Band:	Brutally Deceased
Album:	Dead Lovers' Guide
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	September 17, 2010
A review by:	Troy Killjoy

01. Lustful Sodomy In The House Of God
02. Dead Lovers' Guide
03. Blissful Desecration
04. They Shall Feast
05. ...And Here I Die Forsaken
06. A Life Once Aborted
07. Demise Of The Human Swine
08. All That Rots And Withers
09. Override Of The Overture [Dismember cover]

Split open bodies give birth for the last time...

While 2010 featured some hit-and-miss releases from old school death metal bands (As Yggdrasil Trembles, Monumentomb, The Human Machine), Czech death newcomers Brutally Deceased were more taken with Burial Ground by Swedish veterans Grave. I could practically copy and paste my review of that album and replace "Grave" with "Brutally Deceased". But for the sake of the band members' efforts, I'll give this its own analysis.

In typical old school death metal revivalist fashion, Brutally Deceased instantly fall victim to sounding the same as just about every band that played this style about 20 years ago. But these guys are somewhat of a breath of fresh air, contributing on a more "br00tal" level than their predecessors, so much so they even stand out comparatively to other old school death revivalist acts. The instruments cater to that Burial Ground-esque crunching production, and a lot of the songs tend to overlap in terms of their structural similarities, but the corpulent guitar chords provide enough weight for a worthwhile listen.

What is noticeably good about this album is its melody. Yes, despite its inherent aggression, Dead Lovers' Guide features some standout guitar work by Tomá? Halama - who used to sling the bass - adding a much-needed level of engaging sequences that make for a more attractive output. They aren't doing anything differently, but they definitely aren't doing it wrong.

While the band members aren't completely trapped by the genre's restrictions, there is definitely room for improvement in terms of creating a more lasting feel. As it stands, this album is just there. It's as if the band members couldn't decide whether to stick solely to the true old school sound or try their hand at some Suffocation, but once they find the balance between their more brutal influences and their love of the old school Swedish sound, this band could make some serious noise in death metal circles.

Website: http://www.myspace.com/brutallydeceasedband