Fellatrix Discordia Pantokrator

Alright, I am convinced. My national underground (proud portuguese metalhead here) is full of great surprises. Fellatrix Discordia Pantokrator is one of those! Although Filii Nigrantium Infernalium have been in the scene for quite a while, they've only released an album last year; out of curiosity, I obtained it... and Almighty Satan, does it rock. The band offers us a great combination of thrash and black metal, with some traditional melodic metal and gothic notes, which completely go along the sonic onslaught that this album is.

GUITAR WORK: The best thing about this album. We have fast as hell thrashy riffs, some slow, doomy, Sabbath-y riffs, and of course the ordinary black metal tremolo riffage couldn't be missing; and it doesn't disappoint. The leads are also completely killer, sounding really epic most of the times, with some rockish solos showing up once in a while giving the album a more traditional metal sound. Belathauzer's vocals aren't that great, but he is one hell of a guitar player. All that's tr00 in Metal is sampled in their guitar work: doom, thrash, black, and even traditional heavy metal in the solos. Best examples: the starting lead in "Calypso", the thrashy riffage in "Morte Geométrica" (and the sludgy melodic part in the middle of the same song).

VOCALS: Well, a bit of a low point. They remind me a bit of Varg Vikernes, and that really isn't my thing. If you do like Varg's vocals, then you'll have no trouble about these. I kind of like hearing them in my language though; it's not very usual for bands to do this in Portugal. Some female vocals also show up in some songs, adding the gothic touch I mentioned above; you can hear them in two or three parts of the album, which means that they aren't overused. The band manages to make some catchy choruses (not catchy in the cheesy way), like "Moira" and "Cães de Guerra".

BASS: Nothing special, but not awful. The production kind of drowns it, but Helregni does a good job with his instrument. The slower songs show a bit more skill than the others: check "Bordel no Éden" and "Azur" for instance.

DRUMS: Good. It completely manages to accompany the guitars without stealing the show. It's mostly mid-tempo, but when this guy has to go fast - he goes fast! Check "Calypso" to see what I mean.

So, what do we have here? We have simply nine tracks (eight, if you don't count the intro) of pure black/thrash metal aggression, and some melody holding it together and adding a traditional metal edge. The best thing to be found in the portuguese underground.