Bümbklåått – Ciegos
Mexico’s finest crust battalion crashes the gates with growl-n-screamo-fueled devastation.
Artist: Bümbklåått
Title: Ciegos
Release: CD
Year: 2007
Label: Cryptas Records, Reacciona Records
This one came howling out of Tijuana like a molotov lobbed over the border fence. Ciegos is the debut full-length from Mexican crust punks Bümbklåått, and after hearing the name floating around enough, usually uttered alongside phrases like “best crust band in Mexico”, I finally sat down and let this rager flatten me. Turns out, the hype isn’t just warranted, it’s fucking mandatory.
This isn’t just wall-to-wall d-beat, though there’s plenty of that, fear not. Bümbklåått twist their brutality with the occasional moody interlude, even dropping in acoustic passages and an atmospheric intro that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Tragedy record. That comparison holds water too: imagine early 2000s neocrust fused with raw old-school sound, but crucially, this isn’t clone territory. Bümbklåått have carved out their own space, and they make that clear with every scream, solo, and scorched-earth riff.
The vocals shift between deep growls and screamo-style howls, a combo that sits well against the band’s dynamic song structures. There’s even a few acoustic passages and an intro that catch you off guard, in a good way, without ever dulling the force of the record. Most tracks are in English, though a few are in Spanish. If you stumble across a copy of this record, don’t hesitate. Absolutely worth the chase.
