Point of No Return - Centelha

Point of No Return were a hardcore band from São Paulo, Brazil. They released one album before breaking up, 'Centelha' or 'Sparks' as it was called in the US. The band focused on third-world struggles, animal liberation, and general political dissonance...implementing their crushing three-singer maelstrom on the listener. And for a group of straight-edge vegans, they really did sound pissed off.

The lyrics are entirely in Portuguese, but language barriers aside, they get their point across. I'd had this album for some time, but it never really sunk in initially -- the past few weeks though I can't get enough; the three-singer dynamic is probably the most well-structured I've heard in hardcore music, especially since each vocalist really stretches their range, and despite the constant usage of chug, the music packs a punch, and perhaps a hurricane-kick or two that flips your wig unexpectedly.


And I lied (or maybe they did), the band did break up, but they came out of the ashes to release a second full-length in 2002, 'Liberdade Imposta, Liberdade Conquistada'. I've given that album some plays too, but the band went in a lighter direction and overall didn't feel it as much -- some interesting things going on though as the band kind of dabbled in post-rock/metal territory. Maybe I'll come around to it later, like I did their first.

But yeah, 'Centelha' is a quality album -- among the gems in hardcore.

Centelha
+++++++++++
mind the graves