Screams of Anguish

Currently shrouded in a considerable interest, Brutality is one of the most overlooked American hordes, whose debut could easily be placed right next to the most iconic albums such as Morbid Angel, Deicide, Death or Nocturnus. It would be possible if the moment of their debut did not fall on 1993 and in later years the band did not struggle with so many breaks in activity. Anyway, American Brutality reached the pinnacle of death metal at its early times. Jeff Acres (bass/vocals), Scott Reigel (vocals), Don Gates (guitars), Jay Fernandez (guitars) and Jim Coker (drums) on their debut longplay "Screams Of Anguish" created an absolute monster - the material from which the hectoliters of genius spill out all the time.

Therefore, at first listening, the band name of Brutality may appear as...a bit hurtful! Well, what is happening on "Screams Of Anguish" goes beyond the usual perception of extreme music. Because although death metal performed by these five Americans does not come away from brutality (sic!), and youthful vigor emanates from it at every step, it's also very technical, boldly melodic (but not over-sugared), full of guitar virtuosity (with a huge dose of technical and dreamy solos), full of massive slow-downs, has an addictive atmosphere, hateful, deep vocals (strongly in the early Glen Benton type) and sounds great. In fact, "Screams...", by its multidimensionality, will satisfy both those looking for extreme heaviness, as well as high instrumental level and surprising plot twists. The greatness of Brutality's debut should be best described by such songs as "These Walls Shall Be Your Grave", "Cries Of The Forsaken", "Spawned Illusion" or "Crushed", but in fact it would be nonsense, because it would be worth mentioning the entire tracklist - each of the tracks on "Screams..." deserves to be called equally brilliant and ultra-inventive. Even delicate, non-metal miniatures in the form of "Sympathy" and "Spirit World" do not disturb the reception of the whole album - they add some respite and work great as a calm before the storm before the next great tracks. Finally, the single "Sadistic", appearing on some releases of "Screams..." as a bonus track, is also worth recommending. I mention it, because it does not stand out from the main content of the album, perfectly showing how hurricaneous and powerful Brutality's style was.

So despite a slightly late debut during the death metal boom, the Americans from Brutality recorded a total masterpiece in this genre. "Screams Of Anguish" perfectly showed how full of brutality (sic! x2), atmospheric and properly balanced in terms of technique and melody this music is. In short - death metal ideal!

Originally on A bit of subjectivism...in metal

It's 1993. Death metal has been an established scene for a few years but is still essentially molten lava. I'll explain. There's a powerful outpouring of ideas at its core, with chaotic forces pulling spontaneously in every direction, and despite it not having taken a definitive shape yet, the provisional appearance it assumes, albeit ephemeral and never to be found again, is beautiful in its own unique way. How poetic. Oh and, this is a Floridian band, so yeah, they're pretty good.

There's an undeniable charm about those extreme metal records early in the 90's and this one is damn close to a perfect example of that. The delay-laden leads soaring with a dignified impetus, enormous rhythm sections that ring ominously with a dark, imperial authority among the tighter riff passages showing off diabolical precision between tremolo picking, meticulously palm muted shredding punctuated by squealing harmonics, the somber harmonies that draw deep... it's all there. The vocals, like the song-writing, aren't formatted like later death metal would be and show off a natural aggression. It's organic and instinctual yet thoroughly coordinated and organized.

The sheer drive and momentum from part to part is rare enough that it needs to be mentioned. These guys were on some roll when they were writing this. The composition is just quite simply top notch every passing minute on here and there's no break to be had or boredom that sets in. The clean instrumentals - more on the magnificent and brilliant piece 'Sympathy' at the end of this review - bring a nice atmospheric touch. The clean guitars offer a cold plucky texture sitting on the sides of a pronounced low end at the center of the mix. On 'Spirit World', the band even introduces an ambient wind sample in the background so as to accentuate that willingness to make the album more sensory and live.

