new music: project black pantera’s debut album is the best metal record of the year #soundcheck

Let’s start by throwing objectivity out the window. I’ve been digging Project Black Pantera hard since they first exploded out of my headphones last year. So that bias is there. Also they have a song about Godzilla which is a surefire way to my heart. Lastly, their debut record closes with a mash-up I produced of their “Execucão na Av 38” with J Cole’s live performance of “Be Free” for AFROPUNK’s mixtape #002, so I’m uniquely unqualified to review this album. That being said, even trying to create as much mental distance between my established biases and the actual record in front of me, Project Black Pantera’s debut is by a wide margin the best metal record I’ve heard this year.

By Nathan Leigh, AFROPUNK Contributor

“Boto pra Fuder” remains as taut a metal song as you’re likely to find. Blurring the line between speed metal, thrash, and hardcore, the power trio can turn on a dime. No self-indulgence. No gratuitous masturbratory solos. No 5 minute intros. This is what metal should sound like. “Ratatatai” adds some alt-metal to the mix, courtesy of bassist Chaene da Gama. Then there’s “Godzilla.” The only thing I love more than Godzilla is Mothra. It has a killer riff and the only lyric is frontman Charles Gama screaming “Godzilla.” The breakdown has the classic Godzilla scream. This song is fucking badass. End of story.

With its shout-along chorus, “Rede Social” is the kind of anthem that makes you want to catch a band live. Even when the band stretches out, as they do in the middle of the record, their slower and more progressive bits are more about adding variation to the arrangements than gratuitous. So when Project Black Pantera gets nearly operatic on the epic “Escravos,” it’s a well-earned reprieve from their glorious constant auditory pummeling. Then there’s “Be Free.” Let’s just say that whoever produced that track must have spent like 3 days on it without sleeping and must be a really swell dude. Someone buy him a beer. But first, buy this record. If you like heavy music (and if you don’t, I’m not sure why you’re reading this) this is the most vital metal record I’ve heard not just this year, but in a long ass time.

The album will be available for download and streaming on December 15th. Check out the new single ‘Escravos’ (‘Slaves’) below!

Photo by Andreza Rodrigues
The album is available on the following platforms:

Spotify: http://play.spotify.com/album/1h3M8tLg9fN0IzAfkRNpR1

Deezer: http://www.deezer.com/album/12028926