AlbumsNovember 29, 201113,950 views

Brain Drill Apocalyptic Feasting


01. Gorification 02. The Parasites 03. Apocalyptic Feasting 04. Swine Slaughter 05. Forcefed Human Shit 06. Consumed By The Dead 07. Revelation 08. Bury The Living 09. The Depths Of Darkness 10. Sadistic Abductive
2008 Metal Blade Records
Our score 8

3/19/2008

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.

48 comments

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EvilF22_ 3/19/2008 8:48:33 AM

no, just no. this is just not as good as people are making this out to be. f*ck you sawtooth.

Cory_ 3/19/2008 9:03:18 AM

sounds like Cannibal Corpse but faster. definitely not a bad thing.

anonymous 3/19/2008 9:30:28 AM

popcorn metal

SunnyvaleTrash_ 3/19/2008 10:01:49 AM

boring, awful shit

vegard_ 3/19/2008 10:31:31 AM

the drums kill it for me, they sound paper-thin

anonymous 3/19/2008 10:37:40 AM

awesome live band. vocalist is a super nice dude. accurate review.

eyehateallgods_ 3/19/2008 11:07:11 AM

I like this cd... but its rehashed songs from the ep.

deathcoresucks_ 3/19/2008 12:02:59 PM

I like this CD, but the rating is too high.

myeyeshavevisualAIDS_ 3/19/2008 1:00:26 PM

bitch i'm a goon.

iagree_ 3/19/2008 1:00:42 PM

the drums kill it for me, they sound paper-thin

alfonso_ 3/19/2008 1:18:00 PM

vocalist is one of the nicest and most genuine dudes i have ever met. i shared a much needed clove with him afterwards.

anonymoses_ 3/19/2008 1:21:10 PM

This band is terrible.

anonymous 3/19/2008 1:24:13 PM

The clove comment kills it for me. Too paper-gay.

panzram_ 3/19/2008 1:30:34 PM

you forgot to mention the arpeggios

ben_ 3/19/2008 1:31:27 PM

cloves?...are you serious?

ben_ 3/19/2008 1:31:34 PM

cloves?...are you serious?

ghetto_paul_ 3/19/2008 1:41:25 PM

phobophile is so mad he's shaking

robot_wheelchair_ 3/19/2008 1:47:11 PM

decent stuff, maybe rated a bit too high though.

chamber_ 3/19/2008 2:07:11 PM

nigga said frenetic two paragraphs in a row. great cd though

Cory_ 3/19/2008 2:13:26 PM

okay. while it's impressive that marco can play like he can, let's all keep in mind that's he using an extremely expensive electronic kit. for all of you idiots that think triggering the kick drum is cheating, well.. here is your time to shine. this, in my opinion, IS cheating. every drummer out there knows that playing on v-drums is WAY different(easier) than playing on a real kit. especially for this type of "frenetic, mind-boggling, 300bpm-omglolz" style of death metal. start playing live/stu

randomshit_ 3/19/2008 2:47:36 PM

I agree. I want to see Lord Marco play on a real kit.

DukeNukem_ 3/19/2008 5:54:21 PM

siq album

eadup_ 3/19/2008 9:18:36 PM

I've got nothing against these guys, but I don't think I can make it a whole song without wondering what else i could be listening to. It's just a whirlwind of nothing imo.

youareallfuckingidiots_ 3/19/2008 9:21:29 PM

I love how people are acting like this band is not as good as everyone is saying they are ... I would love, in fact I am begging for any of you gays to even try and get a group of musicians together and sound even remotely as good/talented as them....... f*cking morons

keepitwolfson_ 3/19/2008 9:59:46 PM

you guys are stupid this band is over the top great musicians and i think marco plays a real set live at least he did when i saw them

anonymous 3/19/2008 10:55:46 PM

its a drill, not a chainsaw. dummy.

ohiokillsyou_ 3/20/2008 12:50:54 AM

didn't these guys just break up?

Ohhhhh_ 3/20/2008 2:15:40 AM

"Hmm, I wonder if lambgoat would dig if I used a really technical musical term like arpeggios a few times...yeah that'd be wicked cool" - daniel this band did just break up cause they're losers. "you look like a loser who smokes pot, youre signed to metal blade!"

