Review: Candarian – Trepanación

Review by Sandre the Giant Released: 27th April 2026 I know we go on and on about Chile on this blog, but to be honest Costa Rica might be our next big obsession, given the glut of excellent bands appearing from this tropical little paradise of death. The latest offering is the debut full length from Candarian, called ‘Trepanación’, and it is out now through Me Saco Un Ojo Records and Memento Mori. It promises much in the way of deathly, bestial and filthy death metal, just what the (plague) doctor ordered. The groaning squall of a morbid guitar is the first thing you’ll hear from Candarian, and opening track ‘Spectral Superstitions’ has its own unique little groove that seems somewhat familiar, and it is driving me crazy that I can’t figure it out (is it fucking Lavender Town from Pokemon Red/Blue?). ‘Altars and Ancestors’ bursts out with fetid, swampy guitar tones and guttural vocal roars, taking a bit of Incantation. a bit of Autopsy and a hefty chunk of Morbid Angel and crafting…