Sarcófago "I.N.R.I." Cogumelo Records (1987)

This is indeed my favorite black metal album of all time, although it is quite a shame the bands later releases suffered that true raw and classic feeling this released had. This release has had as much of an impact on black metal as early releases by other 80's black/thrash bands such as early Bathory and early Sodom. Everything about this album is pure evil, the obscure "vomits", the dirty guitar riffs, the over the top blast beats and to much malignant sound in this line up: Antichrist in vocals, the master DD Crazy in drums, Incubus in bass and Butcher in the guitars... this is epic man! is that guys beating the shit out of his kit. The vocals surprisingly vary a lot, from low growls, to your average black metal vocals, and to ultra guttural voice effects that perhaps were borrowed on Beherit's "Drawing Down the Moon" release. 

There is indeed a big german thrash influence that can be found on this release, from acts like Sodom and Kreator, infact the riffs on this album are more thrashy than they are black metal. But its satanic atmosphere and lyrics make up for it. Speaking of the lyrics, I really do not think their vocalist/song writer Wagner knew english during this release, no, it seems as if they simply translated every word from portugese to english, the majority of the words spoken are in fact pronounced entirely wrong but this can be forgiven as the band comes from Brazil. I am not exactly sure about the original vynil release, but for the first 1987 via Cogumelo Records release of this album, the sound is very good, the guitars do not sound static, the voices are not muffled and bass can actually be heard. This is infact a very raw release and would be most enjoyed by any fan of black, thrash or death metal. Any fan of old extreme acts such as old Beherit, early Sodom, early Bathory, early Sepultura, Blasphemy, and Possessed should own this album.

Side A - Side of Ascenssion

1. Satanic Lust

2. Desecration of Virgin

3. Nightmare

4. I.N.R.I.

Side B - Side of Fall

5. Christ's Death

6. Satanas

7. Ready to Fuck

8. Deathrash

9. The Last Slaughter

Sarcofago's "I.N.R.I." is considered a Black metal classic for obvious reasons. It made everything else seem like pale imitations and it called bands out due to their wimpiness. Sarcofago in their very early days were already a cult act who were pushing boundaries with their demos and appearance on Cogumelo's Warfare Noise I compilation. Alongside fellow up and-coming band Sepultura, Mutilator, and Vulcano who had already released the godly first ever South American black metal album "Bloody Vengeance," Sarcofago pulled out all the stops and injected an unholy dosage of breakneck speed to the already fast-evolving Black metal scene, and not just in South America but worldwide. The only other band that was playing anything as extreme as this were England's grindcore bastard song Napalm Death. That should give you an idea on how groundbreaking this album is. 

Not only was the music extreme but so was their image. Sarcofago took the standard spikes and leather and made it even more demonic. Sarcofago were also the first band to properly use what is now modern-day corpsepaint. King Diamond, Celtic Frost, Bathory and early Slayer had sewn the seeds of the macabre facial paint; Sarcofago made it fucking evil. Sarcofago even started the trend of black metal fans standing around in the graveyard looking goofy, but Sarcofago made it look like they were for fucking real. Take Destruction's look on the first Destruction E.P "Sentence of Death," put it on steroids and that's what you get. The drummer DD Crazy with hi two foot high mohawk, corpsepaint and bullet belts is possibly the coolest fucking thing I have seen on an album cover. Also as a trivial note, this is the band Mayhem's guitarist said he wanted every band to sound and look like.

For the most part, Sarcofago's music could be described as crude and ugly. Wagner Antichrist's vocals are low and demonic-sounding without it sounding corny and a few high falsettos. Guitars sound like a chainsaw with the throttle on full blast. Drummer D.D. Crazy...how the fuck is he playing THAT fast? The drums are so fast it will induce a few dizzy spells. There's little to no bass on this album which actually fits perfectly. The sound production is probably the ugliest there is next to Beherit's "The Oath of Black Blood."

I really can't say there is a bad song on here, just some will be stuck in your head for years to come; "Nightmare," "Satanic Lust," "Desecration Of Virgin," "Deathrash," "Ready To Fuck," and "Christ's Death" will have any fan of black metal or extreme metal in general salivating and going absolutely fucking nuts.

P.S. I don't think anyone has mentioned this, but if you get your hands on "I.N.R.I." try to get the original orange cover or if you are a die-hard vinyl collector, try getting the Nuclear War Now Productions picture disc. Stay away from the shitty Pavement Music release where they completely omit the classic graveyard photo for some shitty stock photo and even misplaced track listing.

Here a few link´s album "I.N.R.I." from masters Sarcófago. 

Hails SARCOFAGO!!!!