Not the GUILLOTINE that I know about from Sweden, no these maniacs are from Brazil and at least in my opinion (… and that’s all that really matters at the end of the day, doesn’t it?) they are much better than those aforementioned Swedes for three separate reasons. One, the Swedish GUILLOTINE are fake. They absolutely rip off KREATOR almost note-for-fucking-note, title for title and no one with any amount of integrity likes a rip-off. Second, let’s cut to the bone here… The Swedish GUILLOTINE was a gimmick, a trick, for the hapless of Metalhead who was past his limit, too drunk to fuck, too drunk to know any better and spent his money accordingly on audible waste as GUILLOTINE. GUILLOTINE from Sweden was a ruse, completely staged for the upsurge of interest that was happening during this time, later to be hailed as the first wave of the Thrash revival that began back in the mid to late ’90s. Their album “Under The Guillotine ” was trash. A pathetically lame attempt to cash in on the resurgence and those caught up in having the next Thrash band they could get their hands on. GUILLOTINE from Sweden, in particular, always shall be in my mind a failed money making junket. Thirdly, and most importantly, the musicians of this side project should be ashamed. As there is nothing worse than a pretender. It is the true definition of a poseur! GUILLOTINE from Sweden was a side-project. Each of these musicians had other and much better bands, real bands, going on at the time. So let’s get serious about this shall we? I mean even though I don’t particularly care for the band BEWITCHED… BEWITCHED was all over GUILLOTINE like a bad rash. The exact same thing can be said for NOCTURNAL RITES, the other half of GUILLOTINE. That is though to say NOCTURNAL RITES is to GUILLOTINE more of like a True Metal bio-agent of death, ripping through flesh, as a good venereal disease ought, wreaking havoc in the veins of the unsuspecting host. Breathing bacterial holocaust into a sore infection left by these Swedish whores of GUILLOTINE, where a wallet once called home. Now a seething lump of unbridled muck, that can be smelled and heard sloshing round as you walk, a grand bacterial soup of toxins in the germicidal wasteland of the great unwashed, that is often referred to as the common Metalhead’s underwear! Holy Hell! Seriously though, GUILLOTINE from Sweden eat shit. ‘Nuff said (I enjoy “Under The Guillotine” nevertheless, hehe – Frank). Focus now then on the Brazilian antidote, the cure if you will to this Swedish contagion, from Santo Andre’, Brazil. This GUILLOTINE, is by far and away a better band. And may I say what a cool new addition to the international Thrash Metal scene! Heavy, somewhat original, and overall a band with unrelenting enthusiasm for all things mayhemic and a general sense of knowing that it takes much more than attitude or just a pair of ripped jeans to make it in this game. From this writer’s viewpoint, Brazil’s GUILLOTINE, with a bit more practice, a bit more patience, a bit more concentration on their actual song writing and arranging could naturally land this Brazilian act the accreditation of being the equal to another nocturnal force, this one though is from Norway and they are called NOCTURNAL BREED. That said, my only two complaints of this disc are the following: this CD is kind of all over the place in terms of cohesion. To these ears this GUILLOTINE album “Metal In The Vein “, might have been a bit premature to be released just yet. I think with more time in the rehearsal studio, more dedication to the bands’ overall approach to writing, as previously mentioned above, this GUILLOTINE can and will find its own path where only chaos now reigns. The cover of DEATH’s ‘Defensive Personalities’ for instance, that closes this album – cool song, sounds great. However – next to all your other songs, it doesn’t fit and ultimately gives the impression your band is still searching for its identity. For those in this band reading this, or friends of this band reading this, or to the owners of Marquee for that matter who might think that my words here ring hollow or that I am completely off base. Give a listen to label mates, and fellow countrymen, TAURUS, and their re-released album “Signo De Taurus” for what I mean exactly when speaking about song choice, song structure and cohesion. Then go back to this album and you’ll hear what I am talking about instantly. The other issue I have with this disc is with the song ‘Soul Of Heavy Metal’. I know this may sound like nitpicking but an honest review is what it is, the vocal screams in the chorus section of this song should have been rethought or redone or mayhaps done not at all. They are completely off. And yes even though I am sure these screams here were meant to kick ass initially, they do not. In fact, they are to the point so badly and overly done, that they appear comical and sincerely don’t do the band any justice. Think Chainsaw Demon from CRANIUM cheesy and then go overboard with it. Definitely not the intended effect the vocalist was after or wanted, of that I am sure. Contact: www.myspace.com/guillotine80 or www.marquee.com.br