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Production: Punchy and vocal heavy with typical Morrisound color.
Review: Somewhere between the ripping, heavily speed metal derived Malevolent Creation and
the complex refinement of local giants Monstrosity and Morbid Angel,
Brutality used uniquely thunderous, shifting percussion, heavy harmonic emphasis, and thematic variation to create death metal
of typical Floridian quality and pedigree with moments of graceful and sometimes uncharacteristically melodic respite.
The conventionally uneven production of the studio forces the to the ear dominance of vocals, which are archetypal and consistent, demanding growls; and bass/snare drums,
which vary between rolls and blast to foster introspective and violent passages, respectively. During more straight-ahead moments,
blasts act as cohesion for rhythm and lead guitar by securing multiple harmonies to the greater flow of the riff which
often concludes violently, lapsing temporarily into harmonically accented and pounding powerchord dirges, or collapsing inward and
reconfiguring. Time signatures and their changes are often chosen casually in this way, and are accented only modestly with percussion, creating a free-flowing
deception of simplicity in riff and song design but which is very often akin to the more rhythmically complex work of their peers with more adventurous drummers as referenced above. For variety, reliance
on microvariations in harmony is common, wherein riffs are accented repeatedly at the end of their inner cycles by spasmodic lead and second guitar at typically
standard interludes.
Tracklist:
1. These Walls Shall be Your Grave
2. Ceremonial Unearthing
3. Sympathy
4. Septicemic Plague
5. Crushed
6. Spirit World
7. Exposed to the Elements
8. Cries of the Forsaken
9. Cryptorium
10. Spawned Illusion
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Copyright © 1993 Nuclear Blast
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Other songs are aligned in a contrary way, using ascending, high-speed tremolo riffing over thunderous rolling double bass intermittently with
frenetic blast beat sections to slowly advance concept over an entire song length. These songs also make beautiful use of melodic harmony
to release tension, with nods to concurrent Swedish masters At The Gates in simplified
contexts, and often with the additional texture of slick, simple melodic heavy metal-styled lead guitar. As a further melodic presence,
and although fairly predictable of death metal bands trying to sound multi-dimensional, the two clean guitar and keyboard interludes work reasonably well;
this is especially so on "Spirit World," which acts as a bridge between the two most monumental and stylized tracks on the album.
Despite musically rough beginnings, this band managed to quickly carve out a minor niche with elaboration on a sound nearing the peak of its greatness
in the then burgeoning Florida death metal scene, a niche that they were scarcely able to expand upon in their two works which followed: the first
of which was competent and enjoyable but similar in style, and the second which represented a poor aping of their established style by replacement members. This band stands
as one of the most aesthetically graceful of the less celebrated Florida acts, even circularly influencing Monstrosity
(directly and indirectly) and others in later incarnations of the genre sound. - kontinual
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