By now, metal from Brazil is not very surprising to many. Azorrague, translating to whip/scourge/lash/punishment, is the latest Brazilian band to catch my attention and one of several from the city of Curitiba. Bringing their own combination of death metal and thrash, Azorrague have unleashed their second full length album Bringer of Terror.
If you’re looking for metal in Brazil, Curitiba certainly seems to be a good place to start. Bands like Efrata, Hawthorn, Maestah, and Doomsday Hymn all come to mind when that city is named and now add Azorrague to that list. From information I could find, Azorrague started back in 2007, and has two previous releases, the ep Lies Empire in 2008 and the full length Die With Us in 2011. For Bringer of Terror, the band recorded at Silent Music Studio and enlisted Karim Serri (Doomsday Hymn, Maestah and others) for production, mixing, and mastering.
Bringer of Terror opens up with “Bloody Hands” which may actually describe those of the band considering how fast this song starts out. Honestly, I thought the speed setting on my player had been adjusted. The spriraling riff in the beginning of the song is dizzying and then settles in to an equally fast but more standard riff for the verses which feature a deep death metal growl for vocals. The second half of the song includes some extended guitar work backed by a rather crunchy sounding rhythm section. Production on the album is clean but feels a bit too thin, and for my ears could have used some more emphasis on the bass and low end in general which would really add some overall power to the riffs.
“Bringer of Terror” continues in the same vein and does feature some bass lines that are audible but still leaves me wanting more. Again in this song is some fine guitar work in the solo that has a rough edge to it and really adds some texture to the track. I have to again say the speed and the speed/tempo changes that come out of the blue are surprising and cool at the same time. “Voodoo Journey” seems to have even more bass presence than the previous two songs and at this point it almost seems as if it’s getting closer to my likes as the album progresses. More gritty guitar work appears in this song as well.
Overall, this album is full of thrashy death metal and at times the speed on the riffs gets to the point of being pretty crazy fast, which is certainly cool. “Catapulted to the Void” would be a great example of this. The opening riff is insanely fast and then it slows down to what most bands would consider pretty quick only to return back to the blistering speed riff. Meanwhile, the verse sections settle into a fast groove at times, which is probably to give everyone a chance to catch their breath. This song, like many on the album jumps around in terms of tempo and speed, keeping the listener ever off guard and making things interesting.
“For All I Believe” may be the one misstep on the album. The song starts out with a good marching riff like something from “March of the SOD” (Stormtroopers of Death) but then slows a bit for the male vocals on the verse, and abruptly goes into clean guitars and clean female vocals. Again here, the bass could really be driving this section as it is prevalent in the mix but at the same time seems to lack some depth or power. The song veers back and forth between the clean guitars and vocals and the heavier and just seems a bit forced to my ears. “Fall By Pride” is a great next song and a great song to close out the album as it features some great riffs and everything that makes Azorrague a great listen.
Rating: 7.5/10
Written by John Jackson
Track List:
01 – Bloody Hands
02 – Bringer Of Terror
03 – A Voodoo Jorney
04 – Devil’s Army Destruction
05 – Funeral Invitation
06 – O Ciclo Maldito da Perversão
07 – The Voice Of Who Cries (Out)
08 – Catapulted To The Void
09 – Strident
10 – For All I Believe
Bonus
11 – Fall By Pride (Remaster)
Band Members
Fernando Frogel – Bass and Vocals
Roney Lopes – Guitar
Macarrão – Drums and vocals
Record Label: Metal Survivor, 2015
Weblinks: Facebook
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
Video for ‘Bringer of Terror’
Lyric Video for ‘O Ciclo Maldito da Perversão’
Lyric Video for ‘Bloody Hands’