Cavalera: Morbid Visions

Cavalera re-recordings part 2: Electric Boogaloo! I previously reviewed the band's re-recording of their debut EP, Bestial Devastation, and I quite enjoyed it. It was fairly rudimentary and one note for the most part, but it had plenty of intensity and gumption which made it an enjoyable experience. Morbid Visions is next, and this was Sepultura's first full length LP. "Full length" being a still fairly short 37 minutes. Regardless, this was the first beefy slab of metal the youngsters from Brazil came out with all the way back in 1986. The Cavaleras have given Morbid Visions a modern facelift, and it works just as well as the EP before it.

Morbid Visions definitely teeters closer to thrash than its predecessor, which depending on your preference could be a good or bad thing. The songs' durations are slightly longer on average as well, and I'd say that the slight genre shift to riffy thrash can accommodate the added minute or so on each track pretty damn well. While there's a loss of some of the evil brutality, the variety in the riffs and songwriting alludes to what Sepultura would become during their heyday. That said, it's still fairly raw and gnarly, even with the re-recorded sheen. It sounds like Max and Igor didn't want to completely alter the vibe from the original releases, because there's definitely some noticeable early/cheap recording nods here and there. Buzzsaw rhythm guitars and vocals drenched in reverb, in particular.

Even though this is a more 'mature' release than Bestial Devastation, this is still some pretty raw and gnarly extreme metal. While this is undoubtedly a pretty fast album overall there's still some variation to be had. The thrashing beatdowns of "Troops of Doom" and "Crucifixion" are textbook barn burners that still have enough variety to cut through the muck and mire of this particular slab of South American devil worship. New (using older riffs) track "Burn the Dead" may actually be the most brutal and unforgiving track here, which is comical considering it out-muscles songs that are from the band's primordial era. It's a 2 minute tornado of fire that one must assume was a statement from the guys that they are still the same nucleus that brought you these albums way back when.

Morbid Visions is just as good an effort in re-recording as Bestial Devastation is. As stated in the review for the latter, whether or not you deem this as something worth the effort is going to be a matter of taste. That said, if you are a fan of the originals I can't imagine it wouldn't be worth at least a spin or two just for the kicks of hearing everything with a modern delivery. For someone like me, I'm just grateful these exist to give me a more accessible gateway to some kick-ass songs.

Tracklist:
1. Morbid Visions
2. Mayhem
3. Troops of Doom
4. War
5. Crucifixion
6. Show Me the Wrath
7. Funeral Rites
8. Empire of the Damned
9. Burn the Dead

Added: July 27th 2023
Reviewer: Brandon Miles
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
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Language: english

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