Corrupted - Llenandose de gusanos (1999)^{Release ID: 6888}

Llenadose de gusanos contains 30 plodding minutes of some of the best Drone Metal I’ve heard yet. The guitars are exceedingly simple, just droning chords, but the real magic is in the layers. Feedback and noise create a cacophony of twisted suffering, and later on, haunting choirs join in the back, rising from the graves to contribute to the hellscape. Minimalist piano comes in as well, matching the guitar chords, and adding just enough actual music to counter the wall of chaotic, disharmonious noise forming the backbone of this skeletal monolith. Funeral Doom influence is evident in the atmospheres being built with the simple but layered droning.

There’s just one little problem with that.

This album is over 2 hours long.

About 20 minutes of track one is Minimalist piano. Not offensive, but does nowhere near enough to justify the length it goes on.

Then we have the second track, which is almost an hour and 15 minutes of Ambient Drone. And not good Ambient, mind you. It’s the kind that does absolutely nothing and goes absolutely nowhere. It’s not offensive, and even manages to be pleasant in moments, but again… absolutely does not justify its hour-long run.

I have trouble calling this a very good Drone Metal album because ¾ of it is not Drone Metal and ¾ of it is not very good. Corrupted prove here they’ve got potential, and display some of the best early Drone Metal around. But, the album is beyond bloated with non-Metal nonsense.