Review: No Violence “Invinc?vel” CD

More killer material from this respected Brazilian hardcore band. This very quick record (17 tracks in a mere 14 minutes!) is much in the vein of their last demo, and some of those tracks appear here in re-recorded form, so the style is a solid mix of fast hardcore, crossover thrash, and some hints of punk rock as well. The vocals are somewhat high-pitched yells that are very energetic with plenty of awesome vocal patterns, working well with the speed of most of the music. "Todas as Frentes" has more of a traditional old school hardcore feel to it; the title track is a little bit slower at times and kind of takes a more punk rock vibe before ending off with some fast sounding old school riffs; "Ideologia, e N?o Descaso" jumps from some memorable crossover styles to a slower chord progression that really stands out from the other material (it's not like a heavy breakdown or anything at all); and the only English track (sans a cover song), "Never Give it Up!!!", is on the slightly more melodic side, but maintains the aggressive speed shown elsewhere. And, of course, there are plenty of quick tracks that are almost nothing but speed, ending in a flash - just check out the furious 14-second "Boicote"! Also included is a cover of Intense Degree's "Allegiance" for good measure. I'm fine with the production, too. It's just about where it should be. The mix is even and lets the bass back the guitars well, the drums sound pretty good, etc. The vocals tend to remain clear during the fastest moments even though some of the music can get a little cloudy, but I don't really have any complaints regardless. The layout looks solid, all done in black and white with tons of live shots of the band and all of the lyrics, including those of the cover song. All of the lyrics except for two songs (one of which is the cover) are in Portuguese, so I can't offer much insight there, but there's no doubt based on the band's past work that the lyrics are totally sincere and dealing with socio-political topics as well as personal issues and reflection. Good stuff. No Violence is definitely still going strong after all these years, and I could easily argue that they're more focused and invigorated than ever right now.