brazil

Sepultura was probably my favorite metal band of the ’90s. After Max Cavalera left, I dutifully kept following the band. It was a tough friend to keep around. With each new Sepultura record, I would have the same reaction 30 seconds in: “God, this sucks.” What I Do! A-Lex (SPV, 2009) is no different. The […]

ASG – Win Us OverInside layout The secret word of the day – every day – is riffs. I’ve reviewed some nice batches. The latest record by ASG has the best riffs I’ve heard this year. Imagine a whole album of “March of the Fire Ants” or “Hollow Severer.” The rest of stoner metal might […]

Speaking of “Bullet the Blue Sky,” Sepultura recorded the song for their 2002 covers EP Revolusongs, which came out in Brazil and Japan, as well as on the limited edition digipak of Roorback. The Derrick Green era of Sepultura has generally underperformed, so it’s unsurprising that its highlight is a cover. As “Bullet” shows, Green […]

Fight Amp At Pitchfork, I’ve reviewed Fight Amp, a ’90s AmRep throwback whom I suspect has a Danzig fetish. The recording is tough; the guy-girl vocals are tougher. At All Music Guide, I’ve reviewed Avenger of Blood (German thrash from Las Vegas), Barbara (artful Israeli sickness), Bilk (Croatian drum ‘n’ bass ‘n’ rock), Brutus (Caesar-slaying […]

Speaking of rats, Brazil’s Ratos de Porão (“basement rats”) began in 1981. In 1984, they released Crucificados Pelo Sistema, purportedly the first hardcore punk album in South America. You may recognize the name from Sepultura’s cover of the title track on 1993’s Refuse/Resist EP. Last year Metal Mind reissued RDP’s late-’80s/mid-’90s records on Roadrunner. 1989’s […]

The Ordher consist of ex-members of Brazilian death metal bands Rebaelliun and Nephasth, the latter of whom appeared on Relapse’s Brazilian Assault compilation back in 2000. Their full-length debut, Weaponize, is a departure from the technical death metal that’s Unique Leader‘s trademark. Instead, it’s much more straightforward, recalling fellow countrymen Krisiun, though more melodic and […]

What a debut! Vougan is a Brazilian power metal quintet that impresses mightily on the Silent Souls EP, available as a free download. The EP contains five tracks – an instrumental plus two fast and two slow tunes. The faster numbers have hints of Priest, as well as other unexpected bits. “Behind the Lies” unleashes […]

The Conquer Self-Released2006 Brazil’s Stormental gives “ProgPower” new meaning by splitting the difference between the genres. Its sound is surprisingly stripped down, as the band only has four members, with one guitarist and no keyboards. Thus, the instrumentalists have more room to flex their considerable skills, with particularly fine work by the bassist. I never […]

Twisted Broadcast Self-Released2004 This demo CD has two original songs, but it also includes a video, photos, and two “pre-production” MP3’s. The band also sent a paper bio with full-color photos along with another CD containing two MP3’s, a cover of Anthrax’s “Indians” and another “pre-production” track. I don’t know why the band calls these […]

If YouTube is any indication, Sepultura’s “Refuse/Resist” holds a strange fascination for children. Exhibit A is a video showing two brothers playing the song. I’d guess that the drummer is about eight years old, and the singer/guitarist is about six. The latter is playing a guitar that’s practically taller than himself. He’s also wearing a […]