Review: Vauruvã – Por Nós da Ventania

Style: folk atmoblack (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Wolves in the Throne Room, Panopticon
Review by: Andy
Country: Brazil
Release date: 1 September, 2022

What can I say of Caio Lemos that I didn’t say in my review of Bríi’s Corpos Transaprentes earlier this year? Album after album, his music transcends any logical responses of my music listening–my heart and soul are swept up in a tide, the wind, and the rains while listening to Kaatayra and Bríi. Caio Lemos’ songwriting talent is simply inhuman; he seriously must be a forest spirit impersonating a human. One thing I failed to mention in my review of the practically perfect Corpos Transparentes, however, is the existence of his tertiary project Vauruvã, whose sophomore album, Por Nós da Ventania (PNdV), differs from his previous opera in two significant ways: The band isn’t a solo project, and the compositions are improvised. 

PNdV’s compositions center around the lyrics, evocative verses portraying nature, courtesy of vocalist Bruno Augusto Ribeiro. Like Caio’s other projects, the music is inexorably connected to the natural world, the rhythms and melodies pulsing as if the heart of the rainforest. These improvised compositions provide another key into the brain of a master songwriter. The shifting compositions vibrate with vitalistic energies, and the riffs expertly navigate their way from one to the next–truly remarkable pacing for an improvised project. The fierce bite of the blackened elements and rasps of Bruno coalesce with shimmering black metal guitars and swirling synths, combining in a wholly sublime take on the natural world, like Agalloch or Moonsorrow, a terrifying glimpse at untamed nature. The songwriting and flow are so powerful as to be an unstoppable force, a tsunami or a hurricane.

However, like the stellar cover art depicts, the album ephemerally stands between the shifting beauty of the natural world through the improvisational elements and a more grounded, traditional black metal style. At times, Caio abandons his magical touch altogether, sounding merely like dozens of other upper echelon atmospheric black metal bands. This lacks the acoustic flavors of Kaatayra and the completely overwhelming rhythmic sophistication of Bríi. What Caio sacrifices in order to show off his electric guitar skills a bit better–which he certainly does with absolutely incredible, uniquely Lemos-esque segments like the intro to “À Verdade”–essentially ends up being nothing more than a touch of folky flavor. Flashes of brilliance brighter than the lightning in the stormy black metal sections routinely are brought into being, but overall more moments of empty, howling wind are in PNdV than pure the shining light. 

However, to write a relatively straightforward album after Corpos Transparentes makes perfect sense; while Corpos was meticulously detailed down to the dozenth layer of synth, the straightforward, improvised black metal attack provides a refreshing change of pace as a listener (and as an artist, too, I’m sure). The traditional black metal attack of “Viração” zips by like a falcon diving while “Maresia” often slows things down to a near blackened doom-y ant-crawl. All these avenues and styles explored create a varied package that actually feels more cohesive than if it kept one pace, too. Even Caio’s simplistic album still feels like the glory of frolicking in the rain before the flash floods then sweep one off their feet; for example, the end of “Mareisa” contains beautiful chants before the more overtly powerful “Sevuapó se Resta.” 
Ultimately, despite its strong tendencies and sensible place in the greater Caio Lemos discography, PNdV sounds like the lowest common denominator between typical atmoblack and the unique qualities of Bríi or Kataayra. The omission of folkier sections or trance beats or longer epic crescendos feels disappointing in a sense, but that is just because of my expectations for this particular forest spirit going into any album by him. In a vacuum, PNdV is a strong atmospheric black metal release, full of jaw-dropping, sublime lyricism and auditory imagery, but compared to the likes of Só Quem or Inpariquipe, PNdV feels a shade duller–a less impressive affair with the natural world.

Recommended tracks: Maresia, À Verdade
You may also like: Bríi, Kaatayra, Negura Bunget
Final verdict: 7/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Label: Independent

Vauruvã is:
– Caio Lemos (all instruments)
– Bruno Augusto Ribeiro (vocals, lyrics)