Originally released in July of this year, Last Blood’s debut EP Escárnio is quite brief, coming in at less than 15 minutes, but manages to still be quite brutal. Formed officially in September 2021, Last Blood is a groove metal/crust punk/hardcore band composed of veterans of the Ceará (Brazilian state) metal scene. Escárnio was released independently.
The EP’s first track and leading single “Midas às Avessas” starts the release off strong, with notes of extreme metal mixed in with signature elements of hardcore and crust punk, such as screamed vocals and guitars that feel like a wall of sound. Something quite prevalent in not only this track but also the rest of the EP are the strong and socially charged lyrics. The following track, “Escória”, when translated, talks a lot about corruption of the people in power and also about how said corruption is a “addiction lasting for millenia”.
“Medo Corrosivo” and “Lama Fora do Esgoto” drive the metal influences of the band down farther, as they are clearly more groove metal-esque, having more, groovy, for lack of a better term, riffs and more syncopated drums. This sentiment is more or less followed for the rest of the release, with crust punk and hardcore elements also managing to shine through in other tracks such as “Agressão”.
One of the major factors which holds this release back is its duration, clocking in at only 13 minutes. With such a short duration, many of the sonic and lyrical concepts in the songs don’t really feel 100% complete, don’t really feel as if they have been fully explored. Even with that in mind, Last Blood is a band full of potential, and that with some slight adjustments could produce some top-notch sounds in the future.
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Escárnio is out now
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