[b][i]Suddenly there was a band from Breda producing such a devastating noise, that soon more people began to fall for it. Beginning from scraps, this band has reached it to a quite high level and currently is on tour with Cephalic Carnage and Macabre. We are talking about Brutus, and Mat-Core and Rob went to the Brutus practising cave for an exclusive interview. First we had to endure some brutal noise, which got us some pictures.[/b][/i] [b]M: My first question is about your origins, why you choose Brutus and things like that, a little history lesson?[/b] Ploert: First we were known as Vleespomp (Fleshpump) and that was an idea of the Ploegbaas, the drummer. After a while this was called Brutus because everybody had their noses in the same direction, Extreme Death Metal. Low tuned guitars and 3 vocalists that was the idea. And in 3 years we have evolved into this metal formation. I think that�s a good way to put it. [b]M: The recordings for Slachtbeest, how did they go and why did we have to wait that long?[/b] Schoft: I can answer that. The recording process went cool; it was a learning process for us, because I never went to a studio before, well not a professional studio anyways. In 3 days we have recorded the drums and guitars in the excess studios in Rotterdam. We took that material on cd to our home, our own studio, and there we did the final mixing and we worked on details and things like that. It took time till March 2003. That was the main reason why the album took so long because this album was scheduled for a February release, but that couldn�t work because of the tight schedule of Unique (Leader Records, M-C). We also had to wait for background vocals, which we eventually didn�t even get. In March the album was done and sent to the USA. But suddenly there were so many bands in 2 months, Gorgasm was signed, Spawn Of Possession had their album done, Decrepit Birth finished earlier. Unique had our album on the table, but because of the budget they can only release one album at a month, that�s why it took that damn long to release it. That means for the USA a late 2003 release and for Europe it means early 2004. Yeah, the office in Europe is doing our business, but the albums still are printed and produced in the USA. That just needs some time. [b]R: A question about the music, especially the lyrics. Who is the main songwriter of the band?[/b] Ploegbaas: Well, about the music. I wanted to create a band that was more extreme than the most extreme act on the planet. I wanted a 17 piece band with 7 bass players, 3 vocalist, some guitarist and some drummers gheghe. The goal was to totally freak out on the music and the main view was to find a way to crush some ears. Because of the natural process these goals were a little adjusted and it developed into something more than only producing noise. We still produce noise, but it�s tighter now, it fits better and is more technical. About the lyrics, the first album is mainly based on horror stories. After a while it came to us that it had to be something more serious, in terms of which we can do in our wasteland of music. The lyrics became somewhat more personal and we stimulated everybody in the band to write some lyrics. If you take our album Slachtbeest, and the new album, you can definitely see some progression. [img]https://upload.metalrage.com/BrutusRehearsal.jpg[/img] Schoft: Owh, we don�t hate women, only sucking women. [b]M: Okay, but I just have to ask this one, about those disgusting lyrics, what drives you to create these?[/b] Schoft: What�s so disgusting about them? [b]M: You know what I mean, for instance Darmschurft.[/b] Schoft: Owh yeah, you watch horror movies? Well, then you know that it�s just not realistic when a girl sees enormous amounts of blood lying on the floor and doesn�t have to vomit. Well, just as unrealistic as those movies are, so are our lyrics. If you look at the lyrics for the first 6 songs we recorded for the promo, and then to the 4 extra songs we wrote for Slachtbeest, then you can see that we were quite sick of the childish foolishness of Darmschurft and Vleespomp. So we began writing about more serious shit. [b]M: Yeah right�[/b] Schoft: gheghe, well, in first view it�s not visible in the lyrics. Ploert: The idea was the extreme in the extreme. Ploegbaas: Indeed [b]M: Were there some bands that you think that influenced you?[/b] Ploert: As a band you can never say that you are uninfluenced by other bands. You still listen to cool music, and after that you want to play things like that. We have the luck that our musical taste is quite large Ploegbaas: If you put this in musical terms, with Vleespomp the idea was more smelling like grindcore, but when Schoft entered our band he helped us follow the right path again. Schoft: Grindcore sucks Ploegbaas: You can hear it in the first couple of songs and the songs after those. You�ll see and hear that those songs are more structural than the previous songs. They chop harder and are performed better. Then we began writing more Deeds Of Flesh, Hate Eternal and Deicide like music. It may be not the fastest music, but it�s technically very well. Schoft: Indeed, those bands who fill every single beat, not like Krisiun, with their flubber bass, but more like Monstrosity and Deicide. Those bands play everything tightly along with the drummer and those bands are definitely the greatest influence for us. We all like music that goes along with a strong drummer. [b]M: The promotion for Slachtbeest, how�s that been going?[/b] Ploegbaas: We cannot say anything about that, because we see and hear that later on. We have to wait till those guys from Unique Leader will tell us what we have done. 3000 albums are gone, but it�s the question how many have been sold of those 3000, perhaps only a quarter of it. Schoft: The promotion for every Unique album is equal, in terms of promotion and distribution and media attention. I believe that there were 1600 promo�s send out in the world to websites like yours and other zines. [b]M: We haven�t received it because we are rather small in the opinion of Unique.