PAPANGU

Lampião Rei is definitely quite the shift in terms of ideals when it comes to the music that the band promoted with their stellar first record, going less metal and more into a more traditional progressive rock sound. This album kind of reminds me of Pale Communion by Opeth in a way, being an album that moves away from the metal that the band once had in favor of. Now, unlike Opeth, I feel that Papangu sort of jumped the ship of intense zeuhl metal way too soon in their careers. They still have got it in some regards, especially with the stellar third track of Boitatá (Incidente na pia batismal da Capela de Bom Jesus dos Aflitos), but it does feel as though they abandoned a ship that wasn't even crashing yet.

Though, while the biggest fault of the album is the band abandoning the more metal aspects from their first that made them really unique, I think they combined some extra elements that really work very well for this record's more rocking sound. The most notable of which is the expansion of the more jazzy substance that was admittedly a little missing from Holoceno. Zeuhl did originate as a more jazzy genre of prog rock music, especially when you consider Christian Vander's inspirations being a good deal of jazz musicians like John Coltrane. So, I think seeing the more jazzy elements of zeuhl be pushed into more of a limelight here is really nice. The last two tracks of Ruínas and Rito de coroação certainly showcase more of that fusion sound more prominently, sort of sounding like more intense versions of some Herbie Hancock songs. I think it's really great that they're expanding their sounds into some new and fun directions.

Another musical genre they are also starting to explore, at least in small doses, is more Brazilian genres such as forró, udigrudi, and MPB. It's really only noticeable in one track, that being Sol raiar (Caminhando na manhã bonita), but even then that track is amazing. I have been getting into more Brazilian music as of late, like Os Mutantes, Milton Nascimento, and Secos & Molhados, so hearing Papangu go into a more MPB sound for one of their songs was certainly a treat! I guess where Boitatá (Incidente na pia batismal da Capela de Bom Jesus dos Aflitos) was the stellar offering of zeuhl metal for this album, Sol raiar (Caminhando na manhã bonita) is the stellar offering of more traditional Brazilian music that the band wanted to try out upon here. Kind of makes me want a Brazilian pop rock record from Marco Mayer now.

Still, while the new sounds shown here are very great, I still think they should've upped the metal aspects way more. That is definitely my main problem with this record, and it is the fact that they struck gold on their first record, but seemed to move on from it way too quickly that kind of irks me. I think the jazzier sound this record has would meld extremely well with the more brutal metal that Holoceno showed, but I guess that just isn't in the cards yet.

I still really like this album despite its shortcomings, but I do hope Papangu doesn't abandon their metal aspects in future releases. Lampião Rei shows lots of promise for the future of this still cool new band.

Best tracks: Acende a luz: II. O encandeio / III. Sagüatimbó, Boitatá (Incidente na pia batismal da Capela de Bom Jesus dos Aflitos), Sol raiar (Caminhando na manhã bonita)

Worst tracks: Acende a luz: I. Alquimia, Mulher rendeira

This album while in Portuguese actually narrates the dark history of Brazil's underclass and socio-political activism but lyrics and storytelling set aside for those who comprehend like zero Portuguese, LAMPIÃO REI is quite a musical departure from its predecessor with less focus on the sludgy Mastodon styled metal and much more emphasis on knotty avant-prog, jazz fusion and local Brazilian folk musical styles ranging from udigrudi and forró to other local flavors of Northeastern Brazil. While the hardcore metalheads will scratch their heads with this one, the hardened proggers will absolutely love the wild mix of styles that permeate each and every one of the album's nine varied tracks which seamlessly blend moments of avant-prog, jazz fusion, zeuhl and Brazilian cheerfulness as they hop, skip and jump through varying styles. That includes a few moments of metal as well since the band has not abandoned the metallic oomph altogether however the addition of moments of Canterbury jazz and more demanding time signatures certainly gives LAMPIÃO REI a completely different vibe.

Add to that the production is much clearer this time around. If "Holoceno" was all about crafting darkened soundscapes that were murky and gravelly as to amplify the effects of the metal mojo, this second offering is more about crafting a warm inviting feel for the most part although the tracks differ so much in style that often it sounds like a completely different band. While "Boitat? (Incidente na pia batismal da Capela de Bom Jesus dos Aflitos)" features a loud and obnoxious growled vocal style with heavy guitars and busy psychedelic atmospheres, the track "Sol Raiar (Caminhando na Manh? Bonita)" exhibits Canterbury jazz warmth with Mike Ratledge styled keys along with cheerful traditional Brazilian musical accompaniments. A very strange mix and not one that i've ever heard! The band also offers touches of Gentle Giant knottiness ("Ruínas") and pure samba jazz moments reminiscent of the late great Antônio Carlos Jobim. For all its wild experimentalism though, unfortunately the album fails to find a cohesion of any sort as it seems like a free-for-all which is something that may alienate a lot of fans who lapped up the debut album (such as myself!)

