(((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain))))): VIVA BELGRADO

Wednesday, 8 March 2017

VIVA BELGRADO

Band: VIVA BELGRADO

Genres: Punk / Post-Rock / Post-Hardcore / Emo / Emotive Hardcore / Screamo / Post-Metal / Ambient / Prog
Related artists: Ànteros.
Country: Córdoba SPAIN
Years Active: 2012-present
Song: "Erida"
Album: "Ulises"
Year: 2016
For fans of: La Parade, Rinoa, Yarostan, Ànteros, Vi Som Älskade Varandra Så Mycket, Via Fondo, Shizune, Rainmaker, Past, Young Mountain, Envy, State Faults, Daïtro, Arktika, Ephemera, Nous Étions, Les Deux Minutes De La Haine, Trachimbrod, Corea, Dip Leg, Standstill, Sed Non Satiata, Evylock, We Never Learned To Live, Captain, Your Ship Is Sinking, Bymyside, Monte Ida, Careless, Mihai Edrisch, Mahumodo and Döda Löv aka PROPER SCREAMO.

Label(s): Tokyo Jupiter Records / Walking Is Still Honest Records / Aloud Music Ltd / Dingleberry Records / Koepfen Rec / Shivery.MMXII.Productions / Samegrey Records / Upwind Productions / Sad Panda Records / Lost State Records / Unlock Yourself Records / Mosh Potatoes / Bookhouse Records / Ancient Injury Records / Fueled By Salmorejo
This post's artist is from the February 2017 Mix. This is track #5.

You can download: the February 2017 Mix#2 right here or get the new March 2017 Mix#3 here.

From Spain, VIVA BELGRADO play a beautiful mix of post-rock and screamy hardcore much like early Spanish screamo pioneers Standstill and ex-bandmates and friends in the now defunct La Parade. The mixture of massive sounds, emotional talking/screaming and atmosphere aren't far off from Envy and Mihai Edsrisch as well as newer bands such as Yarostan and Vi Som Älskade Varandra Så Mycket. Things never get too quick or heavy, but the perfectly composed song structures and wildly entertaining fingerprint of the band makes them prodigious in sound. In 2012 they released their 'Demo' that showed unreal potential, as songs like "Conflagración" are vintage VIVA BELGRADO, with swells of instrumental post-rock and screamy post-hardcore.

In 2013 they released what I might be inclined to say is my favourite VIVA BELGRADO release, the 'El Invierno' EP. The five tracks are some of the longest yet densest material the band has written. Opener "Catedrales" is firing on all cylinders by the one-minute mark and includes some unreal and piercing guitars that drive the imposing wall of sound into and over the listener, leaving them in awe and utterly crushed simultaneously. The song takes a chill pill before two minutes but comes back full force by three and fucking own those licks, goddamn. Cándido Gálvez shows his phenomenal talents with haunting screams and mesermizing spoken vocals in Spanish that drip with emotion. All that in the first song! "Reykjavík" follows and, as per early VIVA BELGRADO, includes a dreamy intro followed by booming bass and shredding Spanish screams amidst lush and inviting guitars and drums. "El Gran Danés" is 2:38 of a glimpse into the band's future, is this faster and shorter sound is one the band adopted in full by 2016. The closer "Terminalia" gets me excited just before two minutes with dreamy, swirling guitars that lead to breathtaking crescendos of post-hardcore and screamo, with obvious comparisons to Young Mountain, Rinoa and We Never Learned To Live.

It was around this time when I first heard VIVA BELGRADO thanks to my friend Arvid in Vi Som Älskade Varandra Så Mycket and Serjio in La Parade. I got their compilation cd also known as the 'Viva Belgrado' cd that issued both the 'Demo' and 'El Invierno' with two unreleased tracks with fantastic spoken word segments that, again, use a flair so unique, pleasing and passionate that I can't not post them below. I was pretty floored in general and eventually was in line to help with their 2014 gem 'Flores Carne' but following a job fiasco I had to back out, a necessary move that I still regret to this day. This 12"LP looks beautiful and sounds even better, with "Höstsonaten" begins with guitars that bring Mihai Edsrisch to mind and then gets groovy as fuck by 1:20. "La Reina Pálida" is also worth mentioning, as it embeds the hooks nice and early with crunchy and wailing stops and starts.

'Ulises' was released in late 2016 to critical acclaim in the screamo community, I'd like to think. Again boasting serene art and nearly 10 killer tracks was one of the best of the year for sure. "Pleiades/Pasaportes" is an excellent track, riding out those sexy bass riffs with permeating waves of sonic bliss, but it's track five, the dancey and screamy romp through Spanish hardcore known as "Erida" that steals the show on this LP. I simply cannot wait to hear whatever the band releases next, as I know it will be jaw-dropping.

I'm excited to go to Europe, as perhaps I'll get to see the band play, as Jimmy from Old Soul told me in our podcast (linked here) that VIVA BELGRADO kill it every night, regardless of audience size or venue. So if you haven't checked them out do so or jam a few bombs on youtube, linked here.

I love you, VIVA BELGRADO.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2012 - Demo EP (stream/donate/download here)

2013 - El Invierno EP (stream/donate/download here)
2013 - Viva Belgrado compilation cdLP (stream/donate/download here) [buy cd/300 here]

2014 - Flores Carne cd/12"LP (stream/donate/download here) [buy 12" here]

2016 - Ulises cd/12"LP (stream/donate/download here)

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(2016) VIVA BELGRADO - "Erida" (from 'Ulises')