It’s hard to keep up with all these new thrash metal bands constantly popping up everywhere in the world at the moment. It is therefore nice that bands such as these Brazilian guys in Facinora send me and others links to download locations and/or promos so that they keep us updated. It wasn’t very easy to find info in these guys other than on their MySpace which contained a rather limited biography. Facinora started out as bands normally do. They wanted to have fun, drink beer and cover their favorite bands. Slayer and Exodus were among those bands and this helped them find out what they really wanted to do. They describe themselves as a band with a heavy sound and a dash of speed. Which usually makes? Thrash. This is fast and vicious thrash metal, clearly influenced by the various big boys from the Bay Area-scene. Considering this is a demo, their very first actually, this is pretty good. The production is very good even though it’s an independent release. They have taken their time on polishing every riff and every rhythm section, and made the sound as clear as possible. In fact, I would never have guessed that this was an independent release if I hadn’t known.

As I mentioned earlier, this is heavily influenced by the various bands within Bay Area-scene, and while that isn’t a major problem in itself, Facinora should try to limit that inspiration a little and try to add some touches of their own. However, if you’re like me, cut the guys some slack because it’s their first release, and sit back and enjoy this short yet fun and intense ride. Empty Illusions blasts out of the speakers with early Metallica riffing mixed with Slayer-ish speed and attitude. The vocalist shouts his way through every line, taking the same approach as Tom Araya among others. The riffing is speedy and frantic accompanied by the usual jumpy drum work, riff-heavy breakdowns and frenetic soloing. War Between Selfish basically follows the same pattern, with energetic riffing and an overall nice and aggressive atmosphere. The simpler and much slower Despair is somehow reminding me of Sanitarium, maybe due to the clean guitar sound in the beginning and the fierce heavier outbursts. The Evil is a vicious attack from beginning to end, mixing in some excellent riffing reminiscent of Exodus among others.

Born In Fear is a fierce and brutal thrash-attack from the opening seconds of Empty Illusions to the fading excellence of The Evil. The only problem here is that this is more ripping off their heroes than trying to create something of their own. Then again, this is their first demo, and being stuck isn’t an unfamiliar issue. On another hand, they are doing well creatively and they manage to create and perform with neck-breaking intensity and keep your attention. They need to focus on creating their own identity if they want to survive the ongoing thrash tsunami and stick out as a band that made an impact. After listening to this promising demo, there is no reason for why they can’t succeed in making a decent full-length that will make a bigger impact on the picky thrash metal crowd. It will of course demand a large amount of hard work, but if the band is willing to put that down chances are that they’ll make it. Go ahead and check this out on their MySpace, and make sure to check out the downloiad-banner they have there if you’re interested in owning this. Keep in mind that this is nothing new, but still enjoyable enough to be worth a try. Keep up the good work guys!