Well, we here (I guess me and all of my damn egregores at this point, because I'm the only one working on this) at The Grim Tower try not to review albums that are a couple of years old if we can help it, but someone sent me this No Raza promo from back in 2014 and it wound up in my Promise Pool somehow (that's where all the good stuff goes, folks). The record was also reissued on GS Productions and The Horror Dimension around '15, so that is probably one of the reasons it was sent my way. Granted, this one was sent in February (still doing the fall cleaning) yet it went practically untouched by the rest of the metal media. Why? I have no idea. These Columbians pound out death metal in just the fashion I'd expect, accentuated with equally potent guitar solos. I guess we could compare them to an act like Brujeria and that's certainly not a bad thing. Melodies are utilized on the record, but none that I would consider beautiful or uplifiting. Surprisingly, the production value here is quite strong, with the horrific growls heavily audible in the mix, amidst the guitar crunch and drum batallion. No Raza craft a very groove-laced death metal, quite common of their peers, albeit with some more complex structures in areas. That being said, this isn't a record that requires a scientific dissertation. Death and groove fans will enjoy the slightly melodic touch being offered here in all of it's many facets, from speeding moments like “Detonator” to punchier groove efforts like “Evil's Seed” that recall Bloodbath. Even the frontman reminds me a little of Akerfeldt when he first fronted the act. When Chaos Reigns is a very catchy and pretty solid death metal disc, which I think did deserve a reissue and could still hold it's own this year. Regardless of whether or not this one gets the kind of promotion it deserves, that isn't going to stop these guys anytime soon. Definitely give it a listen. If the physicals are gone, you can grab the disc from their Bandcamp page too. More than likely, the physicals can also be ordered there. I definitely think you'll find one hell of a wallop in this one and I don't mean that lightly.
(8 Tracks, 36:00)
8/10
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