This 3-song demo from Chilean Brutal Slammers, Putrescent, is short and sweet. Walls of fuzzy, thick guitar riffs meet raw, fast, spastic drumming. It is all tied together by Hugo Ojeda's insane vocal prowess. This is only a 5 minute listen and it will severely traumatize your ears. I am still going back and hearing and appreciating different things each time I listen.
My favorite track, "Sodomized" opens with a haunting sample and possibly an exorcism? Followed up by beefy, chugging slams and relentless mid-paced drumming. The standout here, again, are the vocals. Seems to be a layering of Hugo's predators atop his wet nasty gutturals. Just gorgeous.
ALSO; This demo comes 20 years after the band's last, and with only one same member. So normally I'd say that 2005's "Bloodletting" demo is not even relevant, but it is still Putrescent and it is a solid chunk of old school death metal, coming in at 23 minutes! The artwork, song titles, and overall vibe make this one worth checking out, so i'll include it here:
Hugo. You've heard the name, or seen it as a feature on some of your favorite tracks. For almost 20 years, BDM and Slam fans have grown accustom to his brutal and unique vocal stylings. If you don't recognize his name, you likely have enjoyed his contributions to the scene without even knowing it. A lot of time has passed since the birth of Esophagus, and many other bands. I was stoked to be able to ask a few questions about what has changed, and what to expect!
Enjoy the below interview with the legendary Hugo Ojeda!!!!
Hugo, thanks so much for taking the time to do this!!! What have you been up to?
At the moment I’m focused on my job, family and of course music. Even though it’s a hobby, music is essential to me and I always try to find the time to do it.
Can you tell us your age and how long you've been into brutal death metal?
I’m soon to be 47 years old on January. I started doing music in 1996 when I finished highschool.
I think most people who know of you, found out about you from Esophagus. I know there has been many other projects and bands over the years. Could you tell us your story? How did you start in this crazy world of music, what bands have happened, and where are we at now?
The first band I joined was GOREDEFECATE in 2001, there I recorded my first demo where I was on vocals and guitar, it’s called THE DAY OF THE DEAD (2002) and it’s available on Youtube. And then, on the same year, I debuted live.
After GOREDEFECATE, THE MACABRE was born in 2005 with the demo SERMON TO THE LAMBS, also available on Youtube, where I was on vocals and guitar as well. And from The Macabre’s ashes I created the still active band WOUNDS OF CHRIST and it’s first demo, DESPISING THE CHRISTIAN RACE (2007) is still available on Youtube.
In 2008 I founded the band ESOPHAGUS, which is active to the date.
We recorded 3 demos, PULVERIZED BY MISANTHROPIC BEHAVIOR (2009), ORIGIN OF HUMAN DEGRADATION (2010) and AWAKENING OF A NEW ICON (2011).
I left the band in 2023 after recording all the vocals between the years 2018 and 2023, although, that version (2018 onwards) of the band still exists only because Mauro, who is on the guitar, is my friend and asked me not to kill the band.
But as it is my band, I decided to rejoin Esophagus in the upcoming year 2025. This time only with the records from 2009, 2010 and 2011, I don’t give a fuck about whatever was recorded since 2018.
Between the years 2016 and 2018 I recorded an album and a demo with the band INTESTINAL EXTIRPATION, both available on Youtube.
Currently I’m on vocals in PUTRESCENT (2005) and we’ll soon release a demo in 2025.
I’m also in DECREPIT CADAVER and PUTHROATFUCKTION on vocals, for the latter I recorded a demo (2024) and soon we’ll release an album in 2025. I always try to lend my vocals to bands that need them for recording.
I also participated on various projects like, SUPREME BANISHMENT, FIRST DEGREE MURDER, INDOCTRINATED SOLEMNITY, all of them available on youtube.
**Holy shit, First Degree Murder is amazing:
Let's speak a little about your vocal style. How long have you been making inhuman noises with your face? What do you call your technique? Who are some of your favorite vocalists?
I started doing vocals since ‘95 approximately. It’s not really a technique, I learned from other vocalists until I found my own brutal style. I always try to sound as inhuman as possible.
Some of my influences are, Chris barnes, Joe ptacek, Matti way, Rich Lipscomb, Joe wolfe, to name some.
I tried to emulate everything that sounded inhuman and animalistic.
Can you talk about the origin of Esophagus?
I created the band Esophagus on 2008. And the reason I created it was to achieve an inhuman slam with my voice. I got the idea from Joe Ptacek from Broken Hope, it was a real influence on my way of singing. The year was 2008 so you can imagine I had the trashiest PC with the shittiest software and hardware haha, still, I created the most brutal band. It was so powerful that even Mark Rawls (Guttural Engorgement) offered himself to participate on vocals, so we had 3 vocalists on our 2009 demo.
Can you tell us all of your current active bands that you are part of?
Some projects I was in but they were mostly only live performances
After the release of Inglorious Beings, you left the band? Can you clear the air about what happened?
I got bored of music. And mostly I got tired of working with Victor who joined the band on 2018. I really couldn’t stand him, he thought he was better than the rest and that he owned Esophagus.
It’s true that when he joined the band, I told him to take the reins and he delivered by making good contacts and publicity, I can’t argue with that. But in the human part he was a real dickhead, I mean, before thinking your’e the shit, you need to remember how you got there and who put you there. In my eyes he will never be the real Slam. He needs a reality check, never bite the hand that feeds you.
Azerate Nakamura took over vocal duties for tour, did you help with this decision? What is your relationship like him like?
I met him not long ago. I just got back to him when I saw that they left him on his own in the middle of touring.
At first he had sent me a DM which I didn’t want to answer because my first thought was “why would this dude that’s touring with my band want to talk to me?”. But then I saw he was having a hard time so I decided to reply to the almost 1-month old text because I felt something was odd. And then we talked and we told each other everything about the band. Now we’re mates.
SOOOOO, what is the future like for Esophagus?
Pick up from where we left and play live here in Chile
Hugo, it seems like extreme music has been a huge part of your life for a long time. What are some other things you are passionate about?
Actually, being with my family and being able to play live with mates. I’m old now haha, almost 47, music to me has always been a precious hobby and I try to get the most of it in the little time I have for it.
Thanks again!!! Anything you'd like to add?
I want to thank all the people that are listening to the 2008 Esophagus and you for these questions. This is my first interview haha, so I’m really thankful. Enjoy music while you can and remember that family is above all.
Visceral are an amazing three piece churning out brutal death metal in Chile. Charred Remains Records, out of Chile, has been putting out a lot of really good brutal death and grind for a while now. I have not heard any of Visceral’s material before “Macabra Realidad De Caos Y Letargo”.
This is a very solid album, and I listened to it before I knew this was a three piece. Wow, it’s refreshing to hear a great guitarist be a great vocalist also. His vocals are all over the place, in a great way. They mix in well with the different aspects of this record. There are very technical parts, very slow slams, and everything in between. The drummer is nuts too! At times the drums almost have a slower, jazzy feel that I love. They have a tone that reminds me of Cephalotripsy's drums.
With only three guys here, there is an amazing amount of interesting things going on all at once. Not to worry, they can all be picked out and easily enjoyed. The whole album has a raw, unpolished feel; something that more american brutal death metal bands should realize and utilize.
The fast moving riffs go along with the drums perfectly, and the bassist is right under everything, steadily filling out the sound with a precise attention to detail.
