I.N.R.I.

Sarcófago's 1987 debut album "I.N.R.I." is a fine example of pure South American metal and a fine example of an album I'm glad I revisited. Upon my first listening of this album circa June 2020, I wasn't really sold. Maybe it was because I hadn't developed a taste for a more extreme form of thrash metal as I have now. Maybe it was because I was listening to this album as background music while I was playing video games. I don't know or remember why. All I know is I'm happy that I gave this album a second chance and have started digging into South American metal more. Sarcófago, the band ex-Sepultura vocalist Wager Antichrist joined after his departure from Sepultura, has proven to be an important figure in the worlds of thrash, death, and black metal.

I.N.R.I. exemplifies many characteristics that many extreme metal acts would go to incorporate into their own sound. For starters, this album is packed with riffs so sinister sounding that you would've thought Satan himself wrote them. Many of the riffs on this album were tremolo picked. Tremolo picking has always been a staple in extreme metal. Your favorite death metal and black metal bands have utilized it at least once. And of course, there are numerous examples of down picking. Another staple in extreme metal riffing. I think some would be surprised to know the songs on this album were recorded in E standard tuning considering how heavy and evil they sound. Just like Possessed with their debut album, "Seven Churches," Sarcófago was able to put out a landmark of an album in the extreme metal world without having to down tune. Now don't take that as me ragging on bands who tune lower than E standard. I have nothing against that. Butcher is definitely a guitarist who doesn't get the love that he deserves as shown through his riffs and performance on this album.

Wagner Antichrist's vocals on this album constantly maintained a growl in between the lines of a midrange growl and a low growl. His vocals were also practically swimming in reverb. I wouldn't be surprised if Max Cavalera took heavy inspiration from Wagner for his vocal style considering how similar the two sound when their vocal styles are compared. I do know that Sepultura's early works had vocals that were swamped with reverb. I don't know if Sarcófago was inspired by Sepultura to do that on I.N.R.I. or if it was merely a coincidence that both bands had that going on with the vocals.

D.D. Crazy, Butcher's brother, laid down thumping drums for this album that could rattle the speakers in any stereo system. The blast beats perfectly complemented the riffs. I also must give D.D. Crazy a lot of praise for his abilities to keep an ongoing blast beat. That had to have been very physically demanding to say the least. Blast beats, another staple characteristic in extreme metal, tied the music together on this album very nicely.

I.N.R.I. maintains a sinister and fast-paced atmosphere throughout the overwhelming majority of this album. There were very little exceptions to this. The exceptions most notable to me were the slowed-down/doomy intro of "Nightmare," the clean guitar intro of "Christ's Death," and the end of "The Last Slaughter," which sampled carnival music and sound effects of what sounds like a toilet flushing. The band's use of the samples adds a subtle sense of humor to the album. As for "Nightmare" and "Christ's Death," their exceptions lasted for only a brief period of time before returning to the sinister and fast-paced atmosphere that I had mentioned.

Historically, the production on extreme metal albums has always varied. With some albums, a great job was done with the production, mixing, and mastering while others had such a poorly done job that it makes the album close to, if not completely, unlistenable. I.N.R.I. has very few production flaws. My biggest criticism of the production on this album is how buried the bass guitar is. Gerald Incubus got the short end of the stick with this album's production, making critiquing his performance just about pointless if you're aiming to fairly critique him. Other than that, everything else was balanced fairly. This album has a nice amount of rawness to the production while still making it an enjoyable listen.

Of course, I can't possibly review Sarcófago without bringing up the importance of their overall look to the world of black metal. The face paint, bullet belts, and spiked gauntlets donned by each band member on the album cover of I.N.R.I. would act as a source of inspiration to many black metal bands yet to come. Sarcófago was one of several bands that acted as a precursor to what is now known as corpse paint. Any metalhead with a basic level of black metal knowledge knows that corpse paint and spikes are the key aspects of many black metal bands' look. Gorgoroth and Immortal are two examples that stick out the most in my mind. I could only imagine being a kid in 1987 seeing the front cover of Sarcófago's "I.N.R.I." and being completely mesmerized at how evil the band members look. That must've been a one-of-a-kind experience.

The 2014 Bandcamp version of this album released by Greyhaze Records contains some bonus tracks. There's the 3 tracks from the band's 1986 "The Black Vomit" demo, and then there's 3 live tracks. I won't review the songs from the demo right now as I plan to review "The Black Vomit" in the future. As for the live tracks, there's nothing too special about them. They're lo-fi recordings that were most likely bootleg recordings that the record label decided to officialize for a reissue. Labels have done that in the past. Once again, nothing too special.

Sarcófago's 1987 debut album "I.N.R.I." is and will always be a Brazilian metal masterpiece. It's a shame this band goes under the radar of so many metalheads. I'm sure that this album will see an elevated level of appreciation in the future as more metalheads start to dig deeper into the metal scenes of different countries. Even if this album doesn't click with you upon your first listen, it'll grow on you as time passes. Favorite song: Satanas.