Sarcófago was an extreme metal band from Brazil. Founded in 1985 by Wagner "Antichrist" Lamounier, previously from Sepultura, they were their contemporaries in forging the early Brazillian extreme metal scene.
Primarily, they were a major influence on Black Metal, due to their abrasive music, Satanic (though gramatically mangled) lyrics and Venom-inspired leather-and-spikes image. Their album I.N.R.I. is considered important to the genre's development.
The band split up in 1987 after recording I.N.R.I. and reformed in 1989. After that, their music veered more towards thrash-influenced Death Metal, and lyrics involved more reality-based topics, like alcoholism, prostitution and suicide. The Laws of Scourge is notably one of the earliest examples of Technical Death Metal.
From Hate onwards, the band opted for using a drum machine instead of a live drummer, which proved controversial. The members also cut their hair short in protest of long hair becoming popular due to the huge success of Grunge in the early 90s. Hate received mixed to positive reviews, and The Worst got lukewarm reception. After releasing the Crust EP in the year 2000, Sarcófago split up for the last time.
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Warfare Noise split album, some of the old members joined a tribute tour organized by Cogumelo Records. Wagner was absent because he didn't want to play professionally anymore. In 2009, rumors surfaced about a supposed comeback tour featuring the original I.N.R.I. lineup, but were ultimately proven false.
Final lineup:
- Wagner "Antichrist" Lamounier - vocals, guitar (1985-2000)
- Geraldo "Gerald Incubus" Minelli – bass guitar, backing vocals (1986–2000)
- Eugênio "Dead Zone" – drum programming, keyboards (1994–2000)
Previous members:
- Armando "Leprous" Sampaio – drums (1985–1986)
- Juninho "Pussy Fucker" – bass guitar (1985–1986)
- Zéder "Butcher" – guitar (1985–1987)
- Eduardo "D.D. Crazy" – drums (1986–1987)
- Fábio Jhasko "Jhasko" – guitar (1991–1993)
- Lucio Olliver – drums (1991–1993)
- Vanir Jr. – keyboards (1991–1993)
Discography:
- 1986 - Warfare Noise (split album)
- 1987 - I.N.R.I.
- 1989 - Rotting (EP)
- 1991 - The Laws of Scourge
- 1992 - Crush, Kill, Destroy (EP)
- 1994 - Hate
- 1997 - The Worst
- 2000 - Crust (EP)
Sarcófago provides examples of...
- Badass Bookworm: Lamounier is currently a professor of economic science and applied statistics at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
- Black Metal: Considered an important part of the first wave, and cited as a major influence by bands such as Mayhem and Darkthrone.
- Careful with That Axe: Used sporadically on I.N.R.I. and Rotting.
- Death Metal: Present in the 80s, became their primary style in the 90s.
- Technical Death Metal: The Laws of Scourge, which is also one of the Trope Makers.
- Epic Rocking: "Nightmare" is the only song on I.N.R.I. that passes the five minute mark. Four out of six songs on Rotting are over six minutes long. Some other examples are "Midnight Queen", "Secrets of a Widow" and "God Bless the Whores".
- Heavy Meta: "Deathrash".
- I Am the Band: Wagner "Antichrist" Lamounier.
- Intercourse with You: A hefty amount of their lyrics deal with sex in some shape or form.
- Last Note Hilarity: On I.N.R.I.; an almost half hour of extremely violent and obscene lo-fi proto-black metal ends with what sounds like sped-up carnival music and... toilet noises.
- Lead Drummer: D.D. Crazy is notable for his relentless blast beat drumming and deceptively intricate fills.
- Metal Scream: Wagner uses Type 3 mixed with Type 2, with rare instances of Type 4 ("The Last Slaughter", Warfare Noise version of "Satanas").
- Miniscule Rocking: Four songs on I.N.R.I are below three minutes in length, with the shortest one, "Deathrash", being only 01:35. Some demo tracks and half of the tracks on Hate also qualify.
- New Sound Album:
- Rotting slightly toned down the brutality of I.N.R.I. and introduced a thrashier sound.
- The Laws of Scourge is full-fledged Technical Death Metal.
- Hate is straightforward Death Metal with heavy emphasis on speed and intensity.
- Ode to Intoxication: "Alcoholic Coma".
- The Oldest Profession: Played for Drama in "Midnight Queen".
- Pretender Diss: "If you are a false don't entry", naturally.
- Refuge in Audacity: With lyrics that are often obscene and vulgar (for instance, a blasphemous take on Mother Mary's virgin birth) and music that's near-comically brutal at times, this is implied.
- One could argue that this is the entire motivation behind the Hate album.
- Religion Rant Song: The self titled track on Rotting is a Type 2.
- Rock Me, Asmodeus!: A lot in their proto-black years, averted later on.
- Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll: Or, in this case, "Sex, Drinks and Metal".
- Spikes of Villainy: The band is well known for their nail gauntlets that they wore during the I.N.R.I years.
- Stage Names: Almost all members had them.
- Start My Own: Sarcófago is essentially this to Wagner after he left Sepultura.
- Thrash Metal: Regardless of the style they prioritized at a particular period, it's always heavily rooted in thrash. The band themselves apparently always considered themselves a thrash metal act.
- Three Chords and the Truth: The early material.
- Ur-Example: Of bestial black/war metal.
- You No Take Candle: English is not the band's primary language, and it shows in the lyrics. The infamous "If you are a false, don't entry" is just one example. They did get better with time, admittedly.
