EL CACO – From Dirt

El Caco, a three-man Heavy Metal band from Norway, have garnered a fair amount of critical acclaim in Europe on the basis of their dynamic live shows, and, of course, their previous trio of studio albums: Viva, Solid Rest, and The Search. Their newest, From Dirt, was released in Norway in March 2007, and in the rest of Europe in April of the same year.

The line-up of El Caco is as follows: Oyvind Osa, bass and vocals; Thomas Fredricksen, drums; and Anders Gjesti, guitar. Like all their previous discs, the 11-song From Dirt was produced by the band and well-known Metal producer Daniel Bergstrand.

You won’t find any happy, upbeat tunes, power ballads, filler “atmospheric” tracks, florid instrumental passages, fleet-fingered solos, or glass-breaking vocals on From Dirt, but you will encounter lots of loud, grinding guitar riffs, raspy vocals, and big fuzzy grooves galore. This isn’t pretty music; it’s not afraid to get down in the muddy mosh pit and roll around and get good and messy, and then throw said mess right into your face. El Caco won’t win any style points with From Dirt, but they’re not trying to.

Music like this often devolves into a mess of tuneless noise, but El Caco is too skilled to allow that to happen on this album; the songs are well-written and played and have good rhythm and melody. Most of the tunes are pretty catchy too, and they all have a nice brisk momentum, never overstaying their welcome. Osa will never be considered a great singer by any stretch, but he gets the job done, with his energy and enthusiasm going a long way to mask whatever technical deficiencies he may have. Most of the vocals are shouted and/or coarse, but thankfully never become too grating, although “Love Delayed” may test your patience.

El Caco is a solid technical band, with Gjesti supplying lots of forceful, ragged riffs and strong guitar lines, and the rhythm section of Osa and Fredricksen is quite formidable, supplying a forceful bottom end for the album. From Dirt‘s production is loud and clear, but not too clear; there’s just enough dirt and grime laid over the top of the album to keep it from sounding too slick.

If you like your Heavy Metal loud, dirty, obnoxious, and in your face, then you’LL probably enjoy El Caco’s From Dirt. Your neighbors won’t like it, but you probably will.