Thrash Time!

Tomorrow night is the Thrashin' West Fest at 118 West Studios in Simi Valley, California. The main headliners include Witchaven, Exmortus and Arizona's very own scifi-esque Vektor. Each of these bands offer their own unique, personal touch to the genre of Thrash Metal. Witchaven reminds the listener of a few early Norwegian Black Metal bands while Exmortus certainly adds a taste of Death Metal to the mix. Vektor is original in the sense that lyrically, they speak of a dark, grim future for all of man kind in a dark, technological manner. Both Exmortus and Vektor have toured together while Witchaven, in their own right, are well known throughout California for their alliances with other Black Metal bands. It is no surprise that it should be a pretty sweet fucking time. For a list of the full lineup visit 118 West Studios Events. Concert review and interview with Exmortus will be posted soon enough. Thrash On! 
Vektor's Myspace, Exmortus Website, Witchaven's Myspace

It's Fucking SLAYER!

I know many of you would claim me to be sick, or (sic), however the hipsters spell it these days but I honestly believe that for the heavy music genres that are still in existence to this very day, Slayer's Divine Intervention is the most important album that the world of metal has seen in almost two decades. It is understood that Dave Lombardo did not play drums on the album but Paul Bostaph did a fabulous job working in all the snare hits, double bass and quick fills needed for Slayer songs. The lyrics are more to the point raging from the political, war content and aspects of a serial killers mind, with very few metaphors being thrown around, during a time when Grunge musicians were doing nothing short of weeping on the mic about their precious feelings. This is the album that becomes apparent to punk and hardcore fans that Slayer's range went far further than simply metal. The best thing about this album is that there isn't a person alive who could not expect these lyrics, filled with there  vulgarity and aspects of morbidity content because the guitar riffs alone introduce these themes.One example is that of the driving force that is the main riff of Sex, Murder, Art. Even as an instrumental you feel as if you have been violated in every orifice, Tom's vocals only confirm this horrific truth when he screams the final words to the blasphemous hymn, "God is Dead, I am Alive!" If you are new to the Slayer church (and God help you if you are) there is no reason to purchase any album before Divine Intervention. In fact, I am confidant enough in my opinion of the band that I would tell you that Reign In Blood is probably the most overrated album of our time. If you feel like pulling nails and grinding rocks, listen to Divine Intervention.I only hope that before they retire that they begin to play more songs from DI in their live performances, considering I have seen them five times and they have yet to play anything from the album except for Dittohead. Hunting! Fighting! Killing Whore! You know thats just a whole lotta bad ass.

A Temporary End to the Insanity...than the Afterbirth

First off, there should have been a Decepticon called Grindcore, not an Autobot, he is way too much of a bad ass to be a good guy. I don’t know what Hasbro was thinking on that one, his special ability should have been to make the other Transformers saw off their own fucking faces, or at the very least push their heads through walls. Either way, one can be certain that while these metal titans destroy and shred every inch of Cybertron, Soundwave can be found rockin' out to the sweet sounds of Brutal Truth resonating from his pectoral speakers.

The world of Grindcore is in massive debt, due to the fact that most bands have taken far too many riffs, lyrical contents and blast beats from New York’s finest quartet. Thankfully, bassist Dan Lilker left Anthrax (then guitarist) after the recording of their first album Fistful of Metal. He went on to form the thrash band Nuclear Assault,thrash crossover S.O.D (along with Scot Ian), and in 1990, The Birth of Ignorance demo was released by a new band under the name of Brutal Truth.

During the band's nine year stint they would release four full-length albums and a total of five Ep’s each designated to a particular sound of its own rendition of a 21-gun salute to Grindcore. 

Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses offered the listener songs mixed with elements of death, thrash and grind to produce a sound that, to this very day, separates the band from countless imitators, with songs like Stench of Prophet, Ill-Neglect, and the ever mighty Walking Corpse. BT's next release, Need To Control displays just that. The sound, though harder-hitting than a brick to the face, reveals a more polished production, with the guitars of Brent McCarthy cutting in clear over the dissonance of the raging bass machine known as Dan Lilker, while Richard Hoak continues to beat and tear away at his drum kit and Kevin Sharp dowses us in his vocals which reign down like pieces of shrapnel, a combination which leaves us broken, bloodied and begging for more. 1996's release of Kill Trend Suicide shows the bands transition into genres like punk and crust while still incorporating their earlier elements of metal. The album's title track fused a guitar-driven verse which led into a more straight forward bridge while Hoak’s drumming keeps the whole song in a constant state of grind. 