I'm never one to diss a band for experimenting and moving onto something out of its comfort zone but perhaps for PAPANGU the bold change of style on LAMPIÃO REI may have come a little too soon as the fanbase was most certainly expecting a similarly styled followup to the more metallic "Holoceno," at least i was! Musically this album is quite brilliant and the musicians clearly have demonstrated their ability to pretty much tackle the entire prog universe in one sitting however as an album this one just doesn't seem to jive well from beginning to end as the continuity is out of whack and it just seems unfocused in so many ways. It's definitely an interestingly unique album with many interesting prog hybridization going on and i've been told by the band personally that this album is somewhat of an anomaly as the more familiar metal sounds will return on album #3. While i've tried to embrace this one at the same level of "Holoceno," it just doesn't come across as an album that actually can convey a concept from start to finish. Definitely a really good album but just not as much so as "Holoceno."

3.5 rounded down for inconsistency

This is one of the most interesting record I've heard this year, I am always grateful when a band dares to do something unique and different that surprises and enchants me. Papangu's Lampião Rei is an avant-garde prog record with some metal elements, delving into Brazilian folklore, history, a while moving away from their "metal" past. Following their successful debut Holoceno, known for its dark riffs, environmental themes, and Zeuhl explorations, the band now shifts focus to the legendary historical figure Lampião with remarkable flair. The record serves as a powerful ecological and preservation historical document, reflecting Papangu's commitment to exploring deeper narratives within their music.

Brazil has long been a hotbed for avant-garde creativity, with 70's trailblazers like Egberto Gismonti, Os Mutantes, and Hermeto Pascoal pushing boundaries, alongside a strong metal scene with bands like Sepultura, Shaman, and Soulfly. It was only a matter of time before a band merged these influences, and Papangu rises to the occasion with *Lampião Rei*, fusing the complexity of avant-garde with the intensity of metal.

Papangu has evolved dramatically, opting not to revisit their previous style. The album opens with the delicate acoustic guitar and clean vocals of "Acende a Luz II and III," painting a tranquil picture of Lampião's early life. As the track progresses, harsh vocals and keyboards introduce avant-garde influences from Frank Zappa and Soft Machine, showcasing Papangu's talent for creating intricate, layered soundscapes. The production is impressive, balancing intensity and clarity, with each instrument?guitar, flute, or synth?distinct yet harmonious.

Tracks like "Maracutaia" highlight this transformation with off-kilter piano and jazzy breakdowns, marking Papangu's confident shift into avant-garde jazz-rock. Meanwhile, "Boitatá" combines staccato guitars, bass-driven riffs, and a standout flute solo, reminiscent of Jethro Tull and Canterbury-style jazz, pushing the boundaries of their sound while staying true to their identity.

This evolution is a bold move, but Papangu embraces it with confidence. *Lampião Rei* is a genre-defying journey, blending optimism and darkness while capturing the complexities of Lampião's era. The vibrant "Oferenda no Alguidar" contrasts heavy drum beats with bright synths, epitomizing the band's refusal to be pigeonholed. Papangu's transformation is not just about change but about enhancing their storytelling and expanding their musical range, making *Lampião Rei* a standout in the modern avant-garde scene.

As we look to their next release, the anticipation builds?what new paths will Papangu explore? Wherever their musical journey takes them, one thing is certain: they are a band that refuses to stand still, and I'm eager to see where they go next.

Part of the reason for this shift in sound (aside from adding new members to the band) is that the subject matter here isn't quite as grim as on their debut. It tells the story of Lampião, a Brazilian bandit leader and folk hero whose heyday was in the 1920s and 30s. This album doesn't cover Lampião's betrayal, capture, and beheading (though the band says they'll do that on a future release), so there isn't the same need for Holoceno's oppressive mood.

Lampião Rei opens on the three-part, seven-minute mini-suite "Acende a Luz". Part one "Alquimia" is a short, folky acoustic intro. Part two, "O Encandeio" starts with a lightly jazzy guitar arpeggio and group vocals. It gives things a somewhat hazy atmosphere, and it quickly morphs into a psychedelic, metallic storm. The addition of a keyboard player to the band has brought a new and distinctive character to Papangu's music. A slinky, Wakeman-esque synth solo serves as a fitting climax. Part three, "Sagüatimbó", wraps things up on a rather jaunty note. Acoustic guitar dances about, and a majestic organ gives a lightness and buoyancy I never would have expected from this band.

