Brotality – The Woods Will End You
Release Date: 3rd June 2022
Label: Rottweiler Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Progressive Metal, Thrash Metal.
FFO: Mastodon, Megadeth, Coheed and Cambria.
Review By: Anthony Petitt
Comprised of brothers Bryce and Reece Maopolski along with John Haring on drums, Brotality are an exciting young metal outfit from New York. Their sophomore effort, a concept album, revolves around the woods and the various nightmarish scenarios and creatures which may be found there. It is aptly titled The Woods Will End You. The record has a strong “dark fairy-tale” quality to it, and the musical and story-telling aspects of the album bear a strong resemblance to what one might find on The Hunter by Mastodon.
The Woods Will End You begins triumphantly with Wild. The guitar here is expressive and emotional, and the song is a great tone-setter for both the record as a whole, and the journey through the woods Brotality will take the listener on. Despite being just the second release of an up-and-coming band, the production and recording quality don’t come off as amateurish at all. The bass tone on Frost Empire is gnarly, and the band showcases a variety of different singing styles, ranging from clean to high screams to growls. Brotality clearly have a deep fondness for Mastodon’s technique of using chimey open strings on the guitar: it can be found all over The Woods Will End You. The thrashy Nosedive has a strong chorus, and the proggy, off-kilter sounding outro is a cool addition to the song.
Midnight Fire provides a nice respite with the sounds of a crackling campfire and a mellow acoustic guitar. As a cool bit of continuity, the guitar melody here carries over to the next song, Flesheater Of The Forest, albeit electrified this time. An Evil Presence opens up the sonic landscape and lets the vocals shine while still featuring some strong riffs. Sunseeker is another great interlude, it recaptures the expressiveness of Wild, and is followed by standout track Sludgehammer.
The Moon Below is an ambitious, proggy, eleven minute voyage that the band must be commended for. It manages to stay fresh throughout its elongated runtime, and segues right into the final song, Glow: an optimistic and energetic end to our trip through the woods. 
(4.5 / 5)
