| Brutality | |
| Alias: | Abomination, Darkness |
| Origin: | Tampa, Florida |
| Genre: | Death metal |
| Current Members: | Jeff Acres Scott Riegel Jay Fernandez Ruston Grosse |
| Past Members: | Bryan Hipp Dana Walsh Pete Sykes Larry Sapp Donnie Yanson Kenny Karg Bill Benson Tim Mitchell Don Gates Jim Coker Angelo Duca Demian Heftel |
Brutality is an American death metal band from Tampa, Florida. The group was signed to Nuclear Blast Records in the 1990s.[1]
The group formed in 1986 under the name Abomination and soon after released their first self-titled demo. In 1988, they changed their name to Brutality and released their second demo, also called Brutality.[2] The band's third demo, Dimension Demented, was recorded in 1990 and three songs from it were later released on a 7-inch named "Hell On Earth" with Gore Records. Metamorphosis, the band's fourth demo, followed in 1991 on Wild Rags Records. In 1992, the band's lineup consisted of Scott Riegel on vocals, Jay Fernandez on guitar, Don Gates on guitar, Jeff Acres on bass and vocals, and Jim Coker on drums. Soon after, they signed with Nuclear Blast Records. After releasing a 7-inch EP entitled "Sadistic" in 1992, they recorded their debut album Screams of Anguish in 1993,[1] and proceeded to go on a European tour with Hypocrisy in the beginning of 1994. Their second full-length album, When the Sky Turns Black, was released in the US in December 1994 and in Europe in January 1995.[2] A second European tour followed in 1995, supporting Bolt Thrower.[3] Guitarist Bryan Hipp had joined the band for When the Sky Turns Black, and guitarists Dana Walsh and Pete Sykes joined the band in time for the release of their third album In Mourning, in 1996.[4] The band split up in 1997.
In 2008, all three albums were remastered, and released on the Polish label Metal Mind Productions.[5] In 2011, they released a boxset containing three CDs with rare material, as well as their demo tapes from 1986 to 1992. The boxset also contains a poster and a live DVD. The band reformed in 2012 with the complete line-up of Screams of Anguish, and in 2013, released an EP containing two new songs entitled "Ruins of Humans". The band released their fourth album, Sea of Ignorance, in January 2016 on Ceremonial Records; the album got a European released on Mighty Music in 2017.[6] The band performed at Maryland Deathfest in 2019, and began working on material for their next album. The band briefly broke up in 2020, but reformed in 2021 and announced the release of 'Sempieternity', a compilation containing new songs, re-recordings, and live material.