Labels: EveryDayHate
Review by: Gareth L
I used to love Sepultura. The ‘Roots’ album was a big hit in my teenage years, especially the song ‘Ratamahatta’, that weird creepy video and killer dumb riff. Tenuous link ahoy – this CD is also by a Brazilian metal band but has a much more direct, fast and unrelenting approach (and way less tribal drumming). It’s grindcore, yes, but with a strong death metal influence, and those growled, throaty vocals prevail throughout the album.
‘O Joio’ is only 20 minutes long which is about right really and even within that time things do get a little samey. The album is exemplified by opener ‘Podem Vir’ which has a cool opening riff, the ever-present blastbeats but also a couple of groove metal riffs that allow the song to breathe a bit. You pretty much know what you’re getting after that and despite the guitar sound/recording changing throughout the 14 tracks (not sure if this is intentional or not) this is a pretty solid third of an hour of headbanging, unapologetic metal.