Every track comprises a riff or two the returning listener will immediately recall and be thrilled to find is up next. The parts have this classic memorable quality to them which will have fans look back on it with a fond nostalgia, and it doesn't rely on chorus-like sections to achieve that. Some parts are pure breadth and girth and mighty death metal ruthlessness, others of the melodic kind, but hardly any of it qualifies as forgettable. Some of the melodic stuff is in fact very close to the later Scandinavian melo-death scene, and a quick listen to the ending on 'Cries for the Forsaken' will help confirm that. One could absolutely believe they were listening to early Arch Enemy if they were blind-tested on that section.

Otherwise some of the music on here is pure prog, and it is deceivingly technical with an emphasis on rhythmic complexity rather than outrageous amounts of notes. This could be seen as a mere byproduct of early death metal and its plan to separate itself from all other music by breaking down the fundamental areas of composition and thus becoming a deconstructionist art form; with counterintuitive rhythm and awkward riff patterns as well as a unique blending of melody and atonal chromaticism, or in other words a novel reorganizing of notes exclusive to death metal; and in that sense this would be similar to something like early fellow Floridian dwellers Deicide or Monstrosity to name two.

To finish up this review, a dedicated paragraph to the instrumental 'Sympathy' is surely required. Instrumentals have an ability to lift an album in a way songs can't. They are like the band ushering in the listener into an empty room and leaving them there for a brief moment of recollection, after having made their point over a few songs. Some metal instrumentals are obvious, some are magical in their own style. This one simply grabs the listener in a visceral way and with a powerful warm embrace, intense and vivid from the moment a solemn choir introduces itself in the first seconds to those last darkly enchanting keys gradually fading to black in character of a malicious closing finale that stays with the listener. Like all great melodies, the main lead is plain yet unforgettable. Here in the form of an orchestral string it delivers the most poignant and expressive performance, shining with a soft nightly glimmer and a delicate transparency, laid over clean guitar finger picking contributing its mournful essence in a slow-rocking waltz movement. The chord progression changes from nightfall minor to pitch black dusk, before returning to a safer shore, but always immersed in an irresistible heart-wrenching allure. There's just enough malice injected into the part that it pulls the listener deep for only a brief moment to feel the darkness closely before the part resumes the prevailing melancholy. Although the piece is highly theatrical in nature it manages to strike exactly the right amount of drama without ever coming across as excessive. It is especially fascinating because it so eloquently depicts the crux of the human experience in about a couple of minutes: it describes suffering and sorrow, the plight of the human condition in its funeral pace, with a hint of temptation and evil before a resurgence of the light shining through the darkness.

If you are to skim the booklet to any classic, old school death metal cd, chances are you'll find Brutality's name mentioned somewhere among the thanks list. These guys came out of Tampa, Florida in the 1980's alongside such great bands as Death, Morbid Angel, Obituary, Deicide, Atheist, and several others. Of course, all those bands have their own unique sound which can only be attributed to them, and Brutality were no different. To compare Brutality to any one band is doing a big injustice to their sound because while the band did not manage to achieve the fame and recognition they probably deserved in their lifetime - it doesn't take a genius to look back, 20 fucking years later - and see that these guys were really in a league all their own, arguably on the same level musically and artistically as bands like Morbid Angel or Death, etc. Trust in these words: Brutality is not a second tier band at all. Not by a long shot.

