ALBUM REVIEW: Crueza Ferina – Holocausto Canibal
Hailing from the sun-dappled shores of Portugal, grindcore veterans HOLOCAUSTO CANIBAL have emerged with their latest effort, Crueza Ferina, which translates to ‘ferocious cruelty’. Given its visceral cover of a slaughtered pig, alongside their new embrace of vegan philosophy, it is clear that the band are taking more than a slight cue from the notorious movie from which they have taken their name and are taking an unflinching look into the boundless cruelty with which our society treats our planet’s animal cohabitants. The question emerges then, will the message overtake the quality of the music – a pitfall which many artists can find themselves trapped in – or will it serve to batter the message home?
Ad Bizarrem Morem opens with a recording of the terrified screams of a pig, one that is presumably about to meet a similar fate to the one on the album’s cover. After an arduous minute or so, a rumbling intro begins, setting off the album in a muscular, BRUJERIA-style bruiser before Êxodo Mortuoso tips fuel directly into the fire, exploding into blastbeats and meaty chug. A particular highlight can be found on this track, as IMMOLATION shredder Bob Vigna contributes a mightily slick solo to the mix.
Epicédio Madrigaz keeps the tempo firmly in the “tooth-rattling” bracket, but does so with fantastic levels of precision. This is far from your crusty, sloppy mess of bad riffs that can so often constitute a grindcore record – HOLOCAUSTO CANIBAL are clearly veterans of the craft. This is sharply apparent in Sinaxe Do Sepúlcro Tafófobo, as one of the telling factors of what makes for decent grind is whether or not the band can still write and play decent riffs in a lower tempo; see the aforementioned track’s outro and the mid-section of Ancestrais Ritos Hipóxicos for confirmation.
HOLOCAUSTO CANIBAL can still very definitely crack skulls at high speed though, which they demonstrate with aplomb throughout Crueza Ferina. Tracks like Apresto Executório and Congregação Da Flama Felídea are veritable nailbombs of jagged riffs and lightning-fast blasts, whereas Aniquilação Suídea makes for a driving salvo of taut, sinewy D-beats.
As we ramp up from the album’s midriff to its closing moments, we are subjected to some enormously fun moments of unbridled savagery. Possibly the most enjoyable is the trifecta of Anátemas Nefandos, Esquartejado Em Segundos and Prenúncios Da Vingança Cavicórnea, which, while only making up two minutes and 23 seconds of the album’s runtime, hit like a rain of blows from the cudgels of an angry mob.
The outro contains some of Crueza Ferina’s best material, ranging from the unbelievably groovy Campas Do Negro Breu to the muscular pit bruiser that is Sortilégio Da Perversão, via the battering grate of Quérulo Dos Finados. It’s every stripe of grind mashed together into a rank, bloodsoaked mesh of mean riffs, bludgeoning rhythm and murderous intent. Clocking in at just over half an hour, it’s clear that HOLOCAUSTO CANIBAL take the old adage about always leaving your audience wanting more very seriously indeed.
Overall, HOLOCAUSTO CANIBAL have produced a perfectly serviceable chunk of blistering, politically-charged grind. The music is strong enough to speak for itself and does not rely on the message to put across the murderous, grating horror of its subject matter. It’s hardly reinventing the wheel, but it’s certainly a fun revisiting of what makes the grindcore genre so much fun.
Rating: 7/10
Crueza Ferina is out now via Selfmadegod Records.
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