Record of the Week: Olho Seco: Botas Fuzis Capacetes 7"

Olho Seco: Botas Fuzis Capacetes 7" (Morrer Discos) The new label Morrer Discos brings us a pitch-perfect reissue of this raw hardcore monster from early 80s Brazil. While Olho Seco debuted alongside Inocentes and Cólera on 1982’s Grito Suburbano compilation LP, 1983’s Botas Fuzis Capacetes is their first stand-alone record, and if you like raw, Discharge-inspired hardcore, there’s a good chance you consider it the best record ever to come from Brazil. Olho Seco’s vocalist Fábio Sampaio ran the influential record store Punk Rock Discos and was deeply plugged into the international hardcore scene, forging connections with scenes as far away as Finland (you can see “Tampere SS” painted on his leather jacket in a photo on this record’s insert), and while the first generation or two of Discharge-inspired hardcore must have been hugely influential on Olho Seco, what strikes me most about Botas Fuzis Capacetes is how alive with discovery it feels. The a-side, “Nada,” in particular just fizzes with energy, and while its three-chord riff is almost absurdly primitive, the performance conveys a similar excitement level to Minor Threat’s first EP or Discharge’s Decontrol. It feels impossible for me to sit still while it’s playing. The two tracks on the b-side are no slouch either, with “Muito Obrigado” leaning toward the savage aggression of Shitlickers and the title track closing things out on an ever-so-slightly more tuneful, UK82-inspired note. Botas Fuzis Capacetes is a clear highlight in the history of hardcore punk, and this reissue does exactly what it should by getting out of the way and letting the record speak for itself. I don’t have an original to compare it to, but the sound is clear, loud, and powerful, and the sleeve reproduction so dead-on that it almost looks like dead stock (that pocket sleeve on thin goldenrod paper is drool-worthy). If you’re an 80s international hardcore manic, you need this one in your collection, so kudos to Morrer Discos for bringing this stylish and affordable new pressing to the punx.