Vibrion - Closed Frontiers (1997)

   Vibrion was one of the oldest Argentinean death metal bands, and probably an influental one too for the local scene. But the main cause that made them extraordinary is that their style was quite different from what was usual at old school South American metal bands.
   They debuted with an ordinary death metal album, so it didn't sound like a mix of related genres. The pure aggressiveness they performed on "Diseased", returned in a different way on "Closed Frontiers". The main scene was changing and death metal lost it's actuality already, and it seemed like they tried to follow the style of late Sepultura. The guitar themes sounding very characteristic on the album, so it's almost impossible to confuse them with other bands. Their repetitive groovy themes are already suspecting their late ambitions to involve industrial influences. The vocal style is more like aggressive shouting than growling, so even though it was the same on the first album too, it also sounds like a hint for a style change. Their drummer tried to compense with constant snare drumming that he simply couldn't play so fast as it was needed, so the main view is quite interesting, but not bad at all. It's hard to decide if "Closed Frontiers" counts as an experimenting album, or the way how the musicians tried to find their own way through their confined abilities made it exciting. Probably both.