Along with the now legendary Sepultura, Sarcófago (translation: "sarcophagus") integrated the first wave of Brazilian death metal bands, a ragged collective that stormed out of the South American nation just as it was emerging from decades spent under an oppressive military dictatorship. Though the country's metal scene was understandably small and close-knit at the time, Sarcófago was committed to doing things differently from the very start. Not only were they the most extreme and inaccessible of Brazil's early death metal champions, verging on and, some claim, pioneering what would later be known as black metal, but they also embraced the seemingly at-odds elements of punk rock to boot. And even though this radical approach ultimately didn't spell a recipe for widespread success, it certainly made Sarcófago impossible to ignore. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia