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DAMN YOUTH
Breathing Insanity

Cospe Fogo (2018)
Rating: 7/10

I love the cover of this one; Breathing Insanity looking like some forgotten South American thrash gem torn from the 80s. No real surprise then that these guys are from Brazil, their harsh, drilling sound crossing speedy, lethal thrash with hints of racy death streaks.

The quartet began life in 2013 and this is their debut full-length opus, and one sure to please fans of the likes of Ratos de Porão and old Sepultura. Damn Youth most certainly have an underground feel. However, it’s all delivered in rather unremarkable but hasty fashion, more so by the no frills yelps of vocalist Elton Luiz, backed up by the thrashing intensity of drummer Italo Rodrigo who puts in a shift throughout the 13 tracks on offer.

This is a short and certainly sharp shock to the system as far as albums go, and that’s what I kinda like about thrash. Damn Youth cough up a majority of their songs at the two-minute mark, with crossover outbursts that basically all melt into one another as frenzied yelps of fury, whether in the form of ‘Progress?!’, the catchy groove of ‘Skate Revenge’, the heavier death / thrash of ‘The Audience Wants Blood’, and the hammering spits of ‘Insurrection’.

There’s nothing remotely fancy about what’s on offer here. The combo are driven by the energetic riffs of Camilo Neto who might occasionally deliver us a nice thrash chug, but for the most part this an all-out youthful expression; a record lacking sharpness, cohesion and conduct, where any sort of maturity or organisation is replaced by a joyous fury and loose ‘n’ lethal aggression.

Imagine if you will a saucepan that has reached boiling point and overflowing with its ingredients; the scratchy vocal sneers, the fast-paced riffs, and a drum ‘n’ bass tandem of utmost terror. At times messy, but infectiously mid-80s, this is how Brazilian thrash should be played – frenzied, furious and unrelenting.

Pick out any brief expression here, whether in the form of ‘Jurisdiction’, ‘Dynamite Is All That We Need’, ‘You Saw Nothing’ or ‘Uncertain Days’, and you’ll find much to savour within such short time periods; chaotic but accessible compositions harkening back to those underground days of teenage rebellion within a world of grit ‘n’ shit.

Damn Youth aren’t a formidable bunch by any means, but their organic style makes for a hell of a listen as one descends into this pit of sweat, blood, mud and spit.

Neil Arnold

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