Headhunter D.C. (the D.C. standing for Death Cult) are a Brazilian death metal band that have been in existence in one form or another since the late 80s. I've never actually come across their music before now, but this album (being their 4th studio album) is actually pretty tasty. Originally released in 2007 with poor distribution, this is the re-issue on John McEntee's Ibex Moon Records.
The sound of their death metal varies, at times they sound very much like country mates Krisiun (there is a lot of head down blasting with repetitive drum work to be found throughout the album), before going all US styled death metal and sounding like Morbid Angel or Deicide. Riff wise, Headhunter D.C generally favour the spiralling, twisting riffage of Morbid Angel, but there's also a lot of Deicide's 'Legion' era clusterfuck brutality on show as well, with melodious solos and gouging guitar divebombs thrown in for good measure a la Incantation.
What these guys are good at is creating an aura of barely controlled chaos, adding an excellent darkened feeling of the occult present their music (a skill The Chasm honed to perfection on their last few albums). Tumbling, rumbling bass is ever present throughout the album, with blasting drums and chaotic guitar squeals spraying like squirts of venom from some kind of satanic serpent. This is all topped with vocals that sound similar to a mix of the guttural gurgle of Benton, the deranged insanity of Van Drunen and the higher-end register of Schuldiner. There are some sections with some truly awe inspiring eerie melodies also, a nice contrast to the crazed Christ-baiting of the rest of the album.
As mentioned previously, I've no idea if this material is anything on their earlier work, but going by this album alone you can tell that these guys certainly know their stuff when it comes to writing an incisive riff or an attacking arrangement. Well worth investigating for fans of true, evil and occult death metal with balls the size of grapefruits.
http://www.myspace.com/headhunterdc
