My Experience With Brutal Truth: A Preemptive Memorial

[photo credit: Peter Herneheim; found on Brutal Truth's Facebook page]

This morning, Dan Lilker of legendary grindcore group Brutal Truth announced he will be retiring from being a full-time touring and recording musician on October 18th of this year, his fiftieth birthday. This means no more Brutal Truth. Bands break up all the time for all sorts of reasons, but this is a big one for me. While the majority of my website's content is rooted in black metal, grind has been dear to me for years, with Brutal Truth holding a position as one of my favorites from the moment I first heard them. Even if I hadn't already been fond of their tunes, frontman Kevin Sharp is a vocal beer lover who shares thoughts on what he's drinking with his friends on Facebook, which makes him fun to follow as a metal and beer geek.

While I'm not going to sit and wax poetic about crowded concerts and pure insanity, as I've never had the luck of seeing these guys live, I'm sharing ten of my favorite Brutal Truth songs with you guys as a way of documenting my own experience with this band whose legendary status is well earned. The list is heavy on nineties material because as much as I've enjoyed their two most recent albums, I've had far less time with each, preventing them from sitting in quite as deeply as the material I've had years to absorb.

1. "Denial of Existence" from Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses
This album was probably the first grindcore album I heard that had anything resembling nuance. Until this point, I'd mostly been familiar with bands specializing in spastic blasts of sound, typically with songs that seldom exceeded the thirty second mark. Extreme Conditions brought the intricacy of death metal to the fury of grind in a way that was new to me. This song in particular was among the first to leave its mark, and at a lengthy four and a half minutes it showed me that grind wasn't exclusively an endurance test.

2. "Collapse" from  Need to Control
This song specifically surprised and impressed me when I first heard it and still sends chills down my spine. Brutal Truth proved that speed wasn't the only way to make something sound extreme or heavy. While I was already into a bit of doom metal when I first heard this, the mastery and ferocity displayed here was missing from most of the slower bands I listened to. This had all the rabid aggression I expected from Brutal Truth yet it sounded entirely different. I cannot recommend this song enough.

3. "Dead Smart" from Sounds of the Animal Kingdom
This song was deemed special enough to receive its own music video, although I'll argue that any song from this challenging release is worthy. I really didn't get this album for the first couple of years I had it, but I kept forcing myself to listen until it set in. Eventually, something clicked, and this was among the first songs that I really got into. Straightforward enough to appeal to my desire for aggression, but about two minutes in they introduce a riff so traditionally "metal" and unexpected that it totally changes the simpler trajectory of the song. A true classic.

4. "Time" from Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses
Are those power tools in there? I think so. While the fusion of noise elements and metal has become a bit of a thing these days, this is one of the earliest examples I can find. From what I gather, it's actually frontman Kevin Sharp using these tools to make noises rather than the samples that are so popular in gimmicky gore-based metal songs. Machinery aside, this song displays Brutal Truth's ability to shift speed and mood with perfect grace and skill, something many bands can't do a decade into their careers, let alone on a debut album.

5. "Humanity's Folly" from Kill Trend Suicide
I'm not even sure about half of what goes on in this song, but it's awesome. Textured, almost psychedelic guitars dissolve into a more familiar grinding assault. This "mini-album" is full of weird gems, but this one's an instant attention-grabber.

6. "Sugardaddy" from Evolution Through Revolution
This is one hell of a way to initiate a return to form. This track opens up their first album after a decade of absence in a fashion that most bands who make "comebacks" could only dream of. Aggression perfected, with slightly off-kilter dissonance, yet a far slicker approach than most of Sounds of the Animal Kingdom. It's rare that a band returns with this kind of ferocity; it's a shame they're going away again.

7. "Brain Trust" from Need to Control
Spooky ghost noises, or maybe it's just really low growls, and violently lurching grindcore. This is about as much fun as grind gets in my opinion. This whole album is one of my favorite grind pieces of all time, so it's impossible to isolate a single track, but this one stood out even when I was too young to fully appreciate what I was hearing.

