Magna Adversia

This is my first approch to Patria's "oeuvre", although this is already the sixth LP released by this duo formed by singer Triumphsword and guitarist / bassist Mantus. The later is Marcelo Vasco, known in the metal world as the man behind the album covers of bands like Testament, Vintersorg, Slayer, Soulfly, Machine Head, Månegarm and a lot more.

This being a Brazilian band, one would have a certain idea about what he's going to find. When we talk about Brazilian extreme metal, the first that comes to mind is the rawer version of the style, because we're talking about the country that gave birth to groups like Sarcófago, Mystifier, Goatpenis and Vulcano, among other bands that challenge the limits this kind of sound can reach. That's why Patria ended up surprising me so much, because they manage to break out from the mold. Even if their image, with full blown corpsepaint and lyrics where the themes of darkness and death are the primary subjects, are close to the black metal tradition, in their music Patria is a band that doesn't fear going against the black metal standard.

The sound of this natives from Rio Grande do Sul is deeply melodic, although far from being cheesy. In-between Sacramentum, the Immortal from "At The Dawn of Winter" and even Satyricon, this guys give us an album where the ambience and the memorable riffs have the protagonism. That's why we have an almost cinematographic intro, violent riffs and acoustic guitars in "Now I Bleed", another acoustic intro in the fantastic "Communion", and an outro like "Magna Adversia", which marks the end of the album with a mix of keyboards, acoustic guitars, orchestral arrangements and a nocturnal atmosphere complemented with some wolves howling in the distance.

It's not that there isn't anything for the addept to more violent sounds, because there are also some good neck-breaking blastbeats (courtesy of Asgeir Mickelson, ex member of the norwegian band Borknagar) and some riffs as cold as a Nordic winter in songs such as "Infidels" and "The Oath", and Triumphsword delivers a good chunk of violent screams. It's just that here they're far from being what "Magna Adversia", the album, is really about, being a collection of songs where the creation of atmospheres, and even some kind of feeling of epicness, is above anything else.

Co-produced by the band and Øystein Brun (the guy behind Borknagar, demonstrating a close relationship between that band and Patria), "Magna Adversia" puts aside the typical rawness of the style and shows a clean sound and equal levels for every instrument, which delivers a richness and clarity to the sound that it's kind of hard to find. My only objectioon would be related to the bass guitar being overshadowed by the other instruments, but this it's just a detail in a superlative album where the guitars sound violent and the drums hit with full force.

"Magna Adversia" is an album that feels huge, where the songs aren't just a combination of sounds but a search to create true landscapes where winter reigns supreme. The mix of styles could not be for everyone, but it sure will appeal to anyone who's looking for new sounds inside the black metal scene.