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░█▒█ Artist ■ Vulcano █▒█░
░ █▒█ Album ■ Five Skulls and One Chalice █▒█ ░
░█░█ Year ■ 2009 █░█░
█░█ Release Date ■ 2010-09-11 █░█
█░█ Genre ■ Thrash Metal █░█
█ █ Label ■ Cogumelo Records █ █
█░█ Source ■ CD █░█
█ █ Type ■ Album █ █
█ █ Encoder ■ LAME v3.97 -V2 --vbr-new █ █
█░█ Quality ■ VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █░█
█ █ █ █
█ █ █ █
█ █ Five years and another album in the millennium later and █ █
█ █ Vulcano are at it this time with bringing back the █ █
█ █ energetic days of yore with speed/thrash metal with a tinge █ █
█ █ of death. 'Five Skulls and One Chalice' is a grab-bag of a █ █
█ █ middling chunk of the '80s along the lines of Venom, █ █
█ █ Slayer, Dark Angel, Razor, Exciter, Exodus and highlights █ █
█ █ of other adventurous bands at the time and just before █ █
█ █ Vulcano themselves started. █ █
█ █ While their last return of an album added some nineties █ █
█ █ death metal influences with their thrash playing, this is █ █
█ █ mostly just eighties inspired. The speed mainly peaks at an █ █
█ █ aggressive, every-other-click beat, and on occasion they █ █
█ █ take it down a few pegs and play at tempered mid-range █ █
█ █ momentums. The vocals offer a fluctuating hoarseness: the █ █
█ █ kind that has a cold, infects the other band members and █ █
█ █ can also reach out to the listeners with its devastating █ █
█ █ viral strain. The guitars are heavy centered on these █ █
█ █ techniques: distinctive progressions that fall in the range █ █
█ █ of anything from classic speed metal like Accept's █ █
█ █ 'Restless and Wild' to harder hitting thrash like Slayer's █ █
█ █ 'Reign in Blood,' of course blended with their own █ █
█ █ interpretations and added Brazilian touches. They spout █ █
█ █ emulated solos that would have enthusiastically blared from █ █
█ █ LP players and tape decks in the mid-'80s era: heavily █ █
█ █ reverbed, dive bomb crazy, whammy insaneùand with their █ █
█ █ volume raised when they're shredding overtop, it adds some █ █
█ █ needed change and variation when the rhythm might start to █ █
█ █ overcook. The medium tone and distortion on the guitars is █ █
█ █ what seals the deal with sounding like it ripped through a █ █
█ █ time warp from that period. If this wasn't blended with █ █
█ █ speed metal I would say that a thicker or burlier guitar █ █
█ █ tone would have fit better as some of the thrash flavored █ █
█ █ ones could have used more bulk; rough and dirty sounding: █ █
█ █ yes, massive and crushing: no. Then again I can imagine █ █
█ █ they were thinking if not, it would have been like watching █ █
█ █ a movie reminiscing that generation without the tight and █ █
█ █ torn jeans (for extra breathing room), short cut bangs with █ █
█ █ long hair (to make headbanging less eye-bothersome), or █ █
█ █ even hi-top basketball shoes (that even non-basketball █ █
█ █ playing folks can participate with). Its essence could have █ █
█ █ been contaminated without all of those particular, some █ █
█ █ would by now say "customary," characteristics; it is what █ █
█ █ it is, was what it was. █ █
█ █ You can still tell it's Angel vocalizing but his █ █
█ █ performance is altered in some ways compared to the last █ █
█ █ album, though not all for the better. When he gets going █ █
█ █ Angel is a constant vocalist, one who continually breathes █ █
█ █ into the microphone. While I think this has moments that █ █
█ █ can work for him here, it can also be an experience that █ █
█ █ resembles resisting an itch: the more you think about it, █ █
█ █ all you can do is concentrate on it or think how much of a █ █
█ █ relief it would be to fix the situation by simply █ █
█ █ scratching at it or using Zen to block it out. This comes █ █
█ █ about when he repeats certain choruses ad nauseam or when █ █
█ █ he uses a higher tone. The first track sounds pretty █ █
█ █ irritating with both aspects and wasn't the greatest way to █ █
█ █ open up the album. Since he fluctuates and slightly changes █ █
█ █ his vocal style around during the span of the recordings █ █
█ █ with partial shouts and slightly deeper tones, these just █ █
