In recent months, I’ve been noticing a disturbing trend of bands putting out hours worth of new music as one album. While Iron Maiden has already been notorious for giving you your money’s worth since the creation of the compact disc, other acts are taking that idea and running wild with it. I’ve always been a proponent of the idea that less is more [How can that be? – Yngwie]. Apparently, Brazil’s Bode Preto (or “Black Goat” in Portuguese) believes in the same philosophy. Mystic Massacre, their second album, is a hair shy of thirty minutes long. A little goes a long way… or is Mr. Malmsteen right?
After a short intro, Bode Petro gets right to the blasting with “Deep Reality,” with razor-sharp riffs, Angeldust’s pummeling, and guitarist Josh S.’s rasp rising above the fray. Picture Sarcófago but sped up with beefier low-end. “Deep Reality” is energetic, incredibly visceral, and efficient in its two-minute run time. The band goes in, does what they need to do, and gets out before overstaying their welcome. It’s a philosophy to which more bands should adhere.
So, we have a young band who’s hungry, fast, brutal, and quick and dirty. What could possibly go awry? While it’s not a bad album, it suffers from severe repetition issues. Drummer Angeldust only seems to know that one rhythm and he abuses it throughout Mystic Massacre. His lead-in fills sound exactly the same; half of the songs on here begin with that same fill (“Absurds of Violence,” “Unknown Woman,” “Wraith/The Stage and the Meadow”). Other than “Dark Obsession,” which has a guitar solo in it, there’s precious little to differentiate between songs. This unrelenting repetition makes an otherwise short and concise 30-minute album feel double its length.
Mystic Massacre is loud. The drums are cranked to 11, especially the toms and cymbals. The guitars blend together at times (that main riff to “Deep Reality” being a prime example), and the bass of Rodrigo Magalhães only makes an appearance at the end of certain songs (“Wraith/The Stage and the Meadow”). But the biggest problem is how the album is put together musically. I had a hell of a time trying to recall any of the songs, despite multiple listening sessions. It’s not a bad record. In fact, “Deep Reality” and “Unknown Woman” rip, but once you’ve heard those, you’ve literally heard the whole album.
Brevity can be a powerful thing. But Bode Preto’s new record demonstrates that brevity without a bit of variety can backfire on you. While not a horrendous listening experience, Mystic Massacre was a difficult album to try to recall once the journey to the pits of Hell were completed. Maybe next time.
Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 192 kbps mp3
Label: Iron Tyrant Records
Websites: bodepreto.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/6bode6preto6
Releases Worldwide: January 7th, 2016
