ESKRÖTA – BLASFÊMEA

(Andy Synn has a lot of love for the new album from Brazilian blasphemers Eskröta)

Look, let’s cut to the chase shall we?

Sometimes all you really need in life is a cavalcade of righteous riffs and hefty, headbangable hooks to help get you through the day.

And if they come with a side-helping of “stick it to the man” ideology, and a welcome sense of social conscience?

Well, that’s all the better.

And, lo and behold, Thrashcore/Crust Punk crossover crew Eskröta deliver all that and more on Blasfêmea.

For those unfamiliar with the band, you’ll be able to identify elements of Nausea, All Out War, Sodom, and (obviously) Sepultura in the group’s sound… along with a host of influences from a variety of other iconoclastic Crust/Thrash/Hardcore icons… but on their new album (released very recently) it feels like they’ve really stepped up their game in a way which feels (whether consciously or coincidentally) like they might be a pretty good candidate to fill that still raw, Power Trip shaped hole in our hearts (and in the scene).

I’m not saying that they’re quite on that level – either in terms of overall quality or mass exposure (though they’ve played some pretty big festivals in their home country already) – just yet, nor I need to stress is there any suggestion that they’re trying to be anyone but themselves (the cathartic call to arms that is “LBR (Latina, Brasileira, Revolucionária)” in particular couldn’t have been made by anyone else), but there are moments here where you can really hear the band’s potential for major “crossover” (no pun intended) success.

And if you’re looking for evidence/examples to back up this claim, then allow me to direct your attention to the stripped-down, stop-start, chug ‘n’ chant of “Mantra” (where the more Metallic-edged Hardcore side of the band’s sound comes to the fore), the thrashy, Ringworm-esque riff-a-thon that is “Loser”, and punk-inflected, bass-driven mosh-pit filler “+666x”, all of which showcase slightly different aspects of the group while still establishing (and maintaining) a clear musical and lyrical identity that should prove instantly and endlessly recognisable to both new fans and old.

But it’s darkly anthemic second-half highlight “Misery” which (alongside the previously mentioned “LBR”) really got me thinking that Eskröta, with the right amount of exposure and the right sort of support, could end up in line for bigger and better things, as there’s something truly electrifying in the way in which the trio take these familiar elements – those Hetfield-esque hanging chords and galloping, down-picked riffs, the insistently groovy and irresistibly hooky chorus refrain, that little tease of moody melody right near the end – and inject them with a big enough dose of raw energy to somehow make them all seem fresh and ferocious once again.

Sure, there’s still some room for improvement – for one thing it wouldn’t necessarily hurt to let a few songs breathe a little more, as while I know that “less is more”, sometimes more is too (especially since, discounting the intro track, there’s only a solid 26 minutes of music actually on offer here) – as well as some big shoes to fill, but on the strength of Blasfêmea I’d argue that this is one band who deserve to be a much bigger name.

And, hopefully, they soon will be.