I.N.R.I.

There are numerous different names that Sarcófago's debut album can go by: the Brazilian Reign in Blood, the title of this review, but one thing remains true: this is the most extreme piece of music to be released outside of the States or Europe. This is sheer terror in art form, and a truly unique and brutal experience.

"Satanic Lust" opens the album with elements of punk and a primitive form of what would become brutal death metal. The drumming is insane, the vocals are scary and cold, but feel embedded in the track. The music on this album sounds less like a collection of instruments and more like the voice of a demon. Even when the riffs break away from the drumming on the opening track, it still sounds scary, and as the vocals are reduced to nothing but screams over the instrumentation, it sounds like your soul is being forcibly removed from your body. And this is all just on the first song.

This album combines so many different influences. The opening riff to "Nightmare" sounds like something Sleep or Seasons in the Abyss-era Slayer would write, and this comes before Darkthrone-style vocals. Then the band transitions into what sounds like a Mayhem riff + drum arrangement, as the distant vocals scream out in pure horror. This was all the first third of a single song, and there are so many other moments like this where the band is putting on a new aesthetic every thirty seconds before shedding it in favor of something completely different. And think about when this album was released, before the complete makeover of extreme metal that was the late-'eighties and the 'nineties. In 1987, a lot of metal bands were still trying to write the most complex or experimental thrash album; death metal and black metal were hardly part of the picture yet. Sure, there was early Sodom and Sepultura, but Sarcófago was of a different class entirely. They combined the rawness of extreme metal with semi-complex song structures and created something truly original.

Much of the material on this record feels like the band is going through trial and error in real time. The opening to "Christ's Death" comes in stark contrast to everything else on this album, but the band doesn't care. And not to mention, the lyrics here are absolutely insane. Given that the lead singer, Antichrist, spent some time in Sepultura before Sarcófago, it's no surprise that the lyrical talents rubbed off on him. In the moments that his lyrics are discernible through the devil's possession of his vocal performance, the finality of death is conveyed with pure clarity. The subject matter of every song here is insightful and dark, perfect for the theatrical presentation of the music. Take the end of "Christ's Death," for example, with its descent into madness sounding like the band is being dragged down to Hell against their will.

Every single track on this album is intense, but together as a twenty-eight minute listening experience, this album encapsulates everything about death metal that makes the genre so great. The riffs work as a vehicle for the song to move at a faster and faster pace, the drums are usually blast beats and a relentless kick drum that does not let up. The band even explores the explicit pleasure of sex on "Ready to Fuck," something Cannibal Corpse probably took note of. The drum patterns are clever and intricate, but never becoming too overwhelming. They drive the songs and add a little bit of flair, especially when the vocals take a step back. For the most part, the bass is hard to hear, but it's definitely there keeping these songs afloat.

If you want good production, look away. This album has the darkness, the raw energy, and the untamed rage that every early death metal captures perfectly. Think Seven Churches by Possessed, but on steroids. This album picks up on every drum fill, every guitar lick, every growl and grunt and scream, but there's an underlying inaudibility to the music that gives it a scary quality. It sounds like the music is being blocked by a Satanic wall of evil, and we're only listening to what manages to escape. The band creates such an authentic, but also surreal feel with the music here. It sounds like Sarcófago is truly living the experience they write their music about, but simultaneously it feels like they were sent by Lucifer himself to convey the clearest message of what Hell is like. This album is a very unique and extreme experience, and listeners should always take caution. But man, is it worth it.