I’m always surprised when we get requests for reviews and emails from bands outside of the country, even though lately a lot of our contributors have been from places like France, Portugal and the likes. As soon as the Legacy of Brutality album was opened, I’ll admit I wasn’t really sure what I’d find once I listened to it. Then I listened to it. Martin likes to tell you about how he did something naughty in his pants or just threw down in a one man mosh pit, when he hears something awesome. Andrew likes to talk about his comparisons with other bands and his family life, him being old as fuck and whatnot (just joshing A-Man). All I’m going to say is; once I listened to the record, I really couldn’t put it away. It was in my playlist for days, and still is. Within the first full listen to Path Of Forgotten Souls, the harsh vocals, fast paced death metal blast beats and rhythmic shredding were all etched deep in my brain. Humming and tapping out the tunes with pens on my desk at work, I decided I am officially in love.
Would it be wrong to make comparisons to giants like The Black Dahlia Murder and Hate Eternal? I think not. There are a lot of similarities; the chaotic, brutal presence of Hate Eternal, mixed with guttural growls, intense shredding and soloing and just overall amazing-ness of The Black Dahlia Murder. Now this isn’t to say that you should just go out and buy Hate Eternal and TBDM’s new releases (even though you should) and forget about Legacy of Brutality. No, no, no! These are only similarities I picked up on but, Legacy of Brutality is much more than just a similarity. This Puerto De Vega, Spain based death metal act offers the stripped down, raw death metal that all fans know and love but they offer more than that as a whole package.
Tracklisting:
1.Summoning the Damned
2.Death Is Coming
3.Beyond The Walls Of The Colosseum
4.The Golden Age Of Domination
5.Martyrchrist
6.Path Of Forgotten Souls
7.Rebirth Of The Ancient Cult
8.The Son Of God Born Here
9.Memories At War
When listening to the album, I noticed times when the song would get repetitive and just about the time when I would normally skip through a song they change it up and smack me in the face to bring me back to the track! They change up the momentum and feel of each song, some sticking to the generic death metal mood and several with more groove/thrash type beats and riffs. The bass is really predominant, which I really dig! In songs like, “Death Is Coming” there are parts where the shredding stops and the pounding rhythm of the bass resonates throughout. Along with really thick kicks and quick beats; the harsh, guttural growls really turn my stomach in a knot of excitement, almost as if I can feel the power Simón García is forcing through. If you really want to get a feel of the album see if you can listen to “Death Is Coming” and “Memories At War”, my two personal favourites. I’d listen to “The Son Of God Was Born Here” too, just because I love the song title.
They’re still a little rough around the edges, but their tunes are well written, well thought out and creative. All around a full sound production wise, they took their time on this record and they made it great!
I’d say there’s a good possibility this might make the top ten (or maybe top 11?) of 2011, is it a shoo-in for sure? No. I’m giving this a 4/5; it’s stellar, overall really tight and well produced. The only thing I’d suggest is to change the tempo and general rhythm of the songs more often.
Cheers,
Tyler