"Boitatá (Incidente na pia batismal da Capela de Bom Jesus dos Aflitos)", in contrast, starts off with a plodding, distorted bassline and twangy guitars. This cut sounds almost like a metallic version of something off King Crimson's Lizard. The steady guitar riff has anxious electric piano bubbling just beneath it, keeping the rhythm and overall flow in constant flux.Near the end of this cut, things quiet down a bit, and the flute part does an excellent job of evoking the Brazilian wilderness.

Jittery, Üdü Ẁüdü-style guitar lines kick off "Ofrenda no Alguidar". This is intercut with slower jazz-rock flourishes reminiscent of Pink Floyd. Tension is maintained throughout, and there's a constant sense that something is about to break through. The chorus is peppy and jazzy, but there's an undercurrent of anxiety. After a conclusion full of ominous synth pads, the gentle little interlude "Mulher Rendeira" gives the listener some breathing room.

A laid-back, Latin jazz mood persists on "Sol Raiar (Caminhando na Manhã Bonita)". This is the most un-Papangu-like the band has sounded so far, and it took me completely by surprise they went quite this jazzy. I don't speak Portuguese, but maybe the lyrics are fitting for this style. It's not a bad song, or even that incongruous with the rest of the record. It's simply unexpected.

Papangu gets back to something more recognizably Papangu on "Maracutaia". Jazz notes are prominent and unmissable, but it's woven together with moments of heavy progressive rock in an inventive and enjoyable way. The song's final minute sees the band delve into an aggressive psychedelic, folk-inflected black metal excursion.

"Ruínas" is a sprawling instrumental that goes in some very interesting directions. The introduction, replete with chimes, flute, and fluttery synths, sounds like it could have been on a jazz-funk release from the 1980s. Clavinet enters and continues on this funky path, and I really like the uncommon hand percussion they deploy here. From about this song's midpoint, things start to build up. Guitar and wordless vocals push this composition forward, and the eventual introduction of a rock drum kit adds to the momentum.

Lampião Rei ends on "Rito de Coroação". Right off the bat, swirling organ and twining guitars give this cut an otherworldly, psychedelic feel. Things are constantly churning and changing, but it's always small shifts that gradually accrue, rather than sudden shifts. Robert Fripp-influenced soloing will give way to folky group vocals, which in turn go to Magma-style madness and then to the type of grandiosity associated with some of Steven Wilson's bigger songs.

Papangu's sophomore record doesn't quite reach the same heights as Holoceno, but it's really not that far off. I love that they have continued exploring new twists on their sound, rather than just settling into a niche. One thing I like so much about Lampião Rei is just how Brazilian it sounds. I've heard lots of great music from all over the world, but a lot of stuff (especially in the progosphere) can sound quite generically Anglo-American. So when I run across stuff like this, which expertly and artfully weaves in sounds from the act's homeland, it's always exciting.

Review originally published here: theeliteextremophile.com/2024/09/09/album-review-papangu-lampiao-rei/

Brazil's Papangu, though, might be the best-realized example of zeuhl metal I've run across to date. Holoceno, their debut album, has been seven years in the making, and it tells the story of an environmental apocalypse--something Brazilians would understandably have on their minds.

The album opens with the instrumental "Ave-Bala". This song's opening riff is equal parts Blood Mountain and Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh, with the percussion of Larks' Tongues in Aspic. It's a sludgy, foreboding, and furious introductory track.

"Agua Branca" bursts open with a throbbing, fuzzy, bass-heavy sound, which is balanced against more delicate moments of post-rock-inspired guitar lines. Crashing cymbals of an unusual sonic quality add to the oversaturated sound, and a haunting synthesizer adds a spooky twist in the song's closing moments.

"São Francisco" incorporates rhythms of Papangu's native Northeastern Brazil under death metal-inspired guitars. Rhythms and riffs become more complex, overlapping and interweaving with one another. Passages of this song mix a martial drumbeat with frenetic, twisting guitar lines to achieve a near-hypnotic effect.

The opening notes of "Bacia das Almas" immediately convey urgency. The watery guitar effects add an element of artsy post-punk character, and that's only enhanced by the relatively pared-back instrumentation. Plonking cowbell complements this track's incessant drive. Out of nowhere, a glimmering, cybertronic synthesizer solo emerges before the song's final verse. The drumming on this album--provided by Torstein Lofthus of Shining and Elephant9--is nothing short of masterful, and the gradual increase in intensity really drives home the sense of impending doom.

