Dividir & Conquistar

Dorsal Atlântica's second album, Dividir & Conquistar, originally released back in 1988, has received a luxurious re-release from China's AreaDeath Productions as a part of a limited 3-CD box set called Depois do Fim (After the End). It features the band's first two albums and a split release that they originally did with another Brazilian act named Metalmorphose back in 1985.

On Dividir & Conquistar, as you might expect from a second album, the guys improved drastically as songwriters compared to debut album Antes do Fim. They clearly put more effort into their song structures this time around and added some tricks and technically advanced parts that showed the musical direction they wanted to take. A mild Slayer influence is still there but not nearly as strong as on their debut. Also, Dorsal Atlântica put less emphasis on speed and more on keeping their songs more versatile, building bridges between faster and slower sections. The production is way better (clearer) on this follow-up album than on the debut, something that should hardly surprises anyone.

As every re-release has some, often unnecessary, bonus stuff, this Chinese re-release doesn't buck the trend. All the bonus tracks, seven in all, are bad-sounding studio outtakes or rehearsal songs and I always tend to skip them and go back to the real album. However, there's a lot to be read when it comes to the booklet. Without spoiling any of the details lets just say you simply need to purchase this whole set for yourself. Learning more about the roots of Brazilian underground Speed/Thrash Metal scene shouldn't harm you, right? ;o)