8. "Zombie" from Kill Trend Suicide
This one's got almost a carnival sort of feeling to the spiraling riff that leads into the song. Fear not, grind fanatics, for like most Brutal Truth songs this riff evolves into the ferocious and jagged assault we've all come to know and love from these guys. Wholly unique in the genre, but completely familiar for fans of the band.

9. "Jemenez Cricket" from Sounds of the Animal Kingdom
An acid trip hard rock song that feels equal parts Slayer and Obituary while swirling around itself into maniacal moments of heaviness before the whole thing crumbles into dirge-paced oddness only to revisit its main riff again. I used to hate this song because it was weird, but now it's like if The Butthole Surfers played grindcore in a way. I love it.

10. "Celebratory Gunfire" from End Time
Much like Carcass's Swan Song (until this past year, of course), this album's title is unfortunately accurate. "Celebratory Gunfire" sounds like Today is the Day gone primitive, and is every bit as aggressive as anything they'd have released two decades earlier. It's evident that they've grown so much yet it's apparent they also never lost sight of their roots. What fans of Brutal Truth can take away from this release is that the band ended its career with an album that stands as tall as any other in their storied career. I can honestly say that I haven't heard a single bad track from this band, and that's rare. Even my favorite bands have made some serious missteps in their careers. Perhaps Brutal Truth are dearer to me than I previously realized. They'll be missed, but I look forward to seeing what the members create in its wake.

BONUS: The entire split with Bastard Noise.
Hardly your typical Brutal Truth release, if such a thing exists. This is a foray into pure harsh noise and mechanical horror, collaborating with noisegrind legends Bastard Noise, with a bit of help from Peacemaker and Winters in Osaka. This may not sit well with the metal loving portion of my readership, but those that straddle both lines like me will love the experimentation provided here. Folks looking for something slightly familiar should check out "The Stroy" from the CD version, which is slightly more familiar while retaining the creepy noise atmospheres of the other songs here.

New from Danvers State Recordings: Whitewater Orgasm & Creation Through Destruction/Knurl Split

I recently received a packaging containing two of Danvers State Recordings' newer cassette releases. As they are currently running a sale through the end of January, (enter PROMO2014 when checking out from their store to receive a 15% discount) I feel there's no better time than now to share my thoughts on two of the more excruciating and rewarding noise tapes I've heard recently.

For all the euphoric imagery that accompanies Whitewater Orgasm's "Moments of Suffering," the music is hardly uplifting. Squeals of some sort rotate throughout some songs, mechanical and foreign. Layers of crumbling low-frequency static roar as a backdrop of sorts for most of the cassette. Occasionally more blissful, possibly even melodic sounds are introduced, only to serve as a source of nostalgia or a reminder that while beauty may exist somewhere out there, it's far from the horrifying places we are taken while listening. Indeed, while traces of beauty are dangled before the listener, the maddened vocals that occasionally show up seem to be far more of a statement of intent. Even the voices feed back here. Nothing is safe or sacred, yet most of the actual threat lingers just outside of the listener's periphery. The building of tension and the restraint required not to simply explode with chaos at all times is what shows the true mastery of form here. By the end, I'm left wondering if the ferris wheel gracing the album's cover is meant to be a place where people are out having fun or if they are trapped atop the world. An excellent demonstration of harsh noise and power electronics as genres with room for subtlety and balance, something that many in the community seem to forget.

Creation Through Destruction is responsible for the A-side of their split with Knurl, entitled "Dissection of the Machine." Creation Through Destruction wastes no time in building up a static frenzy of rapidly moving machinery. I feel like I am clinging to the side of a subway car, hearing the howling of wind, sparks flying as the train turns, and screeching of metal as the vehicle brakes rapidly. After a moment, things slow down just enough for the body of the song (or collection of sounds at least) to really set in. Every component introduced seems to linger for the duration of the piece, swelling and receding in some sort of harmony with its peers. The effect is almost hypnotic, with a constant flow of churning sounds leading the listener along until the last few moments of static, which taper off rather quickly. I'm not sure what "the machine" in this song is, but it's evident that it has been thoroughly deconstructed by the song's end.


