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Brutality: Screams of anguish
17/12/12 || Sokaris
Brutality. Who doesn’t want it in their death metal? Though the word has mostly been narrowed down to defining hyperblast obsessed bands, the quality in general is what separated death metal from what had come before.
Though Brutality got their start as early as 1986 (briefly being called Abomination and Darkness that year) they took a less straightforward path to their first full length than most of their Florida brethren. Their Tampa peers in Morbid Angel, Nocturnus and Deicide already had a pair of classics each by the time “Screams of anguish” was released, just to give a little perspective. But something happened in 1993, with debuts coming from the equally criminally Resurrection, the sole album from the James Murphy-led Disincarnate and the unveiling of Brutality’s first full length.
Coming across like a murky stew of Massacre’s primal bludgeoning and some of the aforementioned Morbid Angel’s quirks, Brutality’s “Screams of anguish” presents 45 minutes of unfairly obscured classic death metal. Frenzied energetic blasting sections, masterful lead interjections, pummeling grooves and vicious bellowing vocals are all on the agenda today. Beneath it all is a skeletal construction of deadly hooks and ambitious songwriting. Though the moniker might suggest something more pummeling and gutturally-based, Brutality play classic death through and through, a good balance of heaviness, riffiness and atmosphere. Headbangery abounds in instantly memorable moments, my favorite of which being the deep groove of the “GHOULS ATTACK!!!” section of “Ceremonial unearthing.”
We kick things off with “These walls shall be your grave” (10/10 song title), opening with a simple, catchy blastbeat-backed riff with shreddy flourishes at the end of each repeat. The song explores dark doomy depths with reverb heavy licks appearing throughout. A masterfully done solo midsection is included as well, invoking a definite Nocturnus vibe. The album opens strong and doesn’t let up, from the mid-paced menace that effortlessly careens into higher tempos on “Septicemic plague” to the aptly named “Crushed.” The demented, near-black metal groove of “Exposed to the elements” brings out seemingly more oldschool influence in its simplistic tremolo riffing while “Cryptorium” shows the band at their most aggressive, a Cannibal Corpse/Suffocation vibe emanating from the majority of the song, complete with a crunchy breakdown from back before that was a dirty word.
The most surprising element on display is the presence of two clean guitar driven instrumentals, especially in how well they’re done. Both justify their track length and inclusion on this album.
A strong variety of both downtempo and fast and furious death-dealing gives this album a wide appeal, a dark yet relatively clean production makes this one accessible to most fans of the genre. So why isn’t Brutality a death metal household name?
There are a lot of obscured gems and underappreciated acts from death metal’s (somewhat overpopulated) infancy and this one shines among the brightest. It genuinely puzzles me that Brutality didn’t get more attention but I suppose the competition was pretty stiff. A Nuclear Blast deal and tours with bands like Hypocrisy and Bolt Thrower might not have made them a huge, high-profile act but they’ve got bragging rights and a sonic legacy just waiting to be discovered by adventurous deathheads for years to come.
Fortunately Brutality didn’t die well and the old albums have been reissued by Metal Mind in ultra-sexy matte digipacks with gold discs, individually numbered with a bonus track each. “Screams of anguish” includes the song “Sadistic”, culled from a 7” released by Nuclear Blast the year prior.
- Information
- Released: 1993
- Label: Nuclear Blast
- Website: www.brutalitytheband.com
- Band
- Scott Reigel: vocals
- Don Gates: guitars
- Jay Fernandez: guitars
- Jeff Acres: bass, vocals
- Jim Coker: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. These walls shall be your grave
- 02. Ceremonial unearthing
- 03. Sympathy
- 04. Septicemic plague
- 05. Crushed
- 06. Spirit world
- 07. Exposed to the elements
- 08. Cries of the forsaken
- 09. Cryptorium
- 10. Spawned Illusion
