Description

Black vinyl with red hotfoil stamped cover and printed innersleeve. Limited 250 copies

Being one of the most respected black metal groups in Brazil, Sarcofago gradually refined their style further in the field, a development that culminated in The Laws Of Scourge. Possibly one of Sarcofago’s most refined and best produced releases ever, especially considering their older and remarkably more raw albums, this black/thrash metal epic is somewhat reminiscent of Sepultura’s style at the time but with a notably heavier and darker tone, not forgetting the still apparent black metal touches. Whereas the title track and Crush, Kill, Destroy are some great, pretty straightforward thrashers, it’s tracks like Piercings and Screeches From The Silence in particular that really highlight the strengths of this album. Although a couple of slower pieces drag a bit, the quality of the whole shines through. Finding it impossible to keep pace with the revolutionary musical refinements quickly achieved by their bitter cross-town rivals, Sepultura, Belo Horizonte, Brazil’s “other important black/death metal band,” Sarcófago, made certain that their early albums, I.N.R.I. and Rotting, made up the difference via sheer, provocative shock value, and incomparable levels of musical savagery. But, by the time they arrived at their third album, The Laws of Scourge, in 1991, Sarcófago’s musicianship had improved significantly enough to do their more sophisticated songwriting ambitions justice. Not unlike Sepultura, in fact, who themselves had advanced beyond black metal’s rudimentary satanic fury towards, first, thrash efficiency, and then death metal mastery, typical Laws of Scourge standouts like “Piercings,” “Prelude to Suicide,” and “Secrets of a Window” brimmed with memorable riffs, diversified tempos, and expertly placed melodies — all benefiting from the added luxury of respectable production standards, one might add. Another highlight, “Midnight Queen,” took even more daring forward strides, with acoustic guitars introducing unprecedented slow riffs, a user-friendly chorus, and — most shockingly of all — almost subliminal synthesizers, later used more extensively and openly near the end of “Screeches from the Silence.” The misleadingly titled “Little Julie,” on the other hand, had only a short stretch of non-grunted vocals and an admirably melodic guitar solo to soften an otherwise murderous sonic onslaught and positively despicable lyrics. But with the exception of resurrected early demo “Black Vomit,” even the most brutal offerings on The Laws of Scourge, such as the title track and “Crush, Kill, Destroy,” rose above cheap tricks and white noise to draw listeners in. Of course, irony of all metallic ironies, Sarcófago’s deliberate act of self-civilization on The Laws of Scourge also meant that they were automatically branded as sell-outs by black metal’s ultra-extremist brigade but the fact is that from a purely musical perspective, this is one of Sarcófago’s finest outings, and an ideal entry point into their discography.

Track listing:
1. The Laws Of Scourge
2. Piercings
3. Midnight Queen
4. Screeches From The Silence
5. Prelude To A Suicide
6. The Black Vomit
7. Secrets Of A Window
8. Little Julie
9. Crush, Kill, Destroy