Prophecy – Legions of Violence

Listen up children, today’s lesson is in persistence. Nothing good in life comes quickly or easy and Brazilian thrash band Prophecy are a perfect example. Formed in 1985 under the name Biblia Negra the band was (and still is) heavily influenced by the Bay Area thrash scene – Metallica, Vio-lence, Forbidden and particularly Testament and Exodus (if you look closely at the album cover you will see the guy is wearing a “Bonded by Blood” shirt). These guys are some thrashers after my own heart. I think this was probably the greatest scene in metal, but I’m biased by having been young and impressionable while it was going on.

After five years as Biblia Negra and singing in Portuguese the band decided to change their name to Prophecy and sing in English. Since then they’ve made demos, played shows (including a gig opening for Exodus) and suffered from lineup changes and setbacks. “Never say die” must be these guys motto because through it all they continued to push forward. Finally, in 2008 they were able to record their debut “Legions of Violence” on Morbid Tales Records. The album is now being re-released by Mexican label EBM Records (the same label that gave us Armor Column earlier in the week.)

So they finally put out an album, well what’s it sound like? Sounds like bliss to me. It’s like I just hopped out of a time machine into 1987 San Francisco and headed straight for a metal show. The music is so very 80s thrash and the vocals are powerful with a slight edge. I definitely hear some Chuck Billy in the vocals.

The production of the album is good, but also on par with what you’d expect from the period to which they pay tribute. So while everything is nice and clear, there isn’t a whole lot of low-end in the sound. Given the style I have no complaints whatsoever about that lack of low-end; good thrash don’t need no stinkin’ low-end, it’s sharp like a razor.

I don’t think it will surprise you to learn that I really like this album. I’ve got a sweet-tooth for Bay Area style thrash and this album plays right to my weakness. There’s a fair amount of retro thrash going on these days but a lot of it isn’t quite as authentic sounding as “Legions of Violence.” I hope these guys are hard at work on their next album because I am ready for another round. Check them out!