Apokalyptic Raids
Vol.4 - Phonocopia

South America is a land as remote as it is fascinating, and I'm certainly not referring only to the exquisitely exotic aspect or the brasileire seen in the stands; let's not stop at the sad barriers of the common people. I'm also referring to that dark and bustling phenomenon known as "underground," which has taken root even in this fertile and lush region. I thought, a rich dish for me to dive into, and so, after discovering the delightful Inquisition, I plunged into a compulsive search, finally emerging from the vortex of darkness with a small occult relic: it is "Vol.4", the latest work (2010) by the Brazilian band Apokalyptic Raids.

It's true that you should never judge a book by its cover, but in this case, it's not inappropriate. Just read the name to infer the main influence of this trio: Hellhammer all over the place and in every note, and for the undersigned, who went crazy behind Tom Warrior's "UH!", it was quite appealing. But that's certainly not all: these raucous ones win us over already with the first track, "Nightmare (In Frost And Fire)," where the leader Necromaniac (vocals and guitar) awakens after a few moments with a grunt worthy of a Monday morning. UH!

In short, all the good premises are there, and here the three evil young sprouts plunge headlong into a dark atmosphere that never wanes and remains at pentacle levels for all the damned 36 minutes, aided by a perfectly cavernous production. The commendable performance of the drummer Slaughterer (born Marcio Cativeiro) unfolds through a work where the horrific blends with the pleasant in a marvelous combination that forced me to purchase costly ointments for neck strains and revived in me the pride of a metalhead, after so much, too much shame (the shopkeepers glaring at you suspiciously, the bourgeois neighbors, cuckolded and insensitive, threatening you with the pitchfork from their damned country villa, and so on).

Necromaniac tears his soul apart in an attempt to evoke the glorious '80s with a semi-growl that recalls the style of the Swiss genius, and by almost systematically repeating the song titles (who said early Sodom? No one, I know), all laid on a dirty and sulfurous sound indebted, and not a little, to the forerunners of Black metal (in honor of whom, in the end, there's even the cover of "Crucifixion" in "Nothing Will Happen". More than that....). In short, the "commanders of the underground resistance" Darkthrone (granted that they are) may also be "the graves of the 80s," but Apokalyptic Raids are by far much more. Because Hellhammer may have disappeared long ago, but their spirit has always remained. And if it's still alive and kicking, we owe it to the various devotees scattered across the terrestrial globe, starting with these three fanatics. UH!