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Taking one’s name from the coolest Asian person in the history of mankind is a pretty tough benchmark to live up to, but Brazilian quintet Yun-Fat manages to acquit itself nicely on this adept little debut. Infusing death metal and grindcore angularity with clever bits of bossa nova and samba instrumentation might strike many as hopelessly contrived, but, lo and behold, actually comes off not too far removed from the jazzy tech-death of the early to mid-90s. “He Wants a Bullet Between His Eyes” pairs a musical pastiche of brutal death, samba breaks, nu-metallish vocal moans and Super Mario Bros. samples with a lyrical warning shot across the bow of superficial teen would-be rebels, and – horror of horrors! – it works. Follow-up track “Physiognomia,” meanwhile, cribs liberally from At the Gates for its lead hook, right down to the Lindbergesque “GO!” that kicks it into overdrive. Sure, the record is a bit derivative of this and that from here to there but never to the point of consternation and, still, it’s a more interesting mishmash than most newcomers as of late. Equally worthy is the slight element of humor to the whole thing. It’s a gentle playfulness and light-heartedness of spirit that nicely sidesteps both parody and sarcasm and opts for smart unpredictability, from the aforementioned Lusophonic influences to the hidden cover of U2's “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (buried somewhere after track 10) that manages to turn up the extremity without turning into a gimmick. All considered, worth hearing.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Metastasis |
| 2. He Wants a Bullet Between His Eyes |
| 3. Physiognomia |
| 4. Her Hand Is Waving Goodbye (Aquidabã) |
| 5. Pinga Piringa (The Departure Song) |
| 6. Selfless |
| 7. Seven Ghosts |
| 8. Filthy Little Beast |
| 9. A Real Love Song (Que Grind é esse Amor?) |
| 10. Metastasis (In Extremis) |
: 36:12
| Buy other Yun-Fat albums |
