Inverted Blood

It's been quite a while since Brazil's Sarcofago disbanded and Sepultura became an awful parody of itself, many of the bands who had helped create a unique Brazilian style faded into obscurity and anonimity or simply became an example of why it is NOT a good idea to continue with a band when the main driving force (creativity) has died away, most of these bands been long forgotten by kids who prefer newer european styles of extreme metal, or in the case of Sepultura, simply cater to the so-called fans of simpler, mindlessly plastic music.

From the lands of Teresina, Brazil comes Bode Preto or "Black Goat" in Portuguese, a rather generic name which gives you a tiny idea of what the music is about; esentially, Bode Preto picks up where Sarcofago left off in Rotting and INRI and expands upon Sepultura's Bestial Devastation, all the while adding up elements of european black metal, the style of Bode Preto is heavily based around Brazilian old school extreme metal, and this can be easily heard from the beggining of the album, which starts off with a very low-pitched intro of a creepy, demonic voice speaking at us, simple and straightforward, after this fairly short intro, the listener is bombarded with utter and sheer audial savagery from the kiling combo of vocals, guitars and blasting drums.

The vocals are, again, pretty old-school, mostly consisting of throaty grunts very similar to Wagner Antichrist of Sarcofago, the style barely changes excepting a few interludes which are mostly short and not really relevant to the whole record, this can become slightly boring but then again, one has to keep in mind that Bode Preto is essentially worshipping the old brazilian extreme bands, who weren't known for their technicality or musical variation; the vocals also have a slight reverb to it which adds up to the whole old-school feeling.

The guitars follow the usual pattern of tremolo picked riffs throughout the album, however, they do not feel rehashed, overdone or otherwise ripped off, they have a fresh and interesting sound throughout, likely due to the simplicity of them, the riffs are also consistently fast-paced, offering constant audial punishing and torment that is sure to hook your ears and force them into submission.

The drumming here is rather simply, consisting mostly of mid paced blast beats which add a thrashy feel to the music, indeed, the simple, repetitive drumming also adds to the general old and rotten feel of classic extreme metal, back in the days when technicality didn't matter as much as it did today, the drums are also moderately low in the mix and do not eclipsize the guitar riffs like so many other bands do these days, Bode Preto is riff driven, the drums are just an addition, period.

All in all, Inverted Blood is a band that manages to effectively emulate the sound and music of old brazilian extreme metal bands, Bode Preto favours a style that has been highly neglected in later years and managed to maintain the flame of Brazilian ferocity alive, yet and despite this, Inverted Blood brings nothing new and in the end is just another band who continues down the path that has already been paved by bands such as Sarcofago, Vulcano, Holocausto and early Sepultura, if you're a fan of those bands, by all means check out Bode Preto, you won't be dissappointed.

Bode Preto is a black metal band that hails from Teresina, Brazil. Bode Preto means black goat in Portuguese. The band is made up by two individuals, Josh S on vocals/guitars and Adelson Souza on drums. “Inverted Blood” is their debut album that was released in November 2012. Previously, Bode Preto had released the "Dark Night" EP in 2010. This version of Bode Preto was a trio, with only Josh S remaining from the ashes of that line up. The inclusion of Adelson Souza has clearly injected a vicious spirit into the music of Bode Preto, as the music on "Inverted Blood" shows a vast improvement in every aspect imaginable compared to the "Dark Night" EP.

Bode Preto plays a form of metal music that combines the raw power of black metal with the brutality of death metal. They fuse these elements together with the high energy of grindcore, to create their own style of black metal that sounds unique, fresh, and powerful. Listening to “Inverted Blood” reminded me of the raw intensity and beauty of albums like Slaughter’s “Strappado”, Impaled Nazarene’s “Ugra Karma” and Merciless’ “The Awakening.” I was very impressed me with the ability of the songs to create a sense of excitement and thrill, without sounding repetitious and boring. The songs have an infectious quality in them that makes them feel fresh to my ears, even though I’ve been listening to this album repeatedly for so many days.

The whole album clocks in less than 26 minutes, but it’s packed with solid black metal tunes that will blow your mind. The minute the music starts assaulting your senses, you know that this album is a masterpiece in extreme metal. The album starts with the demonic spoken words on "Anuncicao", telling you to pay attention to the foreboding music that shall soon pummel you into a state of pure head banging bliss. Then with a simple four count snare beat, the title track rips into a momentum that propels this album into metal greatness. There is no sign of slowing down this pace, the moment the title track flies off right in your face. Track after track, the music flows like molten lava being spewed up by that destructive force of nature named Bode Preto. This album possesses a menacing spirit that will terrorize the listener into total submission.

The level of intensity achieved by the duo is simply amazing. Josh S guitar playing is tight, fluid, and the riffs that he creates are solid and powerful in spirit. Tracks like “Suicide Children”, "Mother of Ferocity", and "Serpent Inferior" showcases how deceptively furious and hypnotic his playing is. The longest song "Elytron (Succubus)" clocks in at 4.17 and is also among the highlights of this album; the melody will haunt you long after you've finished listening to it. I also like the way he brilliantly changes his vocal style to suit the mood of the songs. His vocals remind me of Jeff Becerra's vocals in the song "Death Metal" by Possessed. Trust me when I say that you will find it hard to resist imitating him, when he growls 'Scream like a pig !' In the final song, "The Erection of the Cross." Adelson's drumming is perfect in his execution. His playing is precise, powerful, and they drive the riffs forward in a menacing pace. He is also clever in not abusing the double bass drums, for they would have overshadowed the riffs. Surprisingly, the lyrics are not your typical gore nor is it overtly satanic. It has more of a dark metaphorical feel to it and yet it's strangely life affirming in meaning at the same time.

The album was recorded in guerrilla style at Josh S' home studio. The drummer flew in 3000 km from Rio to record the drum tracks at Josh S home in Teresina. Some creative techniques were used to record the vocals. They were recorded in a tiled bathroom to get a natural re-verb feel to them. The lo-fi production suits the aesthetics of the album really well. The kick drum resonates like a pounding heartbeat propelling the songs like blood bursting through your veins. The ex- guitarist of Sarcofago, Fábio Jhasko plays the lead on three songs in this album.

This album is perfect for those death thrashers and black metal heads that can appreciate the true vision and spirit of extreme metal. This is a metal that is honest and it makes you feel the meaning of what great metal is. If you want something great, organic, and raw in essence this is it.