Carahter "O Intenso Desespero Sobre a Decadência Humana" CD
[Liberation]
This is the first full-length from this vicious hardcore band out of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. They've definitely shed some of the His Hero is Gone influences that were very prevalent on their demo and started moving in a bit more of an abrasive direction that still carries with it some of those pounding rhythms and a nice dose of melody. I can now spot a little bit of an Ire influence, and perhaps a tiny Scandinavian flare as well (especially when they break out some of the faster picking patterns). The vocals are often layered and cover the range of low growls and intense high screams. All of the songs are short and to the point, none running more than three minutes, but that doesn't mean that they don't cover a lot of ground. "Vidas Ordinárias" (a re-recorded track from the demo) is a whopper with some killer distorted bass runs, a ton of dissonance, and a couple of riffs that I might dare tag as death metal inspired. But "Flagelo Terrivel" is the real masterpiece of the record, covering all the bases with brooding clean guitars, blazing speeds, and plodding rhythms that border on bringing in some doom influences. The only thing holding this record back is the recording. Believe it or not, these guys' demo actually sounded a lot better than this record. The sound here is too thin and unevenly mixed. The guitar tone has a lot of midrange and comes off as a bit sloppy, the bass is way off in the distance, and the vocals can be a bit far out front. The biggest problem aside from the lack of density is the fact that there are a lot of gaps in the mix that are even more noticeable due to the lack of low-end in the sound. The drums sound pretty damn good, though. I'll give 'em that. And after a few tracks your ears do adjust to the tones, I just wish they had the crushingly thick and raw sound that this material needs. They've got the ruggedness down, but the power is lacking. The packaging is very impressive here, however. The entire layout is printed on matte black paper with metallic silver inks and a little bit of dark brown. There are a few photos, but most of the layout contains artistic text arrangements, as well as all of the lyrics, English translations, and extensive liner notes that present far more details as to what the band's message is all about. All of the content is staunchly socio-political, focusing mainly on the way that larger issues impact third world countries. The lyrics are brief attacks on corporate media outlets, corruption, poverty, war (both militarily and in the streets), etc. But in the additional texts is where the real insight shines through. "Little by little the third world rises against the pillars that sustain oppression; its governors, its society, its traditions. Pillars that have only sustained themselves thanks to the scenes of horror seen everyday by the oppressed people. However, the institutions that guarantee the maintenance of this system are not seen anymore through the same eyes by the people, who start to wake up to their own lives, destroying the mask of their oppressors... In a world where it's expected of us that we sell our lives daily in order to obtain a minimum amount of money needed for survival, a thick layer of the population drowns itself in putrid and alienated conditions, where religion prospers like worms on dead flesh, along with the illusion that subservient work will eliminate misery..." And that's just an example. In addition to the lyrics there are several pages of commentary that is actually very well written. Great work. There's still a ton of potential here, and I'm always very impressed by this band's message and the manner in which they present it. Hopefully next time around they'll nail down a recording that does them more justice. (7/10)
Running time - 20:56, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Flagelo Terrivel, Husões que Alivian a Dor, Vidas Ordinárias]
Liberation Records - http://www.xliberationx.com

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