We finally encounter a song which is not just pure aggression out of the gate with "Terra Arrasada". Murky doom metal gradually fades in. It's a hazy, mantra-like atmosphere with towering walls of distorted guitar. This track gives me strong flashes of Oranssi Pazuzu's last release with its abstract riffs and raspy vocals. The song's quieter moments reveal subtle jazz licks, but they're soon swallowed up by icy walls of black metal. Around the halfway point, more Brazilian rhythms make an appearance, and the way they're folded into the metal instrumentation is perfect.

"Lobisomem" opens with an extended fade-in of black metal atmospherics before exploding into pure fury. There's an askew clean guitar riff that makes a striking impression in the moments between verses, and even a break of bluesy stoner-doom for a few bars before launching into some spacey jazz metal. Seven Impale saxophonist Benjamin Mekki Widerøe makes a guest appearance here, and his contributions add a mournful tenor. Around this song's midpoint is the most obvious Magma homage yet: skittering snare drum and cosmic ambience recall "Theusz Hamtaahk". It resolves to a bruising sludge metal passage topped with wailing saxophone.

Holoceno ends on its 10-minute title track. Warbling synth pads and gentle acoustic guitars give the listener their calmest moment on the album. This is about as close to conventional progressive rock as shows up here. When the saxophone enters, it calls to mind a better version of Gilmour-era Pink Floyd. At around five minutes in, though, the song suddenly shifts to a Van der Graaf-y riff led by saxophone and pounded out aggressively on the drums. It feels like a maelstrom is building, and when it finally lands, it does not disappoint. It's huge, evil, and overpowering avant-garde metal. Tight, technical guitar parts lay the backing for dramatic saxophone and vocal lines. "Holoceno" somehow keeps upping the intensity, bringing the album to a downright-apocalyptic conclusion.

I did not expect to be reviewing two absolutely stellar avant-prog releases back-to-back, but here we are. Papangu effortlessly weaves together avant-garde, sludge, and zeuhl influences into a menacing, murky album. Holoceno is full of dark, twisting guitar lines and absolutely thunderous drums. I was absolutely blown away by this album, and I cannot recommend it enough. I've been listening to this on repeat since I first ran across it, and I find new things to love on each listen.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2021/07/26/album-review-papangu-holoceno/

I said "answers", but what I meant was "absolutely blowing my mind and body". Dear lord, this album is so good. Every track here feels like my body is getting pounded by extreme and heavy metal while a jazzist serenades my corpse, and I absolutely love it. The first track of Ave-Bala just gets me ready for this giant roller coaster of an album. Winding and strange passages of music mixed with a large focus on instrumentation and surrealism; not backing off on what Zeuhl is, but what Zeuhl can be in a Metal context.

The huge jazz sound on here just really adds to the flavors for me. I absolutely love how, while it is a Metal album, they put huge focus on the brass movements, creating this giant, big band feel on the whole record. They play so well with the intense guitars that it takes a unique approach to Metal music that I haven't heard before, and I am all for it.

That is not the only good thing here, nah-ah. The drums, man I love those drums. Just the extreme, mathematical, and slamming drums applied here just makes me salivate. They remind me a lot of Zach Hill's drumming styles, but a lot less snare focused and more bass drum focused. They know how to pound away into your ears, but they still know how to step back a bit and let the other instruments shine. They really do take and hone in on Christian Vander's drumming styles and not only run with them, but make it their own.

If I had only one critique for this album, it's more of a nitpick, but it's so good that I feel as though it might be TOO good, that a possible next release the band might do, might not reach the same highs as this record. We'll never know until the future arrives, but this album is so well made and so polished that I fear they won't ever achieve this high level of greatness again. That is just my own two cents though.

Talk about an amazing and highly underrated release. This first album from Papangu has become one of my favorites of the 2020s so far, and I think it might be quickly becoming my favorite of the previous year. Seriously, if you haven't heard this album yet, do yourself a huge favor and listen to it. You'll get some great music out of it.

Holy crap! This album is amazing, and easily one of the most impressive from 2021. Certainly, it is the most impactful debut of 2021 that I've heard. If I had to pigeonhole the band, I guess I'd call them prog metal - but there is so much in their music, as can be seen from the tags they've used on their Bandcamp page. While not sounding really like any of these, Papangu is reminiscent to me of a melange of Magma and Mastodon, generated by Guayo and Gentle Giant, blended with Bowie and Bubu, curated by King Crimson and Kayo Dot, and overseen by Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and Shining. Honestly the sheer eclecticism of Papagnu's sound is amazing just in the way it is all pulled together without sounding convoluted and impenetrable. The music is avant, but accessibly so.

