Description
Three years after Por Nos da Ventania, Vauruva returns with Mar da Deriva ("Drift Sea"). This expansive journey blends atmospheric and post-black metal with progressive rock, folk, and ambient textures. Unlike the previous album's medium-length tracks, this work unfolds in three sprawling suites, each flowing organically across genres, anchored by Bruno Augusto Ribeiro's lyrics and Caio Lemos's evocative vocals and instrumentation.
The opening track, Legado, sets a primordial, threatened landscape, combining aggressive black metal riffs, driving percussion, and melodic interludes of flute and acoustic guitar, shifting between fury and melancholy. Os Cacadores ("The Hunters") balances dreamlike atmospheres and confrontational energy, contrasting Ribeiro's harsh vocals with Lemos's melodic delivery, weaving climactic guitar passages with contemplative ambient moments.
The closing suite, "As Selvas Vermelhas no Planeta dos Eminentes" ("The Red Jungles on the Planet of the Eminences"), is a cinematic black metal epic that alternates intense riffs with lush orchestral synths, achieving dramatic tension and resolution despite occasional sentimentality.
Thematically, the album mirrors Lemos's other projects, presenting a symbolic odyssey through Brazilian history and identity, combining folk, tropicalia, metal, and electronic textures. Its narrative evokes a voyage down the Amazon toward redemption or new horizons, encompassing triumph, grief, and hope.
Mar da Deriva is a hallucinatory, emotionally charged work of profound beauty and intensity. That Caio Lemos remains underrecognized is surprising; this album proves his ability to craft soundscapes worthy of cinematic and critical acclaim.