Portugal five-piece Mass Disorder have been delivering their brand of thrash/death since 2013. Naturally working their way through some lineup changes over the years, they released a debut EP The Way To Our End in 2014 as well as a full-length Conflagaration in 2018 for Ethereal Sound Works. Now we have the next recording Hupokrisis, a hard-hitting four song EP that shows no signs in slowing down the relentless precision present in terms of attack, intensity, or technical abilities.
Tight, gallop-oriented downstroke picking, extreme tremolo-fueled passages along with melodic accents pulls from equal Bay Area, Teutonic, and Latin American influences – guitarists Nelson Carmo and Valter Aguiar assaultive in the riff volleys, the lead breaks attuned to classically-tinged runs of fluidity. An active rhythm section foundation secures the groove to progressive transition mechanics necessary to keep the songs actively engaging – as you never know when the next expressive tempo change or thunderous double kick / fill overflow hits the airwaves. No extraneous intros or atmospheric textures exist in these musicians’ world – they literally let the speed, intensity, and power of the instrumentation take command. The immediacy of “Sem Ossos” between the savage screams of vocalist Sandro Martins as well as the incessant headbang-driven rhythms supplemented by key melodic death guitar lines / bends gets the proceedings off on a thrill ride that’s not going to stop until “The Blessing” almost eighteen minutes later. Lyrically tying in to the hypocritical state of the current world humanity has been forced to face, it’s an ideal blend to the tremendous riffs, tempos, and tight transitional diversity present.
Not just a re-tread of basic thrash or death, Mass Disorder combine a lot of the musicianship twists that put Artillery and Heathen on the map, next to the brilliance of Kreator and Sepultura as both transformed from raw aggression to headliners. Hupokrisis should be mandatory listening for all thrash followers, hopefully setting the stage for a second full-length sooner rather than later.