What sets Brutality apart from many of those bands is that they were able to create extremely technical riffs and ideas (like 3:27 in "Cries of the Forsaken"), but without sacrificing any of the catchiness and power that makes (old school) death metal so addictive to people like me (like the beautiful melodic lead at 3:40 in "Cries of the Forsaken"). From the very first seconds of this disc, Brutality lets you know what they are all about. The album jumps right out of the gate with an extremely technical (yet remarkably melodic) riff accompanied by a savage blast beat, but in the first 20 seconds of the disc, you already find out that the band has much more to offer, as the band follows this with a melodic, mid-paced riff accompanied by some soul-shattering guitar shredding and vocalist Scott Reigel's inhuman and incredibly strong death grunt. What follows is a roller coaster ride of death metal! It is here that we discover truly how talented the group's guitarists are, Jay Fernandez and Don Gates. While later Brutality albums also feature some extremely and creative unique solos, it is "Screams of Anguish" where the solos truly stand out. The solos on this album are both melodic and terrifying, both insane and captivating...I have never experienced solos that sound quite like this. As a huge fan of guitarists like James Murphy, and Chuck Schuldiner, I am absolutely lost for words at these solos. To pinpoint an exact moment, the solo that ends "Cries of the Forsaken" is among the best I have ever heard in the death metal genre. It starts slow at 4:51, and proceeds to meld the human face with some of the coolest ideas this side of Obituary's "Cause of Death"!

The other members are no slouches either, of course. Drummer Jim Coker gives Pete Sandoval a run for his money, with his extremely precise and creative drumming showing off in each and every track he performs on, on this disc (I say this, because neither "Spirit World" or "Sympathy" feature his drumming, as they are, more or less, interludes). A track like "Crushed" shows off his ability to seamlessly jump from an awesome groove to an extremely fast blast beat on a dime. Other songs, like "Exposed to the Elements", show Coker playing some extremely technical and creative beats, which are also fun and clever as hell. The bass, as well as some of the vocals, are performed by Jeff Acres, and while his bass doesn't sit at the very top of the mix, it's obvious to anyone with an ear that he is an amazing player. Just listen to the riff at 2:53 in "Crushed" and listen to his bass peddle over the churning rhythms; this is something which needs to be done more often in death metal...bassists need to be creative and come up with their own damn bass lines like people such as Timi Hansen or Steve Harris rather than just following the guitarists.

Finally, the vocals of Scott Reigel are extremely powerful and comparable to people like Karl Willets of Bolt Thrower, Glen Benton of Deicide, Dave Ingram of Benediction, or David Vincent from Morbid Angel on the "Covenant" album. Unlike many vocalists, Reigel doesn't make use of high-pitched vocals and instead uses lots of double tracking and some extremely cool ideas ("SCREAMS OF ANGUISH!!!" *AAARRRGGHHHH* SLAMMING BODIES TO THE GROUND!!!"), though some of the backing vocals may have been performed by Acres.

The lyrics, written by Coker, are focused mostly around the typical death metal themes: gore, murder, and the occult. However, the track "Exposed to the Elements" breaks from the mold, in that it takes on a more "save the world" message, with lyrics like: "One must view death to understand reality / Living in an age of intelligence / Nourish the Earth and we shall receive". These kinds of lyrics were expanded for the next album with the more of the lyrics being based around these more "environment"-based lyrical themes, and while this is the only song on the album which uses this style of lyrics, it shows that the band were much more than the typical death metal band. The main thing that is atypical of death metal, however, is the band's use of "interludes". This album features two, "Spirit World" and "Sympathy" composed by Jay Fernandez and Don Gates, respectively. Usually, these kinds of interludes sound rather cheesy, and serve little purpose to the album, such as on the "Heretic" album by Morbid Angel. This is not "Heretic", though. Both interludes are amazingly beautiful pieces of music with "Spirit World" being a more technical, melodic piece with some underlying keyboards and omnipresent neo-classical influence, and "Sympathy" being a slightly more sinister, more mysterious piece complete with some rather creepy wind effects that gather up towards the end of the song (in a way reminiscent of Ray Bradbury's short story, "The Wind"), serving as an excellent opener for the following track, the aforementioned "Exposed to the Elements". It is extremely rare that ones finds death metal interludes that are this, so the band deserves some extra points for that alone.

In conclusion, this is one of the greatest death metal albums I have ever heard. If you have not yet heard of Brutality or simply do not own this album, remedy that as soon as humanly possible. It's definitely not something you want to miss!

