Brazilian duo Douglas Leal and Marian Sarine formed Deafkids back in 2010, and have been consistently creating inherently aggressive but danceable music ever since. Their latest album, Cicatrizes Do Futuro (translation: Scars Of The Future), apparently seeks to draw attention to the relentless propaganda disseminated by political parties and the media conglomerates that support them.

It is also an attempt to assess the damage that this constant stream of effluent has had upon the collective psyche of humanity. To be perfectly honest, we don’t really need to look too far to do that at the moment, the evidence is everywhere, and those totally possessed by this cultish brainwashing are sadly unlikely to be swayed by a beautifully crafted slab of tribal techno noise. Their loss. Which is also our loss, up to a point.

In pointing at the scars of the future with Cicatrizes Do Futuro, naturally the scars of the past are also invoked, and this album lands in the now as a kind of sonic intervention. It’s a gargantuan task that Deafkids have set themselves, and one that seems likely to fail, but that’s no reason not to try.

The central conceit of the album is summed up nicely by the sample that introduces Profecia (Prophecy): “We are going to explore the province of the mind.” From here, Deafkids set about destroying the idea that the mind can be divided into prescribed or manipulated administrative divisions. Weaponising their unique blend of tribal rhythms, techno and punk, they do a fine job of leading the assault on the psychological walls erected by ideology and fear.

The duo’s use of “futuristic” production techniques and instrumentation crosses swords with their adoption of ancient ritualistic rhythms. Both approaches, of course, can affect the mind and insist on blind devotion. The methods may differ, but the end result is the same. There’s no freedom of thought, just subservience brought about by manipulation. The glitch-ridden Parasita (Parasite) opens the album and lays bare Deafkids’ approach. Relentless, thrilling percussion, searing guitar riffs, and roaring distorted vocals all combine to create a disorienting blast. The equivalent of having hot lava thrown on you whilst having a nap, the sheer energy of their attack is guaranteed to elicit a reaction.

The band effectively establish opposition throughout the album. Feitico (Spell) sets techno beats and human rhythms against each other, as the human voice is continually distorted and manipulated into an amorphous screaming blob that rather brings down the mood in the void. The hypnotic rhythms of Possessao Coletiva (Collective Possession) are slightly calmer, but that vocal is still floating in space, screaming out. The introduction of an angrily buzzing guitar towards the track’s close suggests that Deafkids want to disrupt the trance and break the spell. They do just this on the album’s final track Em Transe (In A Trance), with the vocals suddenly possessed with a demonic determination and metal enriched guitars bolster thundering percussion.

As with the entirety of Cicatrizes Do Futuro, it’s a wake up call. In order for the album to do its job correctly, it needs to be discarded as soon as the spell breaks. Deafkids are trying to encourage free thought, and that includes freedom from their own message. Until then, Cicatrizes Do Futuro remains a thrilling collision of ritual, technology and noise.