website! I'm really excited because people always focus on Europe when searching for new bands, while South American bands are waiting to be discovered, in the dark. Not anymore, while European bands can wait a couple of years to get signed, M.A.S.A.C.R.E. waited much longer to get the long awaited record deal (the band formed back in 1984 and this is their third full-length, first one under a label).

Many of you are wondering what doe M.A.S.A.C.R.E. means? Well, is Spanish for "Metal Avanzando Siempre Ante Cualquier Rechazo Existente" something like "Metal Moving Forward Upon Any Existing Rejection" cheesy? Totally! As a matter of fact I try not to mention this fact because I just found it unnecessary? and cheesy.

Anyway, band name apart, M.A.S.A.C.R.E. deliver a furious and catchy strike upon lovers of Thrash Metal, the album is build upon a solid base of riffs and the powerful voice of Omar Pizarro, he's not afraid to experiment, he can sing clear, he can scream and even turn his voice a little growly.

The album stars with "Reaccionando" a groovy Thrash piece, catchy yet aggressive, next is the first single of the album "Prevalecer" another catchy song with great moments, riffing takes hold of "Conciencia Magra" here we can witness the excellent guitar duo of Coqui Tramontana and Jaqo Sangalli.
As the album goes on, the powerful vocals of Pizarro keep impressing me, song by song he displays more versatility than much of the "good" vocalist I know. Songs like "Hambre X Dios" and "Despertar" are prime examples of the great vocals.

M.A.S.A.C.R.E. are a groovy band, they're not all about the aggression, they can play for fun, like title track "En Pie De Guerra" a catchy song that reminds me of some 80's Heavy Metal acts. "Los Niños Del Futuro" is another aggressive bay area Thrash song, while album closer "Eternidad" is an acoustic song showing the mellower side of the band. As a bonus track we got the song "Prevalecer" sung in Spanish ("Prevail") just a sneak preview of the English album of these guys, yes, they're releasing this "En Pie De Guerra" as "On The Warpath" the English version of this one.

Maybe you prefer Metal in English, maybe in Spanish, maybe in your natal tongue, either way, you can pick "En Pie De Guerra" or "On The Warpath", you won't regret it, because you'll got a nice DigiPak album, good production, 12 songs and the rarity factor of having a Metal album from Peru. If you only pick one Peruvian Metal album this year, let it be this one.