Belgium’s heavy atmospheric three-piece BRUTUS have revealed Drive, the colossal second single from their forthcoming debut album Burst, due for release via Hassle Records this February 24th. Check out the song below!
Having debuted on Daniel P Carter’s BBC Radio 1 Rock Show, and dubbed a ‘a powerful and thrilling blend of punk, rock, indie and hardcore that’ll get the teeth in your skull rattling.’ by the NME, singing drummer Stefanie Mannaerts reveals, ‘Drive is a song that was written about someone else – I’ve had these lyrics for four years, but this is the first time they’ve really fit within a song.
‘It can be hard to come across aggressively without screaming and yelling, but ‘Drive’ is one of the tracks where I’ve tried to get the message across just by singing.
‘I need to be on top of my skills to pull this one off – with the drum-fills right before the verse, we tried to make it sound like we were literally pushing a drum down the stairs that keeps on playing whilst crashing down.’
Recent single All Along saw Brutus arrive in a pummelling, meteor-shower of sound, described by Kerrang! as “atmospheric punk fucking rock, with a twist of Mogwai”. They have since been championed by the likes of NME, Punktastic, Upset Magazine and more as a One to Watch for 2017, and left audiences stunned at a full capacity show at Eurosonic Noorderslag.
Stefanie’s unshakeable drumming style merges black-metal blast beats against math-rock flourishes whilst belting the most impassioned vocals, shifting from deceptively melodic to out-right larynx-punishing in the blink of an eye (watch Brutus play ‘All Along’ in-session for Red Bull Studios here), whilst guitarist Stijn Vanhoegaerden takes ethereal post-rock tones to hardcore punk levels of speed and energy aside Peter Mulders’ powerful sub-frequency shift. The three collide to make a sound as monolithic and frantic as it is emotive.
‘For this record, I had to dig deep into hidden and guarded emotions,’ Stefanie reveals.
‘It’s not so easy to sing about myself, so I used the third person.
‘And it’s also not easy to drum a blast-beat over a melodic vocal to capture some exact feelings.’
Brutus began life playing a hardcore homage to Refused, recreating the Swedish legends’ pivotal album The Shape Of Punk To Come in its entirety at tribute shows. Only when Stefanie turned up to an audition in 2014 to play a note-perfect version of the entire album, casually blowing away all-comers, did it become apparent that it was time for Brutus to make their own shape of punk to come. ‘I’d heard about Stefanie around on the scene before I saw her play,’ says bassist Peter Mulders. ‘Everyone told me I had to check out this new drummer who beat everyone else, hands down.
‘And she did. Her talent is disarming.’
‘Brutus was never about our shared influences, but instead three different personalities coming together and forming new friendships,’ says Peter of their inception. ‘But being in Brutus is not easy,’ Stefanie is quick to add. ‘Our tastes are often in conflict, but somehow it all comes together when the three of us are writing songs or step onto a stage. I love Slayer, Stijn loves Bruce Springsteen and Peter loves The Weekend, but we quickly realised that the fact is: I hate Bruce Springsteen and The Weeknd, Peter has never checked Slayer and Stijn loves everything. So let’s make a record together!;
Having gigged rigorously across Belgium, in April 2016 Brutus decamped to Vancouver to record Burst. ‘We sent an email to Jesse Gander (Japandroids, White Lung etc), his reply with sushi emoji’s was an instant ticket,’ Stefanie explains. ‘The time in Canada, living together and working in the studio, was refreshing, inspiring, healing and confronting at the same time – some rehearsals ended with a fight after 10 minutes, and some songs took 10 weeks to finish.’
Burst is the perfect title for this debut album, then. ‘It’s the perfect title for me,’ Stefanie adds. ‘It’s a ball of emotions, ready to burst with frustration and anger. But also with tons of energy, love, everything at once.’ Trouble comes in threes… and so does Brutus.
Pre-order Burst now from iTunes here – http://smarturl.it/Burst_iT or the band’s official store here – http://smarturl.it/Burst_Store.
Brutus play the following UK headline dates through March and April 2017.
2017 Tour Dates
January
30 Paradiso – Amsterdam (NL)
February
04 AB-club – Brussels (B) SOLD OUT
11 We are Open @ Trix – Antwerpen (B)
March
22 Das Bach – Vienna (A)
24 Scheune – Dresden (D)
25 Kantine at Berghain – Berlin (D)
26 Hafenklang – Hamburg (D)
27 Beta – Copenhagen (DK)
29 Green Door – Brighton (UK) TICKETS
30 Old Blue Last – London (UK) TICKETS
31 The Fleece – Bristol (UK) TICKETS
April
02 Ramsgate Music Hall – Ramsgate (UK) TICKETS
13 Vooruit (Balzaal) – Gent (B)
21 Reflektor – Liège (B)
22 Cafe Cafe – Hasselt (B)
May
06 Rockerill – Charleroi (B)
19 De Zwerver – Leffinge (B)