SAD THEORY - Entropia Humana Final

11 songs
73:43 minutes
***** ****
(self-released)

Bandpage

Brazil has been the most fertile ground for metal music in all of South America since the Eighties, with bands like Sepultura and Angra making it big internationally. Of course they are not the only quality bands from the Southern hemisphere, but the huge distance from the big global players makes it harder for these bands to be heard. So sometimes I feel really lucky when I discover a hidden gem, like for instance Sad Theory from the South of Brazil. They have been around for twenty years, with occasional breaks here and there, and have already released six albums. Entropia Humana Final is their latest longplayer, and although it already came out in late 2017, I only got around to listening to it now.

Apparently Entropia Humana Final is the band’s most technical endeavour so far, meaning that they have polished their melodic death metal to new heights. Also new are the guitar solos which before were a non-issue for Sad Theory. he solos have such a virtuoso feeling and are embedded so perfectly into the songs that it’s hard to believe that the band never tried this before.

Halfway through their career, after a four-year hiatus, the band also switched the lyrics from English to their native Portuguese, because it allows them to express themselves more appropriately about the topics that concern them. A translation sheet would be nice because I have the impression that Sad Theory really have something to say.

But in the end, it’s not only about the lyrics, but also the music, and there are certainly no complaints whatsoever. After twenty years in the game, Sad Theory have perfected their technical melodic death metal to perfection. Their songs are brutal, the vocals are fierce, but then they switch to more melodic breaks, and when a groove part is called for, that’s what you get. And don’t forget the stellar guitar solos that harken back to the early days of metal when there were was still such a thing as guitar heroes. Unlike many other death metal bands who strive for a homogenous sound, Sad Theory take the liberty to use elements of death, thrash, power, groove and heavy metal, which allows them to come up with an incredibly varied album full of memorable moments. I only felt let down a little by the concluding instrumental title track, which shows twenty-seven minutes on the display but ended already after seven minutes. Hidden bonus tracks are so passé, but apart from that, we still get plenty of great music on Entropia Humana Final, the sixth longplayer by Brazilian death metal veterans Sad Theory.