Knurl's side of the cassette contains two songs. Opening things up is "Nitrobelium," which displays a bit more variety than the A-side. Shrill noise and rumbling bass frequencies roll along together, with occasional breaks and lulls that create a greater sense of motion here. Not that the static meditation of the tape's A-side is lacking; it's simply nice to hear a split in which each artist clearly has something unique to contribute. The exploratory sense is key on this entire release. Knurl is clearly seeing where things can go and just how long the listener can be teased and tormented. It's fantastic in a strange way. When the lulls finally cease and the song moves into a more constant place, it seems to only occur because there was no other way to keep the listener on their toes. The mastery of atmosphere is evident and it's thrilling to be dragged along for such a scathing journey. The second and final track on this release, "Thymotacine" is far more ominous in its entry. Empty space is used to great effect, with great rumbling percussion coming from a distant place, like the approach of something dreadful and massive. When it finally arrives, the horror that follows is not quite deafening so much as the distorted blur of madness that must run through one's mind when placed in a life or death situation in which death looks like the only real option. The song departs with the fading signals of a brain slowly losing its capacity to process information. Immersion in music of this nature quickens my heartbeat, and I feel quite anxious by the time it's all finished. I love it.

New Music: Welter In Thy Blood, Waves Crashing Piano Chords & Tanner Garza, and A Void In Coma,

Today we're going to delve into some albums that embody the coldness, anxiety, and horror that I love so much. If you're looking for some music to really saturate your environment with darkness, this post is for you.

Welter In Thy Blood- "Todestrieb" digipack CD (Dusktone)
Welter In Thy Blood's newest offering, "Todestrieb" approaches slowly, like the onset of old age and the weakness that accompanies it.  A low frequency static rumbles across the desolation of an empty wasteland as the band readies itself to deliver an ominous offering of slow and bleak industrialized doom. In many ways, the miserable territory covered here reminds me of the slower moments of Blut Aus Nord's "Work Which Transforms God," with layers of guitar collapsing in on themselves in a way that is just melodic enough to retain the attention of even skeptical listeners. Vocals howl in and around the song like icy winds, but seldom come to the forefront, which further darkens the atmosphere. While I've grown a bit skeptical of bands with nearly indecipherable logos, I'm really glad I gave this one a listen, as it's been something of an obsession for me for the past couple weeks.  The label's based out of Italy, but it's worth the cost of shipping. Grab a copy here.

Waves Crashing Piano Chords & Tanner Garza- "de Sade" CS (Forever Escaping Boredom)
This collaborative effort from two very different noise-based artists creates a chilling environment in which gently humming tape loops set an ethereal yet eerie backdrop for high-pitched feedback and chaos. For the uninitiated, Garza (also a member of the legendary Black Leather Jesus) is the loop mastermind, while WCPC brings the feedback-heavy assault. When vocals appear, they seem to mock and challenge the listener, before becoming part of the manipulated sounds that torment the mind of the listener. This is neither as soothing as Garza's solo material nor is it as abrasive as WCPC's typical chaos, making it a great release for folks who are familiar with either artist or for people simply looking for a good sampler of two of the more prolific noise artists around right now. Get this limited tape from Forever Escaping Boredom by ordering through the bandcamp link above.

A Void in Coma- "A Primal Obsession with the Cosmos" (Self-Released)
A Void in Coma are a new group to me, having never crossed my periphery until the band themselves contacted me. I'm glad they did. Their hypnotic, droning approach to ambient black metal works nicely. While they cite influences in the shoegaze genre, there's little to no presence of the highly overdone "blackgaze" sound. Instead, the music is meditative, clear, and can easily be listened to without digging through tremolo-picked guitar, although there is a heavy haze that adds to the mood. Vocals are delivered as chants, harsher traditional black metal vocals, and even occasional depraved howls, which presents a very enjoyable balance. While this album is not currently available for purchase in any physical formats, the band has plans to repress this demo and it is presently available as a download by clicking the link to the album itself.

