Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Brutally Fatal

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, where we look at one or two randomly selected inactive local metal, hard rock, or punk bands, in order to spotlight their run and accomplishments for modern day readers! This month's choice is kinda sorta two bands, as they had a confusing split timeline and name changes to account for in 2014, but as both used the same name and shared a common frontman (and the original version's pages were closed), I'll address both here, hence why this profile is longer than normal. With that said, here's what you should know about this month's band(s)!

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Brutally Fatal (the original version of the band intentionally misspelled their name as Brutaly Fatal from 2012-2014; They were also known as Re-Born in early 2014 and as The Revolution from mid-2014 until their 2015 breakup)

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Death Metal/Alternative Rock (as Re-Born)/Doom Punk (as The Revolution)

Lineup: (Members who were in The Revolution and not Brutally Fatal are in italics)

Austin McCrae (Miracle Man), vocals/guitar/bass
Tyler Gibson (Crucify The Whore, Rotopsy), drums

Rainey Vincent, bass/guitar
Jordan Leach (Haggith, Pillory), bass
Bret Shuttleworth (Pillory, The Issues), drums
Tyler St. Amour (Them, Bring The Misery), drums
Brandan Glew (Re:Born, The Din), drums

Audio/Video: Brutaly Fatal's initial 2013 releases included a solo demo named "Acidic Sky's" and a split "Brutally Crucified" demo with labelmates Crucify The Whore, and songs from them are available to stream on Blood Shed Productions' YouTube channel, as well as live concert and jam session videos of this period and during their change in sound. As The Revolution, a handful of live videos from Oddfellows Hall gigs can be seen via our Facebook page, but they only finished one studio track in 2015 for "Get High With Me" towards their unreleased EP "Roll Call". In their mid-late 2010s revival, they released one paid release "The D.P.E.P." on their Bandcamp page in 2015 alongside the free "Blood of the Devil" in 2017, alongside some assorted 2015 performance videos on the Blood Shed channel and from our Facebook page. Here's Brutaly Fatal playing "Stomp Your Feet" that year!

Info/Analysis: Blood Shed Productions co-founder Austin McCrae launched Brutaly Fatal as a death metal solo project in 2012, and they were a launch act for the label. Blood Shed-affiliated house parties aside, Brutaly Fatal debuted at The Oddfellows Hall that October, and added Tyler on drums by year's end. In this duo form, Brutaly Fatal played another Oddfellows Hall set in January 2014, changed their name to Re-Born (no relation), and shifted to clean-sung alternative rock music, but updates ceased within a month. Austin relaunched Brutaly Fatal in March due to popular demand, but the new version would also drop death metal in favour of a doom metal/punk hybrid sound with a three-piece lineup. Austin, Rainey, and Brandan debuted at the Swampstravaganza in May 2014 and they soon renamed themselves as The Revolution, leaving Blood Shed for PaperClip Productions.

The Revolution were also seen opening for Anciients and Havok at The Oddfellows Hall that June, and began recording an unreleased debut EP "Roll Call" in July, but (confusingly) Brutally Fatal reunited separately in August 2014 to open for Archspire at The Oddfellows Hall, with the return of a death metal sound, Blood Shed affiliation, and Tyler on drums, as well as a new Facebook page, while finally spelling "Brutally" correctly. The Revolution were last seen opening for Endast that same month, and despite switching to Jordan Leach on bass, the group disbanded in February, days before a planned set at The VM Radio Battle of the Bands. The reunited Brutally Fatal were primarily seen live via house parties in 2015, though they did play at the final Swampstravaganza at The Canadian Nightclub that May, and were usually active via sporadic updates for their studio album recording plans.

After the "Blood of the Devil" release in February 2017, Austin & Tyler last surfaced with a new album teaser on Facebook in May 2019, and have not been heard from since. Regarding  Bruta(l)ly Fatal's Blood Shed output, it's an acquired taste as usual thanks to the minimalist instrumentation, provocative lyrics & album art, and short song lengths, if more accessible with less pig squeal grindcore vocals, but they did refine their sound and Austin's confidence as a live performer over time. The Revolution had promise despite a somewhat awkward blend of genres, and they seemed to have the right tools to make some local noise. Genre fans should give the band(s) a listen to see what they brought to the table!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month in this series, we'll complete another 2-1-3-1-2-1 cycle between the Twin Saults with quite a notable band, as our next random selection will be late 2000s Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Nixxon Dixxon! Look for this on or around November 10th, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone, and just in case, Happy Thanksgiving!