When you come across a CD review on the net, most likely you will be told that the first album is heavier, “electric” and with vocals, while the second album is softer and acoustic.   Fair enough – more or less. When asked about this split in some interviews, Andreas generally answered that he found inspiration in piles of demo recordings he made over the last 15 years for variety of purposes, and realized that many compositions were originally acoustic and that this kind of division made his life easier (to sum it up very briefly). As a matter of fact, I found most of his answers rather fragmentary or brief, for instance when he was asked in some interview about the music influences which can be found on the album, he simply listed metal, blues, classical music, baroque, Brazilian and instrumental, which is kind of sweet really. He could have as well summed it up to – music . Now that I think about it – I have not come across any questions related to the concept of the album, but then it is possible that these do exist yet in Portuguese linguistic resources, which I can handle to very limited extend only. The truth is that Andreas functions in his language and one must take that into account. After all, some of the songs on Hubris I & II are in Portuguese.

Hubris I:

The opening, short composition „Protest!“ flows in close to "indigenous music" arrangements and rhythms which may to some of us who were born much earlier cause – for a very brief moment - a “back-in-time” transfer to the Zepps of mid-70s or early Plant’s stuff combined with some Sep‘s tribal echoes. With the next short composition, „Euphoria/Desperation“ this is enough to rouse your interest. „Eu Humano“ will capture you with its rolling guitar and Andreas convincing voice listing in Portuguese  – (as much as I could get from the text) – human atrocious, low and destructive features between melodic guitar parts and on the background of darker rolling sound. This piece of music definitely gets under your skin. „The Forum“ flows in lightly – and again, for us born very early you briefly encounter another back-in-time transfer to early “floydish” period: guitar parts combine with solid rhythmic bits and surprisingly civil yet bewitching voice of Vasco Faé –  the theme of doubts / state of democracy and technologies’ merciless impact on lives comes as no surprise. 

Although (5) „Virgulandia“ with rapper Rappin Hood, is listed as nr. 5, apparently the running order is different and Virgulandia actually comes after “God’s Laugh”, which is otherwise listed as nr. 6. I didn’t find any comments on this, but anyway – regardless of the official version I simply believe that the next song is in reality „God’s Laugh“ (which for that  might as well be  re-named to “Kisser’s Laugh” : )) that starts with sharp, distinct guitar passing into melodic, in parts somber, contemplative lines – this could as well be a lament which again with Faé’ civil, compelling voice makes a beautiful piece of music. 

Rapping „Virgulandia“ is again in Portuguese, at moments it may sound a bit “playful” (light acoustic guitar parts, Latin rhythms)  but then the subject matter is down to earth again and   around miseries of the home country. Between vocal parts there are truly fine instrumental insertions (forget about rap at those moments) which altogether turns the whole thing into a brilliant composition. The following instrumental piece, „R.H.E.T“ starts with classical guitar and fine bass line to change after a minute or so into roaring electric sound with joining rhythmic “sections”, further guitars, harmonica – the sound gets pretty dense here and there.

“Em Busco Do Ouro“ – gold rush / or „gold hunt“ – is another song dominated by guitars and voice, this time of Zé Ramalhem, whom I mentioned earlier. As the title suggests, it is about “gold hunt” in dust and sweat to end in ruin and death. To avoid any attempt at outline I have attached official video at the bottom of this review which says it all. The lyrics were provided by Tony Bellotto, Brazillian musician, guitarist of the band Titas and a writer. „Lava Sky“ is again an instrumental, guitar piece, more of the kind you would expect on a typical “guitar album” and – excuse my ignorance – for me it feels more like a “filler” the author of which could be anybody (who has mastered the instrument, that is). „A Million Judas Iscariotes“ – is a completely different matter. The opening sitar and Indian rhythms may again sound familiar, yet Faé’s voice does not – his voice is expressive, strong, with rolling guitar in the background – I simply love this song with changing melody, scaling, expression and dark atmosphere. And btw. as the term “hubris” has a complex meaning and contains stories, so the few words or lines in this song wrapped it all into one dense package; the central line OVERWEIGHT, OVERPAID, OVERLOAD, OVERDOSE and the final line CONSTITUTION, VIOLATION, REVOLUTION, OBLIGATION can in itself  be seen as a state of the modern society in a nutshell.

