The Laws of Scourge

For reasons i can't recall, it took me quite a while before i properly sank my teeth into Sarcófago's discography. I mean, they're legends of extreme metal and, furthermore, they're from my country of origin. But, in my self-defense, i’d state that Sepultura casts a huge shadow over many, many Brazilian bands and, also, Sarcófago didn't have a consistent or enduring career, comprised only by four full-length albums, two of which are not quite as memorable or good. In fact, by the time Sarcófago was coming up with the work i'm now reviewing, their fellow countrymen from Sepultura were releasing one of their most iconic and influential albums ever, “Arise”. A pretty harsh and unfair competition, if anything. But, apart from justified ignorance or late acknowledgment, it's a huge mistake, in the other hand, to underestimate most of this band's discography, thinking that maybe they had a one-time stitch of greatness on 1987's “I.N.R.I”. While i'm sure many would disagree, i honestly think Sarcófago's true magnum opus is 1991's “The Laws of Scourge”. I give my thanks to Spotify's recommendations for presenting me to this spectacular gem through the song “Screeches From The Silence”.

When we talk strictly about how much this album was influential or revolutionary, it doesn't stand a chance against the preceding record. "I.N.R.I" was a major blueprint to many black metal bands, including those assembled under the sub-genre of war metal. It was a quintessential piece of profanity and i truly believe the band could have ascended to higher planes if they haven't disbanded, briefly, right after recording it. But what makes for good music in the end? One that you utterly enjoy and have fun with, despite of anything else. This is how i think of “The Laws of the Scourge”. It is, above all else, a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Musically, it diverges tremendously from the earlier, blackened material, delivering a brand of what we should call brutal thrash metal, much more “accessible” than before. But i'll take brutally satisfying and "safer" music over pioneering yet boring shit any day(not the case of “I.N.R.I”, mind you).

The consistency is what really crowned this album. It remains a solid effort from first to last track and it's also all about diversity, conveying awesome stuff from different perspectives and influences of the band. The first and self-titled song is a massive wall of thick riffing and relentless drumming, along with Lamounier spitting off his soul, enraged. At first, this track reminds me of a slightly less technical "Coroner", specially because of the guitar tones. Then, both of the two following tracks have some doom passages, i.e. the haunting intro on "Midnight Queen", one of the most famous tunes from this record. And, even within these songs, that are mostly played on a mid-tempo fashion, we're also presented to yet another excursion through speed and savagery. There are not many bands who so successfully drift through these mixed tempos without failing at one of these or both, but, as i said before, this record is all about consistency. It also remains true to the band's nature, as it likewise conveys some more blackened tunes, such as the frantic and profane "The Black Vomit" or the warmongering "Crush, Kill and Destroy", another instant classic from their sophomore and a very satisfying curtain call after exceedingly hostile 41 minutes of music. Their polemic approach to sex is also very much alive on this record, particularly in "Little Julie", which would attract lots of unwanted attention to the band nowadays. This album might sound more easy-listening to some die-hard fans of the "I.N.R.I" era, but it's still miles away from being something you would present to your parents.

As much as every single song here is a savory demonstration of high-quality brutal music, my favorite track must be “Screeches from the Silence”. Before that, i only admired Sarcófago from a distance, but after listening to it, i became a fan. Some of the riffs on this song are my favorite of all time. They are simple yet they strike all the right notes, aligning all the genes on my body that purveyed my taste on heavy music. The intense breakdown, the awesomely agonizing vocals, the pummeling drums and the brief albeit baffling synths, there are so many elements of brilliance contained in less than four minutes. It's all around a very straightforward thrash metal song, not unlike many i'm acquainted to. But there's just too much honest anger and madness echoing over the entirety of its duration. I always put it on repeat before resuming the record playing, which is less a tradition than a dire need.

Maybe this album is not as innovative as its predecessor, like i mentioned before. But, at the time it got released, this kind of music was going through an identity crisis and a downfall against the Seattle-based rock. Not only it’s a refreshing praise to thrash metal done well but also a compelling record even to this day.