Abominable Anno Domini

First of all, I’d like to say that this debut by one of the most forgotten Brazilian realities is not a masterpiece. It is another goodish but not astonishing effort that, anyway, didn’t deserved to be overlooked by many. Chakal belong to the long list of bands that always worked honestly and with passion, trying to put out something that could be remembered in a very important period for extreme metal.

Their style is the classic violent, raw thrash metal that was taking the world during those years. Sometimes the thrash component flows also in some more death metal oriented moments but they are not so present and the band somehow manages to carry on mostly the thrash metal style. The tempo in these tracks is always quite fast with several, remarkable tempo changes. Here we can find the classic, low tuned and metallic guitars sound that characterized almost every single released in Brazil at the time and the low budget production, but all the instruments are equally audible and enjoyable in their volumes.

The vocals are quite rough in their particular tonality and somehow they lead to a raw form of death/thrash. The fast up tempo parts in “The Planet is Dead” and the essential guitars work is typical of the hardcore/thrash metal genre but when it comes to more direct and heavy riffage, the band is more compact and more incisive. It’s good to notice how the band considers the mid paced moments essential to give more variety to the sound. These parts are always well balanced with the up tempo and also the songs length is remarkable, showing signs of maturity.

The echoing production doesn’t help during the solos parts that are a bit “far” in volumes with the echoing distortion. Also the drums are a bit too raw in the sounds but they fit perfectly for this sound. The drummer is not exceptional at all, being quite monotonous in his style without too many passages and changes. The good ones can be found in “Terminal Brain”, anyway. “Children of the Cemetery” along with the dark “Jason Lives” can be considered the highlights here because they contain not memorable moments, but appealing parts.

The main problem of albums like this one in Brazil back in the 80s is the lack of catchy parts. Let me explain: the tracks are well structured, you can hear the sincerity and the genuine side in the music but the structures sometimes result a bit boring for their length and the quite heavy absence of attractive sections. They fall into a level of semi-mediocrity and that’s a thing that makes me mad because a sincere band like this one surely deserves more but let’s face reality. It’s not a masterpiece and it doesn’t manage to capture my attention during all the length.