Well this is the album that redefined the word Grind-core for me in 1992. Brutal Truth Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses of course featured already well-known bass player Dan Lilker who had previously provided the lower end for Anthrax and then Nuclear Assault. The rest of the band as far as I’m aware hadn’t done anything that gained them any notoriety. For a new band this is an absolutely unbelievable record and definitely made the extreme metal fans pay attention.
I don’t dig too deep into the genre of grind-core but this is probably my favourite record within the genre. The album opens up with some weird samples and then guitars kick in with a smouldering slower riff with “Birth of Ignorance” after that the speed kicks in with Kevin Sharp’s Tormented vocals kick in. The variety in the vocals really separates this apart from its peers. I have this say this is probably the cleanest sounding grind record I can think of up until the point where it was released. Stepping above others in the field with production that you can actually hear everything. it’s not until the Second song “Stench of Profit” that the extremity of Brutal Truth becomes apparent. The blast beats on this are almost seizure inducing.
In my humble opinion this was the most extreme thing I’d heard at the time in regards to death metal drumming, eclipsing anything that came before it. It’s almost inhuman. The drumming is tighter and more precise than any other grind or even death metal album that attempts to come close to these speeds. This tone continues on through the whole album with some tasty slower bits and some mind bending faster parts. “Ill Neglect” is great and “Denial of Existence” is actually really catchy. Here is where the true greatness of this band is obvious. I can’t think of many other bands in this genre where you can actually separate the songs from each other straight off the bat and the choruses stick in your head. Individually the songs are pretty short but they have a lot packed into a short period of time and the faster numbers are like punches to the head, absolutely crushing.
Brutal Truth have certainly created something unique and a land-mark by which all grind-core would be judged for a while to come after that. The listener is taken through a journey the winding riffage and gutterral vocals of “Time” until another instant classic “Walking Corpse” kicks again. Again, one of the more pummelling songs ever written. Hats off to the lads, this is a truely great album. One that had a huge impact on me as a teenager at the time.
Lyrically I haven’t looked into this too deeply. The general tone of the album seems to question life, politics and promote unity. Afterall we are all one species. Sometimes it’s good to ingest some metal that looks at the real world around us. In a similar way to Napalm Death I guess. Anyway Enough from me, do yourself a favour and check this album out. If you are a fan of the extremities of metal, this will not disappoint.
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