Brotality has been a rising force in the underground scene now for a while, but I never really paid attention until their signing to Rottweiler Records. I may be a bit biased as a Rottweiler Records artist (drummer for Symphony of Heaven), but I will say, there is an incredible amount of talent on the label, and Brotality is among the top tier of it.
Over the course of the last year, I slowly became a huge fan of their material, starting with “Salting the Wound”, which in its pure form is a great homage to metal giants such as Metallica and Megadeth, all the way to “Legion Falls”, an adrenaline-pumping song that brings the hardcore punk element to the band, sounding like something off a Shai Hulud album.
Now, we have the full-length album we have all been waiting for: Worldwide Desolation. 12 tracks of pure unabashed metal. The album opens with “…And Then There Was One” which opens with very skilled performances instrumentally before transitioning into “Foxhole”, which is a prime example of the band’s overwhelming talent. The three young men who comprise of Brotality – Bryce, Reece, and Liam – show extreme proficiency in their respective instruments, as well as lyrical content.
The band has clearly been heavily influenced by bands such as Animals As Leaders and Mastodon because those influences are very clear on the track “I Am Fire, I Am Death”. Bryce’s vocals are very prominent in the track, drawing a resemblance to the legendary Chuck Schuldiner of Death‘s guttural tones.
“Biohazard” took me by force and beat me down with a chainsaw (it’ll make sense if you listen to the track). Brutally delicious to say the least, with the track having moments that remind me of Extol‘s self-titled release. Something, which I’m sure will make Reece very happy to hear. “Empty Existence” has a straight forward breakdown within its first minute and 30 seconds. This is what melodic metalcore always should have been. A combination of thrash metal and talent. Not the borderline emo-core stuff (hey, I listened to it too. Not being an elitist).
“Prisoners of the Abyss” clearly is the album’s radio hit. Mixing together the perfect blend of melody and brutality, where Reece’s vocals shine through beautifully. “Dirtnap” brings a heavy drum performance, with Liam reigning it in beautifully and the brothers matching it on the bass and guitars. ‘Death will come for us all!’ “Spiral Out” is the progressive thrash song, and in my book, reminds a lot of the first three Tourniquet releases. Except Liam plays much better than Ted Kirkpatrick, in my humble opinion. Reece’s bass also comes through much cleaner and thick.
“Garden” is a beautiful track. With a lead of acoustic guitars, occasional cymbal waving and tapping, and the bass rounding out the sound, there is not much else to say except that it is gorgeous. “The Way of Suffering” is the almost 9 minute closing of the progressive masterpiece of Worldwide Desolation. Reece is singing on this track and it actually fits really well, even though the music is crushing. It reminds me of something, but I do not know what. The whole song is like Shai Hulud and Extol blended together musically with Relient K styled vocals.
Overall, there’s not much left to say but well done, boys. I found myself enjoying every track in someway or another. There were tracks where Liam shined, tracks where Bryce shined, and tracks where Reece shined, but in every one of them, Brotality shined brightly as a cohesive unit. A phenomenal album.
Mason Beard 10/10 – The Metal Onslaught Magazine