For some bands it’s the place of origin that determines their music, and Brutality is certainly among them. The group hails from Tampa, Florida – the capitol of American death metal. Unfortunately, being overshadowed by death giants like Cannibal Corpse, Obituary and Decide, Brutality never managed to get the proper acclaim for their work. Metal Mind Productions presents the exclusive re-releases of Brutality’s three full-length albums bring back a true legend of technical death metal, unjustly omitted by the masses…

“Screams of Anguish” was released in the summer of 1993, instantly blowing metal fans away. The full-length debut brought ten electrifying compositions showcasing technical death metal at its finest. The band’s motto was to create ‘Music To Mangle Your Mind’ and this is clearly visible on “Screams of Anguish“. Complicated yet melodic guitar riffs, intense drumming with a jazzy feel to it and deep death metal growling made up for one of the most impressive death metal releases of the 90’s. Songs such as “Cries of the Forsaken” and “These Walls Shall Be Your Grave” are perfect examples of prime death metal ferocity, while the acoustic guitar piece “Sympathy” stands out as a very interesting interlude. Jim Coker’s drumming is definitely the album’s highlight – as he ranges from all kinds of inspirations, the listener witnesses a truly magnificent performance. Produced by Jim Morris, Brutality’s debut album was an excellent way to start a career on the scene.
The group’s second album, “When The Sky Turns Black“, was recorded in the end of 1994 and released in 1995. The follow-up brought another dose of perfectly balanced technical death metal, this time aiming at a truly apocalyptic atmosphere. All ten compositions joined together in perfect harmony, creating a soundtrack to an end of the world. Filled with various acoustic interludes, the albums depicts a vision of total mayhem, with the help of epic guitar riffs and melancholic solos. Again produced by Jim Morris, “When The Sky Turns Black” stands out as one of Brutality’s most unique offerings. This LP features also a stunning cover version of Black Sabbath’s classic – “Electric Funeral” – by many fans considered superior to the original!

“In Mourning” released in 1996 continued the apocalyptic tradition, bringing yet another handful of destructive anthems. Coker’s drumming became even more vicious on this release and was paired with some intense guitar solos, which gave the LP a very classic feel. “In Mourning” delivers the same amount of disturbing atmosphere as the previous offering, this time, however, building it solely on guitar sounds. The album went on as Brutality’s most mature release.

Classic material taken from the Nuclear Blast archives will be released on 19th May 2008 in Europe /8th July 2008 in USA (via MVD). All three titles include a bonus track! New digipak edition, limited to numerated 2000 copies, digitally remastered using 24-Bit process on golden disc.

Brutality
“Screams Of Anguish” (remastered + bonus track)

Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1168 DG
Barcode: 5907785032330
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 2000 numerated copies)
Genre: death metal
Release date: 19.05.2008 Europe / 08.07.2008 USA

Tracklist:

1. These Walls Shall Be Your Grave
2. Ceremonial Unearthing
3. Symphaty
4. Septicemic Plague
5. Crushed
6. Spirit World
7. Exposed To The Elements
8. Cries of The Forsaken
9. Cryptorium
10. Spawned Illusion

Bonus track:
11. Sadistic

Brutality
“When The Sky Turns Black” (remastered + bonus track)

Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1169 DG
Barcode: 5907785032347
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 2000 numerated copies)
Genre: death metal
Release date: 19.05.2008 Europe / 08.07.2008 USA

Tracklist:

1. When The Sky Turns Black
2. Race Defects
3. Awakening
4. Electric Funeral
5. Foul Liar
6. Screams Of Anguish
7. Esoteric
8. Artistic Butchery
9. Violent Generation
10. Shrine Of The Master

Bonus track:
11. Cryptorium

Brutality
“In Mourning“(remastered + bonus track)

Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1167 DG
Barcode: 5907785032323
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 2000 numerated copies)
Genre: death metal
Release date: 19.05.2008 Europe / 08.07.2008 USA

Tracklist:

1. Obsessed
2. The Past
3. Destroyed By Society
4. Waiting To Be Devoured
5. Died With Open Eyes
6. In Mourning
7. Subjected To Torture
8. Calculated Bloodshed
9. Extincion

