Brutal Truth returned from their extended hiatus in 2009 with Evolution Through Revolution, an angular, violent extension of the sound they developed on 1997’s Sounds of the Animal Kingdom. End Time sees the band unleash a blistering whirlwind of grinding fury, continuing the developments of Evolution with a slightly meatier production and a noisier and more chaotic sound. This album is nothing if not relentless. Angular riffs, pummeling blast beats and Kevin Sharp’s growls ripping along at a manic pace.
Don’t be fooled by album opener “Malice”, a sludgy track that makes use of some fast picking and distorted, broken notes, because once “Simple Math” kicks in, the nonstop face-peeling grind madness begins. They blast and grind away through tracks like “Fuck Cancer”, “Lottery”, “Butcher”, “Killing Planet Earth” and “End Time” with Kevin Sharp spitting lyrics with the rapidity of a .50 caliber machine gun. The vocals are vicious, the blast beats are savage and guitar and bass a shearing buzz of violence. They close the album with a feedback laden instrumental in the tradition of “Bed Sheet” from Extreme Conditions…
They break down the grind with some distorted bits of sludge. This is the second album with guitarist Erik Burke of Sulaco and Kalibas fame and his contribution is felt most in these slower parts. Layers of noise and feedback interplay with his bent notes and angular riffs on “Warm Embrace of Poverty” and “Drink Up”. The production, unfortunately, pushes the drums and vocals to the front and his riffs tend to get lost in a sea of bludgeoning drums and vocals.
Evolution Through Revolution had a similar problem with thin production and while End Time sounds slightly better, it’s not nearly as robust as it could be. What the album gains in raw spirit from the production, it sometimes gives you less to grab on to. The album can sometimes blur to an indistinct clatter of drums and vocals, but is a well done effort overall. If you miss the Terrorizerisms of Extreme Conditions… and Need to Control, you probably won’t be converted to their new sound. Fans of their previous album will, however, find a lot to like.
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I like this album a lot. Sure it’s not as good as Need To Control but nothing is really. These guys always seem to make very catchy yet brutal music with great lyrics. I love this genre of music in general and these guys after Napalm Death are my favorite band in the genre. Definitely Need To Control is one of my favorite albums from any genre of all time. I miss the electronic stuff a little bit but I’m satisfied. Perhaps best album of the year in my opinion.
on Nov 22nd, 2011 at 17:35