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Viper > Soldiers of Sunrise > Reviews
Viper - Soldiers of Sunrise

Let’s Do the Snakes’ Twist on Hallows’ Eve - 91%

bayern, March 26th, 2017

The Brazilian metal scene was too busy shocking the fanbase, creating all the extreme branches of the genre: death, black, grind, alien cyberpornomosh (what the fuck is that!?) … the lots. There was no rest for the wicked as Sepultura, Sarcofago, Holocausto, Vulcano, Sextrash and the others were racing as to who would produce the most brutal, the most outrageous sounds known to mankind. Consequently, not much attention was paid to the more melodic genres; at least not at first sight although the pioneers Overdose quickly grasped the situation, and started churning out pretty decent epic power metal sagas. Viper were also around at that time with their demos which showed them testing the possibilities within the faster parametres disregarding the more conventional sounds of the good old heavy metal.

Their eyes must have been fixed firmly on what was going on on the German field since their debut is a smashing speed metal winner in the best tradition of Helloween’s “Walls of Jericho” and Angel Dust’s “Into the Dark Past”. “Knights of Destruction” starts the saga with blazing guitars and excellent soaring dramatic clean vocals courtesy of none other than Andre Matos (also Angra), arguably the finest singer to ever come out of Brazil. A great chorus and thundering bass aggravate the positive impression which carries on with “Nightmares”, one of the ten catchiest metal hymns ever, a masterpiece of sing-along goodness which one can spend a whole day listening to; goofy cheesy stuff, but utterly infectious. “The Whipper” will “whip” all the cream around your house despite its more officiant epic beginning; speed returns on full-throttle later the guys moshing like demented to create the most aggressive track on the album. “Wings of the Evil” is a galloping delight adding another great chorus to the foray, and “H.R.” is the next in line raging shredder, an ode to all human resource managers around the world (ha ha! kidding of course!) unless this abbreviation has some other meaning.

The title-track is the progressive sweeping epic, a 7-min composition which still keeps the speed metal flying for most of the time excluding the more pompous mid-break; the leads reach a culmination here creating virtuoso landscapes also occupying quite a bit of space. “Signs of the Night” returns to the more immediate formula, and is another great memorable anthem with rousing galloping rhythms and the umpteenth super-catchy chorus. “Killera (Princess of Hell)” proceeds with the gallops in an all-instrumental fashion the vigorous riffs “duelling” with the flashy leads to a dramatic effect. “Law of the Sword” stays faithful to the highly energetic delivery throwing fast-paced strokes and outstanding vocal feats at the listener who will be more than satisfied by the end of this highly entertaining roller-coaster.

The time was just perfect for albums like that, heroic hymns of speed and power performed by a bunch of youthful inspired metallers. The guys’ compatriots Vodu also followed a similar path (the two band shared a drummer at the beginning), and it’s hard to decide which opus should be the finest speed metal slab ever from Brazil, this one or Vodu’s “Seeds of Destruction”, released a year later. Some may give preference to the latter due to its more expressively aggressive nature with bolder ventures into thrash, but to these ears both works deserve a place on the top shelf the Viper effort largely due to the enormously catchy character and the constantly recognizable vocal and music signature. In the long run Vodu’s significance to the genre is bigger as the band never abandoned their rigorous approach whereas our heroes here matured beyond their speed metal enthusiasm, for better or worse.

“Theatre of Fate”, which appeared two years later, was already a softer saga with power metal more fully integrated; transition very similar to the one witnessed on Angel Dust’s “To Dust You Will Decay” the same year. The band were obviously looking for larger audience, but the only thing they achieved was to have Matos noticed and shoot him into the stardom stratosphere where the man has made a fairly successful career with Angra, Shaman, Avantasia and other renowned outfits. Not surprisingly, he left after this album to embark on his other, more famous adventures. The others certainly carried on without him as the vocal duties were taken over by the bass player Pit Passarell who was by no means a match to Matos, but was at least a passable clean throat. “Evolution” hardly deserved its evolvement-promising title since it was a logical follow-up to the style of its predecessor, the band not willing to bid farewell to the old canons for the sake of the already established numetal trends. “Coma Rage” (1995) was a big surprise, though, stripped-down hardcore/crossover, a vent to all their frustration and resentment towards the new groovy/post-thrashy charade.

