Hate

When it comes to Sarcófago's Hate, the first thing that comes to people's minds are the drum machines used on the recording, instead of a real drummer. Drum machines are a particularly sensitive topic when it comes to metal music. Judas Priest had a very publicized and controversial experience with drum machines and was harshly condemned in the 80's for it's use on Turbo and Ram It Down, so the metal community always feels a little cautious when it comes to programmed/electronic drums.

Regardless of the listeners personal opinions, anyone that hears Hate will have the same first impression: the album sounds brutal. As Sarcófago was trying to be the fastest metal band, the album has very fast songs, and the drumming machines have something to do with it, as in some of the songs it literally sounds like a frenetic machine gun blazing all around. That being said, you're gonna notice that the album has slower moments as well, and the music sounds even more heavy on those moments, specially on Orgy of Flies and The Phantom.

The guitar work is also impressive, considering that Wagner Lamounier started learning how to play guitar just before the recording of The Laws of Scourge in 1991, and used to play rhythm guitar on the album and live. Wagner assumed the position of lead guitar on the recording of Hate, and did an amazing job: his technique sounds impressive with fast and heavy riffs, as the guitar makes the atmosphere on the whole album sound even more evil than the drums do. When the guitar slows down, to amplify the “evil” atmosphere, Wagner added a simple keyboard work, which combined perfectly. The only guitar solos on the album are on Hate and Pact of Cum and they are fast and short, unlike previous Sarcófago's records. Hate is definitely a death metal album.

Now it comes to the best qualities of the record: the lyrics and vocals. Analysing the album's lyrics is not an easy task, as Wagner's english skills are not on it's top spot: Hate is full of spelling mistakes, and sentences that were roughly translated. Never the less, lyrics are among the best qualities of the album, as it's literally full of hate (haha). Unlike previous albums, the “satanic” themes are left aside and topics like anger, discredit on humanity, diseases, religion (or irreligion), war and brutal sex are covered on most of the songs. The storytelling on the album makes you feel like the devil was writing, and he did it on his most hateful day. There's a lot of anger and revolting even on Pact of Cum, which is a song about sadomasochism (“Damned bitch, savage goddess, bless me with your angry, ride me 'till death”).

Vocal work is another approach that differs from The Laws of Scourge, since Wagner chose to use more death metal oriented vocals, stepping away from the thrash metal screams used on the previous album, and returning to I.N.R.I's vocal style. You can notice the use of reverb on most of the songs, and multiple vocal-tracks to give a more low and dense atmosphere on some of the screaming. This is obvious when you hear the chorus on Pact of Cum. It even sounds like Wagner is trying to use death-growls, but his work sounds more similar to Chuck Schuldiner vocals on Individual Thought Patterns than traditional death-growls.

To summarize the album's impression: it is one of the most violent and brutal records ever made by a Brazilian death metal band, and aside from the drumming machine controversy, it has the finest points of any extreme metal album. This record was a defining moment on Sarcófago's history, as the next album Worst is highly criticized and paved the way to Sarcófago's demise.