WATCH: Brutus – ‘Brave’ (Live at DAFT Studios)

Lifted from their second album, Unison Life, released in October 2022, Belgian heavy trio Brutus have shared a live video of their track ‘Brave’, along with news of a UK Headline tour this December.

Propelled by Stefanie Mannarts’ gritty vocals and immense drumming and full of stadium-sized riffs, the visuals – shot at DAFT Studios in Belgium – show the band doing what they do best; performing under the spotlight. “When recording a new album, you don’t always know in advance which songs will become very special in a live touring setting,” vocalist and drummer Mannaerts explains. “After touring for several months now, we know that ‘Brave’ is one of our favourite songs to play live. We’re excited to share this very early studio live video.”

Alongside guitarist Stijn Vanhoegaerden and bassist Peter Mulders, Mannaerts has been bringing the gargantuan sound of Unison Life to sold out crowds across Europe. Their relentless, genre-blending, powerful music has impressed the likes of Deftones, Dave Grohl, Simon Neil and many more.

Now, Brutus are gearing up for a summer of festival appearances in both the UK and further afield, before returning in December for a headline tour, including their biggest show to date at London’s Islington Assembly Hall. Tickets will go on sale later today (Thursday May 11th). All dates UK dates are listed below.

Watch the live video for ‘Brave’ here:

Brutus UK Tour Dates 2023
9th June – Download Festival
7th July – 2000trees
17th August – ArcTanGent Festival
7th December – London, Islington Assembly Hall
8th December – Brighton, Chalk
10th December – Bristol, Trinity
11th December – Manchester, Academy 3
12th December – Glasgow, G2
13th December – Birmingham, The Asylum

Follow Brutus on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Facebook & Instagram

Photo Credit: Eva Vlonk

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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NEW TRACK: ALT BLK ERA – ‘Rockstar: LUNAR’

After sharing their blistering nu-metal inspired track ‘Rockstar’ at the end of last year, genre-defying sister duo ALT BLK ERA are showcasing their softer side on latest single ‘Rockstar: LUNAR’. Beautifully contrasting with the band’s usual visceral, heavy sound, ‘Rockstar: LUNAR’ is an earnest reflection on an unhealthy relationship, gently edging listeners towards acceptance and finding strength in their vulnerability.

Formed of sisters Nyrobi and Chaya, ALT BLK ERA create tenacious alternative anthems designed to express their vivid personalities. Inspired by the likes of Ho99o9, Nova Twins, Hacktivist and Billie Eilish, they blur the boundaries of punk, nu-metal and trap to form their riotous, anthemic sounds. Refusing to be pigeonholed, ALT BLK ERA enjoy exploring their musical dynamic further by releasing ‘SOLAR’ and ‘LUNAR’ versions of their songs. Nyrobi’s Solar energy represents her wild, raucous spirit, and Chaya’s calmer, more introverted energy is represented by Lunar.

Their original single ‘Rockstar’ was a volatile, all-consuming wall of noise, but on ‘Rockstar: LUNAR’, the duo filter the heaviness of romantic infatuation through a different lens. Full of tender vocals, evocative piano sounds and confessional lyrics, the track is a poignant rumination on an emotionally harmful relationship. The pair find solace in opening up about the difficult reality of loving someone who is bad for you, and have showcased their impressive, seamless ability to move between music genres in the process.

Listen to ‘Rockstar: LUNAR’ below:

ALT BLK ERA UK Live Dates 2023
Mar 18: CH Hirscheneck, Basel
Mar 31: UK Bodega, Nottingham
Apr 05: UK Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
May 25-28: UK Bearded Theory, Derbyshire

Follow ALT BLK ERA on bandcamp, Spotify, Tik Tok, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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LIVE: Rolo Tomassi & Holy Fawn – Electric Ballroom, Camden 15.02.23

“If you keep buying the tickets, we’ll keep coming back!” – a simple statement, but one that rang true for a room full of loyal Rolo Tomassi fans at Camden’s Electric Ballroom on Wednesday night. Playing their biggest headline show to date at the London venue, the Sheffield-based five-piece spent the final night of their recent European tour in front of an appreciative and energised crowd.

Formed back in 2005, the band – comprised of Eva Korman, James Spence, Chris Cayford, Nathan Fairweather and Al Pott – have enjoyed the type of hard earned, admirable longevity that is rarely afforded to bands in any music scene, especially those in alternative spheres. After Wednesday night’s performance however, it’s easy to see why Rolo Tomassi have kept their fans coming back to shows after almost two decades of playing together.

Opening their set with atmospheric anthem ‘Almost Always’, the all-encompassing, swelling guitar sounds and Korman’s measured vocals were enhanced by an impressive light show. It set the precedent for a night of nuanced, commanding sound that was executed with tenacious, distinctive Rolo Tomassi flair. Korman’s elastic vocal range was unsurprisingly, hugely impressive. Her cord-ripping screams were contrasted with softer moments throughout the set, and made all the more potent by the crystalline, visceral walls of sound her bandmates conjured.

The setlist was comprised predominantly of tracks from the band’s recent album, Where Myth Becomes Memory, including ‘Closer’, ‘To Resist Forgetting’, ‘Labyrinthine’, ‘Mutual Ruin’, ‘Prescience’ and an encore of ‘Drip’. These were balanced alongside offerings from 2018’s Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It, (‘Aftermath’, ‘Rituals’, ‘A Flood of Light’, ‘Contretemps’) and interspersed with a handful of songs from 2015’s Grievances (‘Opalescent’ and ‘Stage Knives’). All received enthusiastic reactions from the crowd, with hands and horns in the air throughout the show.

