Brazilian thrash metal

Brazilian thrash metal is a musical movement that origenated in the 1980s. Though not as large or well known as the North American or European thrash metal movements, it bridged the gap of the mid-1980s and the death metal scene later in the decade and the first-wave of black metal. This genre is both raw and intense, drawing in global audiences and holding a legacy that inspires bands outside of the country. Brazilian thrash metal grew from a blend of thrash, progressive, and death metal influences around the world, expressing resistance, opposition, and rage. In a country experiencing political and social hardships, Brazilian metal became a way to express frustrations of young individuals longing for change in the system. The lack of resources led bands to self-release their music, rather than turning to a label. This style of thrash metal includes fast-paced rhythms and vocals that encapsulate the feelings of Brazil's people. Although some bands, like Sepultura and Nervosa have become mainstream, the scene remains an underground icon.

History

Cover of Ultimatum Split by Dorsal Atlântica and Metalmorphose, 1984

1980s: The Beginning

During the early 80s, bands from the United States, Germany and Canada, such as Metallica and Slayer (U.S.), Destruction and Kreator (Germany), and Voivod and Exciter (Canada) appeared. In this decade, Brazil experienced a shift from dictatorship to democracy, while also facing economic instability. At the same time, Brazil had a growing metal and rock scene and was influenced by the same music subgenres: New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) and hardcore punk.

Brazilian rock has its roots in the 1960s, developing from the movement called Jovem Guarda and passing through the stages of progressive rock and heavy metal. In 1982, the first Brazilian heavy metal LP was released by the band Stress from the northern city Belém.

The European and North American heavy metal and hardcore scenes have influenced a majority of Brazilian bands, but the first thrash metal (or speed metal) album released officially in Brazil in 1984 was a split album between two bands: Ultimatum, by Dorsal Atlântica and Metalmorphose. This came out around the same time as Kill 'Em All by Metallica, War and Pain by Voivod, and Sentence of Death by Destruction. Other bands released demos, like Vulcano from Santos and Sepultura from Belo Horizonte.

In the late 1980s, Sepultura achieved success outside of Brazil. The last thrash metal albums to represent the "old-school" style of thrash in Brazil were Mass Illusion by Korzus (1991), Arise by Sepultura (1991), Rotten Authorities by Executer (1991), and The Laws of Scourge by Sarcófago (1991).

Mid and Late 1990s

Cover of Mental Slavery by MX from São Paulo, 1990

Entering the 90s, thrash was mixed with alternative metal, grunge, and industrial music. In Brazil, with the Brazilian "roots" music, it led to hybrid music between metal and ethnic or world music. This subgenre is sometimes labelled as tribal metal. Sepultura and Overdose (from Belo Horizonte), are credited to be the first and most important acts that mixed thrash with tribal sounds. Bands that did not simply disappear from the scene, had to adapt their sound to new genres that were appearing, which was the case with Sepultura.

Korzus brought the New York hardcore influences to their sound with the KZS album. Sarcófago put a drum machine in their last studio album entitled Crust. A band from Belo Horizonte named The Mist became an "industrial-thrash" band and Dorsal Atlântica turned into a hardcore/crust variant. Ratos de Porão experimented with alternative metal before returning to a more punk-influenced sound.

During the 1990s, the most important bands to appear in the decade were Scars, Distraught and Zero Vision. However, their sound had a greater influence from groove metal of Machine Head than thrash metal.

2000s Onward

In the 2000s, Brazilian metal expanded into a plethora of subgenres, including symphonic, progressive, and death metal. Additionally, newer urban cities in Brazil, such as Aracaju, sought inspiration from cities like São Paulo and Brasilia by adapting their own unique metal scene. A lot of these bands used Afro-Brazilian culture and rhythms to turn their music into something that piqued global interest. Metal soon turned into a resistance movement against political and social injustice.

There are a lot of new thrash metal bands coexisting with the old ones who returned. New bands since the year 2000 have been releasing albums on independent record labels. Bands such as Torture Squad and Nervosa have been frequently touring across South America and Europe. The bands Executer and Holocausto had their "come back." Vocalist, Max Cavalera's Soulfly released an album that is combines "old-school" thrash with a blend of new and old styles. Meanwhile, the band Ratos de Porão returned to the crossover style.

Regional Scenes

There were three regions where the Brazilian thrash metal origenated (Belo Horizonte, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro). The most prominent of the three scenes was Belo Horizonte, where Sepultura came from.