One of the Bandcamp tags is 'Zeuhl', and you can certainly hear several elements of this in Papagnu's sound - and in particular in the martial rhythms that pervade the album. However, rather than sounding otherworldly, they sound rooted to the geographic origins of the band. I'm not at all familiar with Brazilian folk music, but much of Papangu's music sounds traditional and tribal. Even the psychedelia of their music is less from the hallucinogenic qualities of Pink Floyd and Hawkwind, than from Psilocybin and Ayahuasca. I love how much of their own culture Papangu has poured into their music, and melded beautifully with styles from across the world and across the ages. I have railed against the term world music in the past, but with Holoceno, Papangu have created some superb world music, boundless in breadth, depth and inspiration.

Holoceno is an incredibly ambitious album for a debut, and it could so easily have fallen flat on its face. Rather, it so very quickly attained an almost cult status, that only five or six months after its release, it was unsurprising to see it appearing in so many end-of-year lists. Yet, while there has been a social media storm over just how mind-blowing this debut is, it's been largely contained to metal circles. And that's a great shame, as while there's no doubt much for metal lovers to get their teeth into, there's so much more, and (particularly if you like either the French or Japanese brands of Zeuhl) plenty for adventurous listeners willing to give this band a listen. The execution of Papangu's confluence of sounds and styles is exceptional and flawless, the musicianship is of a very high level, and the album has beautiful production. This is the sort of innovative album that the phrase "it shouldn't work" was made for. But it does. It works in a magnificent and addictive way, and I can't wait to hear what the band comes up with next. Given this debut was seven years in the making, I rather hope I don't need to wait that long?

Musical complacency is certainly not the case for Brazilian band PAPANGU which formed in 2012 in the city of Joāo Pessoa but has only finally released its debut HOLOCENO in 2021. Initially the band was content as a simple stoner rock trio but as time went on got into sludge metal and eventually the more progressive angsty sludge metal of early Mastodon. But why stop there? The band was equally fascinated by the tripped out zeuhl rhythms of bands like Magma and after seven years of stewing these ingredients in the cauldron of their own making, PAPANGU has hit the ground running with a rather unique mix of musical ideas in a combo effect that i have never heard before!

The band consists of Marco Mayer (bass, vocals, synthesizer), Hector Mota (guitar, vocals, percussion), Rai Accioly (guitar, vocals) and Nichollas Jaques (drums, percussion) who all came from various musical backgrounds including punk rock, thrash metal and doom metal. Their mission is to do to metal what Brazilian musician Edu Lobo did to traditional Brazilian music in the 1970s. Inspirations include not only Magma and Mastodon but Edu Lobo himself who performed traditional bossa nova and a style called MPB, short for short for música popular brasileira, is a loosely defined genre that formed in the mid-1960s as a modernised version of bossa nova and samba-canção which adopted foreign styles of music.

Add to those formidable influences, King Crimson styled progginess adds an extra helping of tight-knit time signature workouts. The band sings exclusively in Portuguese so therefore one could conclude that PAPANGU implements the zeuhl rhythmic drive of Magma, the metal intensity of Mastodon, the prog rock overdrive of King Crimson and melds it all with the immediacy of traditional Brazilian musical styles heard especially in the lyrical deliveries. HOLOCENO is listed as a concept album but i have no friggin clue as to what that may be about since my Portuguese is rather weak as far as understanding it spoken or sung.

Given these opposing influences on board it might sound like a tall order to fill but PAPANGU manages to keep the songs diverse with some sounding like "Bacia das Almas" resembling more energetic and heavy carnival music while "Terra Arrasada" taking on a menacing doom metal tone. There are also four guest musicians adding the tones and timbres of extra percussion, minimoogs, saxophones and extra dialogue. Add to that the production is excellent and a remix of "Açougue das Almas" which features Kayo Dot's Toby Driver in the mixer's chair is available on some editions as a bonus track.

Well, HOLOCENO pretty much checks off many things i love about adventurous music. It's proggy, it's heavy, it's experimental yet familiar. It's accessible yet weird as hell. It's irreverence towards the status quo is high and the passion is on fire! The zeuhl rhythms keep it from spiraling out of control and the highly creative mojo on display keeps it from getting stale. This is really an outstanding example of progressive music that progresses without sacrificing the somewhat ossified terminology that has come into play. Highly recommended for those who love bands like Kayo Dot, King Crimson and even Norway's Shining. Avant-garde and unusual but chock full of sounds that will remind you of some of your favorites!