█ █ mentioned aspects come about here and there. Yet again, it █ █
█ █ could partly be the fault of where they're placed in the █ █
█ █ mix. For instance, he might dominate a riff that should █ █
█ █ have been played side by side instead of that same riff █ █
█ █ trailing his, in some cases unimposing, shadow. And the █ █
█ █ mixing of the guitars can share some of the blame as well, █ █
█ █ where its tone and loudness shifts depending on the █ █
█ █ particular track: sometimes hidden, sometimes prominent; it █ █
█ █ could be them wanting to go for a spontaneous or free feel, █ █
█ █ like a faint DIY punk ideology where it doesn't come across █ █
█ █ as hampered down or too manipulated, except this sounds █ █
█ █ like a decent studio where the production was purposely █ █
█ █ roughened up. I've listened to this a bunch of times by now █ █
█ █ and have gotten somewhat used to his vocals since other █ █
█ █ aspects of their music will persuade me to keep pumping my █ █
█ █ fist and banging my head. Though this is disappointing █ █
█ █ compared to what he's done on 'Live,' 'Bloody Vengeance,' █ █
█ █ and even the last full length 'Tales from the Black Book.' █ █
█ █ Since his methods are loose and his way of projecting █ █
█ █ himself is more unorthodox, I can reason that it would be █ █
█ █ unintentional for him to easily step out of his former self █ █
█ █ without realizing it. Even though he has a vocal style █ █
█ █ unlike any other, there are times here where he doesn't █ █
█ █ seem master of his domain; like he's playing catch up, █ █
█ █ instead of being right on top of a certain section. Close █ █
█ █ enough, but not always there excelling at it. █ █
█ █ With some recordings you're constantly nodding in █ █
█ █ agreement, being thoroughly satisfied as it unfolds into █ █
█ █ your ears, and nothing's worse than the last note suddenly █ █
█ █ being struck and the experience prematurely dying, causing █ █
█ █ most of us to end up cursing the band in vain for more. To █ █
█ █ about-face that sentiment, with others it can feel a couple █ █
█ █ of songs too long. 'Five Skulls and One Chalice' went over █ █
█ █ its mark with some pieces that feel slightly stretched and █ █
█ █ where its validity is double validated. Like a buddy in a █ █
█ █ drunken stupor, besides telling you he loooves you, his █ █
█ █ mind gets caught in a loop and repeats or goes beyond his █ █
█ █ point. Though Vulcano does have capable moments that bring █ █
█ █ back distinctly '80s sounding music as they were right █ █
█ █ there doing it at the pivotal growth of certain styles and █ █
█ █ techniques incorporating it with their own individualistic █ █
█ █ Brazilian nature. And with their mind-set here, I got to █ █
█ █ respect them in their older age, since Vulcano didn't █ █
█ █ switch up their ideologies for life's little struggles █ █
█ █ where other bands began to soften up as the years stacked █ █
█ █ on. I think they would have benefited from some more stand █ █
█ █ out musical characteristics that would urge a listener to █ █
█ █ come back to it or more areas that would make your ears █ █
█ █ perk up; condensing certain sections could have helped also █ █
█ █ to bring out the best of the best since this does have █ █
█ █ worthy moments but not an onward rush of them. They still █ █
█ █ manage to add some streaks of color to black and white █ █
█ █ pictures that have been traced dozens of times over, and █ █
█ █ although 'Five Skulls and One Chalice' isn't essential █ █
█ █ enough to bump the classics off your shelves, the music can █ █
█ █ be rough, dark, nostalgic and to certain degrees █ █
█ █ entertaining. █ █
█ █ █ █
█░█ █░█
█ █ 1. Messenger from Hell 3:43 █ █
█ █ 2. Hide Your Hate 2:40 █ █
█ █ 3. The Harvest 2:53 █ █
█ █ 4. Holocaust (The Second Assault) 4:13 █ █
█ █ 5. Five Skulls and One Chalice 4:27 █ █
█ █ 6. Witchcraft Act 3:08 █ █
█ █ 7. The Seventh Seal 3:32 █ █
█ █ 8. Minister 3:24 █ █
█ █ 9. Steed of Steel 2:46 █ █
█ █ 10. Riding in Hell 3:26 █ █
█ █ 11. Legioes Satanicas 5:02 █ █
█ █ 39:14 █ █
█░█░ █░█░
█░█░ █░█░
█░█▒ + G R a v e W i s h + █░█▒
░█▒█▒ - est.2000 - ░█▒█▒
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