Year of release: 2019
Label: Nuclear War Now! Records
Rating: 8,3 / 10
This may surprise someone, but the fathers of the Brazilian evil Thrash Metal, who trodden the path for the first Black Metal hordes, are still alive. More precisely, they were alive until last year. The band was closed anyway, but the final stage of its history turned out to be wonderful, returning the good name to HOLOCAUSTO.
As you know, HOLOCAUSTO made their name in 1986 with the help of the legendary split “Warfare Noise I”, where they've been presented along with MUTILATOR, SARCÓFAGO and CHAKAL. Then came the world-famous "Campo de Extermínio" that made SEPULTURA albums, for example, seem to be unbearably polished Christmas toys. Alas, instead of further working in this direction, the Brazilians started flirting with some kind of crossover, after a couple of years they got to industrial diarrhea, and as a result, fled, ashamed. The return to form began in 2005 - the album “De Volta ao Front” was an exemplary comeback, but, unfortunately, genuinely old-school albums were not that trendy at the time. HOLOCAUSTO again went into the shadows, however, in 2016, returning to almost the original line-up, they released the killer EP “War Metal Massacre”, and then, having restored the line-up of "Campo...", era, they recorded an excellent demo “Guerra Total” and “Diário de Guerra”, the last album, that was released after the band split-up.
“Diário de Guerra” is an almost flawless example of primitive necrotic trash metal. Its modern origin cannot be determined by eye or by acute hearing. It was recorded in artisanal conditions on some ancient recorder, designed exactly like in the 80's, played sloppy and sung ugly. The compositions on it possess the grace of a jackhammer. It stinks with sweat, blood and gunpowder. “Technical” curly-haired boys in white sneakers, singing about social problems from the cozy houses of their rich parents, can go fuck themselves. You won’t make a bullet from their cardboard posters. “Diário de Guerra” - the real metal of war; loud, dirty, with a nasty character. Its path is clear: a machine gun in hands, a gas mask on face, a battle until the complete and final destruction of the enemy. It’s even a pity that HOLOCAUSTO no longer use swastikas in their design, they would have been just right.
Songs at “Diário de Guerra” are easy to imagine if you've ever listened to the old Brazilian thrash - SARCÓFAGO, for example. A barbaric beat, primitive guitar massacre, vocalist spits out words one at a time, exhaling all the air from the lungs. For some reason, the first half of the album worked out better. Starting from the title track, the songs become somehow groovy, less mobile. Perhaps this is a concept of some sort. Be that as it may, the album is a success. Genuine energy (from pre-retirement age men!) and an underground spirit atone for all shortcomings. The one and only “Diário de Guerra” worth more than all useless shit from such figures as TESTAMENT or OVERKILL combined.
English (UK) 
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