In Mourning

Simplifying the logo to a more normal one and choosing a more ordinary cover art are often associated with softening the sounds, having no ideas or - generally - the worst form of selling out. At first glance, such guesses, horror of horrors, accompany "In Mourning" - Brutality's third longplay. Fortunately, a quick glance at the back booklet makes it clear that...it's just a deceptive impression! Regardless of the cover art changes, the Americans decided to stay in their characteristic style of playing death metal - intense and explosive, and at the same time technical, melodic and full of guitar solos. And all this despite the fact that guitarists Don Gates and Bryan Hipp left the band since the (near) times of "When The Sky Turns Black", and even though completely new Dana Walsh and - not present on this album - Pete Sykes joined the band.

The strangest thing, the band itself (Jeff Acres to be precise) wasn't happy with the results recorded on "In Mourning". It's puzzling, however, that the music on the third album of these Americans...has not undergone major changes compared to their previous releases! In fact, Brutality's third album has this significant advantage over "When The Sky Turns Black" that it does not contain any unnecessary songs or a cover out of place, and also beats that material in terms of volume. Yes, "In Mourning" perfectly continues the themes from "Screams Of Anguish", but - above all - it maintains much more cohesion and even better operates with such a large amount of changes per track than it was on the "When The Sky Turns Black". Brutality's third longplay contains death metal, with heaviness, energy and ingenuity at every step, and the whole album, even if it fits into the familiar areas of "Screams...", it sounds natural, does not duplicate too familiar patterns and has the great power. This can be heard most clearly in "Calculated Bloodshed", "Destroyed By Society", "Died With Open Eyes", "Extinction" or "The Past", which perfectly improve ideas from the debut, and at the same time nicely show that in a larger number of medium paces, the band is similarly interesting as with those strictly blasting. Words of appreciation also go to Dan Walsh, who showed great skills and at the same time managed to keep the essence of the Brutality style.

So, despite the bad times, when death metal lost general interest, the Americans did not change their stylistic (except in the terms of the cover art) and recorded a piece of great and very characteristic death metal. "In Mourning" is a material equally well continuing the themes from "Screams Of Anguish" as "When The Sky Turns Black", although clearly more coherent and even more interesting. The determination, however, was not enough to continue, so Brutality split-up in 1996. Later, in fact, they came back to life, although such continuity as in the years 87-96 was out of the stability.

Originally on A bit of subjectivism...in metal

And another great death metal band abandons their iconic logo...for reasons I must assume have something to do with the mid 90s and its climate of bricks and hardcore. The evolution of the street, keepin' it all real. Banal typeset within banal typeset. A crass urbanization of extreme music. Cover your eyes. Thankfully, Brutality have not mutated where it counts, in actual musical content, and In Mourning was a no-nonsense, solid third and final offering for Nuclear Blast records. Also their swansong, their last statement of hostility against a well saturated, dwindling background of ideas. The band had dragged Jim Morris along for this ride, and it's another of the guy's great productions: clear, powerful guitar tone, great mix of percussion and vocals, perhaps the most polished of the three Brutality full-lengths, but it's a toss up.

There are about four songs here that number among the best they've ever written, and arguably the best of their career. "Obsessed" is a start/stop burst to chug barnstormer redolent of the works of Deicide, Cannibal Corpse and other peers, but it's centric rhythms are matured and decidedly old school enough to get the blood pistons charged, solos stoking cerebral spikes, toying with the listener as chords collide with other chords. "The Past" opens with another total kick ass Death-style rhythm, frenetic melody winding down above the concrete, squealing coronary. Yet another incredible lead sequence here to nurture the imagination. "Destroyed by Society" is my favorite individual track on the album, a memorable architecture of bouncing, chugging squeals and miniature solos processed into a matrix of menacing grooves and resonant gutturals. Deeper into the lineup, we've got "Calculated Bloodshed" and its amazing, desolate intro which hits like a more melodic Florida alternative to England's Bolt Thrower.

Unfortunately, outside of these selections, the album is less than dominant. The remainder of the songs consistently exhibit the band's dynamic range, never repeating itself with drab abandon, yet there are few riffing sequences that strike so hard into the memory. A few of them, like the 8+ minute "Subjected to Torture" or the closer "Extinction" feel too lengthy, without the strong patterns of notation to guide the listener into the band's murderous apocrypha. Here or there, some guitar will stand out among the rest, but there are often bouts with needless repetition and uninspired, derivative compositions. Still, In Mourning as a whole is quite tight. Brutality might not have lasted in the long run, but no one can accuse them of selling out to the rising mallcore militia that adopted a number of other death metal acts as their Pantera alternative. This is one band that, once getting their shit together around 1992, never really disappointed its audience. They deserve all the adulation of the fallen and obscure, if not for In Mourning then for the two preceding albums.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Brutality are one of those bands that got lost in the mix. Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, and Death took all of the glory in Tampa, while Brutality just kept pumping out solid releases.

"In Mourning" starts out with a bit of a blastbeat fest, but soon turns into the type of death metal you'd expect out of Florida. The riffs are razor sharp, with enough unexpected changeups to keep the most attentive listener insterested. Parts also utilize the riffing which makes every note seperate from each other, so that it almost sounds like you are climbing a staircase, with each note a different step. Solos are placed throughout as well, and keep a very classic feel to the album. More death metal bands should solo, it adds a lot to a song.

As mentioned before, Jim Coker uses blastbeats here and there, but they don't dominate the album. Instead, he chooses to use a lot of slow, deliberate beats. At times, the drumming sounds very much like that used on Bolt Thrower's "Honour Valour Pride".

Vocalist Scott Reigel has quite the generic voice. Luckily, in a band like Brutality, the vocals are more of an extra instrument, instead of a lyrical engine. His deep, raspy voice adds quite nicely to the overall feel of rust and decay that the band portrays.

One last thing that I noticed about this album is the atmosphere created without a single ounce of keyboard. Despair, terror, and anger can all be felt throughout, with the band using emotional riffs to portray these thoughts.