Written by Zax
- Blood and Brutality
- Fatal
- Death Metal
- Birmingham, Alabama
- January 17, 2020
- 7.3/10
With a name like Blood and Brutality, and an album cover with several different torture devices on it, you know you’re in for a good time as a metalhead. Blood and Brutality is an American death metal band that formed in 2008. Their new album is heavy, dark, and surprisingly melodic.
Before going into this I was told it was a death/thrash record, and while there is a good bit of thrash influence on tracks like “Witness To Slaughter” and “The Last Rites” with their rapid fire drumming and sharp riffage, there is a lot more melodic death metal influence on here than I expected, which is a good thing! They kind of sound like what would happen if you crossed At The Gates with Misery Index.
Come to think of it, there’s a few things about this record that remind me of that last Misery Index album, which is a good sign considering how high that album landed on my best of 2019 list. The both have that same dark and murky vibe. Both records are like thunderstorms set to music, with the heavy parts being your thunder and lightning, and the melodic parts being the dreary atmosphere of pounding rain. The album covers are similar too in their usages of very potent blues and greys.
Blood And Brutality: Bandcamp / Official Site
Another interesting thing about this record is how, unlike a lot of death metal in this lane, the vocals actually sit on the sidelines a lot. The vocals are good, some very solid snarled mid screams, but there are several tracks on the record like “Bloodshed Of Man” where the vocals fade and there are long instrumental passages. The music isn’t technical, but it’s progression grabs your attention and doesn’t let it go. The riffs and guitar work in general sounds amazing. I like the drums here as well, specifically the cymbal work that caught my ear quite a few times.
This is a throw down of a record that can be brutal without sounding overtly barbaric or belligerent in delivery. It’s got a lot of depth to it musically, I love records that can double as a rager and something you can sit down and analyze. I think most metalheads could find something to love here, definitely gets a recommendation from me.
Be the first to comment