Mala Suerte
Confusion's Maw (Demo) 2001 No Label
The cover of Mala Suerte's (that's "bad luck" in Spanish, for all you non-Spanish-speakers) demo CD shows a photo of a cute girl withdrawn into the fetal position, presumably in a fit of depression. But not so depressed that she forgot to paint her toenails, ha ha. She's surrounded by doodles and an artfully lettered representation of the band name and demo title. The style of the artwork matches the intro page on their website, so its clear that there is a talented visual artist in the group, as this goes beyond what one usually finds with a new band's demo disc. In the carefully hand-written (!) note that accompanied this CD, the band wanted to make it clear that their music is inspired by a number of sources. After several listens, I'd say that among those sources are punk, hardcore, doom and psychedelia. The disc opens with 'Ray's intro/Cavity.' The intro features noise, laughing, and growling leading into the high-speed punk of 'Cavity.' What's of interest to us here at Doom-metal.com is the next song, 'Confusion's Maw.' With its thudding rhythm, rough vocals, and doomy lyrics, we have promising doom/sludge core in the vein of Beaten Back to Pure or even Eyehategod. 'Commuter Man,' a cover of the DRI tune, returns to punk land before the disc finishes with 'Cosmicoma,' a short, psychedelic song with lots of tasty backwards instrumentation. From a doomster's point of view, I'd naturally say that the most promising song on this demo is 'Confusion's Maw', which is of course the doomiest. I would also add that I see promise in the psychedelic 'Cosmicoma'. A good mix of these elements could yield an interesting, original result. Let's hope their forthcoming album is as powerful as their live show, which, as any of the lucky few who saw them at SHOD 3 could tell you, is much more powerful than is indicated by their demo.	1. Ray's intro/Cavity 2. Confusion's Maw 3. Commuter Man 4. Cosmicoma Approx. 13 minutes
Reviewed by: Kevin McHugh
Non Serviam (CD) 2004 No Label
Mala Suerte ("bad luck") is like some group of sword-rattling underworld golems, screaming and mumbling around their darkened caverns, showing us through the power of music what life is like behind the mirror in their ugly wonderland. Doom, sludge, crust and thrash compete to overpower the listener and make them a slave to the group's obscure power. Rising from deep in the Austin, Texas underground, this is Mala Suerte's second self-released album in the past few years. I liked their first effort, scattershot as it was, because it showed some crusty doom and psychedelic potential. Their new one includes some more focussed forays into the world of doomy melancholia, and it’s all to the good. But of course the group can't do just one thing, and there are some short and brutal thrash tunes as well. 'Evolved to Dust' starts with some epic guitar strumming reminiscent of Sleep, YOB, and Ocean Chief before lurching into a brutal dual vocal attack. 'Quest for Light' is a slow, shuffling doom anthem with a middle section reminiscent of brilliant US west coast doomsters Cold Mourning. The next three songs are more hardcore and thrashy, short and grindingly repellent. The title track is long, with a super-slow doomy tempo slowly gathering power like a steamroller driven by some PCP-loving fool before shifting to a rather beautiful psychedelic outro worthy of old Pink Floyd. You may be saying "what the?" Well, don't get your undies in a bundle. Sure, the group is adept at several different musical approaches, but if you're into extreme metal, then at least one of them is sure to satisfy. Fans of Cold Mourning, Grief, Beaten Back to Pure, Jumbo's Killcrane and the above-referenced doomsters will want to get with the Suerte boys at the above-referenced addy. Thrash addicts might want to as well, but I'll leave that up to them. In any case, the group is driven by the visions of H.P. Lovecraft and Robert Anton Wilson, which means they're no ordinary group of knuckleheads. Prost!	1. Evolved to Dust 2. Quest for Light (The Outsider) 3. Shooting Star (Fading Fast) 4. Guttercrust 5. Cacadevaca 6. Non Serviam Approx. 24 minutes
Reviewed by: Kevin McHugh