UMUR "Legends Of Brutality" is the debut full-length studio album by German death metal act Dawn Of Disease. The album was released through NoiseArt Records in April 2011. Dawn Of Disease formed in 2003, released the "Through Bloodstained Eyes" EP in 2004, split-up in 2007, and reunited in 2009.

Stylistically the material on "Legends Of Brutality" is death metal, which is predominantly influenced by the early 90s old school death metal sound, and to a lesser degree melodic 90s death metal. The vocals are mostly intelligible growling but the album also occasionally features higher pitched aggressive snarling vocals. The riffs alternate between fast tremolo picking and heavier mid-paced riff types. There is good rhythmic variation on the album, and there are both slow, mid-paced, fast-paced, and blasting drum parts featured in the music. Lead guitar parts are used to create sombre atmospheres. So it´s all the basic elements of most old school influenced death metal releases, which are also used here.

"Legends Of Brutality" features solid songwriting, but few tracks stand out and it´s not the most catchy or the most memorable material in the genre. The album also features a sound production which leaves a bit to be desired. The guitars, the vocals, and the bass are decent enough, but the drums feature a pretty tame plastique sound, which doesn´t do the material any favors. Upon conclusion "Legends Of Brutality" is a very standard quality death metal release and not the most interesting one at it. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

Kev Rowland

When it comes to death metal, most bands either seem to get heavier as their career progresses, stay the same, or go off and do something completely different that is either a major success (Opeth) or disaster (At The Gates). So, it is interesting to hear German band Dawn of Disease trying to do something just a little different. They have been around since 2003, but only really started becoming a solid cohesive unit in 2009, and this is their fourth album. Singer Tomasz Wisniewski is convinced that he is still fronting the same band he always has, and his gruff vocals are very much a trademark, but musically here is a group that in many ways are far removed from what many would consider to be death metal yet also still staying true to the cause.

Yes, there are blastbeats, and yes there are quick passages, but there are also many more that are slow in terms of the genre, and packed full of melody. These guys have been listening more to the likes of Iron Maiden than they have to Cannibal Corpse, and the album is all the better for it. As a whole, this is still incredibly heavy, but with plenty of great tunes and the feeling that here is a band that isn’t afraid to go out on a limb and stretch the genre. They have created an album that will be of interest to those into death metal and also to those who many not normally listen to the genre. True, there are times when they go firmly back to where people may expect them to be (“Akephalos”), but this in itself only reinforces what they are doing on the rest of the album. Overall this is a heavy, melodic, really enjoyable album.