[/b] Schoft: You haven�t received it? Well, then you should contact Unique Leader Europe. The promotion for our album has just started in fact and you can see that there are advertisements in several magazines and websites. Also posters and flyers are good promotion material. As the promotion just started, we expect the results in about 2 months, but in those 2 months we have a tour of almost 4 weeks and that�s the best promotion a band can get. [b]M: You have performed quite a lot already with Brutus. What do you think of your shows in general?[/b] Schoft: Performing in general or how the shows are going? [b]M: General[/b] Schoft: I totally enjoy being on stage, but I don�t mind the studio either. I must say that I enjoy the live shows the most. If we can perform 22 times in 26 days, then it�s perfect for me. What can I say? I personally think it�s very sad when a band release a killer album, and cannot perform their brilliant shit on stage with the same fury. That�s the fun for us, because it�s almost a sport achievement. It�s obvious that the drummer suffers the most gheghe, it�s more a sport than music. But also for us, we all have to worry about our vocals and lyrics and we totally get involved in the music. [img]https://upload.metalrage.com/BrutusBaroeg.jpg[/img] Ploegbaas: In fact you are quite dependent on what other people can arrange for you. I contacted 70 gigs at once in meaning of words and then hoping for reaction. It�s also good when other bands take you with them and then you can return the same favour to them. It�s a small world. Bastaerd: It�s also dependent on the albums you bring along, because there you�ll have the greatest chance to find buyers of extreme death metal and things like that. It�s also important that people get the chance to watch a spectacular show instead of a boring copy of the album, so they finally intend to buy the record. Schoft: You also cannot whinny about shows for very little money, because it�s just a good opportunity to sell your stuff. We did a show in the boulevard last Sunday, which was a free show. About 70 people showed up there and we are doing that more often. The fact that people are getting in their car with the intention to come watch you, we are feeling that we are doing something back for them with these shows. [b]M: About the coming tour with Cephalic Carnage and Macabre, how was that possible and how are you looking up to it?[/b] Ploegbaas: Yeah, well, since we�ve been signed for Unique, we get bigger promotions and things like that. The headquarters for Unique Leader Europe is in Tilburg, ran by Ruud Lemmer, who practically knows every metalhead on the planet gheghe, so that�s easy for contacts. Well, because of the cooperation with Unique we got this tour practically. Schoft: Before this tour there were 3 other tours that were drove through our noses. 1 time because appointments weren�t fulfilled and the other.. well, that�s irrelevant now. We had to do quite a lot for this tour, because touring is practically the best thing for us to promote our album of course. If you receive a mail with the invitation that you can board with Cephalic Carnage and Macabre, you definitely won�t say no. We know that it will cost a lot of time to arrange everything properly but we certainly are in a quite good mood about the upcoming tour. If we won�t get our satisfaction in fun, then it will be in sales of the album. [b]M: What is the future going to bring for Brutus, as you earlier mentioned, you already have finished you second album and things like that?[/b] [b]R: Yeah, you mentioned to me that you were going for a trilogy?[/b] Schoft: Yes, that trilogy will come as sure as the wind blows. Slachtbeest is the first one, well, actually the second but it�s the first one available. [b]R: Star Wars[/b] Schoft: Indeed! Gheghe. But actually we�ve finished the greatest part of the songs and the lyrics so that�s already done. We certainly had many plans on how to bring this with style, but what I know for sure is that all 3 albums will have a certain connection to each other. We definitely know one thing for sure. With a band name like Brutus you cannot decide to make a radical change in the style of music, so the style won�t change. If you are going to listen to our 3rd album or our 1st, it won�t be something completely different. [img]https://upload.metalrage.com/BrutusRehearsal2.jpg[/img] Ploegbaas: It will always be heavy and always be full of quality Schoft: Indeed, It will always be fast and brutal Ploegbaas: We certainly won�t pin ourselves to one thing that we�ll always are going to follow, there will be creative inspiration. We have brought out an album and found a label. I think we can be quite proud on that already. Schoft: Yeah, most bands in this genre after 3 years aren�t ready for an album yet and most bands aren�t yet thinking about touring and shit like that. I think we had an ahead start with that. We already had that luck, and now we will have to exploit every single bit of that starters luck. Ploert: And we also will keep an ear and eye to the music we are playing. Bastaerd: We are still creating and we definitely are working to master our second album, so that you eventually can hear the progression we�ve made gheghe. [b]M: A question about side projects, Bastaerd is also in Textures, is it combinable with Brutus because Textures is doing quite a lot of shows?[/b] Bastaerd: It�s the art of combining and planning, it�s a hard life, but it�s liveable. [b]M: Any other side projects?[/b] Ploert: Yeah, I play the drums with (???) and that�s a friend of mine with who I once decided to play something together. It�s quite obstinate music with weird beats and lyrics. It�s a little bit comparable with The Dillinger Escape Plan. But that�s only a side lane and Brutus will always be my first band. With this band I rehearse 1 time a week and that�s enough for me. [b]M: I�ve asked all my questions, R: Yeah, I�ve had my answers too. M: On behalf of Metalrage.com we thank you for the interview.[/b] Schoft: No problem at all man. [i]interview done by Mat-Core and Rob van Rooij. Pictures taken and edited by Rob van Rooij[/i]