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Vice Blog

LONDON - UM TAPA NA CARA DE DEUS: SARCÓFAGO

To commemorate our Brazil Issue I'm going to cover Brazilian warriors of metal on

A Fist In The Face Of God

this month. So, firstly, raise your goblet to the bastard sound of the enemy of Catholic oppression: the legendary…

Sarcófago.

I guess the main reason metal thrives so venomously in South America – Brazil particularly – is the influence of the Catholic church. Anywhere the lord is big, so is metal. Sarcófago, following singer Wagner "Antichrist" Lamounier's departure from

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Sepultura

(he penned the track "

Antichrist

"), were formed in 1985 and they released four demos and then split before 1987's highly influential

I.N.R.I.

was released. This is considered by many to be the blueprint for black metal's "second wave," both musically (they pioneered the blast beat of future black metal releases) and

stylistically

(they wore corpse paint, bullet belts, and leather jackets before any of Norway's luminaries). They also renamed themselves – I guess because their Christian names didn't suit their image. Over the years Antichrist, Gerald Incubus, Joker, Dead Zone, Leprous, D.D. Crazy, Butcher, oh and Pussy Fucker all played in their unholy metal ranks.

I am too young to remember the impact this album really had on metal at that time so I asked someone who isn't – walking metal oracle,

Fenriz

– about how he came into contact with the band and what comes to mind when he thinks of I.N.R.I.:

"I probably read about Sarcófago in a zine, and then ordered the vinyl through mail order – the way I still buy records. In the 80s it was what gave a different vibe than THE OTHER metal. Also, into the early 90s this was all we had. The yellowed record cover of I.N.R.I. with the paint-straight-on-faces set the perfect frame, the chaotic lo-fi intent was easy to worship for an EFFECTIVE riff machine such as our band [That's Darkthrone, btw -Rocky].

"They and Blasphemy OWNED the late 80s and early 90s, before the SHIT HIT THE FAN. [What he means here is that there was an explosion of ridiculous sub-sections of metal that made everyone look like a dick -Rocky]. In all new styles, there are people who GET IT at first, then a deluge of idiots who DO NOT get it."

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I tried to contact the band about a possible interview; actually, I tried to contact

every

Brazilian 80s black/death/thrash band about an interview and came up with nothing. Wagner Lamounier is currently a professor of economic science and applied statistic at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil, and earlier this year he quashed rumours of a reunion as a hoax. Still, you never know, nearly everyone reunites these days.

Sarcófago - "Christ's Death"

Till next week, keep it grimmm…

†ROCKWELL†