Swamplord_ 3/20/2008 2:36:29 AM

"I love how people are acting like this band is not as good as everyone is saying they are ... I would love, in fact I am begging for any of you gays to even try and get a group of musicians together and sound even remotely as good/talented as them....... f*cking morons" Can the band I assemble wank endlessly like this shithole of a band?

messiah_ 3/20/2008 2:44:18 AM

well this cd was released at a real nice time when the band breaks up. yay now steve can get Words Like Shards back together. and for all of you jews who say oh blah blah blah i had a clove with steve or hes genuine. shut the f*ck up. steve is an jerk. he lives across the street. 831REP btw dylan is a gayggggggooooottttttt and uses a lame excuse like weed to break the band up. if they were that tight knit they would have recovered from it. pssys.

Dude_ 3/20/2008 3:34:49 AM

So Lambgoat gives great bands shit reviews (Genghis Tron), and gives generic shit a great review, and band breaks up.

YouAreSceneAsFuck_ 3/20/2008 2:07:07 PM

They stripped me naked had me lift my ballsack up so they could check underneath it, and then had me bend over and spread my asscheeks apart so they could look inside my jerk.

anonymous 3/20/2008 2:08:08 PM

So Lambgoat gives great bands shit reviews (Genghis Tron), and gives generic shit a great review, and band breaks up. ------------- If that's the case, here's hoping the next Genghis Tron gets an 11/10 and they vanflip the next day.

brokenhero_ 3/20/2008 4:52:32 PM

this cd got them so famous they couldnt handle it and quit

xdustinx_ 3/20/2008 5:07:52 PM

10/10 - this release is beyond solid.

Fuck Brain Drill_ 3/20/2008 6:44:07 PM

Shit Band. Shit Review.

messiah_ 3/20/2008 8:27:23 PM

id like to see you gays, who say briandrill sucks, play guitar like dylan or drums like marco. and marco does actually play on a real kit. its just accrylic and triggered up the ass. gays.

gurglegurglebreee_ 3/20/2008 9:01:09 PM

FTR, criticizing someone of a skill that you do not possess yourself is entirely reasonable. Just because I'm not andreas segovia doesn't mean I lack the ability to spot shitty music played by shitty shredders with shitty fans. Some of you niggaz need a lesson in formal logic.

Andrew_ 3/21/2008 7:27:42 PM

This shit is just boring, flat out. I mean honestly, how many time can you rewrite the same song. The arpeggios, the blasts and structures are all the same. f*ck.

uhhh_ 3/24/2008 3:35:27 AM

Accurate review. Jeff is absolutely amazing.

behran_ 3/25/2008 11:24:59 AM

Brain Drill drama > Brain Drill album

Quesadilla_ 3/25/2008 2:12:54 PM

Only sick thing about this band was the dope bass lines

metal_bob_ 3/25/2008 4:56:16 PM

I thought this was boring

goosehead_ 3/25/2008 6:57:33 PM

Note to reviewer: No first person comments in reviews. Additionally, this band is definitely mediocre at best.

LORDSHREDDER_ 3/26/2008 6:47:06 PM

5/10. Lets start by saying Marco is a lame drummer. if he's not doing gravity blasts, he can't play. And he NEVER EVER accents the riffs, mutes, changes. Its like he doesn't even listen to the music whatsoever. But then again the guitar playing is like one amazing solo, but with absolutely no structure. If they went into passages of this stuff, over well written music, I might listen to it for more than 5 minutes before putting on something of polar opposites like Jimmy Eat World.

LORDSHREDDER_ 3/26/2008 6:49:46 PM

So Lambgoat gives great bands shit reviews (Genghis Tron) -- They were right about that. Genghis Tron are a f*cking awful clone of that shit band Horse The Band. f*ck that circus clown bullshit. No talent-assclowns should be the Genre.

ryan_ 4/1/2008 7:57:47 PM

riff sweep riff sweep riff sweep

anonymous 5/6/2008 8:28:48 AM

Not even going to bother