Violator Scenarios Of Brutality LP Municipal Waste kreator exodus exodus DRI SOD

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Brand new LP. Sealed.
VIOLATOR Scenarios of Brutality LP SPLATTER
High Roller Records, reissue 2024, swamp green/ blue jay splatter vinyl, ltd 300, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, 4 page insert Mastered for vinyl by Christoph Brandes at Iguana Studios
Pedro "Poney Ret" Arcanjo - Vocals, Bass Marcio Cambito - Guitars Capaça - Guitars Batera - Drums
01 Echoes of Silence 02 Endless Tyrannies 03 Dead to This World 04 Respect Existence or Expect Resistance 05 Waiting to Exhale 06 Death Descends (Upon This World) 07 Colors of Hate 08 No Place for the Cross 09 Unstoppable Slaughter
Founded in Brazil’s capital Brasília in 2002, Violator set out to become one of the figureheads of the post-millennial new wave of old-school thrash metal. The four-piece was born out of the members’ shared love of genre-defining acts from the scene’s golden era in the 1980s, blending the unrelenting early style of the pioneers from their country (Sepultura, Korzus) with the American tradition (genre titans Exodus in particular) and a pinch of hardcore crossover. High Roller Records are proud to reissue four key releases of the group on vinyl, with “Violent Mosh” marking their first professional effort on Brazilian label Kill Again Records in 2004. After one demo and four-way split, the six-track EP set the tone for what was to come two years later on Violator’s debut album “ Chemical Assault”, both titles capturing the energetic live shows they played both on their own as well as supporting international greats such as Destruction. Speaking of which, the 2010 “Annihilation Process” EP saw singer/bassist Pedro Arcanjo move beyond vocal impersonations of the Germans’ front man Schmier or Kreator’s Mille, just as the music got more mature, with songs like the elaborate ‘Futurephobia’ displaying potential in heaps. Making good on this promise, the band’s second full-length “Scenarios of Brutality” (2013) saw their by now signature sound take full effect, exuding the air of a new-time genre classic. Riff-heavy at an intense pace, credibly expressing anger and fury through established themes, ranging from the sociopolitical conscious and doom-mongering to plain thrash self-referentiality and boasting raw yet powerful productions, these four records are most vital additions to the genre canon – Let the Violation Begin!
Violator from Brazil’s capital Brasilia formed in early 2002. Having played together since 1999, the four guys set out to be quite different from the bands around back then, as vocalist and bassist Pedro “Poney” explains: “At the time we were really fed up with the metal scene in our city and in our country, because everything seemed so commercially driven, fake or forced, and we wanted to play a music that was more honest, real, visceral and spontaneous. We found that on old thrash albums we got from used record stores.” After having released a couple of splits, demos and EPs as well as two full-length albums, which were all warmly welcomed in the more informed circles, Violator are now going to put out their third proper album via High Roller Records. Pedro explains what we can expect from “Scenarios of Brutality”: “I think Scenarios of Brutality shows a more mature Violator. The songs are more complex, they are a product of intense work and explore some aspects of thrash that we never included before.” Violator had a lot of time to mature and develop their own way of playing thrash. For eleven years, the restless bunch put all their skills and experiences in making the most intense, aggressive and violent songs one could possibly write. In that sense, “Scenarios of Brutality” is a logical continuation of its two predecessors; it’s “pure thrash made with heart.” But Violator put even more effort into making the album as good as possible: The band went all the way from Brazil to have “Scenarios of Brutality” recorded, mixed and mastered at Stage One Studio at Borgentreich. On top of that, it was produced by Andy Classen. How did Pedro like the experience of recording in Germany and working with him? “Working with Andy was great. Apart from being a great and easy-going guy, Andy really knows everything about making a great thrash record. He was really dedicated – German work ethics really caught our Brazilian lazy asses (laughs) and we are totally happy with the sound he managed to extract from our music. We wanted a good sound for our music, but with the mess and the energy of old metal albums. That’s what we tried to do.” Thrash was and is still dominated by the big names, but when it comes to name the most important musical influences, Violator’s Pedro is very specific: “As a thrash-nerd, I guess our biggest musical influences are late 80’s records of more intense and brutal bands like Sepultura, Kreator, Sacrifice, Dark Angel, Gammacide and Slayer. Of course we love thrash from all over the world in the most different varieties – from Heathen to Sodom, but those faster bands with complex riffs and picks (but very, very far from anything “prog”) were most important for us.” Over in Brazil, the big thrash revival has undergone the same inevitable decline as in these parts. Up to 2007, 2008, bands kept popping up and people started playing thrash who had not done so before. Now the wave is retreating, and Pedro welcomes this development, even though he has nothing against experimenting with several kinds of music himself: “I think this is a good opportunity for bands like Violator to prove that this 'thrash revival' wasn’t just another hype. For us, clearly it’s not. We’ve being doing this passionately long before this phenomenon started, and I’m pretty sure we will continue playing thrash even if nobody cares, 'cause we don’t care if anyone cares.” Violator always regarded themselves