It was about 7 years ago when I stumbled across a real gem on YouTube – a song entitled “Brutal Behavior,” which instantly came off like the lovechild of EARTH, WIND & FIRE and TESSERACT. The band was called JACK THE JOKER, so, even though the band’s execution was ultra-tight, I couldn’t really tell whether these guys were dead serious or just having a laugh. I put the song on my Spotify playlist and forgot all about the band, except for the occasional encounter with the song. Well, now it’s confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that the band was not just some tongue-in-cheek therapy project. This Brazilian prog-metal act has been signed to Frontiers Music Srl, and they just released their international debut for the label. Entitled “The Devil to Play in the Backlands,” it was released on August 22nd, 2025, and even a preliminary spin with this beast leaves no room for doubt that it is truly a stunning piece of work – groovy as hell, tight as [insert your favorite cuss word here], and quirky in all the right ways. They still sound as though they were clad in black-leather heavy-metal gear and 1970s funk apparel at the same time, only this time the delivery is even tighter.
Released ahead of the album as a video single, “Devir” opens the album with a tale of suffering without a villain, clad in a somewhat Devin Townsend-esque musical garb. Vocalist Rafael Joer isn’t afraid to add a good pinch of dramatic flair to his vocals, which slightly nod toward Townsend‘s signature style here and there. That said, his range is pretty impressive; it goes from the usual heavy-metal croonings to sly snarling in “Denied,” reminiscent of Dave Mustaine‘s famous sneers in some MEGADETH classics, and to almost death-metal harsh growls within that single song. The other band members aren’t left playing the second fiddle when it comes to technical prowess, but I guess that’s the bare minimum these days with progressive metal bands, right? What sets these ruffians apart from your average prog-metal technicians is, well, something that’s probably best described as “a Brazilian twist.”
Sandwiched between the early singles, “Between the Sky Lines” doesn’t really prepare you for what is to come. In this context, it is almost a rather “basic” prog-metal banger with its somewhat ODDLAND-like approach to the holy matrimony of djenty riffs and jazzy schmoozing. If someone had introduced TOTO to djenty polyrhythms back in the day, this is what they probably would have sounded like – and I’m saying this without any ill intent (David Paich is one of my favorite songwriters, ever).
The thing is, just when you thought that the rest of the album would be about smooth sailing in the sea of contemporary prog metal, these tricksters throw in the 9-minute prog epic, “XV,” that blends Latin jazz rhythms, djenty riffs, and – yes! – blast beats. The potential for an absolute disaster is not exactly insubstantial with this particular combination, but these proggy tricksters make it work like magic – some sort of sonic brujeria, no doubt. Four songs into the album, I think I already love these crazy bastards!
With such a no-holds-barred approach to songwriting, it comes as no surprise that the songs trigger nice HAKEN flashbacks here and there, as well. While songs such as “Neblina” do resonate a bit stronger with the air of, say, DREAM THEATER, there are a couple of songs on the album that are ripe with delicious Hakenisms – the polyrhythmic riff-burger, “Sun,” and the tango progressivo mayhem of a song, “Cabaret.”
The album is such a cornucopia of mind-melting bangers that it’s nigh impossible to single out a highlight, but if I were to pick one at gunpoint, I might go for the funky riffer, “You Are Where I Belong.” It is nicely reminiscent of the funk-metal squad FISHBONE that released a good few slapping albums in the 1990s, spiced with a good pinch of Bootsy Collins. The song stands out simply for its diabolical groove. Then again, there is something equally irresistible in the blast-beat-Mariachi banger, “Thousand Witnesses,” let alone in “Cabaret,” which sounds like a prog-metal homage to Astor Piazzolla. Picking up the winner is simply a no-can-do because there’s something enchanting in each song. This album needs to be enjoyed in one go from start to finish. That way, the 13-minute closer, “Hope,” wraps things up in the most closure-bringing fashion, too, with its dramatic arc that transitions from the atmospheric, TESSERACT-like intro to ECM-tinged jazz fusion and back, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The flawless and haunting manner with which JACK THE JOKER executes this eclectic mixture of styles is somewhat reminiscent of EARTHSIDE, whose latest album went to number one on my Best Metal Albums of the Year list when it came out in 2023. I don’t see why this album should fare much worse, although I must say that the competition this year is really tough, maybe even tougher than two years ago.
The album title is derived from a Brazilian novel of the same name, written by João Guimarães Rosa in 1956. The novel explores the metaphysical backlands, where humans clash with the raw forces of nature. On this album, JACK THE JOKER traverses a vast musical landscape where traditional Brazilian rhythms and stylistic flourishes of maracatu, forró, baião, and frevo blend with the modern prog-metal aesthetic. I read that the original title of the novel refers to the veredas, small paths through wetlands that criss-cross the backlands as a labyrinthine net where an outsider can easily get lost and where all paths interconnect in such a way that any road can lead anywhere. In reference to this album, that makes a lot of sense! The book’s linguistic oddness and polemic themes caused a shock at the time, but now it is considered one of the most important novels of South American literature. Okay, the only thing that is somewhat shocking about this album is just how fearlessly and refreshingly good it is. I’ll be damned if the band isn’t soon one of the most important prog-metal exports from not only Brazil but also the continent as a whole.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Devir
- Between the Sky Lines
- Denied
- XV
- Neblina
- Sun
- You Are Where I Belong
- Thousand Witnesses
- Cabaret
- Saudade
- Hope
Lineup
Vicente Ferreira – drums, percussion
Felipe Facó – guitars
Lucas Colares – guitars
Rafael Joer – vocals
Gustavo Pinheiro – bass
Label
Frontiers Music Srl
Links
https://www.facebook.com/jackthejokerbr/https://www.instagram.com/jackthejokerbr/#
