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Screams of Anguish (1993)
The debut full-length from Brutality, Screams of Anguish, was recorded at Morrisound Studio in late 1992. Just reading that, one might assume that this would be just another run-of-the-mill Florida death metal album from the early '90s. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, this absolutely kills most of the releases coming from their peers around that time. Thanks in part to the fact that these guys had already been around for over half a decade, they had time to learn their craft and did not come off as just another generic death metal band.
Screams of Anguish features great songwriting and arrangement. Everything had been worked out quite well long before the band went into the studio. There isn't a single bit of filler, here. Each track is dynamic and meaningful in creating a coherent whole. These guys could definitely handle their instruments with ease, seamlessly shifting from intense sections with blasting guitars and tremolo riffs to slower, doomy sections. Opener "These Walls Shall Be Your Grave" is a good example of this. In a sense Brutality almost sounds more like a Swedish band, based on their sense of melody. Maybe it's just because I got into them both at the same time, but this always reminds me a bit of the early Hypocrisy albums. Songs like "Septicemic Plague", "Exposed to the Elements" and "Cries of the Forsaken" are filled with haunting passages that remain in your subconscious. The emphasis on creating a dark atmosphere is evident with the handful of instrumental tracks which fit well within the context of the album and perfectly lead into the songs they precede. Another aspect of this band that seemed to be missing from many others at this time was the pervasiveness of guitar solos. These aren't the lightning fast, almost obligatory sort of solos that come and go while adding next to nothing to the songs, such as can be found on the early Cannibal Corpse releases. Here they do a lot to accentuate the sombre and epic feeling, adding a valuable dimension to the compositions.
Brutality seemed to be a band that had a lot of troubles throughout the years. It's too bad because they had a lot of potential, as demonstrated on this album. Screams of Anguish is an absolute classic of early '90s death metal and the very best thing these guys ever did. If only they had recorded and released this two or three years earlier, they would have been much more widely known. It's ridiculous how much better this is than many of the albums released by their more well-known peers. At any rate, this is highly recommended.
Screams of Anguish features great songwriting and arrangement. Everything had been worked out quite well long before the band went into the studio. There isn't a single bit of filler, here. Each track is dynamic and meaningful in creating a coherent whole. These guys could definitely handle their instruments with ease, seamlessly shifting from intense sections with blasting guitars and tremolo riffs to slower, doomy sections. Opener "These Walls Shall Be Your Grave" is a good example of this. In a sense Brutality almost sounds more like a Swedish band, based on their sense of melody. Maybe it's just because I got into them both at the same time, but this always reminds me a bit of the early Hypocrisy albums. Songs like "Septicemic Plague", "Exposed to the Elements" and "Cries of the Forsaken" are filled with haunting passages that remain in your subconscious. The emphasis on creating a dark atmosphere is evident with the handful of instrumental tracks which fit well within the context of the album and perfectly lead into the songs they precede. Another aspect of this band that seemed to be missing from many others at this time was the pervasiveness of guitar solos. These aren't the lightning fast, almost obligatory sort of solos that come and go while adding next to nothing to the songs, such as can be found on the early Cannibal Corpse releases. Here they do a lot to accentuate the sombre and epic feeling, adding a valuable dimension to the compositions.
Brutality seemed to be a band that had a lot of troubles throughout the years. It's too bad because they had a lot of potential, as demonstrated on this album. Screams of Anguish is an absolute classic of early '90s death metal and the very best thing these guys ever did. If only they had recorded and released this two or three years earlier, they would have been much more widely known. It's ridiculous how much better this is than many of the albums released by their more well-known peers. At any rate, this is highly recommended.
(1 Apr. 2025)
When the Sky Turns Black (1995)
Brutality's sophomore effort, When the Sky Turns Black, is a rather inconsistent album. Released in 1994, just a year after their debut, this showed the band picking up from where they left off in many ways. Stylistically, it's very similar but one can tell that far less time went into the development of these songs. While not a terrible album it fails to live up to the high standard set by its predecessor even if it still managed to surpass what was being done by the likes of Obituary, Morbid Angel, etc. around this time.
It was actually because of this album that I got into the band in the first place, thanks to hearing their cover of Black Sabbath's "Electric Funeral" one night on "The Haunted Mansion". I wasn't able to find this album right away and eventually had to order it from the Nuclear Blast catalog, but hearing that song directly led to me going to the record store and purchasing their newest release (at the time), In Mourning.
Aside from the quality of the songwriting, everything here sounds quite similar to Screams of Anguish, including acoustic bits, furious blastbeats and and cold tremolo riffs some of which would not have been out of place in the realm of black metal. At times, this is more reminiscent of European death metal rather than their neighbors in Florida. When things are good, they're very good. The title track is the strongest song on here, followed by "Race Defects". Even the instrumental "Awakening" is well done and accentuates the gloomy atmosphere. Even the aforementioned cover song fits in. "Foul Lair" isn't bad at all and would have served as a good closing track if this had been an E.P.
Side B is where things get dull, for me. Personally, I find some of the riffs to be boring and less inspired, a little too much of the pinch harmonics and groove, etc. There is nothing about the second half of the album that is horrible, and there were far worse things being done in the name of death metal around this same time, but the remaining tracks just seem to be missing something. Some of this just feels like filler. Whereas Screams of Anguish was a classic album that maintained a high level of quality all the way through, When the Sky Turns Black loses steam early on and limps across the finish line, so to say. It's not rotten by any means and still deserves a listen.
It was actually because of this album that I got into the band in the first place, thanks to hearing their cover of Black Sabbath's "Electric Funeral" one night on "The Haunted Mansion". I wasn't able to find this album right away and eventually had to order it from the Nuclear Blast catalog, but hearing that song directly led to me going to the record store and purchasing their newest release (at the time), In Mourning.
Aside from the quality of the songwriting, everything here sounds quite similar to Screams of Anguish, including acoustic bits, furious blastbeats and and cold tremolo riffs some of which would not have been out of place in the realm of black metal. At times, this is more reminiscent of European death metal rather than their neighbors in Florida. When things are good, they're very good. The title track is the strongest song on here, followed by "Race Defects". Even the instrumental "Awakening" is well done and accentuates the gloomy atmosphere. Even the aforementioned cover song fits in. "Foul Lair" isn't bad at all and would have served as a good closing track if this had been an E.P.
Side B is where things get dull, for me. Personally, I find some of the riffs to be boring and less inspired, a little too much of the pinch harmonics and groove, etc. There is nothing about the second half of the album that is horrible, and there were far worse things being done in the name of death metal around this same time, but the remaining tracks just seem to be missing something. Some of this just feels like filler. Whereas Screams of Anguish was a classic album that maintained a high level of quality all the way through, When the Sky Turns Black loses steam early on and limps across the finish line, so to say. It's not rotten by any means and still deserves a listen.
(6 Sept. 2008)
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