Before Rolo Tomassi took to the stage however, their fans turned up early for sets from hotly tipped support acts Heriot and Holy Fawn. The latter, who were playing their second ever UK show, expressed a heartfelt gratitude to the headliners and the spectators for giving them such a warm welcome. The Phoenix-based four-piece delivered a genre-defying set packed with sounds that captivated and obliterated in equal measure.

Formed of Ryan Osterman, Evan Phelps, Alexander Rieth, and Austin Reinholz, Holy Fawn have a collective intuition for balancing perfectly timed, blissfully noisy drop ins alongside more shadowy, majestic sounds. This state of emotional flux is something the band captured on their recent album Dimensional Bleed, and it’s one that translates beautifully in a live setting.

Whilst the gentler, more ethereal elements of Osterman’s vocals were occasionally lost in the mix, his screams cut through perfectly. From the bruising nature of heavier tracks like ‘Death Is A Relief’, ‘Blood Pact’ and ‘Dark Stone’, through to their more melodic offerings ‘Arrows’ and ‘Seer’, Holy Fawn’s magnetic sound resonates long after listening.

Together, Rolo Tomassi, Holy Fawn and Heriot provided a welcome headrush of visceral, raw, intricately delivered noise to an attentive fanbase who will no doubt return in their droves when future tour dates are announced.

Follow Rolo Tomassi on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Facebook & Instagram

Follow Holy Fawn on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Facebook & Instagram

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

 

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ALBUM: VUKOVI – ‘Nula’

“What does the future hold for the female of the species?”

Welcome ‘user17359’. You will shortly be departing Trinity Lunar Port for Mars Sanctity Terminal, immersing yourself in VUKOVI‘s latest record for the duration. Since their formation twelve years ago, the genre-defying Scottish duo – comprised of vocalist Janine Shilstone and guitarist Hamish Reilly – have been in flux; roaming rabid wolves sinking their teeth into a constantly evolving sound all their own. From 2011’s It Looked So Good On Me… and 2012’s …But I Won’t Wear You Again EPs, to 2017’s self titled debut and 2020’s Fall Better LP, Janine and Hamish’s chemistry is infectious; a combination of “dark themes and dirty fucking riffs.” Now, VUKOVI are exiting the stratosphere and heading into deep space with sci-fi/horror NULA; a conceptual album set in a distant (yet unnervingly familiar) future. Inspired by sci-fi escapism like Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira, NULA is a cyberpunk abomination; a sonically ambitious mutation of anthemic pop melodies.

Opening with the cinematic ‘DEPARTURE’ and moshpit inducing ‘TAINTED’, VUKOVI set the tone for NULA. “You’re a fucking monster…” Considered the property of nefarious capitalist corporation Sanctity, and exploited through inhumane experimentation for over twenty five years, the eponymous extra-terrestrial is an otherworldly reflection of Janine’s own survival; her subconscious trauma bleeding into her lyrics. Compulsive, creative and unapologetic: We’d like to wish you a safe and pleasant journey.

“You think I’m a god… Fuck that, fuck you too!” ‘LASSO’ condemns pop idol worship – and highlights the music industry’s hypocrisy, through filthy, fuzz-drenched riffs and insatiable pop-tinged vocals. ‘QUENCH’ delivers sexual liberation with moxie and nu metal groove. “I’m not in love, just wanna feel your touch!” Infused with synthetic noise, ‘SLO’ follows; an ethereal exploration of OCD: “You have a toxic reliance on it and in your eyes that condones reckless behaviour.” Yet, despite feeling broken and vulnerable, NULA (and indeed Janine) re-claims control on mid-album pop-punk-rager ‘I EXIST’, through blood, death and raucous riffs – courtesy of Hamish’s live wire intensity! “I’ve found you, motherfucker!” “I think about what’s happening in the world too much… The greed. The cruelty. There’s a lot of that on the record,” Janine explains. Depression… It’s a temporary feeling. Emotionally driven, VUKOVI stage-dive into anthemic chaos, stronger and feeling empowered: “Stand up / You’ve got to fight… / I know it’s tough / But it’s not enough to give up…”

“I AM NULA. AND I AM FREE.”

After brief respite during interlude ‘ATTENTION’, the disquiet duo’s distorted disorder continues on ‘SHADOW’, ‘HADES’ and ‘KILL IT’; three tracks propelled by an infectious combination of electronic instrumentation, heavy-as-fuck hooks, and raw emotion. “One taste of blood is not enough…” For NULA, revenge is poetic. Confronting abuse with justified angst – “Oh, I’ve waited, for retribution / I’ll watch you burn…” – ‘HURT’ is heavy metal catharsis, whilst ‘SAD’ is a somber realisation that you can never forget trauma. Just like Ripley in Ridley Scott’s Alien, NULA is a survivor realising her own strength and resilience. “I’ll never be whole but I’m a fighter / Kick me in the dirt but still like dust I’ll rise / I’m gonna be heard.” There is no closure, but that is okay. NULA represents female empowerment, and there is life after trauma.

So… “What does the future hold for the female of the species?” Janine pauses for a zeptosecond during closer ‘XX’ before declaring in her distinct Scottish drawl: “She is the answer to extinguishing this toxic masculine cesspool of a society. She deserves to live in a world without fearing for her life… She is the future of humanity… and it’s time to fuck the system!”

Ken Wynne
@Ken_Wynne

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