With a woman in a robe on the cover stretching air and red light, it’d be easy to dismiss Candela as just another longing metalcore album. And while there are shades of that in the riff assembly, Svdestada (a stylized version of sudestada which simply means “southeast”), hailing from the burgeoning punk scene of Spain, self-describes as blackened crust. Candela, then, lands more like Calligram‘s latest work in terms of intensity rather than anything that a trope-leaning metalcore band like Architects would emit. With stiff local competition in underground torchbearer’s Tenue and Vibora, Svedstada needs to draw blood with their blend of ravenous vocals and bass-led charges. And while Candela is far from perfect, it’s one heck of a way to start out the year for those who crave this kind of emotionally-charged experience.
Despite the seductive and nocturnal allure of what the album presents on the outside, its insides come loaded with frosty tones and a windswept attitude. I know I said Architects have little place here, but the truth is that the bounce that opens tracks like “Cierzo” and “Efimero” really do hit that melodic metalcore sweet spot, albeit with a bright, resonant character rather than the drop-tuned chunk you’d hear elsewhere. Further still, the unrelenting chiming that presents itself in guitar drive and forward-moving cymbal splashes proves important in building a melodic identity that ties the whole experience together. The 11-minute closer hammers home these recurring ideas and mostly succeeds in its exuberant execution, only dragging just a bit too long in its fading finish. One part the screeching ferocity of screamo, one part the treble-focused assault of black metal, one part the sound of nostalgic metalcore, Svdestada will leave you harmed, charmed, and wondering what more lurks ahead. Perhaps a bit too wandering, unfortunately, but in a scene that holds promise, it’s good to keep an eye on players like these.
[note to potential purchasers, if the band Bandcamp page runs out of physical copies, this is also available through several distros on Bandcamp and elsewhere.]
