Sepultura - Morbid Visions/Bestial Devastation [Remastered] (1991)

 

Because of Sepultura's collective lack of money, most of the instruments used on Bestial Devastation were borrowed from friends and acquaintances.
The vocals on the introductory track "The Curse" were performed by a friend of the band; according to Igor Cavalera:

''One thing I remember is that we had one of our friends come and do the voice for the intro ('The Curse') because he would do that voice without effects - he was kind of burping in a way. It was funny, so we had him come down and do it in the studio. I don't even remember his name!''

The band apparently fought with the producer during the recording. In an interview, Igor Cavalera said, "He wanted to clean everything up in the mix and we finally had to play him some records by Venom to show him that bands sounded this way."

 Months prior to recording what would eventually become the Bestial Devastation EP, the band decided to switch their lyrics from Portuguese to English. None of the band members knew how to write or speak the language, so they asked their friend Lino to translate their lyrics. An example of Lino's crude translation skills can be seen in one of the verses of the song "Antichrist":

 ''Churches will be destroyed

Crosses will be brocken

He's laughing in blasphemy

Like a domination of death.''

Bestial Devastation was released in December 1985, alongside Overdose's Século XX EP. Over the next few months it sold 8,000 copies. Sepultura's surprising success was partly attributed to the first Rock in Rio, which took place in Rio de Janeiro in January 1985. This music festival's line-up included Whitesnake, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Queen, Ozzy Osbourne and the Scorpions, and was responsible for Brazil's hard rock/heavy metal boom.
The EP was later reissued by Roadrunner Records on one CD with Morbid Visions in 1997. The reissue included a demo version of the song "Necromancer" that was the first studio recording of the band, and a live version of "Antichrist" from the Chaos A.D. tour, re-written as "Anticop". 

 

 

RO 9276-2

-Tracklist:

Morbid Visions (1986):

 
01. Morbid Visions     3:23
02. Mayhem     3:15
03. Troops Of Doom     3:21
04. War     5:32
05. Crucifixion     5:02
06. Show Me The Wrath     3:52
07. Funeral Rites     4:23
08. Empire Of The Damned   4:24

 

Bestial Devastation EP (1985):

 
09. The Curse     0:39
10. Bestial Devastation    3:06
11. Antichrist     3:46
12. Necromancer     3:52
13. Warriors Of Death     4:07

 

48:54

 

- Line up:

• Max Cavalera: Vocals, Guitars (rhythm), Lyrics
• Jairo T.: Guitars (lead), Bass
• Igor Cavalera: Drums
• Paulo Jr.: Bass.

 

 

Label: Roadracer Records.

Bestial Devastation artwork: Sergio (Chakal)
Morbid Visions artwork: Alex. 

Remastered by Michael Sarsfield.

Photography by Vanda Guimãraes.

Morbid Visions:
Recorded and mixed in 7 days on 16 tracks at Estudio Vice Versa, Belo Horizonte, Brasil, August 1986
Remastered at Frankford/Wayne, New York, NY.

Bestial Devastation:
Recorded and mixed in 2 days on 8 tracks at J.G. Estudios, Belo Horizonte, Brasil, August 1985
Remastered at Frankford/Wayne, New York, NY.