Ahead of this weekends ArcTanGent Festival (winner of 2018s best UK small festival), and just off the heels of BRUTUS‘s monolithic sophomore release, Nest, the Belgian trio have released two stunning live performance videos of the tracks ‘Fire’ (current set opener) and ‘Sugar Dragon’ (current set closer).
Recorded live from their headline show at Handelsbeurs in Ghent, Belgium, the videos perfectly capture BRUTUS‘s intensely emotive live shows and Stefanie Mannaerts utterly, breathtaking drum and vocal performance.
The band have also finally confirmed their first string of U.S. performances. Highlights include LA, NYC, Chicago, NYC, Levitation in Austin, Voodoo Music + Arts Experience in New Orleans, Deftones’ Dia De Los Deftones Festival in San Diego plus more. Check below for a full list of dates.
To describe the last two years as a whirlwind for Belgian trio, BRUTUS, would be an understatement. 2017 saw the release of their debut album, Burst, which set them on a path of award nominations and ‘album of the year’ accolades. Having toured with Chelsea Wolfe and Russian Circles, BRUTUS also hit the road as main support to Thrice through Europe. Taking time out from the live circuit, the band headed to Vancouver to record Nest, once again returning to Jesse Gander (White Lung, Japandroids) at his Rain City Recorders studio in September 2018.
By their own admission, the formative sound of the band was shaped by their physical limitations; drummer Stefanie Mannaerts adopted vocal duties initially out of necessity. Having fully embraced her role as both vocalist and drummer, the full range of Stefanie‘s multiple talents is showcased on Nest. The abrasive urgency of her emotive vocals is mirrored in the tribalistic drumming, just as tender whispers echo the gentle roll of percussion elsewhere. Co-conspirators Stijn Vanhoegaerden (guitar) and Peter Mulders (bass) complete the magic circle with pervasive riffs, dynamic bass lines, and a fine balance between uneasy restraint and unrepentant aggression. BRUTUS throws a net over post-rock, hardcore, metal and pop, gathering defining facets of each into their unique sound.
The path BRUTUS has taken has been meticulously mapped out on Nest. All those glorious highs and euphoric moments are present – highlighted in magnificent technicolor no less. Burrowed in amongst those triumphs are moments of reflection; the choices they have made in pursuit of their goals and the impact those choices have had on both themselves and those they have left behind in their nest. The arc of the album charts the friction between the band’s forward motion and their desire to maintain a connection to those back at home. It’s timeline of invincibility and doubt, of taking risks and letting go; a chronology of what they are and what they’ve done.
Bound by a thread that was intangible to others, their shared experiences, both good and bad; Nest is the sound of a band who know how to use the strength of their bond to full effect, to use every part of themselves as an additional tool for conveying their message: take care of those in your own nest. BRUTUS find their places of comfort to be very different to the ones previously held dear; the nest they started out with is not quite the same one as they stand in today.
Brutus Live Dates:
08/16: Bristol, UK – ArcTanGent
08/17: Hasselt, BE – Pukkelpop Festival
08/24: Dordrecht, NL – Chargefest
08/30: Bordeaux, FR – Black Bass Festival
09/01: Duisburg, DE – Platzhirsch Festival
09/14: Leffinge, BE – Leffingeleuren
09/17: Leipzig, DE – Naumanns
09/18: Hannover, DE – Bei Chez Heinz
09/19: Osnabruck, DE – Bastard Club
09/20: Hamburg, DE – Reeperbahn Festival
09/21: Amsterdam, NL – Bitterzoet
09/25: Dunkerque, FR – Les4Ecluses w/ Emma Ruth Rundle
09/27: Béthune, FR – Le Poche
10/01: Nantes, FR – La Ferrailleur
10/03: Savigny-Le-Temple, FR – L’Empreinte
10/04: Fumel, FR – Le Pavillon
10/05: Pau, FR – A Tant Rêver Du Roi
10/07: Madrid, ES – Wurlitzer Ballroom
10/08: Vigo, ES – La Iguana club
10/10: San Sebastian, ES – Dadadaba
10/11: Barcelona, ES – AM Fest
10/12: Lyon, FR – Le Farmer
10/26: New Orleans, LA – Voodoo
10/29: Chicago, IL – Schubas
11/02: San Diego, CA – Dia De Los Deftones
11/05: Los Angeles, CA – The Echo
11/08: Austin, TX – Levitation
11/12: Somerville, MA – ONCE Ballroom
11/13: Brooklyn, NY – Saint Vitus
11/15: Philadelphia, PA – MilkBoy
11/17: Mexico City, MX – Corona Capital
11/24: Berlin, DE – Festaal Kreuzberg *
11/25: Köln, DE – Stollwerck *
11/26: Amsterdam, NL – Melkweg *
11/28: Leeds, UK – University Stylus *
11/29: London, UK – Electric Ballroom *
11/30: Paris, FR – Le Trianon *
12/03: Milan, IT – Alcatraz *
12/04: Ljubljana, SI – Kino Siska *
12/05: Munich, DE – Backstage *
12/06: Vienna, AU – Arena *
12/08: Warsaw, PL – Progresja *
w/ Cult of Luna & AAWilliams
12/14: Brussels, BE – AB Brussels (SOLD OUT)