Human hurricanes against media propaganda - A review of Ação Libertária's Cidadão de Bem

Three years after the pitiless Cavalo de Tróia, Brazilian crossover thrash metal quartet Ação Libertária is back with another thought-provoking full length effort consisting of twelve tracks and a running time of thirty-five minutes entitled Cidadão de Bem. The cover artwork already tells a lot of things that are going on lyrically on this social-political effort. We can see what seems to be mummified couple, sitting in a room with patriotic and religious symbols, reading weekly news magazine Veja and watching Jornal Nacional on Globo TV, being essentially fed with news propaganda. Only the small child that seems to look through the only colorful spot on the album cover in form of a window seems willing to make up its own mind without being dependent upon media.

Ação Libertária still represents the voice of Brazil's youth that is fed up with liars and politicians reigning their country. The band's social-political messages are spread through a fast-paced mixture of vivid thrash metal, pitiless hardcore influences and relentless punk spirit. The riffs sound even heavier that they did three years ago and should please metal and punk fans alike. The raw, straight and expressive vocals blend in perfectly. The drum play is fast and relentless but has some variation to keep things dynamic. A pleasant surprise is the expressive bass guitar play as the instrument is given the time to shine in several breaks and solo sections which is a welcome change from other crossover thrash bands. Even though the messages are more important the musicianship, it becomes obvious that the four young men from Natal are very talented musicians.

Aside of a few samples in form of spoken word passages, Cidadão de Bem is a relentless record that doesn't take any prisoners. I have rarely come across such a brutal release, even in the energetic hardcore and crossover genres. Relentless closer ''Dancem, Macacos!'' for example tears your head off and evokes a circle pit with the force of a hurricane.

If you are interested in socio-political messages, like a particularly harsh mixture of hardcore punk and thrash metal and willing to learn more about  the current state of affairs in Brazil, you can't get around Ação Libertária's Cidadão de Bem. Obviously, such an energetic type of music can only be enjoyed in small doses but you should give it a try when you feel like channeling the anger accumulated in your everyday life in a creative and healthy way.

Final rating: 70%