Cactek drops “Sunrise In Hell” EP

Brazilian death/thrash metal outfit Cactek has shared a new five-track EP called “Sunrise In Hell”. The project led by Pedro de La Rocque was recorded and mixed by de La Rocque himself (guitars, bass, vocals) and stem-mastered by Dan Swanö at Unisound.

Drums were recorded and mixed by Wildy Souza at Ground Fire Studio.

Tracklist:
01-Spam with a Plan
02-Die for Nothing
03-Sunrise in Hell
04-Malignant Mass
05-Fish-Eyed Child

Cactek was founded in 2019 by the Brazilian musician Pedro de La Rocque, who immediately started the writing and recording process of the Sunrise in Hell EP in his home studio.

While still in the embryonic phase of the production, the world-renown illustrator João Antunes Jr. was hired to create the visual identity and the artwork for the project. However, in 2021, Pedro realized that it would still take some time to finish the five tracks, so he decided to release the spam with a plan single, whose cover was also assigned to João.

The mastering of that single was handled by Jacob Holm-Lupo, notorious in the progressive rock community due to his bands While Willow and The Opium Cartel. The relationship between the two musicians had been established a couple of years earlier, when Jacob invited Pedro to record the lead guitar for the track “Escape from the Witch House”, included in Telepath’s debut album “Mental Mutations”.

The single was well-received by listeners and critics, but the use of programmed drums was clearly below the potential of the song. With that in mind, the creation journey continued alongside the search for a drummer capable of fulfilling the technical and creative demands of the endeavour. In 2023, with all material already recorded, the excellent Wildy Souza was recruited for the role and the result clearly confirmed that not only he was the right choice, but also one that enriched the final product.

Pedro was then aware that he had, in his hands, the successful realization of the ideal of a great record and, therefore, saw the opportunity to make an old dream true: working with the legendary musician and producer Dan Swanö. Being so, the Swedish master was contacted and agreed to work on the stem mastering of the songs – which, compared to traditional mastering techniques, gives the engineer far more control over the treatment of each instrument type. So, after almost four years of tireless commitment, the EP was finally complete.

Listen to “Sunrise In Hell” on Spotify.