Bonus track:
10. Certain Annihilation

Bio
Brutality was founded in September 1986 by Larry Sapp (guitar/vocals), Jeff Acres (bass) and Donnie Yanson (drums). At first the group went through multiple name changes (including the name Abomination, under which they released their first home-made demo in 1987), until Acres finally came up with Brutality. In Spring of 1987 Yanson decided to leave the band and was replaced with Jim Coker (who lasted only from July to September) and later on with Kenny “Foz” Karg. In the beginning of 1988 Brutality prepared the material for their self-titled demo and recorded it in March. However, the quality was so poor that the band decided to re-record the whole thing in April, with Tim Mitchell as the second guitarist. The demo contained four songs: “Brutality”, “Now Mosh”, “World War III” and “Return of the Dead”. By September Karg and Mitchell left the group and Brutality was put at halt until February 1989. That’s when Don Gates joined as the new drummer, soon followed by guitarist Ben Williams. Unfortunately, Gates called it quits in June, leaving Brutality without a drummer again. The band decided to bring back Jim Coker to the fold, making him a full-time member. In July Brutality started working on the “Dimension Demented” demo, which was completed around December. Due to Williams’ departure all the guitars on that demo were played by Sapp, while Travis Ogletree from Skeletal Earth made a guest appearance in the song “World War III”, handling the backing vocals. “Dimension Demented” was engineered by Josh Young at Outback Studios and became the first professional recording fully showcasing Brutality’s abilities.
By the end of 1989 Don Gates returned to the band, taking the position of the second guitarist, and in early 1990 Brutality saw their first official vinyl release through Gore Records, containing 3 tracks from the “Dimension Demented” demo. After April the group gathered material for another demo release – “Metamorphosis”. This release was re-recorded in January 1991 in the famous Morrisound Studios. Engineered by Jim Morris himself, the revised version of “Metamorphosis” was released in May by Wild Rags Records. The release was followed by some intense touring around Florida, alongside Hellwitch, Malevolent Creation and Obituary. On November 1st Brutality finally shared the stage with one of their greatest inspirations – Decide. Unfortunately, a few days later, Larry Sapp quit the band due to musical differences and formed a new group – Astaroth.
Brutality carried on playing without Sapp, acquiring Jay Fernandez as the new guitarist and passing the vocal duties to Acres. Together they recorded a 3-song demo in 1992 called “Advance”, which was meant solely for the record labels’ interest. After getting a number of offers, the band eventually chose Nuclear Blast as their publisher. After adjoining vocalist Scott Reigel, Brutality begun recording their debut LP in winter of 1992…
“Screams of Anguish” was finally released in the summer of 1993, instantly blowing metal fans away. The full-length debut brought ten electrifying compositions showcasing technical death metal at its finest. The band’s motto was to create ‘Music To Mangle Your Mind’ and this is clearly visible on “Screams of Anguish”. Complicated yet melodic guitar riffs, intense drumming with a jazzy feel to it and deep death metal growling made up for one of the most impressive death metal releases of the 90’s. Songs such as “Cries of the Forsaken” and “These Walls Shall Be Your Grave” are perfect examples of prime death metal ferocity, while the acoustic guitar piece “Sympathy” stands out as a very interesting interlude. Jim Coker’s drumming is definitely the album’s highlight – as he ranges from all kinds of inspirations, the listener witnesses a truly magnificent performance. Produced by Jim Morris, Brutality’s debut album was an excellent way to start a career on the scene. Unfortunately, soon after its release Jay Fernandez quit the band and was replaced with Brian Hipp. Soon after that Brutality went on a tour to promote the album – they played a number of shows in the US and Europe, where they supported Hypocrisy.
The group’s second album, “When The Sky Turns Black”, was recorded in the end of 1994 and released in 1995. The follow-up brought another dose of perfectly balanced technical death metal, this time aiming at a truly apocalyptic atmosphere. All ten compositions joined together in perfect harmony, crating a soundtrack to an end of the world. Filled with various acoustic interludes, the albums depicts a vision of total mayhem, with the help of epic guitar riffs and melancholic solos. Again produced by Jim Morris, “When The Sky Turns Black” stands out as one of Brutality’s most unique offerings. This LP features also a stunning cover version of Black Sabbath’s classic – “Electric Funeral” – by many fans considered superior to the original! The release of the album was crowned with over a 1,5 month-long European tour with Bolt Thrower and Cemetary. After the tour Don Gates decided to leave Brutality for personal reasons and Brian Hipp got fired from the band. Soon the guitar slots were filled with Dana Walsh and Pete Sykes, and with this line-up Brutality entered the studio to record their third (and final, as it soon appeared) album…
Recorded in late 1995, “In Mourning” was released in the following year. The album continued the apocalyptic tradition, bringing yet another handful of destructive anthems. Coker’s drumming became even more vicious on this release and was paired with some intense guitar solos, which gave the LP a very classic feel. “In Mourning” delivers the same amount of disturbing atmosphere as the previous offering, this time, however, building it solely on guitar sounds. The album went on as Brutality’s most mature release, but unfortunately also marked the end for the band, as after a number of shows promoting the LP the musicians grew tired of playing and eventually in late 1997/early1998 they decided to part ways with each other…
In 2001, after nearly 10 years, Acres and Sapp finally met again and started working on Brutality’s reunion, involving the band’s original members as well as the musicians from Astaroth. New material has been written, as Brutality begun planning the release of their next LP, which was to be entitled “From the Darkness”. After a failed record deal in 2003 the band once again went on hiatus. In early 2008 Brutality resurfaced – hopefully, this time to stick around for good.
The band left behind an amazing collection of memorable songs, bringing out all the best features of technical death metal straight from the shores of Florida. With the three separate re-releases of “Screams of Anguish”, “When The Sky Turns Black” and “In Mourning”, metal fans have now the opportunity to ultimately witness Brutality’s crushing power. So sit back and let the destruction begin…