format: LP
year: 1992
country: Brazil
label: Antídoto
#: 60061470
info: Insert with lyrics
style: Power Metal, Heavy Metal
Side A:
Side B:
Old traditional HM from Brazil has always been a genre obscured by its more famous and cultified Braz BlackThrash siblings. I wouldn't go so far as to proclaim it a severly underrated scene or glittering vein of gems aplenty, but like with any large enough a country you're bound to have missed out on a ripper or three. ORQUIDEA NEGRA's "Who's Dead" are likely to be one of them.
If I say that half the album is absolutely stunning you'd assume the other half to be rather lame, but I assure you this is not the case this time around! There's really not a crap number on the whole LP, but there are a handful of tunes that really do stand out, so let's not dilly-dally and just lick that frosting off the cake in one firm *slurp!*
Despite it's suggestive title, "Christmas Night" is not a
Brazilian "No Presents For Christmas" but a straight-up, full-blown Epic/Heavy Metal pearl in the vein of Brocas Helm, Siren and classic Iron Maiden at their most inventive. "Wonderful And Lost" continues on the original and mysterious path, full of atmosphere and epic trickery. They keep flaunting their excellent knack for spinechilling guitar harmonies in the speedy "Run To The Hell", conjuring up a healthy dose of Jag Panzer in the process. Today's strongest contender for Best Song On The Album would however be the fiercly powerful "Hunting Devil" - a steelclad warhorse of Steel mercilessly riding down the enemy vanguard like it ain't no thang. Heads WILL be banged!
Are there downsides? Well, picking "Surrender" for an opening track will give a somewhat erroneous first impression, but despite containing the most generic lead riff on board and being a rather melodic, almost radio-friendly affair it's still a pretty great and catchy tune. 2 ballads on a 9-track album is at least one - no, let's round that up to an even 2 - too many in most cases, but "It's Easy To Remember" and "Miss You" are an unusual pair of non-sappy epics that really doesn't detract too much from the album's level of class. Finally, in order not to give the impression that they are disposable fillers, both
"I'm Calling For Your Soul" and "Mr Powerful" deserves a more than merely honorable mention. The former reminds me of the more skewed and sinister Manilla Road-tunes from the 2nd half of the 80's, while the latter is another fast affair in the style of rugged Italian crazies Rollerball.
The album was re-released on vinyl and CD in 2015 and 2016 respectively and there's actually a good reason for checking these out, as both include the excellent, previously unreleased powermetaller "The Darkness" from the original studio session, while the CD comes with an additional 3 re-recorded bonus tracks which surprisingly enough do not suck one tiny little bit. Color me shitshocked.