By Albert Mansour
Brazilian black/thrash/death metal outfit Vulcano is back with a re-release of an album originally issued in 2004, their sixth full length overall. This bunch has been around quite a while. Way back in the 80’s I had the chance to see them in concert opening for Venom in Sao Paulo, Brazil in December of 1986. I can remember very clearly that the lead vocalist had his Microphone tied to a two foot animal bone. I thought that was soooo wicked. Until today that image is soldered in my brain. Okay, enough with the flashbacks and let’s get back to Tales From The Black Book. Things kick off with a 35 second intro at the begining, “Gates Of Iron,” that features a narrator with a heavy accent (it’s extremely hard to understand what he saying) and slowly fades into some Venom type black metal in “The Bells of Death” and “Priestes of Bacchus” This is old-school black metal played in its rawest form. A re-make of tracks such as “Guerreiros de Satãthis” and “Total Destruição” are originally from 1985, while other such as “Face Of The Terror” and “From the Black Metal Book” have been issued before on live recordings. One really noticeable thing here – the drummer seems to be playing the catch up game with the rest of band. He is always behind the beat and it doesn’t help things out at all This thirteen-track cd is pretty messy and sloppy overall. While I’m only really familiar with their 1986 album Bloody Vengeance (Cogumelo), I certainly was expecting a lot more from this album. This band will appeal to those who are into early Venom and Motorhead, but on a lower scale. Approach with caution.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGeCS_-gvgo
(I Hate)
Rating: 6.0
