Brutality Is Law

If this would have been a perfect album, I would still detract 10% from the score for that incredibly dumb, stupid, clumsy and empty album title. Why do some people hate their own language so much? I do not hate my own language but I do hate Severed Savior and this is by all means not a perfect album. This is a derivative offering of imitated rebellion and nothing about it is inherently clever or artistic. It's as elegant and crafty as a Madball album but it doesn't even have the ass kicking charme of a Madball album. Fuck, I'm tired.

While certainly not played by bloody amateurs, the guitars copy every movement, plot twist and crescendo from the book of early 2000 brutal death metal without thinking for themselves. They meander between worn out, claustrophobic and superficially toxic tremolo hissings, fast stinky bursts and some tension relieving simple chucks and nothing really works. Even the solos, a rather rare occurance in this kind of brutal death, sound like the copy of a copy. This theme carries on with the monotone and scratchy deep growl vocals as well: It's not about genre loyalty, it's about slavish stylistic choices. Severed Savior are defined by their genre, not the other way around.

I could be content to leave all this mediocrity behind for good but these drums really piss me off in a huge way. If you use the same blast beat for your entire album, you better make sure it's a damn intriguing one. The sole blast beat style of the Severed Savior drummer is so incredibly lame, dull, boring, predictable, weak, thin, comfortable and lagging that I experience physical discomfort while listening to the hammering of the snare. This is the worst lifeless blastbeat I have heard in my entire life, and I have had my share of Midvinter, let me tell ya. Combined with a really weak, thinned out bass drum that lacks any power and seems always to be behind, this shit annoys the hell out of me. I despise this album for everything it stands for. Even the lyrics should be ashamed of themselves. Yikes. There are so many better bands out there.

Good god. Get ready for a fucking brutal beating from this album. Severed Savior's first full-length release starts you out with "One By One", which right away starts with fast blast beats and heavy riffs. The vocals on this album are very low and gutteral, which goes for most brutal death. But with this vocalist, across parts of the album, he combines his screams, and layers them, making it sound very cool, and even more brutal.
The guitars and riffs are really technical. They are always jumping around a hell of a lot, sounding very complex. I also really like the how occasionally the beat changes in some songs, where the drummer will switch from blast beats to speeding double bass, and alternate the beats over the same tunes later in the song. The bass is pretty insane, because you can hear its slap sound sometimes. Another thing I like a lot with SS, is that they are very precise with the drumming and guitars. They are never off and are practically perfect. My favorite songs have to be "Buried Again", "Blessed by the Beast", and "Severed Savior".
Every track here is incredibly brutal and technical, except for the final track which is dedicated to a member who passed away, and it is light with a nice solo. Anyways, though this band isn't the most original, they are some great technical brutal death metal that you should definitely listen to if you are a fan of it.

Severed Savior return with their second full-length release: “Brutality is Law”. This album is a brilliant production on all fronts: top-quality brutal death metal, killer sound, professionalism, and album production. Californian Brutal Death Metal just keeps on getting better and better thanks to bands like Severed Savior and the killer label they’re signed to: Unique Leader Records!The tracks on this album are not only damn brutal but are also real technical and they deliver that first-rate ‘groove’ that modern brutal death metal seems to be putting out. Guitarist Jared Deaver does his best in also adding some great lead guitar work. They all have their real fast-paced scenarios – blast beats (perfected by drummer Troy) and fast picking riffing from Jared. But then they just go into those heavy and chunky irresistibly skull-smashing pieces which always make my day! Vocalist Dusty is also another important member as he is the composer of sick, anti-christian, gore lyrics and obviously handles the guttural work – which he does nicely.

The album opens with full frontal brutality through the track “One by One” and other recommended listens are “Bloody Prolapse”, “Severed Savior” and “Unholy Member”. The last track is entitled “Death is Just the Beginning [R.I.P. Rob “So Vile” Lumbre]” which is a real soft track – no death metal here – just an ode of emotion to passed away friend and former guitarist of Severed Savior: Rob. Proves that Death Metal musicians have some feelings left in them after all!Everything about this album is great. Cover art done by brutal perfectionist Jon Zig. The inlay is nice and the sound is awesome.