Brutality Will Prevail

In Dark Places

Written by: MAK on 12/04/2017 16:39:47

When it was announced back in December 2012 that Brutality Will Prevail would be replacing their vocalist Ajay Jones with Louis Gauthier of Breaking Point, the responses were met both positively and negatively. Those responses were divided even further upon the release of 2014 album, “Suspension Of Consciousness”. Critically the album was well received, but within the hardcore scene, plenty of fans didn’t quite dig the new experimental approach to BWP. Influences of droney shoegaze hardcore on top of their mosh riffs and two-step grooves along with the fact that Gauthier’s shouts were a lot more brutish than Ajay’s raspy style. It caused plenty of old fans to state “It’s just not the same now”.

Given that response, it appears that BWP has taken a step back from the experimental hardcore approach and have focussed towards something a lot simpler and a lot more effective in creating a highly energetic atmosphere. Judging straight away from “Forever Restless”, the first track revealed in the build-up to the album’s release, you could tell the band are very much riff driven as the focal point. This was always a strong point, but it seems to stand out as the real hooking feature. The track feels like this album’s “The Path” with those grooves. It shines further in a track like ‘Perpetual Lows’ that has those ‘Hardcore dance’ rhythms, with a crossover ferocity that matches Broken Teeth’s most recent material.

The experimental side hasn’t completely disappeared though. The opening track, “Serpent” is a perfect tone-setter for the album, it contains the slower riffs, there is almost a stoner rock style atmosphere in the opening segment before the up-tempo grooves kick in. We are even treated to a nice whiney guitar solo with what sounds like a hefty bit echo to it. And for tracks like ‘Heretic’ and "Penitence", they combine the pit starting brutality with sombre grittiness in the low tempo chugging hooks. We also have a melodic breaker in the form of “Nybbas”, an instrumental piece purely consisting of soothing guitar melodies and calmingly slow drum patterns. It’s a nice soft divide in the album that leads into the bruiser that is “Forever Restless”.

One thing I’ll stand by is that Louis Gauthier is the much better vocalist and he brings a darker tone to the table than Ajay ever did. There is a larger level of anger, ferocity and a monstrous energy in creating certain pit starters. In terms of how this compares to the previous album, I feel tracks don’t stand out as much when you play the whole album. On “Suspension Of Consciousness” there was more variety in styles used; Hardcore, metal, stoner rock and even some shoegaze. On “In Dark Places” only the moshy two-step vibe mixed with relaxed heavy hooks is really pushed to the forefront. This is still a decent follow-up release, though. It’s an album full of tracks that will have you moving and banging your head. While the previous album showed more musical progression and talent, this one will appeal to the older fans who simply like their hardcore riffage.

7

Download: Forever Restless, Serpent, Penitence
For The Fans Of: Breaking Point, Hang The Bastard, Code Orange,Coldburn
Listen: facebook.com

Release date 24.03.2017
Holy Roar Records

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