Esquadrão de Tortura

There are many reasons why Esquadrão de Tortura is an interesting album in Torture Squad’s lengthy discography and thus a part of me that aches to be writing this during a Virgin Reviews Challenge. The Brazilian death thrash band are not merely another death thrash band from Brazil, which often suffers from the stereotype of South American bands churning out brutal, riff-happy, but essentially revisionist albums in classic thrash, death, or black metal styles. In the first place, Torture Squad have always managed to be a touch more cerebral than their peers, something that is absolutely confirmed with this seventh full-length that recently received a worthy follow-up in Far Beyond Existence. You see, Esquadrão de Tortura gives a history lesson about the turbulent period of Brazil’s recent development between 1964 and 1985, during which the country was governed by a military regime. The lyrics to each song form an instalment in the chronology of the period, eventually reaching a climax with the respectful symphonic-backed instrumental ‘For the Countless Dead (Dirge)’ and the epic ‘Fear to the World’. It’s a powerful message and a powerful album too.

It’s a powerful album largely due to André Evaristo and the phenomenal number of riffs that he manages to jam into these 11 long songs. If you ever have doubts about the power of the riff in heavy metal, I beseech you - actually, I demand you - to sit the fuck down and listen through Esquadrão de Tortura for its entire 64 minute duration. After that, you can write to me telling me how correct I was. Having listened to Far Beyond Existence first and then fought my way into the back catalogue to the chaotic Pandemonium and imperious Hellbound, I was concerned about the length of this album and also about the musicians featured on it. With almost every song heading over five minutes and the departure of vocalist Vitor Rodrigues barely a year before, there was no guarantee that this would work. However, Evaristo shares the mic with Fernanda Lira guesting: juxtaposing the guitarist’s slightly punky snarl with Lira’s strong yet highish roar makes for a great contrast with the flat-out crushing tone of the riffs, still allowing for the drums to whack their way into the listener’s skull and Castor’s deep bass to add some texture to the music.

With a production like this one, Torture Squad would need to have been idiots to mess things up, which is absolutely not what they do at all. The bulk of the songs are made from thrash chops and the extra spice of death metal drumming, sometimes taking the intensity through the roof as Amílcar Christófaro gets busy with blasts, though just as often he plays around the riffs in more creative style to maximize the impact or hold back for a moment. Speed is not always the important thing for this kind of venture, which means that I’m left thinking of Grave Digger at a few moments during ‘Wardance’, the simply crushing riffs conforming to no particular genre but certainly having the heaviness to flatten faces and rearrange necks. When death metal is brought out to play on the main riff of ‘Nothing to Declare’ or ‘In the Slaughterhouse’, the effect is immediate, scattering away the hooky nature of the song and turning it brutal.

Esquadrão de Tortura isn’t just about destructive riffs though, also taking a great line in more melodic sections that prove memorable right from the first listen. The accented riffing midway through ‘No Surrender’ proves that the band can turn their hand to other areas, while the sweet solo is one of many examples that show Evaristo working overtime to turn the album into one of the group’s best. The rather exceptional length of the experience doesn’t cause nearly as much trouble as expected, since every song contains something memorable, with ‘Conspiracy of Silence’ standing out as the most varied single composition, taking in a quiet opening, a marvellous thrumming bass lead to hit the first rhythmic riff hard, then some time spent in groovier territory, plus a little exploration into epic death metal tremolos, before finishing triumphantly with pure heavy metal. It goes through nearly eight minutes and proves enjoyable for the entire ride.

I didn’t think I would ever find an album quite like this, which can turn out quality songs with exemplary riffs time after time, all the while connecting the varied and memorable music with meaningful lyrics delivered with passion. It’s not quite the best album I’ve ever laid eyes on - the length and slight overdose of thrashy riffing see to that - but it’s one of the finest you’ll find that can please fans of all kinds of heavy metal. Torture Squad really need you to start paying attention and it’s your loss if you don’t.


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