BRUTALITY - Screams Of Anguish, When The Sky Turns Black, In Mourning
Metal Mind Productions
Remember when Florida's death metal scene was at its prime back in the late eighties to the early nineties? Man, who can forget when such prominent bands as Death, Morbid Angel, Angel Witch, Diabolic, Atheist, Deicide, Monstrosity, Cynic, Malevolent Creation, and last but not least Brutality, which decimated the local club scene. Yes, Tampa's Brutality was one such band, which played blasting, cranium crushing, and blast beat driven death metal from the heart. What sucks about their situation is that their "Screams Of Anguish" debut LP came out towards the middle of 1993, at a time when the death metal scene in the US, especially in Florida was losing ground to grunge and alternative metal groups. Also, their existence as a prominent death metal band was overshadowed by many of their more popular counterparts mentioned above, which definitely did not help the band gain much ground among serious death metal fans.
"Screams Of Anguish" was a solid attempt at creating some of the most brutal death metal ever to torment human ears. My first time listening to "Screams..." was quite an earth and soul shattering experience. The music on this monster just came out of my stereo speakers and ripped off my ears and more... All I can say is: "wow, it was pure sonic violence at its best". Just listen to the barbaric acts of their aural misery on the twisted "Septicemic Plague", and you'll be just amazed how well these guys could play with such precision at 1000 miles per hour. "Screams Of Anguish" showed just how capable Brutality was at executing extreme death metal without any limits on speed, heaviness and pure aggression. The bonus track of "Sadistic" makes "Screams Of Anguish" even more evil, sick and twisted.
Album number two, "When The Sky Turns Black" was not as brutally fast and raw like its predecessor, but definitely showed the quintet's penchant for playing melodic solos and rhythms that just felt right at home to that death metal head. Musically, this record displayed the band's mature songwriting skills along with their ability to write lyrics inspired by real life events such as the Branch Davidian mass suicide and the likelihood of the ending of our world. Just one listen to "Shrine Of The Master" and you will be thrown into a tailspin with its whirlwind of chaotic riffs; in you face rhythms, corroded vocal patterns, and drumming as vicious as a Cobra's bite.
There is also an acoustic instrumental in the shape of "Awakening", one of their more doom and gloom offerings. You'll also be treated to a special bonus track in the form of "Cryptorium", which shatters all barriers within the extreme death metal circles when it comes to speed, aggression and overall feel for the band's darkened emotions.
Last but not least, album-number three and their final record as a group, "In Mourning" was a strong contender, but the band were not proud of this studio output. I personally enjoyed it for what it had to offer by way of heaviness, a strong production and sound. It definitely did not compare to their debut CD "Screams Of Anguish", but was entertaining for its pissed off nature. I enjoyed this album a lot and can remember playing it for days on end. There is also a killer bonus track on here in the shape of "Certain Annihilation", which smokes!
Hopefully, Brutality will resurface for one last time to lay claim to that recognition they never got. They sincerely deserve it, and would be very cool to see them reform to bring back their fourth studio album to fruition.
