ARUM
"The New Era Rises"
(Negativity Records)

There's always been something special about Brazilian metal. I'm old enough to remember bands like Sexthrash, MX, Sarcofago and Overdose from the 80s and what they meant to a young Swedish guy tired of the same old and instead opted to look for the most obscure metal bands on the face of the earth. So whenever a new band comes out of Brazil I sit up and take extra notice. Not only in the light of my old preferences but also because Brazil in more recent times have managed to produce some really cool death metal bands (Krisiun, Raebellion etc.) that made an impact no other has. Which is why I?m kinda bummed about Arum. I had so high hopes for them to be a contender but instead I found them to be more of the same old. This is death metal done more the European way than the Brazilian way I had hoped for. More melody than raw hate so to speak. Which isn?t bad in any way but not just what I had hoped for. Maybe time will change my mind but for the time being I?m more disappointed than anything else.

-Anders Ekdahl