For our final look at Brazilian Metal I have selected a band who only had two EPs and one album, but who, unlike any of the others featured, are described as “traditional Heavy Metal”. They were formed in 1982, as the NWOBHM was sweeping across Britain and remodelling what we knew of as Heavy Metal, and though they seem to have had some lineup and name changes over the years they appear still to be listed as active. Their only album came out in 1997, with thirteen tracks, though the last six were all instrumentals oddly, and as I can’t find anything else on them we’re going with this, their first EP and therefore their debut recording.
A ferro e fogo --- Harppia --- 1985 (Baratos Afins)
Having no knowledge of Portuguese and the very barest Spanish, I can only guess at titles but I think the name of the band is too close to the Harpies of Greek legend to be coincidental, and the title of the album looks to be something along the lines of “From metal to fire” or “Metal through fire” or something like that. Or maybe “Forged in metal”? Like our previous friends Stress, they sing all their material in their native language. There are only six tracks on this EP, two of which are instrumentals, but even at that, the ratio is better than it is on their only album.
“Harpago” opens proceedings, and it’s one of those two instrumentals, with nice harmony guitars, a slow, measured drumbeat and then a sort of “Lightning to the nations” feel to the melody. It of course takes a double guitar lineup to get this sort of sound, and Marcos Patriota accompanies Helcio Aguirra, who sadly died this year. It’s a short intro to the EP, and then we’re heading into “Salem (A cidade das bruxas)” where we hear the vocalist, Jack Santiago, for the first time. He’s not bad, but to be fair he’s nothing terribly special. Good rocking song, trips along nicely on a fast guitar beat with the rhythm section of Tibiero Correa on drums and Ricardo Ravache on bass keeping the line nice and steady. Next up is “Naufrago”, a slower, crunchier piece with a sort of chugalong rhythm, and something more approaching a hook in the melody.
Good, very NWOBHM-style solo begins but then seems to be pared back, however it does take off a few moments later. It’s not quite as fretburning as I would have preferred, though. The title track starts on a kind of Sabbathesque guitar but quickly kicks up into a much faster vibe, though I have to admit the more I hear Santiago sing the less I like him. I’m not sure whether it’s a case of bad production or lack of talent, but he really does sound very tinny and one-dimensional. The rest of the music sounds good though, so maybe he’s just the weak link in the chain? Decent solo from the two guys that really pulls the song along, as well as some fine stickswork from Correa.
“Incitatus” is the other instrumental, a mid-paced, marching-along tempo driven on both Patriota and Aguirra’s axe histrionics, then we close on “Asas cortadas” with a reasonably fast-paced rhythm and again some good NWOBHM-style guitar. Sort of reminds me of really early Tygers of Pan-Tang, like around the “Wild cat” era, before they got too AOR and poppy.
TRACKLISTING
1. Harpago
2. Salem (A cidade das bruxas)
3. Naufrago
4. A ferro e fogo
5. Incitatus
6. Asas cortadas
What have I to say about Harppia in the end? Not much. They’re a pretty bog-standard traditional metal band with no real standout points, a below-par singer and nothing much interesting in the music, well played though it is. Even the instrumentals seem copied from the likes of Maiden et al. Very derivative, very formulaic, very boring. A sad end to my trip across the ocean.
Next week I’m heading back northeast to sample the delights of German Metal, and see what Europe has to offer. Must dash! The boat is getting ready to leave. See you on Friday!