PRAYER: Alpha
Vinicius Soares (minus his waist length hair) steps out from behind the drums in Brazilian death metal band Krig to lead the band Prayer, so it might be natural to compare the two bands, but honestly the only common ground between the two is having Sepultura as an influence. And given that all three bands were birthed in Belo Horizonte, Brazil- that’s something of a given. But while Krig plays a technical brand of death metal, Prayer employs some different textures. There is much more of a hardcore influence with Prayer, the bass is amped up, and the guitars are downtuned, playing a staccato rhythm. The technical term is djent, referring to the start-stop rhythm of guitar playing employed by many hardcore and nu-metal bands, especially in the 90’s vs. the traditional classically influenced guitar soloing technique. Prayer’s lyrical focus is all about the Christian faith, whereas Krig’s often included social and political issues. Songs are sung (hollered) in English, but the liner notes are in both English and Portugese. “In the Beginning” and “Doomsday” bookend the album nicely with a slower, eerie taste of what’s to come, and everything in between is faster and harder. The music is unique and really gets you cranking. The only drawback for me was Vinicius’ cookie monster vocals. I love his drumming with Krig, although Prayer’s drummer is no slouch (just check him out in “For You It Is Finished”), but the vocal style just didn’t complement the music style. Bold music with a bold, in-your-face message from the boys in Brazil. (Vision of God Records) 3.5 out of 5 stars
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