Project:Void- "The Anthropogenic Process" CD-r (badGod Music)

February 19th will mark the release of Project:Void's badGod Music debut, "The Anthropogenic Process." This album's been in my periphery for a hot minute, as it was initially released on cassette on Crucial Blast and I'd looked up the album once or twice for my own consideration. Sitting down to listen to this entire piece of filth and perusing a sample track are two very different experiences. For purposes of sheer intensity and chaos, this is one of the loudest, most overwhelming and busy albums I've heard in a while. This isn't the harshest noise, and it's not the densest, but the atmosphere here is nothing but terror.

My initial reaction to this album was akin to my earliest experiences with groups like Stalaggh. It's so foreign and dissonant that it barely resembles music, yet it inspires my curiosity. The musical structure is nebulous and unconventional, even for noise. This violent black industrial nightmare is one of the most relentless pieces of music I've heard in quite some time. Save for a moment of "soft" keys opening up "Praey," there's not a single safe place to burrow in and weather this storm. While the image itself is quite dated, this makes me think of the futuristic killing fields from the old Terminator films. The occasional programmed percussion and sounds of synthesizers or heavy machinery integrate nicely into oscillating noises and screams of madness. Mechanical horror and destruction roll right over anything that could have felt human or familiar in this recording, which seems to be exactly what Project:Void has in mind. While albums without hope or peace are quite commonplace on this blog, this one still manages to stand out. Every single burst of noise could be described as a barrage. The true strength of this album is that there is no middle ground. I think it's safe to say that it's impossible to remain ambivalent to this album. Many noise artists create enough safe territory for people to "tolerate" or "kinda get it." This album is the sonic equivalent of a battlefield. You either survive this album, or you don't. While such a divisive approach may not be viewed as wise in most genres of music, anyone who can handle this monstrosity with sanity intact will likely be a dedicated listener for future releases.

This album will be limited to 100 copies on CD-r, with a very special limited package of 25 CD-r/shirt bundles. If you're interested in obtaining this album digitally, be warned that you'll be missing out on the last three tracks of the album, so taking the extra moment to purchase the album in full is quite the wise choice.  Fans of power electronics and harsh industrial noise, brace yourselves; this release is sure to leave a dark mark in the recesses of your mind.

Music Review: Breathing Problem- "Reactive Attachment Disorder" CS (Wohrt Records)

Today's post came to me rather unexpectedly. When I heard there would be a new Breathing Problem tape released on Wohrt Records, I knew I had to have it. I was told I'd be in for a depressing experience with this album, but even the most intense of warnings couldn't come close. This is a collection of bleak noise and melancholy sound textures that will instantly darken even the brightest of days, and I love it.

This album brings no semblance of purity, joy, or safety. Breathing Problem skips any pretenses by opening the album up with a track that sounds like the listener has walked in during the middle of something bleak and hideous. Let me make it clear that while I often describe black metal albums on here as being hideous, filthy, or dark, the darkness here goes deeper than anything most metal bands would convey. This album delves into some terribly unpleasant territory that makes me feel rather unsettled, with tracks like "Chemical Aversion" boldly describing some of the sickest thoughts and perversions I've heard committed to tape. If the music didn't carry enough depression and futility by itself, a quick glance and the lyrical content instantly makes me uneasy. The moments with clarity and structure are some of the most terrifying here, as drug addiction, physical abuse, torture, and decay are fetishized with no apology. There are many bands whose music conveys an idea or concept that could trouble some folks, but Breathing Problem do it with conviction. As a fan of challenging and uncomfortable music, I'm thrilled to hear something so truly hideous, but this is definitely not an easy listening experience for even these hardened ears. The music is surprisingly soothing at times for the attitudes conveyed here, but it does little to soften the sensation of being slowly smothered by a parent or other trusted authority figure. 

If you're eager for a depressing journey through textured noise of every nature, then I urge you to obtain this cassette immediately, as I expect all 100 copies will sell out within 24 hours. Supplementing the suffocating experience is some of Wohrt's finest packaging yet. My copy came with a zine-style book, professionally printed with lyrics and graphic imagery. In addition, each package comes with a Breathing Problem button and a small paper poster. If you haven't yet heard any of Breathing Problem's output, this is an excellent release to start your collection. Since the official release has just gone live, I recommend grabbing it as soon as you're able.