Before they got into the thrash assault of later albums, the teenagers Max, Igor, Paulo and Jairo wrote fast and evil sounding compositions that took all the good stuff that was in Hell Awaits (i.e. all of it) and made it more insane and uncontrolled. Despite the quality on future releases, they could never match this except for Beneath the Remains which is different in style but still very fucking good. [1]
People have dismissed this classic album for it's sloppy performance and poor production, but I believe that's what gives it so much character. It sounds like a few angry, repressed youth playing extreme metal, pretty impressive for their age. [2]
Igor's drumming on here isn't nearly as tight as it would become on later releases such as "Beneath The Remains". It is particularly sloppy and almost dragging the faster songs like "Mayhem". The guitar solos are pretty decent and add to the wickedly intense and evil vibe that oozes from this album. But Jairo is no Andreas Kisser for sure. Max's vocals here are unlike anything you've ever heard from him on the post-Schizophrenia releases. He does demonic growls that make him sound possessed, as his nickname for this album suggests. Paulo on the other hand has never usually done anything notable in his bass playing for Sepultura and this album is no exception. The bass is not even all that audible or present in the mix. [2]
The main thing that differs from all the later Sep albums is the evil as fuck vibe that makes you feel that you're wandering alone in a cemetery on a misty night with church bells tolling on the background. Some may say that the production here sucks, but again their mothers could have been on coke while pregnant which ocasionated their offspring to start talking at the age of 12 and later become Skylark fans. So that you know, the production values here are PERFECT (think Seven Churches with Darkthrone tweaking the knobs) and keep the rawness and the atmosphere of the songs the way it should be. [1]
As for production, I think it can be excused. If people can dig "Under A Funeral Moon" and "Filosofem", then what's wrong with the sound here? Isn't black metal supposed to sound bad? This is also one of the earliest blackened death metal albums ever made, from Brazil no less, and at the time no one really knew how to produce such an insane, busy sound. So give it a break, the songwriting should count more than the production. [2]
You may interest: Slayer - Reign in Blood (1986)
The songwriting here is pretty solid for the most part. Some tracks are really good. The opening title track has sick and twisted riffs that give you a taste of what this album has to offer. "Troops of Doom" became a live staple in Sepultura's setlist for years. "War", "Show Me The Wrath" and "Funeral Rites" are other noteworthy tracks that get regular play from me. [2]
All the songs here range from good to fucking excellent, but my personal choices would be the title track, "War", "Crucifixion" (I never thought that the latin spoken part on the middle had very much sense, but that's a minor complain) and "Funeral Rites", which is similar to the more known "Troops of Doom" only way much better. Sepultura later re-recorded "Troops" and made it thrashier and more technical but lacking the evil feel and the vibe that is the single most important thing about this album. [1]
I would not say that it's anywhere close to being Sepultura's finest, but I think a lot of people are being harsh on this one. It was very influential and ahead of its time. It deserves some respect, even if you don't really like it. [2]
TRACKS
- Morbid Visions
- Mayhem
- Troops of Doom
- War
- Crucifixion
- Show Me the Wrath
- Funeral Rites
- Empire of the Damned
- The Curse
- Bestial Devastation
- Antichrist
- Necromancer
- Warriors of Death
- Necromancer (demo version)
- Anticop (live)
If you like it, pleas BUY their ORIGINAL CD/DIGITAL ALBUM from any official stores.
References
[1] Estigia666, A damn cool black/thrash album with a lot of value, www.metal-archives.com
[2] mouthfullofhate, Intense, Evil and Morbid!, www.metal-archives.com
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