Bestial Devastation

Bestial Devastation
An enormous quadruple-horned winged red devil looms from behind over a cathedral-like church isolated on a round hill. In the distance, behind the church and devil on the devil's left side, are three large crucifix-style crosses. Directly on the other side of the church is a silhouette of a grim reaper overlooking a cemetery with simple gravestones topped with crosses. Above the painting (and awkwardly off-center to the right) is the band name "Sepultura" painted in a somewhat crude thorny-style font with the "t" as a cross, while below the church is the album title "Bestial Devastation" in a cut-style font.
EP by
Sepultura
ReleasedDecember 1, 1985
RecordedAugust 1985
StudioJ. G. Estudio (Belo Horizonte, Brazil)
Genre
Length15:37
Label
ProducerSepultura
Sepultura chronology
Bestial Devastation
(1985) 		Morbid Visions
(1986)

Bestial Devastation is an EP by Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura, released in 1985 through Cogumelo Records. It is their first official release, and originally appeared alongside Overdose's Século XX as a split album. The EP's songs were later released as bonus tracks on the CD version of Morbid Visions.

The EP, alongside Morbid Visions, was re-recorded by Max and Igor Cavalera’s Cavalera Conspiracy under the name Cavalera in 2023.[3]

Production values

Because of Sepultura's collective lack of money, most of the instruments used on Bestial Devastation were borrowed from friends and acquaintances.[4]

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![5]

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."[6]

Overview

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 broken
He's laughing in blasphemy
Like a domination of death.[7]

Cover art

The front cover is from an 60 cm × 60 cm oil painting by ex-bassist of the band Chakal, Sérgio "Destroyer" Oliveira, also known as "AlJarrinha".[8][9] The painting only uses red and black on a white canvas. The demon portrayed is heavily inspired by a Conan the Barbarian painting by Boris Vallejo. The cover is re-imagined in the Ghost album Prequelle's cover art by Zbigniew M. Bielak which contains most of the same elements.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]

Bestial Devastation was released in December 1985, alongside Overdose's Século XX EP.[11] Over the next few months it sold 8,000 copies.[12] 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.[13]

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".

Track listing

Bestial Devastation

All tracks are written by Max "Possessed", Jairo "Tormentor", and Paulo "Destructor" except where noted

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."The Curse"  0:39
2."Bestial Devastation"  3:08
3."Antichrist"Wagner "Antichrist"Max "Possessed"3:47
4."Necromancer"  3:53
5."Warriors of Death"  4:10
Total length:15:37
Século XX

All tracks are written by Overdose

No.TitleLength
1."Anjos do Apocalipse"10:02
2."Filhos do Mundo"6:04
3."Século XX"5:03
Total length:21:09

Credits

Sepultura

Additional notes

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Review: "Cavalera: Bestial Devastation"". Sea of Tranquility. June 28, 2024. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  2. ^ Avelar, Idelber (2011). "Otherwise National: Locality and Power in the Art of Sepultura". In Wallach, Jeremy; Berger, Harris M.; Greene, Paul D. (eds.). Metal Rules the Globe: Heavy Metal Music Around the World. Duke University Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-8223-4733-0.
  3. ^ "Cavalera to Re-Record Bestial Devastation and Morbid Visions After Joining Nuclear Blast". April 14, 2023.
  4. ^ Barcinski & Gomes (1999), page 31.
  5. ^ Sepultura, Morbid Visions / Bestial Devastation reissue liner notes (1997).
  6. ^ As above.
  7. ^ Barcinski & Gomes (1999), page 29 & 30.
  8. ^ "PAPO METAL #12⚡️ Sérgio "Destroyer" (Chakal, ilustrador da capa do "Bestial")" (in Portuguese). MG METAL WARRIORS. August 28, 2020.
  9. ^ "Storyteller - Sepultura album covers (Bestial Devastation, Morbid Visions & Schizophrenia)". Sepultura. July 1, 2020.
  10. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Morbid Visions/Bestial Devastation - Sepultura". Allmusic. Retrieved 11 May 2005.
  11. ^ Barcinski & Gomes (1999), page 32.
  12. ^ Barcinski & Gomes (1999), page 34.
  13. ^ Barcinski & Gomes (1999), page 25.

References

  • Barcinski, André & Gomes, Silvio (1999). Sepultura: Toda a História. São Paulo: Ed. 34. ISBN 85-7326-156-0
  • Sepultura (1986). Morbid Visions. [CD]. New York, NY: Roadrunner Records. The Sepultura Remasters (1997).