![sextrash – funeral serenade [re-release]](https://www.vm-underground.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Sextrash-–-Funeral-Serenade-Re-Release-cover.jpg "Sextrash – Funeral Serenade [Re-Release]")
Info
- Band(s): Sextrash
- Label(s): Black Legion Records, I Hate
- Release Format(s): 12" vinyl, CD, Re-Release
- Release Year: 2024
- Review Date: November 18, 2024
Many a review on early Extreme Metal releases out of the South American scene start with the appreciation for those early works of Sepultura and Sarcófago or the overall works of Krisiun, if you dig a little deeper you might stumble upon Mutilator, Atomic Aggressor, Nebiros, Vulcano or Sextrash. But even then you are getting half of the picture. Most of those discussions are focussed on those band’s “classic”. In a way that makes sense, as it is ‘Immortal Force’, ‘Guerreros De Lucifer’ or ‘Sexual Carnage’ that made the largest impact, not only on the public but subsequently also clearly on the bands that would later start to follow the paths of those bands.
But while, in the case of Sextrash, ‘Sexual Carnage’ is indeed unmistakably the band’s pinnacle, it is also safe to say that ‘Funeral Serenade’ is very much overlooked and underrated piece of Extreme Metal. If you ever tried to find it, you must have concluded that getting a copy in reasonable condition is not something that you are able to afford with your weekly pocket money. Partly because the album was initially released only on vinyl in 1992 and a year later on CD and never made available again until 2016, and only on CD, the demand for this record has always been high. Although, of course, you have to look at this in relative terms, it remains a much lesser-known album by a not-so-famous band, with a name still able to raise many an eyebrow.
Should you be one of the many who would like to shove a copy of this album in your collection, you can have your fill now. Sweden’s I Hate Records has finally made the album available again, 32 years after its original release. So make your move! And to those unfamiliar with the album, read on and be convinced…
For starters, the album shows a totally different Sextrash compared to the ramshackle but very charming work that gave the debut album so much colour. On ‘Funeral Serenade’, almost nothing reminiscent of ‘Sexual Carnage’ can be heard and it could easily have been released under a different band name. On this second album, the rambunctious Black/Thrash Metal has been swapped for a very well-executed serving of Death/Thrash Metal. Something that in itself fits well into the zeitgeist, many (Black) Thrash bands from that pursued a more Death Metal sound, fuelled by the popularity of the major Death Metal explosion of those years.
It is therefore under this constellation that we should listen to ‘Funeral Serenades’. It is far from original, but what it lacks in inventiveness it makes up for with conviction and quality. It is also clear that they listened carefully to the early recordings of Deicide, Vital Remains, Massacra, Malevolent Creation and Messiah. Pure Death Metal built around “the riff”, with the musicians having made a remarkable step up in capabilities compared to the debut. Notable absent, incidentally, is D.D. Crazy (Sarcófago) who co-founded the band. Perhaps it is because of his absence that the album sounds tighter, but whatever the case, it is undeniable that at times ‘Funeral Serenades’ still most resembles the early steps of the compatriots of Krisiun.
The excellent guitar playing, with riffs and leads/solos flavorfully alternating, together with the sparse and subtle use of keyboards form a homogeneous whole that more than properly captures the 90’s Death Metal landscape beneath the great genre classics. While not comparable musically as a mirror image, ‘Funeral Serenades’ has a distinctly familiar vibe to the likes of Messiah’s 90’s Death Metal records, which also enjoy a distinct and similar underappreciation.
So, with picking up ‘Funeral Serenade’ you are not only getting yourself a copy of a more than solid piece of Latin American Death Metal, but you are also the owner of a rather unique piece of metal history caught in just ten tracks totalling 35 minutes. ‘Sexual Carnage’ has already been reissued a good couple of times, including by Osmose Productions, but for some reason nobody ever cared enough to give ‘Funeral Serenade’ a second life as well. But that shortage has now thankfully come to an end, although, for now, I Hate Records has its eyes only on the vinyl version (500 copies on black vinyl and 277 on blue). But at least then you won’t have to put down 250 quid for an original 1992 LP. Already convinced?
Sextrash
- Country: Brazil
- Style: Death Metal, Thrash Metal
- Links: Facebook, Instagram, Spotify
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I Hate
- Country: Sweden
- Style: Doom Metal, Thrash Metal
- Links: Homepage, Facebook, Bandcamp, Youtube
