
My hunger to discover new underground bands who, like Armahda, play music with passion and emotion was unexpectedly rewarded. A quick search on the net showed that there was still no review of this cd. So here it is, on our Merchants Of Air website.
The band was formed by Maurício Guimaraes (vocals and all instruments) and Renato Domingos (all instruments) in 2011. They recorded the album with guest musicians in 2013 and they toured during summer of 2018 on the European continent with a complete band.
At the first listening of this debut cd, released in 2015, I was immediately hooked on their greasy and heavy speedy guitar sound. Brazil has many bands who play different styles of Metal, Armahda is a band that mixes many Metal styles to their own style. From Speed Metal riffs with screaming guitar solos and fast double bass drums, to Pagan/Viking Metal songs, to serene semi acoustic indigenous influenced parts. The lyrics take you to the painful and unknown history of their native country. The second song on the album contains the sentence: ‘history is written by the ones who win’ and opened my ears and eyes for the rest of the album!
Paiol em Chamas is the only song in Portuguese on the cd, and is by far the most aggressive piece of Heavy Metal music on the album! Screaming your guts out in your own language is still the best way to do so! This self-titled album gives you more and more details after every listen. The lyrics are published in the booklet and give you insight of the history of Brazil. From time to time you feel the emotional ghost of System Of A Down wandering around, but this is more a compliment than a comparison. The musicians play their instruments like it’s the day before they won’t be able to play anymore…
Armahda gives you honest Metal with speed, power and passion!!
Patsker