Burial
Enlightened with Pain

It's the year 2000 and the rules of Brutal had already been established by the forefathers Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation for almost a decade now. Suffocation opened up the genre to more technical and extreme variations (see Slam and Sick), carried on by bands like Cryptopsy, Dying Fetus, Nile, Deeds of Flesh, Devourment, Internal Bleeding, Pyrexia, Sintury, Disgorge, Brodequin, and so on, who ended up overshadowing the classic Brutal sound of the first half of the ’90s.
Cannibal Corpse held on with their classic blend, beginning to experiment with some Thrash elements in their sound; among the bands determined not to change were the American Burial, formed back in 1995 but only releasing their debut full-length in 2000: "Enlightened with Pain" (Lost Disciple Records).

"Enlightened with Pain" is a real gem of old-school Brutal, both in terms of composition as well as attitude and production (which has an analog and unpolished flavor).
A record that flies by in a flash with its mere 35 minutes spread over 10 tracks.
Fast songs that get straight to the point and hit hard, without ever lapsing into unnecessary clichés or boring repetitions. The Burial, true genre professionals, know when to slow down the pace, diving into suffocating slowdowns, or when to insert just the right “melodic” touch, often with a thrashy feel; and when, instead, to turn up the technical refinement, playing with rapid rhythm changes, circular riffing, and consistently sharp vocal lines.

If you’re not familiar with "Enlightened with Pain", I recommend you track it down as soon as possible.
Though it must be considered a marginal album, completely unnecessary to the development of Brutal, it is a product of a quality – reconfirmed about 9 years later with their second and last LP "Divinity Through Eradication" – that is both high and, unfortunately, rare these days.

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