Screams of Anguish marked an excellent transition for one of the more unsung acts in the formative Florida death scene. It might have taken seven years since the band's creation to arrive, but it stands far above the demos and EPs that the band had previously produced, eschewing their rugged thrash/grind crossover roots entirely for an onslaught of well written, immaculately produced death metal that integrates both atmosphere and variation into a punishing palette. Perhaps the worst you could say for Brutality was that by 1993 standards, they were not wholly original, drawing on elements from both their direct American peers and overseas (Bolt Thrower), but the music has this incredible maturity to it which absolutely bears distinction among the better known Florida bands like Morbid Angel, Deicide, Death, and so forth. In fact, Screams of Anguish is the best death metal album from this particular scene and year, no mean feat when up against such legends.

"These Walls Shall Be Your Grave" inaugurates the album with a straight, Morbid Angel style blast sauced in glittering, manic micro-leads; but soon grinds down to an atmospheric verse of melodic death/doom, returning to Altars of Madness levels of fury in the bridge. Scott Reigel's vocals here are quite enormous, like a hybrid of Karl Willetts and Glen Benton's growling affixed forcefully to the hammering bass drums and manic riffs. "Ceremonial Unearthing" combines a lot of the same influences as the first track, but then we're in for our first surprise: the synthesized choir and acoustic guitar piece "Sympathy", totally unexpected but quite delicious despite its simplicity. "Septicemic Plague" lays out a wall of huge chords, cystic leads spun off into their own dimension of excess, before the excellent battery of the bridge, muted and melodic. Most of the album's remainder is equivalent in quality, with standouts coming in the rampant "Cryptorium" and epic "Cries of the Forsaken". There's one more ambient interlude, "Spirit World", which again fuses synthesized swells (of haunting winds) and clean guitars; and the album is closed with a reworking of "Spawned Illusion" from the Sadistic EP, and it sounds stunning here.

Brutality had quite a lot going for them, and alongside their statesmen Resurrection they would represent some of the best pure death metal on the earlier Nuclear Blast roster. Here was a band that could cycle through faster and slower material without ever dipping in quality, and restrain their obvious musical ability whenever it did not suit the mood they were creating. The debut was recorded and mixed by Jim Morris at Morrisound, undoubtedly some of the most satisfying audio from that period, with loud and clean, crushing guitar tones, empowered drums, a relatively thick bass presence and dour, conquering gutturals. There is next to no chance of becoming exhausted or bored with this record due to the excellent structure and constant in tempos, and the atmospheric tracks are placed at just the right joints to hint at so much more: a further dimension of possibility. The lyrics are well written if not impressive. Perhaps the riffs are not individually compelling, and the band is rehashing the dynamics of bands like Deicide, Malevolent Creation, Morbid Angel, etc, but these are the only strikes against a potent and substantial debut which is still worth experiencing almost 20 years later.

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http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Brutality do not do too many new things. They play almost exactly what you would expect out of Florida death metal, albeit their debut was in 1993, after most of the death metal classics were already released. So why does this band even deserve mentioning? Well, on their debut, Screams Of Anguish, Brutality perfected the Florida death metal sound.

To start off, Brutality experimented with tempo and twin guitar melodies more than their contemporaries. At any given moment, a song can transition from intense blastbeats to a slow, melodic, yet brutal section with harmonizing guitar melodies. These transitions, combined with the excellently progressive and complex drumming, create music that is exceeds the sound of contemporaries such as Death who were trying to make their music more intricate. In addition, the vocals are much deeper than any other vocals in the Florida death metal scene.

This riffs presented here aren’t as distinct as those of Morbid Angel, but they are arranged in such a great manner that they all compliment each other very well. More importantly, there is an element of doom metal in a lot of the slower riffs, and idea that Morbid Angel would embrace in later and less successful albums, and these riffs are crushingly heavy. More often than not, these slow riffs are complimented very well by guitar solos and guitar harmonies that bands like Morbid Angel never even touched, such as the harmonies in ‘Septicemic Plague’ and ‘Cries Of The Forsaken’.

