Vulcano

Vulcano ranked among Brazil's pioneering heavy metal outfits. Forming well ahead of and exerting considerable sway over the nation's foremost metal act Sepultura, the group's recordings proved too extreme for consistent emergence from the underground; nevertheless, in tandem with fellow Brazilians Sarcofago, Mutilator, and others, their raw, ferociously brutal fusion of black and thrash metal earned enduring cult reverence from some of extreme metal's foremost exponents, above all Norway's notorious early-'90s black metal fraternity.

Vulcano originated from the prior group Astaroth around 1981 and essentially embodied the creative force of bassist, guitarist, and principal songwriter Zhema Rodero. Alongside guitarist Paulo Magrão, keyboardist Carli Cooper, and assorted long-forgotten sidemen, Zhema labored to launch the band's trajectory, eventually relocating from his hometown of Osasco to the larger port city of Santos. There the musicians connected with vocalist Genne and drummer José Piloni to lay down the four-track Om Pushne Namah single in 1983, only to disband soon after, which cleared the way for guitarist Johnny Hansen, drummer Renato Pelado, and vocalist Angel to join and enable Vulcano's transition to English lyrics. This configuration promptly produced the markedly stronger eight-track Devil on My Roof demo in 1984, and after Vulcano scraped together funds to capture a live performance in August 1985, the resulting Vulcano: Live! LP (featuring guitarists Soto Júnior and Zé Flávio along with drummer Laudir Piloni) placed them on the metal map. Brazilian heavy metal was then beginning to distinguish its initial standouts, and Vulcano claimed the mantle of extremity through their thrash-infused black metal, chiefly shaped by Britain's Venom and Motörhead, rendering leading rivals such as Dorsal Atlantica and Korzus comparatively restrained by contrast.

If anything resembling success existed in the harsh realm of Brazilian heavy metal, Vulcano attained it in 1986, the year they cut the landmark Bloody Vengeance album for Rock Brigade Records and were chosen to support visiting metal figures Venom and Exciter on a Brazilian tour. Ironically, Vulcano's first national press coverage also exposed their "dangerously immoral" music, unconventional stage attire, and anti-religious views to the country's self-appointed moral authorities, most troublingly the police. The ensuing backlash prompted Angel and Zhema (now returned to guitar) to incorporate fresh subjects such as social concerns, emotional and political repression, and cannibalism into the customary Satanic themes, while they recruited bassist Fernando Levine and drummer Arthur Vasconcelos for the more deliberate yet less explosively raw Anthropophagy album in 1987. The same lineup tracked the following year's Who Are the True?, which centered on thrash and speed metal and served as Zhema's commentary on what he viewed as an increasingly contrived and inauthentic Brazilian heavy metal landscape. Second guitarist Soto Júnior rejoined in time for the underwhelming Rat Race in 1990, yet Zhema had grown disillusioned, especially with nonpayment from a succession of unreliable labels, and opted to disband the group.

Vulcano briefly reassembled with Zhema, Soto, Arthur, and interim vocalist Luiz Carlos to record three tracks for Cogumelo Records' 1988 reissue of Live!, but the musicians devoted the remainder of the decade to separate endeavors, including Zhema's Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute project alongside original guitarist Magrão. Tragically, Soto Júnior died from a sudden heart attack in 2001 at age 39, yet three years later Angel, Zhema, and Arthur revived Vulcano with new guitarists André and Passamani, yielding the powerfully striking Tales from the Black Book in 2004.