Ação Direta "Intervenção" CD
[Pecúlio]
On this, their fourth full-length, these São Paulo hardcore veterans take a drastic turn towards a much slower, heavier direction that infuses a great deal more post-hardcore influences into their sound, while still holding onto some of the faster crossover types of arrangements of the last record. But all in all the chord progressions are far more dissonant, almost noisy at times, with tempos that are more moderately paced and even rocked out on occasion. The vocals are basically the same, but there tends to be more gang backups and the shouting is slightly more gruff. "Venceremos" is a great track that heads in a more energetic and upbeat direction, but the riffing style is still very different from what was going on with the last record. The real standouts are the covers: Doom's "Phobia for Change" and "Repeat" (by Seein' Red). Such decisions definitely reflect the band's earlier work a bit more than where they're headed with this record. The production is a bit better this time out. There's still some separation in the mix, but the performance feels tighter, the guitar tone fits what they're doing, and overall there's more density. It could still use some cleaning up, but it's not bad. The layout here is pretty consistent as far as using a similar color scheme and fonts throughout, as well as images of rundown buildings and such, plus a few band photos (only one of which is not obscured by text). Unfortunately the English translations of the lyrics aren't provided this time around, but it's probably safe to assume that the message is the same. When it all comes down to it, I'm not sure that the change in style has been a benefit for Ação Direta. Were they to perfect this new direction I could see it being quite interesting, but right now it feels a bit awkward and transitional, so some of the same cohesion problems that existed on the last record are still present here, except that I don't find these songs to be as good. I also miss the experimentation with acoustic/tribal influences as well. Perhaps the band was just tired and wanted to try something new, and there are still some raging tracks here, but I don't know... if I had been listening to this band since their inception in the late-80's, I imagine this record might have been a huge letdown. "Reação" is a great song though... if that's where this new direction takes them, I welcome the change. (6/10)
Running time - 38:26, Tracks: 16
[Notable tracks: Venceremos, Fim da Linha, Reação]
Pecúlio Discos - http://www.peculiodiscos.com.br

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