Hell, basically all tracks here are standouts, but some of the best are ‘These Walls Shall Be Your Grave’, ‘Ceremonial Unearthing’, ‘Crushed’, ‘Spawned Illusion’, and the best track, ‘Cries Of The Forsaken’, which epitomizes all that is awesome about this album.

If you want a band that seamlessly combines uncompromisingly heavy riffs, excellent melodies, a chaotic atmosphere, and deep guttural vocals, then look no further, because Brutality has it. This is seriously one of the most underrated death metal bands out there.

Written for http://thenumberoftheblog.com/

This album is one of the many classic, yet unknown albums of the stream of early 90's death metal and it is one that absolutely deserves to be known. There are many things that can be said about it but the best thing to call it is a 100%, scary, evi, pulverizing, apocalyptic, devastating, earth-rumbling, heavy, brutal death metal masterpiece but with other awesome elements making it the masterpiece that it is.

First, you have death metal songs that almost create the feeling of almost being caught up in something like a cataclysmic or an "end of the world" event because everything sounds so catastrophic, eerie and doomy but the songs also have solos, melodies, awesome musical passages as well as the potential and the incredible death metal musicianship which puts this band up there along with the other elite bands of death metal. Another thing that makes this album so special is that there are those instrumentals. The first one is called Sympathy which sounds like something out of a Conan: The Barbarian movie because it has a classical music feel to it. The next one is called Spirit World which sounds like a soundscape type song that makes the listener feel like he's drifting in the spiritual world. Very relaxing. So all in all, get this album and prepare to be crushed, seriously.

Choice cuts: These Walls Shall Be Your Grave, Ceremonial Unearthing, Sympathy, Crushed, Cries Of The Forsaken, Cryptorium and Spawned Illusion

Brutality were true masters of technical death metal. Released in 1993 their debut album “Screams of Anguish” is a classic of the genre, a combination of well written songs, instrumental ability, high speed aural assaults and of course brutality. But that’s the great thing about this album, unlike some of their contemporaries Brutality did not sacrifice good song writing in order to be the heaviest or fastest band in existence, they understood that to make a good album you had to combine many different elements. This album is an extremely strong debut and it allowed the band, then made up of vocalist Scott Reigel, bassist Jeff Acres, guitarists Don Gates and Jay Fernandez and drummer Jim Coker, to show the underground what technical death metal could be.

The album opens with “These Walls Shall Be Your Grave” a song which really sets the mood for the rest of the album and gives a taster of the instrumental skills of the band. It also demonstrates Brutality’s use of not just high speed blasting but also slower sections in songs often with impressive soloing over the top. The lyrics on this track also begin a theme that will be continued on other songs on the album. Although some standard gore/torture lyrics are present on the album, most notably on songs “Septicemic Plague” and “Cries of the Forsaken” the lyrics on some songs seem a bit more well thought out or at least dealing with alternative themes such as magic, lunacy and what happens after death.

After the opener there is another great song in the form of “Ceremonial Unearthing” and then we reach “Sympathy”. This is one of two instrumentals on the album along with the sixth track “Spirit World”. Now, I don’t mind instrumentals if they enhance the atmosphere of the album and I can see where they were coming from when they wrote these but they just don’t work for me. If I’m listening to an album and the instrumental comes on I should be able to listen to it but with these I just find myself skipping them. I absolutely hate the annoying keyboard sound on “Sympathy” and, although “Spirit World” does show some promise I still aren’t keen.