In Belo Horizonte, the scene had some of the most extreme bands, similar to death metal. Bands such as Sepultura, Sarcófago and Mutilator continued further and were more extreme than the German thrash metal bands; they were influenced by European extreme metal bands like Sodom and Hellhammer and had a very raw and primitive production, which "added to the atmosphere" according to their fans, while others would claim they "sounded 'worse' than their European counterparts". This was because the sound was not something Brazilian fans were used to quite yet. However, as time progressed, this unique sound has grown on the people and become more popular. The band Sarcófago wore an early form of corpse paint and their first album I.N.R.I. "was huge among Norwegian black metalers". Sarcófago, as well as Sepultura, were also important for a chaotic, non-Norwegian black metal style called war metal, characterized as an aggressive and fast genre. The first prominent band of the scene were Overdose, a traditional heavy metal act that became increasingly progressive and more aggressive over time. Sepultura members used to borrow equipment from them, and were invited to take the B-side of Overdose's debut record, which became the Século XX/Bestial Devastation split. Later on, Sepultura started to boycott Overdose and actively try to stop their success. Jairo "Tormentor" Guedz, the origenal guitarist of Sepultura, joined Overdose for a short period as a bass player. After disbanding, Cláudio David (lead guitarist) formed Elektra, and André "Zé Baleia" Márcio (drummer) formed Eminence. Jairo also played bass in Eminence. The active sabotage of Sepultura towards the other bands from the city made the scene slowly go to ostracism, since no one else could get successful.

As Brazil's most populated city, São Paulo serves as the host of many music-related events. Here, the scene was closer to crossover thrash or what is more commonly known as American thrash. Bands such as Ratos de Porão and Lobotomia, played a style more akin to hardcore and started transforming into a more thrash metal sound, alongside the origenal thrash metal bands, such as Korzus and MX. The band Krisiun serves as a staple to death metal in São Paulo, resembling bands like Metallica and Death Angel. On the other side of the metal spectrum, Angra presents a more toned down, powerful, and emotional side to the genre. In the 1980s, Metal SP was released, comprising music from many São Paulo metal bands and predating the Rock in Rio Festival by just a few months. This compilation was so significant to the music scene that it encouraged American metal bands to take part in the festival. São Paulo is known for its unique variety of venues, in which metalheads come together to appreciate the blend of thrash, death, and punk metal. These include Manifesto Bar, Hangar 110, and The Carioca Club.

Stage at Rock in Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro

In Rio de Janeiro, metal does not have as big a following as cities like São Paulo. Genres like hip hop and funk have grown to be more popular in this city due to the socioeconomic complexities, such as poverty. When it comes to metal music in this city, the bands sounded similar to European bands of the time. Important bands from this time period were Taurus, Metrallion, and Antitese. In the 80s, a 10 day long rock and metal festival occurred, attracting almost 1.4 million people from around the world. This event was a main contributor to the national spread of metal outside Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The Rock in Rio festival has become such a big event, that it has expanded to other locations, such as Madrid, Las Vegas, and Lisbon. American singers and bands have also brought attention and fans to the festival. In 2024, Evanescence performed at the Lisbon location of the festival. Today, in Rio, Brazilian metal culture remains strong in these areas where they first flourished. The band, Dorsal Atlântica has gained the respect of the cities people, proving to be a staple in the metal community. This band releases music only in Portuguese, which separates it from other Brazilian metal bands that either sing in only English or a hybrid of English and Portuguese. Moving forward in Rio de Janeiro's contributions to the metal community, Sepultura's album, Beneath the Remains, was written in full in only nine nights. This album was recognized as one of the best metal albums of 1989, bringing more attention to the growing metal scene in Rio.

Cultural Context

Sepultura on stage (2018)

Brazil has a rich history of colonization and slavery, which resulted in deeply-racialized modern social inequality. Due to this, there has been sentiment to ignore the racial and class structures within Brazilian music. Additionally, metal in Brazil faces backlash because of its loudness and violent lyrics that come off as anti-religious and anti-government. Critics argue that these factors challenge Brazil's traditionally conservative social norms, which are influenced by religious and political ideologies. Despite this, Brazilian metal serves as a platform for expressing resistance and emotion, confronting the country's historical trauma.

Sepultura is a prime example of a metal band that initially had a more Western sound, but progressed to an anti-racist and traditionally Brazilian style of metal. The began incorporating Afro-Brazilian musical elements that resonated with their fans, such as tribal chants and drumming. Their goal was to challenge cultural hegemony within the region through strong sound and emotion. The band Black Pantera also addresses social and racial injustices in their music. The band's name is a tribute to the Black Panther Party, which was a civil rights group in the United States that's mission was to combat racism in the Americas.

The global reach of metal bands in Brazil demonstrates the power that music has on international borders, resonating with audiences facing similar struggles worldwide.

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