By Jim Rowland
With a growing reputation for an incendiary live show that’s chaotic, loud and in-your-face, Brazil’s fiercest new punk rock export Fantazmaz are about to drop their self-titled debut album, which has all of those qualities and more.
Formed in 2019 by frontwoman Thami and guitarist Raf Oliver, Fantazmaz found their raw, unrelenting sound with the addition of bassist Chokito and former U.K. Subs drummer Jamie Oliver. Now based in the ÜK, the band recorded the album in a mere two days at Monolith Studios in London. With 11 songs that clock in at a total of just over 17 minutes, this album is a very short, sharp shock to the system, but 17 intense minutes very well spent.
‘Dead On The Way Home’, ‘You Owe Me A Fortune’ and ‘Warheads’ are fast, furious, riotous slices of hardened punk rock like The Plasmatics on steroids, ‘Distortion’ and ‘Corporate Behave’ have a bit of a Jello/Dead Kennedys edge to them, whilst there’s a bit more of a rock edge to ‘Does God Know Misery’.
Amid all this chaotic punk rock fury, there’s plenty of room for melody and the likes of ‘POBREZA É VIOLÊNCIA’ and ‘Bullet’ ooze catchy guitar hooks by the bucketload. All of the above are sandwiched between two radical about-turns in the shape of the twisted bossa-nova of opener ‘Are You Enjoying The Peaceful Skies?’ and the dark industrial rock/hip-hop fusion of closer ‘Just Before Hell Comes Around’.
Powerful, passionate, fast and furious, but full of hooks and melody, ‘Fantazmaz’ is a belting debut album.
- ‘Fantazmaz’ will be released tomorrow (Friday 4 July).