At this point in the band's history it is doubtful to think that anyone could question the leaders of American Grindcore any further but just to ensure that every grindhead in the country owned at least one album by BT, the band released Sounds of the Animal Kingdom in 1997. This record would cement Brutal Truth as grindcore legends and would expose them to countless new fans all across the globe. As soon as Dementia begins to blare from my headphones, I can't help but envision a gorilla, just like the halfy on the front cover,punching the fuck out of trash cans, cars and any other make-shift percussion instruments he can get his primal hands on. From beginning to end this album never lets go of its choke hold and fails to disappoint. Unfortunately for all the fans of Brutal Truth, it was announced after the tour for SOTAK that the band would be on hiatus. As we wept and chewed on concrete like teething dogs in hope that they would reunite, Kevin Sharp and Dan Lilker would form Venomous Concept with Shane Embury and Danny Herrera of Napalm Death along with Buzz Osborne of The Melvins. Richard Hoak started Total Fucking Destruction where he fronts the band and supports it by playing the role of lead vocalist and drummer. Though the works of both bands would be enough to feed our appetites for a short while, it was impossible to deny the importance of Brutal Truth's music. We would continue to stay hungry over the next eight and half years until the release of four new songs on the compilation album, This Comp Kills Fascist Vol. I. This would be the first recorded material without McCarthy. That position was later filled by ex-Lethargy guitarist Erik Burke.

Soon after, the band entered Watchmen Studios in Lockport, New York to record Evolution Through Revolution. The guitar playing of Burke is a warm welcome to the choppy and yet subtle sound Brutal Truth has honed over the years. Songs like Sugar Daddy convey layered guitars which help shed a higher tone over the burly rhythm section. A grind album of this caliber has been long overdue and of course we have Brutal Truth to thank for it. Since the release of their latest album, BT has been busy with tours that has included shows all over the United States and last year, a few shows with Converge in Japan. 

 I was fortunate enough to meet the band before their set at The Blvd Cafe and Bar last night in Boyle Heights, California. Regardless of your opinion of the production of any of their albums it is unfair to judge Brutal Truth until you see them perform live. Every member in the band performs with the utmost precision required for grindcore. There are no tricks in the studio and this they proved to me at yesterdays show. Sharp's vocal range is an intense growl that displays a charismatic aggressiveness that flows perfectly in sync with the madness that is the instrumental section of the band. 

Burke's guitar comes in sharp like a razor over the sludgy, oozing and distorted bass lines of Lilker while Hoak displays his drumming mastery far beyond anyones expectations.

The hospitality, overall kindness fused with the DIY mentality of selling their own merch, revealed to me four of the most underrated musicians in the genre, along with any other music scene, and have made a die hard, life-long Brutal Truth fan out of this humble metalhead.  I would like to personally thank Kevin, Dan, Rich and Erik for staying true to their music and for offering us some of the most compelling, in your face and honest art. 


This is the BRUTAL TRUTH.


Al: "So if you guy's only had a choice between re-making a grind version of either Load or ReLoad, which one would it be?"
Erik: "God. They are both just so terrible."


Photos courtesy of THe BRENDINo and THe MANDEr. 
Editing courtesy of THe HENRy.

Long Live the Old Flesh

I hope that I don’t have to clarify what band it is that I have been listening to aimlessly which has made me so anxious that I no longer have nails to bite on but instead have considered ripping through the drywall of my room using nothing but my bleeding gums, yet I'm sure with the picture to the left you have already guessed who I am ranting about. GODFLESH should be considered the most underrated band in the world of heavy music. No one else but Justin Broadrick, NAPALM DEATH ca. 1984, could possibly concoct sludge, doom and drone as perfectly balanced as he and leave his fan base salivating for more. There should be no reason why GODFLESH isn’t missed in the mainstream except for the fact they never made it there. Burton of Fear Factory and Barney of NAPALM DEATH may share similar vocal patterns and tonality of industrial/drone front man, Justin Brodrick, but none made the listener feel so good for feeling like such shit. Pain, Horror, Depression and Nihilism have never before been compacted into a single source of sound until the carnation of Birmingham’s own GODFLESH, and as I type this post tonight I can’t help but remember the pleading screams and chants of Broadrick when one reminisces over the dissolution of the words, “BLACK RAIN FALL DOWN”. GODFLESH will and SHOULD be forever missed as the pioneers of drone metal and for the fact alone that Broadrick helped start Hydra Head records, which ended up signing bands such as Broadrick’s own Jesu, Pelican, Red Sparrows and Isis. Luckily for us, the band played their first show in over eight years at the Supersonic Festival on October 23 in Birmingham U.K. and have been confirmed for the 2011 Roadburn Festival in Tilburg Holland where the band is scheduled to perform their first album, Streetcleaner, in it's entirety. According to Decibel magazine when asked if fans could expect a new album from the band, Broadrick replied with "It's something we're discussing all the time, and I do have bits and pieces of material, but it's something we'd really like to develop. It'd be quite easy to knock out eight to 10 in-character songs and release it as quickly as possible to capitalize on the popularity of the group, but it would feel entirely wrong. If it's another two years until another GODFLESH record, so be it. The most important thing is making a record that stands up with the rest of the back catalogue. I do have this in me again, though." In the meantime I leave you with the song Tyrant from their latest album Hymns.