Review: Brutality Will Prevail - In Dark Places

Review: Brutality Will Prevail – In Dark Places

Now with more ex-members than members, Brutality Will Prevail have weathered plenty of change, but in turn have become one of the biggest names in UK hardcore. Now with a solid lineup, the band are poised to release a brand new LP entitled ‘In Dark Places’, a record that sees the group return to their more prominent hardcore roots.

Indeed, there’s plenty of premium hardcore on offer here. The two-pronged attack of ‘Perpetual Lows’ and ‘Penitence’ show that BWP are completely comfortable and convincing when settled into chugging-riff mode.

There’s also plenty of ambient menaces to punctuate the record’s harder-hitting moments. With droning clean vocals atop thunderous guitars, ‘Elegy’ is perhaps the best example of this push and pull. That said, these sections don’t always hit the mark, as fully ambient track ‘Nybbas’ lingers on a little too long, failing to embolden the album’s heavier facets, and adding a slight air of tedium to proceedings.

Although the band are certainly proficient at both four-to-the-floor hardcore and more swampish, sour-faced metal, it is the confluence of these sounds that make Brutality Will Prevail what they are. Tracks that play with this dichotomy like ‘Death Sings Me To Sleep’ and ‘Forever Restless’ make for ‘In Dark Places’ most interesting moments, with vocalist Louis Gauthier sounding particularly intimidating on the latter’s “come take my soul, and leave my body cold” beatdown.

Now well known for their brand of doom-influenced hardcore, ‘In Dark Places’ is the sound of a band honing what they do best while tapping into the urgency of their hardcore origins to add some vital turns of pace to a formidable but potentially samey sound. Fans of BWP’s previous releases will likely find plenty to enjoy here, but there’s plenty of material here that could serve to introduce the band to fans of both ends of their spectrum.

3.5/5