I have a question: is there anything a person like me can really add about a band like VULCANO that hasn’t already been said millions of times at this point? Well, I’m under the impression that this is the situation here. But just in case you lived deep inside a cave the last 38 years, out of the Milky Way or you were born yesterday, these Brazilian giants released a masterpiece called “Anthropophagy” in 1987. Naturally it was a different era, way before the internet and there was no such thing like “click here to listen”. Of course, I was a child myself listening to Madonna or Air Supply and had no fucking idea that a band could play like this. But eventually, decades later, I heard about the Brazilian Metal movement and VULCANO was a key player. They had released the iconic (now cult classic) album “Bloody Vengeance” a year before and when I first heard it, it blew my mind. That was actually my first contact with VULCANO. Later, I don’t know when, maybe many years later, I heard this other shit called “Anthropophagy” and again, it devastated me. It kept the Death / Thrash DNA they put on the “Bloody Vengeance”, living behind the initial sound of the band and that defined what VULCANO really was and meant to the extreme Metal not only in Brazil, but gradually in South America and other corners of the world. Of course, the band was part of a movement that (at that point) was just beginning to lay the foundations of a giant scene (the Brazilian). I could go in and out and talk shit about the songs but I’ll make it simple: this album is an avalanche of fury-ferocity, melodic guitars when they want, an aggressive voice, a wild nature and, overall, a cornerstone of South American Metal. Song by song, riff by riff. You missed it and it’s not part of your collection yet? Don’t worry, High Roller Records took care and brought it back as a slipcase CD, remastered, with poster and booklet and on 12″ vinyl as well. Go grab a copy! More info here: www.facebook.com/vulcanometal, www.facebook.com/hrrecords

The second album by one of Brazilian’s earliest extreme Metal bands besides SEXTHRASH, SARCOFAGO, HOLOCAUSTO etc. is VULCANO, who released their debut “Bloody Vengeance” in 1986, only unleashed upon black gold and in times of Ebay I bet it is pretty expensive. Swedish up and coming label I Hate Records decided to release this unpolished piece of utterly violent Thrash Metal for the first time on CD and as a bonus included the band’s 1983 “Devil On My Roof” demo, which is actually of almost ridiculously low quality… and I don’t mean the sound. Fortunately the eleven songs of VULCANO’s 1987 effort “Anthropophagy” are way better, despite remastering you still hear the vinyl whisper and the contempt, furiosity and enthusiasm making so many of the early South American hordes so intense and aggressive is present on each tune! If you need a crisp and clear production and expect technically perfect musicianship when it comes down to 80s Thrash, this might be a bit too harsh for you, but if you associate Thrash with an uncompromising attitude, speed and sheer aggression, you might dig this! Though the album was remastered it is certainly not a caress for your ear, but Brazilian bands like the aforementioned ones and VULCANO are no exception, were essential for what we call Black / Thrash today and the emotions, in particular the rage, with which albums like “Anthropophagy”, “Campo De Exterminio” or “Sexual Carnage” were recorded is absolutely timeless and appealling. The layout of the CD is once again exemplary with a good load of old photos, lyrics to all songs and the original front and back cover of the LP. Die hard fans of old Brazilian Thrash who had not a chance to get the LP yet should get this instantly! All others should at least try this little Metal history-lesson… www.ihaterecords.cjb.net