SilentScream213 Wow. Vulcano from Brazil enter the metal scene in a blaze of black fire. One of the earliest metal recordings from South America is a raw, aggressive mesh of Blackened Death Thrash, and it rules! Vulcano take Bathory as a blueprint and add some beefy Death metal riffs and harrowing vocals that end in a much more convincing product than even Bathory concocted. These guys would be a huge influence in the boom of extreme metal in South America, mostly staying under the radar as fellow Thrashers Sepultura broke the mainstream.

The production is awful a la first wave Black Metal, but with focused listening one can uncover a great amount of talent and some incredibly sick riffs and rhythm-work going on. Just an awesome, evil release.

UMUR "Drowning in Blood" is the 7th full-length studio album by Brazilian death/thrash act Vulcano. The album was released through Renegados Records in September 2011. The Santos, São Paulo based group are quite a seasoned act having existed since 1981. Their debut full-length studio album "Bloody Vengeance" was released as far back as 1986. Vulcano are widely considered one of the first South American acts playing extreme metal.

The fact that Vulcano are relatively "old" guys is not audible in any way in their music though. We´re talking fiercely aggressive death/thrash with the emphasis on the thrash part. The vocals are really aggressive and delivered with great conviction, the riffs are fast-paced (occasionally mid-paced and heavier) and overall there´s a strong Slayer influence in the music. It´s Legion of the Damned and their aggressive death/thrash I´m mostly reminded of though. Although Vulcano are a very seasoned act I´m actually not that impressed by the musicianship. The delivery is not 100% tight and especially the lead guitar parts sound a bit amaturish to my ears. The sound production is not spot on either. Especially the clicking bass drum sound is completely powerless.

Other than that "Drowning in Blood" is a pretty good album and I´m sure fans of aggressive death/thrash will enjoy it despite the above mentioned issues. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.