Review of Los Sin Nombre - Santini

Enter a Swedish quintet who used to play Entombed covers and whose name from Spanish means 'those without name'. Interesting, no?

Unfortunately, that is a resounding no. Things begin pleasantly with "Intro", an expected acoustic number that wouldn't be out of place on many such recordings, but that is about as good as it gets. To their credit, Santini is no mere exercise in Entombed worship. Sure, the dirty tone and gruff semi-shouted vocals are there, and both "Answers Of Humanity" and "Bleeding Eyes" have a melodic and doomy crawl to their bridges, but I can't fairly pretend that anyone could mistake Los Sin Nombre for their main influence. No, the problem with Santini is that I can be forgiven for thinking it is the deliberately scrapped b-side to The Haunted's self-titled. Pär Palm's vocal delivery is satisfyingly visceral and violent, even if it is layered in reverb and almost a mimicry of Peter Dolving, and by the end of this six track EP is the only memorable element. The guitars and bass initially show promise with a raw, chunky heft that hides the lack of originality for thirty seconds, and is the most telling influence remaining from Entombed, but that alone doesn't defeat the empty impression this leaves. "Blooded Streets Of Emptiness" and "Passion Of Life" have a gravelly aggression I could endearingly link to countrymen Killaman, but where that band overcomes their lack of spark with blood-pumping pace and hatemosphere (my apologies), Los Sin Nombre instead feel lazy and halting where they should drive forwards with ever more speed.

To be honest, I'm not even sure if that is an attainable. These Swedes could be excused for contributing little more than another watered-down and forgettable latter day At The Gates homage (let's face it, so many bands have done it that it must be approaching mass delusion to write 'new' material sounding as such) if it weren't for the sloppiness on display. The stuttering, almost fun guitar riffs opening "Answers Of Humanity" and "Bleeding Eyes" are so loosely rendered that I can't tell if they're simply incompetent musicians or are trying too hard to sound edgy. The drums are similarly hackneyed, with the blasts coming off as frustratingly sluggish and the fills frighteningly empty of actual hits. Even if this lack of precision is engineered, any energy that might have been garnered by it is thoroughly extinguished by the melodic themes of each song, which although fully developed, are highly derivative.

Okay, I relent. I'm being mean. Let us pretend Los Sin Nombre recorded this under duress because a coked-up Haunted fanatic broke into their studio and threatened to bludgeon them to death with a Nightrage CD unless they instantly played something to calm his nerves.

Somehow I don't think even wild commiserating fantasy can save this EP.

Release Details

Los Sin Nombre

Santini

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