Description

Black vinyl with 4-page lyric booklet

Apocalyptic Raids/Apokalyptic Raids are a group of Brazilian guys who took what Hellhammer would have done if their supreme evil never expired. As if Thomas Gabriel Warrior himself found some old and missing tapes and decided to re-release them. Although, blatantly taking this doomsday name from their early Swiss counterpart, Apocalyptic Raids boasts a very heavy repertoire: brazenly tailored in black-death style that’s confident enough to walk the runway with tattered, non-glimmering and exclusive wardrobes. And, of course, are alarming enough to make spectators run for their worthless lives. With their third album The Third Storm World War III in 2005 there were some differences. For starters, the first song is split with an early ’80’s Venom-ish sounding track with the title “I’m a Metal Head.” Eventually the first portion of the song parts and then the short two-minute-something tracker of H.H.’s “Revelations of Doom” play to open up the rest of the album. The production on the “The Third Storm – World War III” sounds louder and more properly mixed compared to the previous albums. It’s as if you took the prior instruments and sanded some of the unsmooth edges down to pose a more credible craft. Though the bass drum sounds distracting at points, like a cross between a small bouncing ball, a finger pop in the mouth and a suction cup. The guitar tone is more pronounced sounding, like a loud but still rough guitar presence. Hellpreacher joins in on bass for this release, and it appears like the past distorted tone Sub Umbra used isn’t imitated here. It’s hard to tell if he either uses a mild-distortion or blended clean bass since it’s mixed incognito. This release has areas where they branch out into other metal lingering: sometimes subtly, sometimes more obvious. Necromaniac uses a few more techniques compared to his set, medium, past growlings. There is a clean spoken segment on “When the World Ends in Fire” while the music plays a slow and building piece. There is also a cool sounding, though short full-choir section towards the end of the track as well. Occasionally he uses an altered growl that’s not exactly a straight on sing but leaning more towards hoarse in execution. Although, the song “Vision Shadows” becomes awkward as it has a partially clear, almost shouted chorus mixed with his regular growls, where he says (with emphasis on the “now” part), “The war for the future is now.” It entirely takes away any sinister atmosphere they were continually achieving in that song. The guitar tone changed from buzzy and trebly to a louder and distortion plain sound. The past techniques are repeated here, as well as some new ones. The song “Mankind Defeated” (second half of “Mankind Dies”) has a mostly slower and doomier pace, along with a number of harmonics used as a fill. This also has the vocalist using a monk-like bellowing, as if visually he’s kneeling as melancholic as a graveyard statue. From a listener of their first two albums, this release attempts to re-tread old pathways but some areas are not always translated with the same ounce of vicious undertaking. And a few of the choruses sound out of place as well. Although, there are a few change-ups that are worthwhile, such as displaying doomier sections in some areas. Also, the melancholic vocals on “Mankind Defeated” sounded fitting and should be repeated more. Another varying track, “Manifesto Politicamente Incorreto,” sounds like a forefronting hardcore/crust remembrance as it displays an all-quick and short song, accompanied with fast and slurred vocals and guitars strumming out three-chord furies. That’s the only track that does that, notice the switch of language compared to the rest too. “The Third Storm” is in a way a compilation-esque release; as if it was noticeably pieced together like a collage. So, simply some areas do indeed stand out, while others don’t. “Mankind Defeated” and “When the World Ends in Fire” happen to be their best songs, not only on this album, but I’d be willing to wager them against other songs on the prior albums as well. It can come together, but shows a variety of what Apokalyptic Raids’ influences are compared to the last two releases; which were more aggressively centered, though with this having just an edge and not as steadily blunt or high with energy in comparison. Along with their main influence, it picks up emotions from a spread of genres and periods: some working, some unfortunately not entirely suited to them or the collective flow of the album.

Track listing:
1. Im A Metal Head/Revelations Of Doom-Hellhammer cover
2. Fallen Beyond Hope
3. Vision Shadows
4. Manifesto Politicamente Incorreto (Ou Um Dia De Furia)
5. Never Forget What You Are
6. Humankind Dies / Mankind Defeated (Humankind Dies pt. II)
7. The Power In My Mind
8. When The World Ends In Fire (Metal Returns)
9. Im A Metal Head (reprise)