UMUR
"Sempiternity" is a compilation release by US, Florida based death metal act Brutality. The compilation was released through Emanzipation Productions in May 2022. It was meant to be Brutality´s swansong release as they had split-up in October 2020, but during the creation of this compilation the band found new energy and belief in the project and they reunited in 2021.
"Sempiternity" features eight tracks and a total playing time of 44:23 minutes. The compilation opens with "Orchestrated Devastation" and "Fluent In Silence", which are two new original tracks recorded by Brutality before they decided to split-up. The two tracks are exclusive to "Sempiternity". Both are in the well known brutal and technically well played Brutality death metal style. Brutal riffs, soaring guitar leads, technical drumming, and brutal growling vocals. The same can be said about "Artistic Butchery" and "Crushed". But that´s only natural as both are 2018 re-recordings of tracks culled from Brutality´s debut- and sophomore full-length studio albums "Screams of Anguish" (1993) and "When the Sky Turns Black" (1994) ("Crushed" from the former and "Artistic Butchery" from the latter). The two tracks are not exclusive to this compilation as they had previously been released on the 2018 "Antecedent Offerings" EP.
The remaining four tracks are live tracks recorded at the Maryland Death Fest in 2019. Three of the tracks are from "Screams of Anguish" (1993) and "48 To 52" is from Brutality´s 2016 comeback (and fourth) full-length studio album "Sea of Ignorance". According to the band´s Bandcamp it was listening to these live tracks which finally convinced them to reunite, and I can understand why, because Brutality are an incredibly powerful and well playing band, and these are some of the best death metal live recordings I´ve yet encountered. Granted most live death metal recordings aren´t that impressive so the competition isn´t that great, but that shouldn´t take away from what Brutality deliver here.
So all in all "Sempiternity" is definitely a worthwhile compilation release. The new tracks are great, the re-recordings are of a good quality (although a bit redundant if you already own the studio albums featuring the originals), and the live recordings are excellent. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.