Searching for the Light

Dorsal Atlantica are a truly unique entity in the annals of Brazilian, and also world, metal, and after all these years they remain the most original outfit to come out of the mysterious lands of South America, second only to the Chileans Dorso probably. Even their charmingly bashing debut was already looking astray, not following strictly the brutal paths carved by Sepultura, Vulcano and Sarcofago although the guys did take part in their establishment. The sophomore tasted the prohibited death metal waters the band notching up the intensity, but considerably polishing their sound to the point of progressiveness at times, the first more serious death/thrash metal recording on Brazilian soil alongside same year’s MX’s “Mental Slavery”.

When Sepultura shook the world with “Beneath the Remains” not many were left floating around obviously unable to cope with the high standards set by it, but our Atlantic friends were up for the challenge with the album reviewed here which saw them more than well-equipped to give the Cavalera brothers’ team a good run for their money. “Hierarchic Democracy” promises a lot of death-laced thrash fun from the start, with brisk fast-paced riffs and constantly burping bass the four-stringer adeptly assisting the axemen who unleash stylish, intelligent fury worthy of Death’s “Spiritual Healing” and Messiah’s “Choir of Horrors”, and those opuses were not even made back then. “Fighting in Gangs” has a great melodic inauguration, and although the guys epitomize a more brooding minimalistic approach, this number remains a captivating listen with its steady mid-tempo rhythm-section and more dramatic deathy accumulations. “Misery Spreads” is a technical/progressive thrash masterpiece with superb intricate stirs from the get-go before the guys embark on a heads-down speedy “journey” with nice melodic respites provided at the peak moment, alluring the listener even further into the complex rifforama.

“Not to Leave the Power” is a more immediate headbanger with fast lashing riffs recalling the less bridled nature of the debut, but the riffage here is way more sophisticated and more technical with surreal additives giving it a somewhat early Voivod-ish flavour, not to mention the great bass support and the short virtuoso lead sections. “Only One of Them” follows a similar path the band retaining the fast-paced rhythms by increasing the technicality with stunningly original decisions reminiscent of the Swiss Lunacy who must have been aware of this album’s existence, the song’s musical audacity partially lost in the more linear second half which features less flashy thrash/crossover. “Gathered Prisoners” is a brutal deathy 1-min hardcore-ish joke, and “Childish Boots and Steps” is a more engaging shredder with the bass put up front rolling onward, racing with the clever riffs which accelerate but by bit until it all reaches a near hardcore-ish intensity again. “The Ones Left Scream” moves forward with more orthodox mid-tempo arrangements leaving both the dynamics and the more intriguing gimmicks for “History Starts” which moshes with a lot of vigour the bass again playing an important part in this death/thrashy roller-coaster which also boasts the finest leads on the album.

For 1989 and the Brazilian scene this effort was simply hard to believe; the bash and the amateur naivety were bade farewell here with fully accomplished song-structures and carefully assembled riff-patterns even on the more carefree crossover material. Thrash/death hesitations were not a novelty, many of them were spawned in South America, but at this stage no one knew that this hybrid could be given a more elaborate “decoration”. It seemed as though the guys had synchronized their efforts with other fractions from the metal constellation to elevate this sub-genre towards new heights as the Canadians Disciples of Power produced something quite similar, maybe more thrash-fixated, on their debut (“Powertrap”) before the blend exploded into the most technical phenomenon on the field literally overnight with Atheist, Sadus, Vacant Grave, Hellwitch, Overthrow and Nocturnus shooting it into less accessible stratospheres where only connoisseurs feared to tread…

Now that was more of a challenge even, to stay afloat amidst this fierce competition. However, what happened could either be considered one of the biggest embarrassments in metal history, or a bold step into the right direction. “Musical Guide from Stellium”, the follow-up, was a really weird mechanical affair losing some of the speedy escapades here, settling for a not very eventful one-dimensional approach which sounded eccentrically robotic without at the same time honouring the numetal vogues of the 90’s… too much. Hardcore had returned into the fold further drying the riff applications which were less flexible and needless to add less intricate. This dispassionate feat was repeated on “Alea Jacta Est” two years later with added hardcore aggression that took over completely on “Straight” (1996), stripped-down bashing hardcore for most of the time. Things only got worse in the new millennium the band experimenting with all kinds of influences creating a pleiad of sloppily assembled, dishevelled mish-mashes…

I guess they’re not searching for the light anymore cause when they were, they were pretty much unstoppable as this gem here certifies so nicely. It’s difficult to compose fulsome musical guides in the new millennium, but if someone would be up for the challenge, regardless of how unsurmountable it may seem, it should be our eclectic Atlantis descendants.