BRUTAL DELUXE „Mistah Kurtz… He Dead!”

I got very exited when this CD finally arrived. As a reviewer and part of the Metal Centre crew, I finally got contacted by a record company in order to get a promo! Wow!

What about this CD then? I have not heard the first one except one song that was heavier than this one with a touch of industry. The band has been pretty popular since their first release in 1999 and this is their 2nd release. Well, it is a CD that grows and certainly craves more than one listen. In the bio the manager claims that the band isn´t a copy-cat in comparison with some nu-metal bands and I have to agree. They have a sound of their own. But claiming that this is “brutal” is an overestimation. They have some fast and somewhat furious tracks on this one but the material is mostly laid back and pretty moody and I can´t find a trace of industry here.

If I have to describe the music I would say that it is a mix of old thrash metal (performed in a System of a Down way) and Helmet with a little tinge of Tool/ A Perfect Circle. Two of the tracks (2 & 4) are more grunge than the rest, and the music and vocals are influenced by Soundgarden. The song structures differ a lot from each other… there are simplistic ones with a lot of repetitions as well as pretty complex ones.
I have a problem though… do I like the vocals or not? I can´t really say. When melodic they are good and remind me of Tool, Soundgarden and even Filter but I´m more skeptic to the heavier vocals that are not that heavy actually. The guys are good vocalists (I have to say “guys” ´cos I can´t say who is the lead vocalist!). According to the bio the music is stripped down and that´s true, the production gives an old-school touch to the guitars that should be a little louder in the mix though.

”Mistah Kurtz… He Dead!” is an interesting experience that should be rewarded with at least: 7 out of 10 points

P.S. The guys use tribalistic paintings on their bodies and play without footwear… while in Spain they got adviced by a witch to do so! (Maybe an excuse for doing like Sepultura and Kiss… and a ton of posing followers?)

More info on: www.brutal-deluxe.co.uk

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