Brutal Truth - _Sounds Of The Animal Kingdom_
(Relapse, 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10)
Sporting one of the coolest album covers this year (an angry half-man/half-ape image on a white background; simple yet cool), comes New York's fucked-up, raging music ensemble Brutal Truth. Twenty-two tracks of intense and brutal numbers that delve deep into the common life and big city world in which many of us live. It's a big city soundtrack of sorts. Like most Brutal Truth records, the songs found on _SotAK_ dish out pure bursts of intensity and mind-numbing lashings to our psyche. Singer/screamer/madman Kevin Sharp lets loose some ferocious cat calls and screams on such numbers as "Average People", opener "Dementia", and "Foolish Bastard", while the rest of the band follow up Sharp with distorted riffs, a strong rhythm section, and blast beats where needed. (Even the segue/interlude of the sounds of city life in "Blue World" is an interesting addition.) The album is very creative at times, managing to meld grindcore, death metal and hardcore attributes into one pounding rhythm - but after repeated listens to the new record, I am left asking myself, "Is this 'organized chaos' getting too old or monotonous for us?" Maybe so. _SotAK_ is a good record, though not great and not living up to the hype that some have bestowed upon it. While much better than 1996's EP _Kill Trend Suicide_ - the record that scaled down the band's need for production effects, thus keeping the music raw and live - _SotAK_ is still chock full of maniacal exorcisms of the mind and all. Still, it just seems to be lacking some of the momentum and craziness that garnered the band much attention on some of their older stuff, e.g. their classic 1994 LP _Need To Control_. Still not, a bad trip to undertake, as the ride into the "animal kingdom" is an experience all its own. Buckle up.
(article published 16/10/1997)
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