“De Volta Ao Front” (meaning ‘Back To The Front’, methinks…) marks the return of HOLOCAUSTO after a 12 year hiatus. For those of you who don’t know, this band was one of the pioneering early 80s Thrash band in the Brazilian scene along with other cult bands such as SARCOFAGO and VULCANO. While the aforementioned bands focused on pure speed and occult imagery, HOLOCAUSTO always had a more Hardcore Punk vibe about them and subsequently they dubbed their style “Warcore”.

All the years of absence hasn’t mellowed this band one bit (it features the same line-up they had in ’85) and if anything, it has just made them more vitriolic. Opening with the Thrash monster “Miseria Humana”, featuring some pretty cool bass-lines, the tone is set perfectly for the rest of the album: HC-like yelled vocals, frantic drumming, riffs that are brutal in their simplicity and strong bass work. The next few tracks run the gamut from total VULCANO worship (“Guerra Santa”) to a Death/Thrash mix in the title track, to a complete Hardcore song (“Freedom Of Speech”), obviously in the best tradition of bands like (early) NAPALM DEATH and MINOR THREAT. None of these songs are classic Thrash tunes, but when the album is taken in as a whole it all combines to form a great Hardcore-tinged Thrash attack, or should I say Warcore attack…

The spirit of 80 Brazilian Extreme Metal is captured here, with all the abrasiveness and somewhat sloppy musicianship prevalent all the way through. Not as good as the recent comeback material from fellow countrymen VULCANO and WITCHHAMMER, but a solid album nonetheless.

Gather for the attack!! (Online August 12, 2006)