‘Se tranzan concienas, se pactan sobornost, las horas contadas, a quien obstaculiza el progreso voraz’ (Cultura Mercenaria) ‘Consciences are compromised, bribes are agreed upon, the hours are numbered, for those who hinder voracious progress’ (Mercenary Culture)

Muro return with their much anticipated third full-length, and follow-up to 2020’s Pacificar, and it has most certainly been worth the wait.  The Bogota band’s fierce sonic impact is, as ever, shaped by two distinct qualities.  Firstly, their innate ability to weave disparate influences – from Latin American to Italian traditions by way of the anthemic peaks of Burning Spirits Japanese hardcore – into a cohesive whole.  And, secondly, their rare capacity to inject their recorded output with the utterly explosive, chaotic fervour of their live show, a skill that has eluded many fine bands.

And Nuevo Dogma (New Dogma) bears testament to this prowess.  The recording itself is unashamedly raw and yet the band’s assured command of melody, as well as some seriously mean solo work, still cuts through the frantically suffocating atmosphere with invigorating verve, alongside the rabid Spanish vocals.  Meanwhile, the rhythm section is utterly propulsive and provides remorseless traction for the wider onslaught.  Stand-out tracks come thick and fast, but, for me at least, Fosas (Pits), Destierro (Exile) and Frustación Fabricada (Manufactured Frustration) capture Muro at their most instinctual – the relentless push-pull between dissonance and melody, the primal and the progressive.

However, Muro’s influence is not confined to their musical virtuosity.  Perhaps, even more crucially, it is reflected in both the DIY ethos and political engagement that imbues both the creation and distribution of the album, as well as its philosophical core.  Taking the physical record itself, it is only available in analogue form and the 1,000 run press has been drawn, printed, folded, and glued by the band themselves.  As well as the album’s stunning artwork (there are four separate covers of which we have two, a black one and a white one), each copy includes three posters and a Spanish language fanzine.  The record has then been distributed on behalf of the band’s own label, Fuerza Ingobernable (Ungovernable Force), by a network of like-minded labels.

Now, to the ideas that shape the record, and the accompanying fanzine provides essential context to the album.  The endemic violence and accompanying neoliberal economic turn that has shaped Colombia’s recent history, and their clear parallels elsewhere, provide Muro’s lyrical inspiration.  The album’s narrative examines how perpetual notions of ‘crisis’ and ‘emergency’ are deployed to support increasingly authoritarian controls and economic exploitation.  Covering how this exploitation fuels ever greater socio-economic inequality, that in turns feeds the explosion in populist sentiment and the scapegoating of already marginalised communities.

It is easy to be overwhelmed with frustration and an acceptance that there is no other way.  To their credit, the band passionately sketch out their own alternative, the Nuevo Dogma of the album title.  A way of living that seeks to undermine the strictures of capitalism, and that is rooted in community collaboration, mutual aid, and autonomous networks to resist commodification and forge an alternative future.  An everyday anarchy – the very principles that shaped the making of this record.