Three years after releasing their debut album Demonocidio, Antidemon is back for round two with Anillo de Fuego. In English the album is translated Ring of Fire. Antidemon has often been labeled "death punk". However, despite the punk/hardcore influence, I don't realistically see those type of fans getting into this record. The driving force behind Antidemon is death metal and the death metal side of the band greatly overshadows all other influences. So basically, where most "core" bands tend to attract hardcore fans, this band will most likely reach the people on the other side of the fence...metal fans.
Antidemon shows more maturity as a band on this disc. The songs show a consistency and aggressiveness here that sets them apart from many in the Brazilian metal scene. Every song here is quality stuff, save for the lame intro. The title track intro is basically slow throughout with death vocals over the top. Speaking of vocals, you know how some people who know nothing about death metal always say that the vocalists sound like someone belching? Well, with this band they may be right! The vocals are very deep and very "belchy". Back to the songs...when the first two songs "Insanos Condenados" and "Velas Negras" kick in, all has been forgiven. The former finishes with a barrage of blasting while the latter kicks in ala Paramaecium's "Injudical" in the second half of the song. This is probably my favorite part on the CD. "Bichos Asesinos" reminds me a little of the defunct band Goredeath in the way the riffs are played. The song with the biggest punk/hardcore influence is "Viaje".
The production could stand some improvement as the sound is pretty low, but once you crank it the sound is pretty powerful...if that makes sense. The artwork and packaging are very nicely done with tons of band photos and lyrics in Spanish and English. The translation to English can be a little rough though. "Bichos Asesinos" for instance....the band translates it "Murder Animals". This sounds like a song that would get the animal rights activists enraged. However, it will instead enrage the abortion rights activists as it's against abortion.
This short 24 minute disc has a long way to go to match up with the giants in the scene, but it packs a pretty powerful punch that should garner quite a few fans. You should be able to pick this disc up at blastbeats.com. (Review by Matt)