Hubris II:

I would say the 2nd CD is more “acoustic” rather than purely acoustic: as much as all the compositions have an “acoustic feel”, there are also electric instruments. The opening instrumental composition, „Sad Soil“, is definitely such an instance. In slightly faster, colourful yet still meditative „Worlds Apart“ the classical guitar dominates, with  hints at Latin rhythms and piano insertions. „Breast Feeding“ is another melodic guitar piece with interlacing lines,  percussions and Latin feel. The following tune, „Page“, is faster and more dynamic in that you can hear / see the dimension/volume of the sound as it develops and gains in density.

„Domenicana“ is dominated both by classical and electric guitars the lines of which interlace as soon as the acoustic “intro” is over. Forget about action in this instance – nonetheless  the sound intensifies from the middle parts and as the composition draws to its end. „Vivaldi“ is based on classical guitar, Spanish “tunes” and crystal clear sound which allows you to follow every move of fingers on the strings. „0120“ is simply a nice piece of chamber music, playful melody, classical guitar, lots of (sound) colours and fine classical wing quintet which joins from the middle part of the composition – oboe, bassoon, flute, clarinet, French horn. I can easily imagine this concertino tune to be played in some chateaux’ chamber. After all, these musicians apparently belong amongst the finest  in the “Sao Paulo” territory, playing in choro ensembles, symphonic orchestras (like Otinilo Pacheco) and teaching music. The wind quintet parts were arranged by Brazilian “world music” musician, Andre Abujamra.  

The miniature titled „Armonia“ starts with quivering Spanish guitar which blends with another acoustic guitar in fine contrasts. „Hubris“ starts in dramatic, heavy mood and again you can enjoy lines full of contrasts and development: acoustic guitar is combined with electric, distinct drums and dynamic “charge”.  Backing foggy vocals join in the middle, for few moments without any instrumentation, and then the vocal and instrumental lines join and roll together towards the end, which is accented by dominating electric guitar. With the classic guitar, another miniature „Mythos“ brings peace again.  

And now comes the finale: „O Mais Querido“ may come as a surprise – the only song on the second CD brings us to “folk” roots of Brazil  – traditional amateur „repentist“ Heleno Joao presents a genre typical of Northeast Brazil (though I cannot sure whether this specific thing does or does not belong to the southern variant) which goes back to middle ages troubadour tradition: it combines music and poetry and is rooted in improvisation and instant inspiration.   I cannot tell the content though, as the lyrics are missing, so I can only vaguely guess what the male voice may be telling us on the background of the acoustic guitar. After several re- plays though my suspicion is that may be some kind of homage to the Brazilian football. But I may be as well wrong. : )

Final notes: this album is most likely everything else than what you would have expected from the second “senior” member of the current Sepultura lineup and from one of the legendary metal guitarists. Forget about brutal riffs or guitar techniques show offs (not that I ever noticed any such show-off leanings in this man). This album may be dark here and there, it has its message, is much softer in sound than anyone would expect, it has depth, colour and most importantly it brings music which – if you listen really carefully – is varied, and far from boring or mediocre (as I read couple of times elsewhere). There is however one more added value to this album – at least from my perspective as a) Sepultura fan, b) person living in a faraway country (from Brazil) -  this album is definitely very personal and deeply rooted in the environment / culture you normally do not have chance to explore. It presents musicians with whom Andreas works and make part of his reality. It also touches upon and presents musical influences you simply to not have chance to be aware of unless you live in Latin America or are specialist in “local” culture and history. In this regard Andreas’ project can also be understood as a tribute to local musical community and traditions.  Which means – you are now free to take the pain and explore what has been herewith presented – with the internet now nothing has ever been easier. And if you feel a desperate need for brutal sounds, there is again an easy solution - just switch to any Sepultura’ album and you have it all.

One more final note: as mentioned earlier, in some reviews I found in few online magazines I noticed kind of puzzlement or even rejection of the album as “mediocre” or “ordinary”. After what I have tried to say throughout the text, this is simply a misunderstanding (or display of utter laziness): in this project Andreas only showed lack of „hybris“ (not that I am surprised) while displaying solid dose of the opposite, or arête. Well done.