Although South America has been home to some of the world’s best death metal and thrash bands going back to the 1980s, the high country of Ecuador is less well-known as a spawning ground for metal extremity than some of the other nations on the continent. Yet Ecuador is home to Epidemia, a band who proudly carry on the tradition of adrenaline-fueled savagery launched by such groups as Sarcófago, Sepultura, and Sadism. Their forthcoming second album, Leprocomio, follows the first one by a decade, but this is certainly a case of better-late-than-never — as you’ll discover through our stream of the album’s second track, “Retribución Homicida“.

Every now and then, as a public service, I warn people to sit down before listening to some of the music we stream on this site — unless you actually feel like getting knocked on your ass. This is one of those times. You do get a bit of warning from the song itself: The opening snare fusillades and that meat-grinding riff that goes along with it send up the red flag, but it still probably won’t prepare you for the absolute decimation to come. Continue reading »