Saturday 28th at Festival Del Diablo, and quickly after attending the devastating and exhausting live performance from Aire Como Plomo, Colombian hardcore unit El Sagrado took the primary stage and shattered the audience with a potent release of sampled introductions tangled with an old-school vein in the amalgam of thrashing hardcore with crossover grooving metal. Thoroughly anticipated I dare say, even thus I never had seen them live. Although, El Sagrado promptly failed to apprehend my undivided listening, predominantly due to their overblown compositions welded with more modern biases such as the liberal use of samplings throughout their songs that bequeathed me abhorrently after a while if it was not the breakthrough chords infrequently riffs rescuing me from dismay.
However, notwithstanding the fact that their musical compositions are beheaded by recurring and substantial idolizing influences and that they sang in Spanish which made it futile for me to fully understand their message, I must admit that their live performance was breathtaking and quite vibrant, enriched by an unmistakably positive attitude and exceptional musical dexterity.
El Sagrado conveyed their legion of aficionados to the point of delight, by shifting between heavily built riffs and powerful percussion while mingling modern, yet perhaps political sampling speeches into their songs. All of which, fortuitously combined with voracious vocals that summoned their audience to chorus along and cause complete havoc in their surroundings, almost in a militant manner. They do possess a strong grip for breaking riffs apart and rhythmically force the audience to swing and jump to their sound. Many appeared quite intimate with the overall El Sagrado concept and standpoint; nevertheless, it promptly came to my mind the likes of Biohazard before the release of their disastrous 1996’s ‘Mata Leão’. It seems that El Sagrado continued where Biohazard left and shifted it in their personal approach while consolidating Madball, Sick Of It All, Agnostic Front and perhaps a hint of Suicidal Tendencies alongside their ingenuity.
The resemblances are so strictly comparable that often I found myself wondering if I was attending the right concert, this until the vocalist of the El Sagrado decided to jump off stage and interact with his enthusiasts whence driving them to the point of ominous disarray.
Formed in 2002, El Sagrado has an array of live performances under their belt and have amassed quite of a phenomenal stance among the Colombian metal scene. They seemed immensely at ease while performing at Festival Del Diablo and open enough to communicate with the audience up-close, to the point of getting physical. I must acknowledge that their posture as both musicians and performers throughout their appearance at Festival Del Diablo was predominantly professional, even if impartiality dictates that I cannot fire start an adverse outcome from their performance, their musical genre just does not plead my fondnesses.
Nevertheless, my verdict may change with time as I may discover El Sagrado in a more extensive overview and attend more performances in which they sway their participation. For the time being, their presence at Festival Del Diablo remains somewhat decisive, and I look ahead to see them live on further happenings.