This was an entirely new approach, and now no one was able to predict the band’s next step… which was a total fiasco. “Tem pra Todo Mundo” (1996) was a rock opus, not much to do with metal, and officially terminated their career, and not because the band chose to sing in their native Portuguese. It should have been released under a different moniker, like a side-project or something, as it was an uninspired, insipid collection of songs which technically went nowhere as there were no attempts made for any adjustments towards the fashionable at the time sounds however unpleasant they must have been for the guys. Nostalgia was the next emotion that came forward, and the Viper team indulged in best of compilations and live performances; all the way to 2007 when their last album so far “All My Life” appeared. This work could be viewed as a somewhat pleasant surprise as it was a return to the more aggressive delivery from their mid-period. A good new beginning which hasn’t had a follow-up regardless of the lost son Matos’ reunion with his old comrades in 2012. Yes, the vocal king is back, and I guess it’s just a matter of time before he makes himself heard on another “venomous” instalment.

Early South American Power Metal - 70%

Danthrax_Nasty, November 2nd, 2005

This band formed way back in 1985 (a good Metal year, by the way) by guitarist Yves and bassist Pit Passarell (they're brothers,... a few other great bands come to mind on this subject), and in a short while the line up was rounded out, and ready to do something (with a notable Adre Matos (later achieving fame with Angra) on vocals). After the release of their demo "Killara Sword", Viper got the attention, and was there by signed to the label Rock Brigade who would put them in the studio for this outing. Also of note, their album supporting tour for this was as Motorheads opening act... certainly coldn't have hurt them any, and probably helped to expose them to a larger audience than would other wise have been possible. Pretty cool by my estimation.

This was recorded April/May 1987 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and as far as style is concerned, they effectively blend, at base, a Power/Traditional Metal sound with a blatant Thrash/Speed Metal over tone. Probably influenced more by the European scenes, than the American ones of the day (as I would infer from their sound). Definitely had some classical influence, appeal also in their sound, but mostly relagated to the solo's, and some chorus structuring. The cover, and layout were aptly fitting for this bands style (the fantasy Power Metal schtick), well done, very interesting artwork... also the albums lyrics are perfect for their sound in the exact same way.

Generally, I think one of the major problems with this release is in the less than spectacular production which detracts from the fullness of the bands sound, as it sort of flattens the drums, and bass. They are clearly audible in the mix mostly, but sort of create a some what muddled sound in select parts. The leads seem to be enhanced a bit by this, but the rythm guitar tracks get flattened like the bass (although much more distorted than the bass which is played clean through out). Maybe this is just a problem associated to the analogue recording equipment, I cant really say for sure? Also, another down side to the production is that each song basically has the exact same production values, which makes the album a bit boring if you don't really get into this.

Overall though, the sound has a typical 80's aggressive feel in the rythm patterns (thanks to the Speed Metal lean), is almost entirely fast paced, and up beat, and is definitely head banging worthy on most tracks, but sadly can grow old fast because there just isn't enough variety on here (in all areas). I'd say this guitar work is for the most part, Power Metal done with Speed Metal verse riff ideals, and a major reliance on melodic soloing, and leads. The guitar riffs can grow boring fast (just not enough variety), but are at least in every song accented nicely by great solos, and leads. And I don't think these musicians were all to great at putting together songs (yet that is),... while the album progresses you'll notice lots of similarities, and some what repeated ideas (but as far as the era, and style this isn't so hard to swallow).

The vocals also really add alot to the mix, as this singer (Andre Matos) could really fucking sing, and with decent technical ability. One major downside is the vocal patterns though, or maybe its just his voice, cause I detect alot of repetitiveness here also (more variety was needed). Also, the chorus' have a more Power Metal approach, and are usually choir type stuff instead of a more contemporary (Thrashy) rougher, punchier feel, so that sorta takes away from them for me (probably depends on your taste?). And its of note that this guy is a usual Power Metal vocalist, and stays in the higher range through out the album.

The albums ups certainly out weigh its downs, and this was a debut so you gotta factor that in (although thats hard to say cause how many 80's Metal bands had utterly awesome debuts?)... this just definitely leaves room for improvement, and sounds like it was written by young, but highly talented musicians. Power Metal fans, and fans of Traditional/80's/Heavy Metal will/should enjoy this. I recommend getting Theatre Of Fate first though.