The best thing about Brtuality’s songs is the slow intros which lead in the solos. These solos, courtesy of axe masters Don Gates and Jay Fernandex, then continue through most of the song only stopping to allow Scott Reigel to spit out his tortured vocals. The next for proper songs after “Sympathy” have this great element. Another great thing about Brutality is that all their proper songs are very well written something which can be quite unusual for a technical death metal band. I mean, I love Atheist and I can’t deny that they are amazingly talented musicians, but when it comes to song writing I would say that Brutality beat them every time.

The album closes with two songs which are slightly different. Yes, they are still Brutality and they are still great songs but they are slightly faster paced than the rest of the album. This is great because it means that the album keeps going until the very end.

All songs on the album are great but my personal favourites are probably album opener “These Walls Shall Be Your Grave”, “Septicemic Plague” and the mighty “Crushed”. These songs really stand out to me but, this said, I do think that the album is best listened to as a whole, although possibly with the two instrumentals missed out.

Overall this is a great album. If you like soaring leads, blasting drums, brutal vocals with plenty of melody and brutality then this album is for you. On top of that the album has been finished off with great production from none other than Mr. Jim Morris of the legendary Morrisound Studios. With the rerelease by Metal Mind Productions barely a year old it should be fairly easy to pick up a copy but as it’s limited to only 2000 copies you should get one as soon as possible.

Originally written for http://altarofdeath.blogspot.com

I've never understood why Brutality never entered the pantheon of immortal Technical Death Metal bands. Especially because of this album, which is about as perfect a TDM album as I've ever heard. I was listening to a lot of Atheist and early Suffocation when I stumbled upon this superb release and thought, "This band's gonna be totally worshipped some day." Then they just sort of faded out, whether due to internal disputes, line-up changes or just scene burn-out. I guess we'll never know.

Although every song is excellent, my favorite cut on this release is "Cries of the Forsaken," which epitomizes everything that's right about this release. Beginning with ponderous downtuned rhythm guitar interspersed with wailing twin lead accents, the song soon escalates into a technical marvel bursting with energy and solid HEAVY metallic drum salvos. Vocalist Scott Reigel, whose diminutive stature belies his ability to reach into the depths of DM growls, explores the typical early-90s lyrical gore fare. Although it might be a bit dated as metal poetry, it doesn't detract in the least from the intensity of Brutality's performance.

Brutality do some amazing things with rhythm and timing. Check out "These Walls Shall Be Your Grave." The rhythm line played by the guitarists slides completely out of time with what the drummer is doing, almost like polyrhythm, and then comes right back to the one before going completely outside again. Over and over. Sort of like what Cryptopsy used to do but maintaining the classic Florida DM sound while doing it. This song proves that these guys were certainly no slouches when it comes to musicality. They can fucking PLAY! The entire release just abounds with little technical touches that'll make you shout, "Hell yeah!" Or "Why didn't I think of that?"

Even the obligatory keyboard/acoustic guitar piece, called "Sympathy" is effective and well played with an interesting melody.

Like most of the TDM bands of that era, the guitarists take a lot of cues from Maiden - beautiful twin melodic playing; arrangements festooned with precision hammer-ons/offs; complimentary simul-soloing. And most of the songs achieve a "Tornado of Souls" type intensity, especially the way the band ends their songs.

One of the most surprising things about Brutality is that the members, after the band disintegrated, didn't seem to go on to higher fame. Especially drummer Jim Coker. He's a fucking monster on this release. Killer double-kick that actually stays in time with the songs' tempi. Listen to how many crap DM drummers there are out there trying to cover up going out of time every other measure and one can appreciate when a DM drummer is doing it right. And although there's plenty of (good) blasting, that's not all Coker does. Hell, he sounds almost jazzy half the time.

Unfortunately Brutality's later releases, with different line-ups, don't hold a candle to this magnificent debut. If you're searching for something that'll have you banging like you did a decade ago, but with production quality that rivals today's best DM releases, you could do worse than picking up Screams of Anguish. The band's motto sums it all up: MUSIC TO MANGLE YOUR MIND!