Brutal Truth Feature Interview    By Ed Chapman

Brutal Truth can be difficult to listen to. They are loud and they play fast. But that’s par for the course with grind; BT somehow manage to go even further by twisting guitar chords into shapes you never knew existed, finishing their records with fifteen-minute noise tracks and burying sound effects in the album’s mix just to freak you out – or do they? We caught up with bass player Dan Lilker to get the lowdown on the ‘End Time’…

“I guess the theme [of ‘End Time’] would be a pessimistic view of the current state of the world that will lead to apocalypse,” says Brutal Truth’s Dan Lilker by way of an introduction. If that’s the case, we might as well enjoy what little time we have. Thankfully, ‘End Time’s bug-eyed grind will fry your brain in the best possible way. It’s BT at their most frantic and their most experimental. Special mention needs to be given to the excellent sound of the record – like previous album ‘Evolution Through Revolution’, ‘End Time’ was recorded by Doug White, mixed by Jason PC (Blood Duster) and mastered by Scott Hull (Pig Destroyer). There’s something about the sound you can’t quite put your finger on. In one interview Kevin Sharpe, BT’s vocalist, suggested he had hidden phone ringtones in the mix, just to occasionally make people think something was up. “I cannot confirm nor deny that this is so,” deadpans Dan. “It's one amusing idea we had, but I'm not sure if it came to fruition.” "We’ll just have to guess whether or not we’re being fucked with, then…"

Such confusion suits the music BT play. They really don’t sound like anyone else. “I'm pretty certain that we appeal to some people that might not find ‘traditional’ grind very interesting, due to the eclectic influences we draw from,” says Dan. “Back in the ‘90s, we'd play with [avant-garde saxophonist] John Zorn and people from that crowd, and we went over pretty well if I remember correctly.” But have BT maintained any sort of link to the rest of the grindcore world? “Absolutely,” affirms Dan. “Just 'cos we've been around forever and are considered to be one of the pioneers of the movement doesn't mean we cop attitudes and think we're superior. Although we're a little ‘out there’ musically and probably a lot more varied than other bands in the genre, the grindcore camp is our home, for sure.” Although having said that, “What we do is only for the brave and those who don't give a rat's ass what ANYONE else thinks!” Case in point – the closing track on ‘End Time’, the fifteen-minute noise/drum odyssey called ‘Control Room’. “Haha, that's [drummer] Rich's baby,” says Dan. “If you've heard his noise band Peacemaker, then ‘Control Room’ might make a little more sense. He compiled a shit-ton of loops, played drums under them and then Kevin freaked out over it. There is no guitar or bass on this song.”

These different influences – straight-ahead grind to avant-garde noise – are reflected in BT member’s other bands. Listing them all would be an article in itself, ranging from Rich Hoak’s grinders TFD to Dan’s black metal band Nokturnal Hellstorm. How do they manage it all? “Playing in other bands affords the us opportunities to play other stuff that might not always work with BT,” Dan explains. “I play in Nokturnal Hellstorm, [so] I don't end up pushing too many BM riffs on BT, just enough to keep it varied. So it's easy to write BT music in that environment, we focus on writing our own brand of alien grind. Everything happens for a reason. Fitting all the different bands in is a matter of logistics. We fit it all in and stay nice and busy. I try not to stop, 'cos then I have to go back to work!”

It’s quite incredible that four people with so many different musical ventures come together and manage to mix it all together into a genuinely unique grind band. We have to ask again: how do they do it? Dan’s response is characteristically understated: “I could make up some compelling BS here about how it's our sworn duty to provide the world with crazy yet memorable grindcore, but in reality, we just smoke some dope and write radical shit.”

Feature by Ed Chapman