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Brain Drill
Apocalyptic Feasting
2008
Metal Blade Records
OUR RATING - 8 /10
(6232 views)
comments (47) [add]
I can't even begin to describe the delight I felt upon hearing the first few seconds of "Gorification," the opening track to Brain Drill's debut album, Apocalyptic Feasting. From a rather innocuous sample of a roaring chainsaw erupts a churning maelstrom of frenetic staccato blasts and harmonized arpeggios. Needless to say, my face was completely melted. Backed by former Vital Remains live drummer, Marco Pitruzella, Brain Drill play absurdly technical deathgrind with songs about flesh-eating zombies, having human feces rammed down your gullet, and other generally light-hearted fare. Apocalyptic Feasting is a 35-minute, seizure-laden ebullition of intensity: a veritable clinic of technicality, velocity, and overall extremity in death metal.
Brain Drill's songs incorporate a flurry of frenetic, dissonant riffs with strange time signatures that are saturated with extremely fast speedpicking, arpeggios, and tapping. Imagine the happy marriage between the chaotic velocity of Origin and the technicality of Necrophagist with a little Cannibal Corpse thrown into the mix for good measure. Just when songs appear to be lost in a spate of hyperblasts and harmonized arpeggios, Brain Drill throws in a chugga-chugga mosh part, catching the listener completely off guard.
The musicianship featured on Apocalyptic Feasting is absolutely over-the-top. The drummer, Marco Pitruzella, could be a stand-in for the Agoraphobic Nosebleed drum machine; his blasts hover around 280 beats per minute, at times topping out in the low 300s. Jeff Hughell plays a 7-string bass with puzzling agility and skill, whipping out swirling arpeggios left and right. Never before have I heard such clarity and precision from a death metal bass player. His sound is a perfect counterpoint to the gross atonality of Dylan Ruskin's phenomenal guitar work. Where did this guy come from? Ruskin most certainly ranks among the finest axe wielders in death metal. Finally, vocalist Steve Rathjen, while not necessarily bringing anything radically different to the table, does his job very well, balancing low-pitched gurgles with high-pitched screams without overwhelming the mix and detracting from the music.
In spite of such gory subject matter, Brain Drill's sound isn't overwhelmingly dark or evil sounding. The combination of extremely dissonant, technical riffage and seemingly otherworldly musicianship invokes a Dionysian frenzy of creation and destruction. When I hear Rathjen scream "forcefed human shit" over a barrage of chaotic speedpicking, zombies feasting on my innards doesn't immediately come to mind. Brain Drill evoke amateur footage of an airplane bursting into flames and slowly spiraling downward from the sky accompanied by the horrifying screams of stupefied onlookers. Or a slow motion reel of a lion chasing some hapless antelope across a bleached savannah, culminating in a display of disconcerting savagery when the predator has overcome its prey. Bloodstained maws, gnashing teeth, death in the tall-grass. Or the visceral, extremely primal feeling of punching another human being in the face in a fit of rage. Put simply, the kitschy zombie/gore theme doesn't do justice to the intensity and complexity of this music.
Bottom Line: Buy this record five minutes ago! Apocalyptic Feasting is one of the most impressive debut full-lengths from a death metal band in recent memory. If your musical taste borders on the extreme, Brain Drill is the band for you.
Brain Drill
Apocalyptic Feasting
2008
Metal Blade Records
OUR RATING - 8 /10
(6232 views)
comments (47) [add]
I can't even begin to describe the delight I felt upon hearing the first few seconds of "Gorification," the opening track to Brain Drill's debut album, Apocalyptic Feasting. From a rather innocuous sample of a roaring chainsaw erupts a churning maelstrom of frenetic staccato blasts and harmonized arpeggios. Needless to say, my face was completely melted. Backed by former Vital Remains live drummer, Marco Pitruzella, Brain Drill play absurdly technical deathgrind with songs about flesh-eating zombies, having human feces rammed down your gullet, and other generally light-hearted fare. Apocalyptic Feasting is a 35-minute, seizure-laden ebullition of intensity: a veritable clinic of technicality, velocity, and overall extremity in death metal.
Brain Drill's songs incorporate a flurry of frenetic, dissonant riffs with strange time signatures that are saturated with extremely fast speedpicking, arpeggios, and tapping. Imagine the happy marriage between the chaotic velocity of Origin and the technicality of Necrophagist with a little Cannibal Corpse thrown into the mix for good measure. Just when songs appear to be lost in a spate of hyperblasts and harmonized arpeggios, Brain Drill throws in a chugga-chugga mosh part, catching the listener completely off guard.
The musicianship featured on Apocalyptic Feasting is absolutely over-the-top. The drummer, Marco Pitruzella, could be a stand-in for the Agoraphobic Nosebleed drum machine; his blasts hover around 280 beats per minute, at times topping out in the low 300s. Jeff Hughell plays a 7-string bass with puzzling agility and skill, whipping out swirling arpeggios left and right. Never before have I heard such clarity and precision from a death metal bass player. His sound is a perfect counterpoint to the gross atonality of Dylan Ruskin's phenomenal guitar work. Where did this guy come from? Ruskin most certainly ranks among the finest axe wielders in death metal. Finally, vocalist Steve Rathjen, while not necessarily bringing anything radically different to the table, does his job very well, balancing low-pitched gurgles with high-pitched screams without overwhelming the mix and detracting from the music.
In spite of such gory subject matter, Brain Drill's sound isn't overwhelmingly dark or evil sounding. The combination of extremely dissonant, technical riffage and seemingly otherworldly musicianship invokes a Dionysian frenzy of creation and destruction. When I hear Rathjen scream "forcefed human shit" over a barrage of chaotic speedpicking, zombies feasting on my innards doesn't immediately come to mind. Brain Drill evoke amateur footage of an airplane bursting into flames and slowly spiraling downward from the sky accompanied by the horrifying screams of stupefied onlookers. Or a slow motion reel of a lion chasing some hapless antelope across a bleached savannah, culminating in a display of disconcerting savagery when the predator has overcome its prey. Bloodstained maws, gnashing teeth, death in the tall-grass. Or the visceral, extremely primal feeling of punching another human being in the face in a fit of rage. Put simply, the kitschy zombie/gore theme doesn't do justice to the intensity and complexity of this music.
Bottom Line: Buy this record five minutes ago! Apocalyptic Feasting is one of the most impressive debut full-lengths from a death metal band in recent memory. If your musical taste borders on the extreme, Brain Drill is the band for you.
