Review Summary: The first album by Argentinian band Nepal, is a great later thrash album with talented musicianship and the feel of earlier classic thrash albums
Raza de Traidores is the first album by Nepal. In January 1992 Dario Galvan joined the band, and they started to compose new material for an album. In November, the début album, "Raza de Traidores", was released under "Metal Command Records" in cassette format. It was recorded and mixed between May and August in "TMA La Escuelita" studios. The Uruguayan label Heavy Weigh Records released a South American compilation including Nepal's song "Represor".
Nepal is;
Bass – Beto Vázquez
Drums – Dar*o Galván
Guitar – Javier Bagalá
Vocals – Larry Zavala
Although released in 1993, Raza de Traidores is a pure, unadulterated thrash album. As the album is sung in Spanish, I can't really comments on the quality of the lyrics but i think they sound great. However, the vocals are very good and the lyrics are always aggressively, yet cleanly delivered. Larry Zavala has a throaty, deep voice with some occasional higher pitched shouts, which adds to the classic thrashy feel of the album.
The album has the feel of a slab of classic thrash. Each song has aggressive, galloping riffing and an unrelenting, heavy sound, particularly the first few songs in the album. The album kicks off with “Falsos Profetas (A Esos)” which is a total thrasher that rushes at breakneck speed and has pummeling drum work, a nice melodic break that flows excellently into the song towards the end and cool lyrics about killing the false prophets. Next is the title track “Raza De Traidores” that has more excellent axe work that provides fast riffs and a nice solo section. The lyrics are about murdering traitors. The rest of the album continues in a similar vein, with more excellent sounding sinister songs. The musicianship throughout the album is consistently excellent. Larry Zavala is an excellent vocalist with a gruff/harsh voice that makes him sound like Lemmy, but he can still soar if he wants (check out the last scream of “Señal Del Metal”, etc). Javier Bagala unfolds excellent thrash riffs and also some intense and quick solos. Beto Vazquez does a nice job handing the bass, he supports very well the riffs and forms a really tight rhythmic section together with the drums.
To conclude, Raza de Traidores is an excellent album. The musicianship is very tight, and the lyrics sound very sinister throughout. I would recommend the album to anyone who likes classic thrash metal.
