Imagine dreamful landscapes, surrounded by ancient oak forests and crowned by snowy mountains. Behind them, wooden towns with blond kids speaking in German. Well, it is not someplace below the Alps what I’m talking about, but the “region of The Lakes” in southern Chile, and a German enclave in South America since an important immigration that took place in the late XIX century. In the heart of these lands lay Puerto Varas, hometown of the main Chilean Black Metal band: HETROERTZEN.

“Rex Averno” is their third full-length, and the debut of HETROERTZEN as a quartet. Just like in their two previous albums, the band plays raw yet atmospheric Black Metal, although developing a much more obscurantist image. The poetic, but rather innocent lyrical themes are left behind and with “Rex Averno” more Satanist concepts are adopted. Like always, lyrics are written between English and German.

Musically, this is a hell of an album. A raw, distorted and chaotic sound exhales a dirty, rotten atmosphere. Kaeffel’s growling is very electric and disturbing, and Askväder, the woman guitarist of the band, delivers some simple but pretty terrifying riffs in the vein of old IMMORTAL. The rhythm is by times fast, but also some doomer parts are included to enrich the ambience.  Give it a chance, “Rex Averno” is totally recommended for those who pledge allegiance to the old-school!

(Online November 26, 2006)