Hell yeah... 34 tracks of blistering Brazilian hardcore/punk in less than 30 fuckin' minutes! This CD features new material as well as their debut 7", plus some older compilation songs and a few demo tracks. And trust me, these thrashers from S?o Paulo don't fuck around! Almost no track is even one minute long, the writing is memorable, the shouted vocals are often doubled and the vocal patterns stand out, the bass playing is fucking great and really adds a lot of attack to their approach... it's just great stuff. Not every band can use speed to their advantage, but when the songs are only running about 30 seconds and there's a rockin' early crossover vibe happening, you can't really lose. Just check out perfect tracks like "Contra Cultura". They also throw down some great covers of L?rm's "Disorder", Doom's "Police Bastard", Ratos de Por?o's "Parasita", and C?lera's "Marcha" (especially solid are the Doom and C?lera tracks). There are a lot of samples as well, some in English, some in Portuguese. But my favorites are tracks like "Rolando No Ch?o..." (Which starts with a sample of Sense Field!?) and "Verdadeiro At? a Morte" (which, as the title should suggest, begins with a sample from Chain of Strength). The production is pretty damn good, too. The distorted bass tone fucking kills, the guitars sound fine, the drums are natural, and the vocals are mixed in perfectly. Nothing is overpowering or lacking. Of course there are some inconsistencies since the tracks come from various recording sessions, but none of the recordings bother me. Of course some are stronger than others (and in my opinion the new tracks sound the best), but it all works out. The layout's really cool. I like the crisp illustration and band logo on the cover, and inside there are tons of black and white band photos, all of the lyrics, and a great center spread collecting a ton of rad looking flyers from past shows that the band has played. Good stuff. All of the lyrics are in Portuguese, and from what I can make out it seems like the band combines a good sense of humor with some definite political issues on their more serious side. I wish English translations had been included somewhere, but there are 34 tracks, so I can understand the lack of space. Either way, this band rips, and they get two thumbs up from me. Damn straight.
[L?j?]
Running time - 27:18, Tracks: 34
[Notable tracks: Fora de Controle, Instinto, Contra Cultura, Police Bastard, Rolando No Ch?o..., Verdadeiro At? a Morte, ?Pela Ci?ncia?, Marcha]
L?j? Records - http://www.laja.com.br
