By Albert Mansour
Attomica is a remarkable thrash metal Brazilian band that has never been discovered up here in North America and sadly never had a real good chance for success on the international stage. I would like to shine the spotlight on this fine thrash metal band from Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil today. Here are my thoughts on their discography.
Attomica – Attomica (Equinox Records) 1987
Their debut album, released in 1987, is probably the heaviest thrash album around from that era, and it stands up against many of the thrash greats. Band line-up here is Pyda Rod: Guitars, Andre Rod: Bass, João Paulo Francis: Guitars, Laerte Perr: Vocals and Mario Sanefuji: Drums. I like singer Laerte Perr a lot; he can vary between the almost-death growls of Sodom and Slayer and the more black and thrash metal styled vocals of thrash bands like Forbidden. On this album they were the heaviest Brazilian thrash band around. Their self-titled debut is raw, aggressive and still has that razor edge after all these years.
Attomica – Limits Of Insanity (Cogumelo Records) 1989
This was their second release and my twin brother (Victor Mansour) and I had the opportunity to work side by side with Attomica on it, writing all the lyrics to this album. While their lead vocalist Laerte Perr left the band to pursuit his professional field, they had rehearsed many of the songs with a new front man Fábio Moreira (Ex-THOR Brazil). Fabio did the artwork on the front cover of Limits of Insanity but could not continue to record the album, so at the last minute the band’s bassist Andre Rod took over all lead vocals. On this sophomore release, the pace of the music slowed down as Attomica was concentrating on the technical points of the music. The end result was something not very well accepted by the critics, but you have to remember that even great bands make bad records. The big complaint would be that the speed had been decreased quite a bit, with the majority of the songs being mid-tempo. Attomica on this album was album Pyda Rod: Guitars, Andre Rod: Bass & lead vocals, João Paulo Francis: Guitars and Mario Sanefuji: Drums.
ATTOMICA – Deathraiser (YouTube)
Attomica – Disturbing The Noise (Cogumelo Records) 1991
In 1991 Attomica got back to their original thrash metal roots and recruited a good front man in Fabio Moreira (Ex-THOR Brazil). This meant the band was in full force to show Attomica’s powerful performance. With strong vocals and good production, the effect is quite energetic and refreshing in all of its full fury. Thrashing metal all the way through. One could say that Disturbing the Noise is their comeback in the Brazilian thrash metal scene.
Atomica – Back and Alive 2003
In 2003, the band decided to drop one of the “T”s in their name to become Atomica and recorded their first live album at a comeback gig which was recorded in December, 2003. Back and Alive was a success, featuring a great recording and a killer set list that included the tracks “Marching over Blood,” “Samurai,” “Deathraiser,” “Ways of Death” and “Forbidden Hate.” The line up for this live record was Fábio Moreira – Vocals, Mario Sanefuji – Drums, JP Francis – Guitars, JM Francis – Lead Guitar and André Rod – Bass. It was recorded in their home town of Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil
UPDATE
Recently I have been in contact with the band’s original vocalist Laerte Perr from their killer self-titled debut album and they are in the studio working on a brand new five-track ep. The recording is in the last stages now and will be the first to feature new drummer Vitor Friggi (Ex-CHAOS SYNOPSIS). So maybe one day we can bring these fine Brazilian thrashers up here to Canada to play some shows in the North American scene soon.
http://www.myspace.com/attomica
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