Fermento are an institution of brutal death metal,
formed in 1991 in Madrid when there were actually no death metal bands in Spain
yet, only thrash ones. Their first 7", “Only The Flesh”, was released in
1992, and a year after, two more songs were recorded and compiled onto the
split “Dead Flesh”, where their sound would be clearly defined as brutal death.
In 1994, the very dark and dense EP “Fervour Of The Impure” was released. The
next year, a live demo was released, and in 1996, another demo – “The Shining”
– went out with a very original voice that would define a new style in the
brutal death scene. It was the prelude to their first full-length, “Symbols Of
Decrepitude, Symbols Of Supremacy”, released in 1997. It could be said that
this album was one of the pioneers of slam/brutal death metal spread in the
United States a short while after, and it's probably Fermento's
most popular album to date.
In 1999, Fermento moved to Ourense, and in 2004, the album “Insignia”
was released, which received excellent reviews due to the technical, complex
drumming and loads of extremely rapid riffs. It wasn't until 2009 that “Recipe
For Cremation” was recorded, one of the most rapid works in the band’s history,
and like every other Fermento album, it was
also reissued by an American label. In 2019, Fermento
released their first live album, “Revengeful Wolves From The Mouth Of
Hell”, featuring all the tracks from “Symbols” as a tribute to that album.
“Acts Of Blood” arrives as a ferocious statement of intent, opening the gates with relentless intensity and carrying it forward with suffocating force. Fermento’s brutal death foundation remains intact, but the infusion of black metal creates a darker, more sinister edge. The riffs are oppressive, often dragging the listener into cavernous depths before cutting with bursts of violence. The drumming of BST is relentless, varied, and storm-like, giving the album pace and atmosphere. MkM’s guest vocals inject further menace, his voice clashing with Fermento’s guttural assault like an invocation from another realm.
The
production adds weight to the chaos—low-tuned, resonant, and thick with
distortion, creating a wall of sound that feels monumental in its intensity.
This density fuels the suffocating power the band clearly aims for. Across the
album’s span, the atmosphere remains nightmarish, with riffs collapsing into
dissonance and vocals carving through the storm like ritualistic chants.
“Acts Of
Blood” is a chapter where the band embraces its legacy while pushing itself
into a more venomous and extreme sphere. This is not an album that offers
respite—it is an unyielding, pitch-black experience designed to punish,
provoke, and leave an imprint long after its final track fades.
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