Unique Brute Revival

Russian comrades Cephalic Impurity approach us with their sophomore full-length. The name, record title, band logo and awesome cover painting (whoever did that, mad props!) give the impression of death metal, of the kind you don’t play for your grandma if you’re not looking to assist and speed up her journey into the next world. And the illusion is not shattered upon pressing “play”; CI play brutal death metal with some technical flair, and they do it well.

Furious blasts, growling from beneath the cellar floor tiles, disharmonic and unsettling riffage and various tempo changes is the name of the game here. No nonsense whatsoever. “Unique Brute Revulva” doesn’t get dull either, as our ears are kept from falling asleep by some unorthodox arrangements and riffs that, even though they’re fairly fast and technical, still manage to have a grasp of some kind of musicality. Once in a while, CI also throw in some straight-forward riffs with elements borrowed from punk or thrash, for variety’s sake.

The production is quite clear but still fuzzy and sharp around the edges, and I’d say it suits the music well. The bass is buried somewhere in the dungeons, but everything else is audible. All instruments are meticulously played, and all is tight like Titanic’s asshole before he… she… it got surprise buttsecks from the biggest iceberg since the intro scene of Ice Age. Of course, in these days you never know how much is quantized to shit afterward, but we can only go by what we hear. Sounds tight. Like…

Ivan’s vocals tend to become a little one-dimensional after a while, but I like his deep growls. I also like the fact that CI’s guitarist Nikita has the same name as one of the hottest chicks in TV action series history. The drummer, Andrew, shines the most on “Invasion”, where he does some cool stuff almost all the time. Worth a listen.

All in all, this isn’t the catchiest record I’ve heard, far from it, but the songwriting is definitely professional enough to warrant more listens. I think I’ll even go as far as saying that this is the best record I’ve heard from Russia. Not that I’ve heard that many, and most of them were a total waste of time, but still. If you’re seeking to get imaginatively pummeled to within inches of your demise by some crazy comrades, buy this record. Or they’ll pummel you.

Before I start this review, I will give a little bit of background on the artist and this album. Cephalic Impurity, hailing from Izhevsk, Udmurtia is a brutal death metal band which comes from Russia’s large brutal death/grindcore scene. Unique Brute Revival, released in August 2010, is the band’s second full length album. Cephalic Impurity’s writing style and sound has changed since their debut album, Perverted Surgical Concept, to what I believe is a great success.

The guitars on Unique Brute Revival were recorded perfectly, they are easy and great to listen to, and they have a nice crispy crunch to them. The bass is easily audible and has its moments to shine on the title track and on Chamber of Moans, it matches the guitar and fits in with the structured, yet chaotic drums. The drums are so much easier to listen to then most other bands in the genre of Brutal Death Metal, especially the snare and bass drums. Last but not least, the vocals are deep and guttural and they aren’t constant like they are on Abominable Putridity’s The Anomalies of Artificial Origin, which gives the rest of the instruments room and breathing space to play their part.

The only down sides to this album is the vocals are too guttural to understand what the vocalist is saying, which is expected in Brutal Death Metal, and the songs seem to get a little too repetitive on this album although it is filled with catchy and in some parts, extremely memorable riffs, even the bass lines are that catchy. As stated earlier, the drums are chaotic, yet still structured. There isn't too many blast beats that it leaves your head pounding after, better yet they are played at a human speed, but they still have that catchy side to them like the guitars and bass. Although this brutal death metal record does have quite a strong grindcore influence on it, which can be heard through the skat beats spread out through the album.

All in all, this is an extremely catchy and memorable album, although it does get repetitive towards the end of it. It is a great album, fun to listen to and is recommended to anyone who likes to listen to grindcore and/or Death Metal in general. The standout songs are; Discordant Path, Unique Brutal Revival, my favourite on the album, Gruesome Splendour, and Constant Misery.