Blast(beat) from the Past: Brutal Death

Brutal Death
Brutal Death
RSR
2006
Seriously? Do I have to go through the whole rigmarole of even bothering to describe what a 7-inch by a band called Brutal Death sounds like? If you can’t figure it out, please raise your hands so we all know who can’t be trusted with sharp objects. But since their internet presence is nil (and their name is woefully Google-proof) and I’m not set up to rip vinyl yet, let’s go through the motions.
Named … ahem … Brutal Death and swiping the Napalm Death font, the trio’s repertoire extends all the way from enslavement to extreme responses. Though as raw as an open, suppurating wound, the production gives the guitar, drums and vocals their own space, making this one of the better balanced of all the underproduced EPs I’ve heard. Drummer Sean has that same creepy crawly reverb to his drums – especially the floor toms – that made early Bad Brains demos so awesome (seriously, go give Black Dots a close listen). And there is no need for a bass with Mike’s low-slung, crusty guitar ripping and gnawing like a hippo with an impacted tusk on a tooth-grinding coke bender. Covering all the bases from Frankensteined power violence lurch through white knuckled grind frenzy and boasting an urban tagger graffiti style for the interior art, Brutal Death actually remind me quite a bit of a rawer Magrudergrind.
Definitely not to be confused with another grindcore Brutal Death that apparently bangs out nothing but songs about the Backstreet Boys. There’s a reason that atrocity’s MySpace page only has four friends – including Tom. But I’d count this Brutal Death a friend any day.