This Portuguese deathgrind band has been around for about a quarter of a century during which the band has released a handful of full lengths and a smattering of EPs and splits, and I’ll be honest in saying they have only skirted the fringes of my attention in that time which I will rectify after hearing this excellent sixth album.
Whilst the band has a predominant grindcore style and sound they also inject plenty of deathly groove into their songs which whilst short have plenty going on. This 19-song affair begins with the rather disturbing ‘Ad Bizarrem’ with pig squeals and noises creating a distressing feel before the metal comes in as the opener acts like an intro before ‘Exodo Mortuoso’ flows in with its straight up grindcore riff and violence. I love the guitar sound here, similar to acts like Squash Bowels or Cliteater the bands gurgling vocal backdrop is perfect for the music.
Again, we get a fluidity between songs as ‘Epicedio Madrigaz’ continues offering riffs and hooks sure to send pits into a frenzy. I especially like grindcore tunes that offer the couple of taps on the snare and then absolutely explode like ‘Sinaxe Do Sepúlcro Tafófobo’ but quickly swerve into groove violence for that death metal feel I mentioned. At 57 seconds ‘Ancestrais Ritos Hipóxicos’ is over before you’ve tried to pronounce its title and is pristinely blasted and battering.
I loved ‘Apresto Executório’, its hostility is matched by its catchiness and links smoothly with its follower ‘Aniquilação Suídea’ being slightly longer and more death metal structured. The riff change is awesome, as is the double kick saturation producing something to grind those neck muscles to excruciating cramp. ‘Congregação Da Flama Felídea’ detonates from the off and here those Squash Bowels and Cliteater credentials are huge, as is a touch of goregrinding mayhem similar to Haemorrhage too, where the cracking riff break is accompanied by a cool snare roll to emphasise the songs power and build up. The double tap of ‘Anátemas Nefandos’ and ‘Esquartejado Em Segundos’ last for about a minute, with the former acting like a nail gun with its snare sound and the latter punishingly hammering you to a pulp.
Pick of the album for me is ‘Campas Do Negro Breu’ a slightly longer track with more deathly styling as the song’s gradual build up with amplifying density is brilliant. Though not blasted, the power is unfaltering as the massive riff break really catches the ear running the track through a raft of velocities and riff changes. There is no let up on this album, no moments of calmness except maybe track ten which is an interlude and effectively sections the album into two halves. Closing we a quadruplet of tracks beginning with ‘Girândolas Da Agonia Profunda’ again using a build-up strategy before the superfast explosion before the shorter sub one-minute apocalypse of ‘Miasmas Onanizantes’ replete with catchiness. ‘Quérulo Dos Finados’ has a hardcore like riff and is slightly different to the rest of the album offering some quirkiness before the album closes with an outro of sorts called ‘Sortilégio Da Perversão’. Again, there’s a hardcore riffing stance here producing an almost d-beat flavour within its crusty approach before fading into the pig noises.
One for those not wanting subtlety, just outright gnarly power and guttural gruesomeness.
(9/10 Martin Harris)
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