Belgium's BRUTUS Announce Debut Album 'Burst' via Hassle Records

Belgium's heavy atmospheric trio BRUTUS announce the release of their debut album 'BURST' for February 24th 2017 via Hassle Records. Watch the powerful new video for lead single 'All Along' on YouTube here and catch them live through the UK from March 2017.

Hailing from Leuven, Belgium, Brutus create a pummelling, meteor-shower of sound. Singing drummer Stefanie Mannaerts mixes black-metal blast beats with math-rock flourishes whilst belting the most impassioned vocals, shifting from deceptively melodic to out-right larynx-punishing in the blink of an eye, 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.

Filmed at Brussels' Royal Museum of Art and History, 'All Along' sees Brutus cast their own Hellenistic forms. Watch 'All Along' on YouTube - http://smarturl.it/AllAlong_Video

"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. All Along is for a loved one, a band, the friends around me that are actually able to stand me."

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.

Catch Brutus live at the following UK dates in March 2017.

2017 UK dates

March
29 Green Door - Brighton - TICKETS
30 Old Blue Last - London - TICKETS

April
02 Ramsgate Music Hall - Ramsgate - TICKETS

'Burst' tracklisting & artwork

1 March
2 All Along
3 Not Caring
4 Justice De Julia II
5 Drive
6 Bird
7 Crack / Waste
8 Looking for Love on Devils Mountain
9 Horde II
10 Baby Seal
11 Child