“BROTALITY is band formed by 2 brothers based on faith, love & heavy music! We embrace the brutality of being counter-culture in today’s society.”
Ok so it’s always hard to critique a band that is on the same label as your own band, such as in this case and to be honest I don’t always enjoy it, but I am an impartial reviewer so regardless if you a friend or not or a fellow label mate or band I will always speak as it is, if you like it or don’t like it, it’s not my problem, but yours alone. I will still greet you down the depths of a dark alley.
So it was not so long ago that I was greeted with their first full length album, “Worldwide Desolation” in 2021 on Rottweiler Records. Certainly in my opinion one of the more important signings that Rottweiler Records has made and which was an impressive introduction to Brotality not only as a first full length album, but as a young band, both in its members and the band itself. Their progressively thrash leanings certainly outlaid a group with much talent and a bright future if they play their cards right. That onus also in part falls on the label which has in the meantime changed hands, and plays an important piece of the puzzle with the cards out laid before them, so let’s hope Rottweiler Records does not drop the ball with this band which could be one of the more important Christian metal bands going forward. To bring it all into context these young lads have opened for bands like Deep Purple and Judas Priest.
“The Woods Will End You” really starts in my opinion with “Nose Dive”, it hits hard from start to finish and highlights the quality song writing skill of the band and their ability to smoothly transcend through the different movements and moods of their songs. An important quality for me is the retention of energy through a song with a band like Brotality, and this again is something they generally do well, and have matured into from their last album. These New York boys carry that New York aggression that is often harboured in the famous New York Hardcore scene into their brand of progressive influenced thrash metal. For me “Nose Dive” could pass the critics on a hardcore stage. Bryce’s hair by the way is metal in its own right and deserves some sort of metal hair award if there was such a thing.
“Midnight Fire” is pretty neat acoustic intro with wailing lead guitar, like some early 90s thrash bands did that feeds into “Flesheater of the Forest”. Love the chorus, and vocally Reece Maopolski is coming into his own, and the more gruff vocals by Bryce Maopolski adds not only maturity to the overall sound but gives the song a bigger more technical depth, and plays off his vocals with great effect. The metronomed drums keep everything in time, keeping everything solid and straight. “An Evil Presence” has a doomish intro which I love and Reece’s vocals with solid drumming euphoricness add to the haunting drama of the song. It’s a great halfway into the album kind of song that illustrates the bands diversity and technical prowess. This is a song that could easily be marketed as something for a series or movie to suite.
“Skull Rot” keeps with the formula and thereafter we are introduced to like an eatherrical pause with the instrumental, “Sunseeker”. When accessing this, it’s like the album presents in three parts; “Flesheater of the Forest” and “Sunseeker” which divide the album respectively into those three parts.
“Sledgehammer” aptly sledgehammers you into the third act of the album. “The Moon Below” follows the Brotality formula and delivers quintessential Brotality. “Glow” delivers how a final song of an album should, sort of has a bit of pop punk metal feel. Very melodic delivery and I always like it when Bryce Maopolski delivers his vocal expression as it just helps punch the song to the next level a lot of the time.
Credit needs to be given to John Haring in name as it’s easily to get caught in the spellbounding guitar riffs of Bryce Maopolski, or the bass playing of Reece Maopolski. John Haring is someone I could work with musically as he keeps things solid throughout. One gets the distinct feeling there is a lot more in him but rather just keeps things moving forward, and never once over powers the guitars or vocal delivery, but in essence keeps the unit tight and effective. You see thrash metal for me is two parts, you have the technical aspect, but you also have the energy side of it, and when you add a progressive side to the energy drive it can get lost in the delivery of the song, and I think John has a huge part in holding that energy and keeping it stable so it does not get lost in the technical aspects of the songs. Depth is very important in the formulation of a song, and it’s the measure of that depth that defines the impact of the song you creating. Not saying if Reece Maopolski was just singing that the songs would be weaker, but the dimensional depth they add with the more death orientated vocals of Bryce Maopolski adds too symbiotic relationship of Reece Maopolski vocals, which elevates the band out of the under currents of the thrash music scene.
The thing I love about “The Woods Will End You” is that the overall production of the album has left some rawness to the sound, they have not sterilised the album, something that many modern day albums suffer from. Over production is something I personally hate as it often gives a flat, soulless robotic feel to the album, and the fact that they have managed to retain some of that energy, capsulizing that pulse of an on stage performance into the album garners massive respect from me as a musician and a reviewer.
“The Woods Will End You” is a very decent album that brings old school and new school thrash together in finding that balance in between that many other thrash bands fail at.
Written by Donovan de Necker
I have had to divide my ratings up a bit for this release to better define my stand on this album:
Musically: 9/10
Vocally: 8.5/10
Lyrically: 8/10
Overall: 8.4/10
Written by Donovan de Necker
Tracklisting:
1. Wild
2. Frost Empire
3. Nosedive
4. Midnight Fire
5. Flesheater of the Forest
6. An Evil Presence
7. Skull Rot
8. Sunseeker
9. Sludgehammer
10. The Moon Below
11. Glow
Released 03 June 2022
Record Label: Rottweiler Records
Lineup:
Bryce Maopolski – Guitar/Vocals
Reece Maopolski – Bass/Vocals
John Haring – Drums
Albums:
2021: “Worldwide Desolation” (review)
2022: “The Woods Will End You”
Eps:
2018: “Hypernova”
2019: “The Provocation”
2020: “Foxhole”
2020: “Prisoners of the Abyss”
Weblinks: Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp / Spotify
Video for ‘An Evil Presence’
Video for ‘Frost Empire’
