The Spanish multi-instrumentalist and vocalist JM Dopico has put his talents to good use on a small mountain of releases by almost two dozen bands since the early ’90s, including records by Machetazo, Dishammer, and Bodybag, as well as session work. But he now has a solo project in which he’s given himself free rein to mix and match beloved genre influences — “the darkest Heavy Metal, Doom Rock, and Punk from the glorious ’80s” — and the results are damned good, the kind of music that electrifies the pulse rate and poses a high risk of sore-neck syndrome.

Dopi has named this new project Premature Burial. On the debut album, entitled Antihuman, he pulls from influences that range from Black Sabbath to Celtic Frost, from Motörhead to Voivod, from Saint Vitus to Mercyful Fate, from Obsessed to Venom, Carnivore, and Amebix. To keep it real, he recorded everything live in the studio, with no triggers on his drumkit and no cut-and-paste pro-tool tricks. He did have outstanding help from virtuoso guitarist and music teacher Óscar Dafonte, who recorded all the solos on the album (which are spectacular), but otherwise Premature Burial is his baby. Continue reading »