MUISTUMIA

Sometimes you don't know what you didn't have until it shows up and riff crunches you. The first couple of KAUAN albums suffered somewhat from a timid production that failed to flash their doom metal credentials. Some of the tracks, particularly on the debut, were so potent that even those deficits could not mask their authenticity. In 2014 they rerecorded 4 numbers from that 2007 release and 2 from its less convincing follow up, and added a new but only adequate metal composition as opener. This is the heaviest offering to date by KAUAN and I admit I prefer most of these versions to the originals because of said production, the muscularity, and the more advantageous use of string synthesizing keys. It doesn't mean I think these are better than the originals, especially given how they were conceived as part of their native recordings, and some of the tunes flirted with mediocrity in the first place. However, my history with KAUAN is too brief to encompass nostalgia, and I would choose most of these idealized reminiscences over their ancestors. 3.5 stars.