They've got a band title that's a reference to Grave, and they have a Dismember cover version as the last track on this 9 song album. Can you use your powers of deduction to ascertain what kind of death metal the Czech mob might be playing ? You probably don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to infer that Brutally Deceased like playing death metal the Swedish way, and are none the worse for it, may I add.
See, there are those nay sayers that will slag bands like Brutally Deceased for plagiarising old ideas. They are missing the point by so far that I suspect that they might be affiliated to some spurious hippy charity, something like “save the point”. Yes, there are lots of passages here that you might recognise from any Scandinavian compact disc manufactured between 1990 and 1993, but on the other hand, they are used in clever, groove laden ways. I would argue that this is an homage to the golden years of old school death metal. Yes, there is quite clearly a very slightly mangled version of the mid-way riff from “Left Hand Path” used as the main refrain on “...and Here I Die Forsaken”, and the guitar tone owes more than a little to prime Dismember, as do the frequent bouts of guitar wizardry. It's not that this is a simple carbon copy of those halcyon days; no sir, there are some very important differences. Firstly, this album has a production that's fatter than the greed victim from “Seven”. This production is so punchy you'd think it was inspired by John Prescott. Connoisseurs of the old school might also care to remember that at least 25% of the tracks on each of the so-called classic albums were instantly forgettable filler – probably a side effect of releasing new albums once every 18 months or less. This is not the case on “Dead Lovers Guide”, where each of the eight original tracks are all memorable, head nodding classics. This is more addictive than crack, and won't ruin your appetite between meals.
Mid paced ultra buzz saw death metal albums may not be as rare as they used to be, but they generally just don't “get it” as much as Brutally Deceased. If I had any gripes, the only one I could really dredge up from the curmudgeonly areas of my diseased brain would be that the vocals are occasionally a little too monotone, and could do with some more intonation to be more effective. It isn't really a massive complaint, and it still allows me to make an early bid for this to be in my top ten releases of 2011. They also manage to squeeze “Override of the Overture” by Dismember on as the closing track – a brilliant track in its original version, but somehow elevated to being even better here. A stunning album, and one which is being transferred to full jewel-case glory in my own private collection. If you have even a smidgeon of love for the old masters, you need to pick this up.
http://www.myspace.com/brutallydeceasedband
