There’s often an unholy alliance of unbridled passion and near insanity in Latin American Metal: the eccentric, electric performance from California-based Punks At The Drive-In on Later… in 2000 being a prime example. This is a quality evident in the chaotic maelstrom of Brazilian trio Deafkids, whose third album Metaprogramação (Neurot Recordings) is a typically warped episode of barely controlled, electronic ferocity.

Opening track ‘Vox Dei’ is a comparatively subtle way to begin proceedings despite the monstrous effect of the sampled vocal giving the terrifying impression of the voice of God. It’s the fearsome oscillations of the ensuing ‘Alucinações De Comando’ that chill the mind whilst exciting the soul: Metal Mickey on mushrooms, a feral percussion adding to the psychedelic experience.

There’s more to these guys than twisted Electronica, however: ‘Pacto De Máscaras’ is governed by Marcelo dos Santos’ pummelling bassline which is mixed with sampled howls and sinister spoken samples. ‘Mente Bicameral’ sees syncopated drums join the fray, that bass undercutting a jagged, guttural echo, whilst a swerving riff adds the angry buzz of a wasps’ nest. ‘Estímulos…I’ possesses a living, animal quality, whilst the universally understandable ‘Templo Do Caos’ is the looping, scathing embodiment of Jesus destroying the markets of the temple: subtle arrival giving way to spiked protestations.

The relatively short track lengths make possible an emotional connection to the synthetic sound: the first ‘Espirais Da Loucura’ is an emotional, bongo-led ride which sticks in the brain, while the elongated ‘Raiz Negativa…’ is just as tense, as immediate: the urgent pulse leading into a perfectly planned seven minutes of Industrial fire, its riffs sawing through a bludgeoning rhythm and building into a technological hive of anger, the febrile tension reined in but never letting up.

This segues into ‘Camisa De Força…’, a Jazz rhythm with the power and resonance of Orthodox fed through a labyrinthine effects machine, it’s a three-minute blast a nerve-jangling experience.

The final four tracks are stretched over ten minutes: a pulsating crush constantly swelling though ‘Virus Da Imagem Do Ser’ into the technical hum of ‘Estímulos…II’. The second ‘Espirais…’ is an African rhythmic splendour ebbing and flowing through Douglas Leal’s deified holler, the chopping riffs adding a protesting power: while Psychedelic, slashing effects add the omen of Purgatory to the frosted silence of the closing ‘A Experiência Holotrópica’. Metaprogramação is a transformation for Deafkids, a startling piece of work which will set teeth firmly on edge. For the discerning, however, it adds a delightfully anarchic element to the usual Industrial-Electronica template.

7 / 10

PAUL QUINN