If I speak of Minas Gerais on Brazil, maybe the readers could think about names as SEPULTURA, SARCÓFAGO, HOLOCAUSTO and many others. Maybe you would think about an extreme Metal band. But many good names arose in the land of everything is a "trem" (only my Brazilian readers would understand this joke), and one of the better on the last two or three generations is from the quintet SACRIFICED, from Belo Horizonte. After seven years since their first album, "The Path of Reflections" was released, they are back with their second album, "Enraged".

The first word that comes to our minds when we hear this album is "evolution". Yes, they evolved a lot, playing an aggressive form of traditional Heavy Metal with a modern outfit. But as well, this album's songs pulse with energy and personality, showing how they evolved to a better, aggressive and heavier band, but always with charming and catchy melodies. Let me tell you: "Enraged" is a strong name for the title of the finest Metal albums from Brazil for this year! The albums' secrets lie on two aspects. The first one is the sound production, done by the hands of Lucas Guerra (who worked on the mixing, mastering, recording and all at Guerra Studios, and who previously worked with bands as PENSE, SOUTHERN BLACK LIST and CPM22). He isn't a producer specialized on Metal, so he had a different insight that helped the quintet to find a modern, aggressive and clean sound quality for the album, and it fits perfectly on the songs, allowing them to flow with an abrasive energy, but without losing the melodic sense. They have chosen extremely good instrumental tunes. Another excellent feature is the artwork of Carlos Fides for the cover, expressing what we will find on the album's songs.

The quintet embraced different musical influences on these seven years between "The Path of Reflections" and "Enraged", and those had made them mature in a way that is really amazing. You'll hear some regional music touches on "Meet Your Fate", and some introspective influences from Brazilian Bossa Nova on "Oblivion", just to name a few. All the songs are amazing, but the abrasive Pop Rock influences of the 80's that you hear on "Meet Your Fate" (along with those I wrote above, and with wonderful vocals and a charming chorus), the brutal weight of "Shame", "Oblivion" with its introspective melodies and excellent guitars, the fine musical accessibility shown on "To Whom You Belong", the excellent melodic lines of "Spiral Down", the melancholic Folk song heard on "Refugees", the sharp aggressiveness shaped by modern melodies of "Thick Skin" and "Into the Hive" (this one bears a Melodic Death Metal scent in some moments, especially on bass guitar and drums), and "Grudge is My Middle Name" (where the vocals are great) show what these guys are up to. But you can hear the entire album, because it's perfect.

"Enraged" comes at a very good moment for the Brazilian Metal scene, showing that you can so something special in these times of political and economic crisis here.