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Done Counting My Scars

    
       
       
       
     
             
Brick are a heavy metal band from Sweden formed in 2014, releasing their debut E.P. 'Bagging Memories', later the same year. The bands debut album 'Faceless Strangers' emerged in 2016, with their sophomore album 'Done Counting My Scars' a 2020 release.    
             
Sweden, a country that has produced some cracking albums over the years, has, in recent years, shown an upsurge in the number of new albums hitting the rock and metal world - new albums from new bands, along with new albums from old bands. Then there are those youthful bands (less than ten years old) like Brick, releasing their second album and showing the world that Sweden is not yet done flooding the world with fucking great music... 'Done Counting My Scars' is heavy yet melodic, sing a long-able yet head bang-able, and is an album you're gonna have on repeat for some time to come. Kicking the album into life is the title song, the barnstorming 'Done Counting My Scars'. An immediate sit up and take notice, 'Done Counting My Scars' (the song) is one helluva heavy hitter, slapping you around the head with fierce force, yelling "listen to me" - and listen you will! For 'Done Counting My Scars' (the song) is an enticing opener that'll make you wanna listen more. 'Americas First' ups the pace and intensity, offering a brutal bludgeoning that is gonna rock you senseless. The opening double salvo has blitzed the airways and set light to the metal scene...    
             
...a scene that is burgeoning with great metal music. 2020 is a terrible year due to the current pandemic gripping the world, but 2020 is a bloody great year for new metal - and I include Brick in that. And what an opening riff to 'Beloved Congregation', it's the type of riff that makes you dribble with excitement - and I don't just mean from the mouth! 'Beloved Congregation' crosses the border between metal and rock, and is a mighty riff led monster. It is infectious, catchy, and a storming slab of heavy metal. If Sweden were not already on the worldwide metal map - they would be now. With no let up in intensity, the album romps on with the storming 'Lifes Like' - at a slightly slower pace than the opening triple whammy. Keyboards breath life into 'One Less Day', with an aura of an old style blues/jazz bar... A majestic swagger sees 'One Less Day' parade its stuff with aplomb, blending power ballad traits into its epic and atmospheric nature - this is the stuff of music halls of old, big stage, big production, big sound. What an amazing song... The hardest hitting offering so far, 'Shy Of Seventeen' is like a bull in a china shop, stampeding forth with ferocity, not caring for what, or who, gets in its way. Prepared to be steam rollered as 'Shy Of Seventeen' flattens everything foolish enough to stand its way.    
             
And the ball busting, punchy ferocity continues at full tilt, with the high paced 'I Am War', crashing through the skies like a fighter plane doing evasive manoeuvres. As with every song on offer, the heavy hitting elements are equally matched by a melodic streak, a streak that makes them all infectious and memorable. The keyboards make headline noise once again - the intro to 'No.1 Fan' sublime, and when 'No.1 Fan' starts proper, the Brick signature sound makes its awesome presence felt. As I said earlier, Sweden are brilliant at producing great music - God only knows what's in the water!!! 'Taking Turns' takes over as the hardest hitting offering - a high velocity cacophony of sheer ferocity, all mixed with that massive melodic edge. Brick are turning in a very good performance with their second full length album, definitely on a steep upward trajectory to the top of the metal genre. And what a final hurrah - 'Turn To Gray' now takes on the mantle of the hardest hitting song on offer. 'Turn To Gray' is also the most intense, but somehow retains that infectious nature that Brick have sprinkled all over 'Done Counting My Scars' (the album). If you're looking for a metal album that has the old school flavour blended with the modern day approach, and a huge infectious intensity - look no further than Sweden's Brick.    
             
Overall, hard hitting and highly intense heavy metal that vibrates the senses with a feel good feeling, leaving you in a state of euphoria.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal Gods TV    
             
             
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