### 4-band split: Humo cenizas y muerte

#### 03/04/12 || SwornToTheBlack

This demo split comes tagged as “raw and depressive black metal” and features three bands from Mexico and one from Malaysia. One-man band Astarot appears first and is a buzzy mess of slow and undeveloped dark metal that could really use some vocals. 3/10. Lux Funestus follows and, as it is another project from the guy in the first band, is only distinguishable from the former in that the additional members manage to make it sound even worse. 2/10 Du Temps Perdu (the French would be cooler if they were actually French, or even European) is next and is a significant step up. This is the first act on the split that accomplishes the depressive tone, but apart from sounding like the kind of band you’d be happy to see play for free at a non-metal venue, they’ve got a long way to go before they deserve any real recognition. 4/10. Finally we come to Neftaraka. If the bands on this demo made up a tour package, Neftaraka would clearly be the headliner. It’s the first portion of the split that is actually listenable from either a songwriting or production standpoint and hearkens strongly to Funeral Mist and Burzum as influences. Overall nothing new, but a huge relief to get to something adequately put together. 5/10.

3/10 fizzles of kvlt white noise