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Style: black metal, thrash
Label: Voice Music
Year: 2003
Home: Sau Paolo, Brazil
Members: Vitor Rodrigues ~ vocals
Maurício Nogueira ~ guitar
Castor ~ bass, b. vocals
Amílcar Christófaro ~ drums
I willingly confess to having trouble with music where I can't understand what's being sung, but this band makes up for this by having engaging vocals. There's a deep throated muddy growl & a second high pitched voice to counter it. This combination might bring to mind Lacuna Coil, but Torture Squad brings their own particular personality to it. Its some of the best growling I've heard. To untrained ears a growl is a growl, but like any form of singing to do it well requires control of the voice & the ability to vary the tone, & there is indeed good & bad deep throat singing. If you want to learn how to growl properly check out Pandemonium. I'd put this up there with Arch Angel. Actually, if you want some hints on how to play thrash check out Pandemonium for that, too. No reason to focus only on the singer when this is a stellar release across the board. This is hardcore head-banging music with attractive rhythms & regular rhythmic changes to show a sense of variety within each song. Though, the songs do have a tendency to sound alike, even to the point where you can't tell where one ends & the other begins, but with the rhythmic changes within each you're not bound to get bored. Further, the drumming doesn't lean on constant double bass, which is often the most annoying thing I find with a band. That may push the music, but it doesn't add any personality. These guys let their Metallica influence breathe through their unforgettable arrangements. Speaking of unforgettable arrangements, be forewarned: there's a spooky acoustic instrumental with spooky graveyard sounds that'll come out of nowhere, but is far from a distraction. One Brazilian magazine called this the greatest Brazilian metal album. I haven't heard much Brazilian metal, but so far I'm sold.
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