as a part of the underground network: “We always enjoyed going to concerts, getting to know bands, and promote and help to organize concerts in our city, so we started playing a lot in our local scene, because we were an active part of it. You know, as Lethal Aggression liked to say ‘If you wanna have a scene, than you gotta make a scene’.” On their facebook page, Violator state they are “not your typical thrash metal band.” What is it that sets them apart from other thrash bands? “Well, that was written by a journalist friend of ours, but I guess what he means is that we have a DIY approach to our band, rejecting big labels' contracts, writing political songs, trying to keep everything as simple as we can, not trying to be ‘at the top’, but on the contrary, to destroy this notion of ‘top and bottom’ in the underground, promoting equal relations between band and audience, as one. I don’t know if this set us apart from the other thrash bands, for me that is what thrash should be.” What clearly does set them apart is this: Violator do not only play angry songs with violent themes as most of their cousins from cosy First World countries do – coming from a city which faces troubles most of don’t even face in our worst nightmares, they know exactly what they are talking about: “It’s impossible to ignore all the brutality that surrounds us. So, in the Scenarios of Brutality album there is a short text we wrote to accompany the lyrics. It explains the whole concept of the album. Each song is inspired by stories of violence, abuse and oppression. These are stories of pain, but also of opposition and reaction. There are songs about the indigenous massacre, women’s rights, homeless people, slave work, racism…. Over time, we've become desensitized to these stories, and the record is a reminder never to forget what’s going on around us.” To convey their message more impressively, Violator also included samples from speeches held by radical human rights activist Malcolm X, one of them being "Anytime you beg another man to set you free, you will never be free. Freedom is something you have to do for yourself “. What is it they want to emphasize by using this sample? “Malcom X is an inspiration to anyone who thinks about resistance and liberty. He also had great thoughts about self-care and the use of violence. Both are things I think are still very important to discuss nowadays. As a record that really wants to talk about the 'real' world, we thought the use of samples from a real speech instead of a line from some movie would add a lot of strength to the record." Musing over my question if thrash in general should be a lot more political than it is today, Pedro remains indecisive: “I don’t think it’s a matter of ‘should’; empathy and solidarity are nothing you can force people to feel, but I guess we could have a much more political scene than we have nowadays. I guess a lot of things would have to change for this to happen. The first thing would be not to see underground music just as a commodity in the capitalist system (as most of record labels see it), but as a counterculture art from specific communities with their own views of the world. These songs will not change the world, but they already have changed my view of the world and could change a lot more.” Yet even though “Scenarios of Brutality” will probably not change the world, it already received very positive feedback from far and wide. Asked for any negative reactions, Pedro laughs: “The only bad reviews I have read so far complain about the record being “too fast”, too “old school” and too “straight forward” – well, those are all great compliments for a thrash metal album, I believe.” Too true!
The 2013 album Scenarios of Brutality by the Brazilian thrashers Violator is an absolutely relentless, high-octane monument to pure, aggressive Old School Thrash Metal. Following in the tradition of the fiercely independent and politically charged South American and Teutonic scenes, this third full-length album is a non-stop assault of lightning-fast speed, razor-sharp riffing, and a defiant anti-establishment message. Tracks like "Respect Existence or Expect Resistance" showcase the band's trademark ferocious energy and manic, snarling vocals over a backdrop of complex yet hook-driven guitar work and relentless double-bass drumming. Known for their uncompromising dedication to the underground and their raw, powerful live show intensity, Violator masterfully fuses the brutality of early death metal-tinged thrash (often compared to Sepultura's early years) with the technical precision of the Bay Area and the sheer aggression of German legends. The album is a vital piece of the thrash metal revival movement, delivering nine tracks of utterly unadulterated, hardcore-influenced, no-frills thrash that proudly carries the banner of total thrash with a loud, abrasive, and politically aware voice.
50 Similar Artists This list focuses on bands from the Old School Thrash Metal scene (both classic and revival) that share VIOLATOR's fast, aggressive, and often brutal sound, particularly those with a leaning towards speed, punk, or a death metal edge.
Municipal Waste
Kreator
Sepultura (Beneath the Remains / Arise)
Sodom
Toxic Holocaust
Gama Bomb
Havok
Vio-lence
Warbringer
Demolition Hammer
Slayer (Reign in Blood)
Death Angel
Sacrifice
Tankard
Crisix
Destruction
Evil Invaders
Enforced
Midnight
Death (Scream Bloody Gore)
Nervosa
Lich King
Devastation (Texas)
Whiplash
Coroner (R.I.P.)
Territory
Füled By Fire
Infernäl Mäjesty
Power Trip
Bio-Cancer
Skeletonwitch
Dark Angel
Hellripper
Angelus Apatrida
Exodus (Bonded by Blood)
Morbid Saint
Testament (The Gathering)
Hypnosia
Iron Reagan
Possessed
Antichrist
Razor
Hirax
Evile
Flotsam and Jetsam (Doomsday for the Deceiver)
Sadus
Artillery (By Inheritance)
Condor
Dr. Living Dead!
Bonded By Blood ____
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