What started a quick Brutal Truth get-together to raise money for the members of Eyehategod has blossomed into a full reunion and the widely anticipated new album Evolution Through Revolution. Drummer Rich Hoak chatted with About.com recently about the roots of the band’s comeback, the writing of Evolution Through Revolution, new guitarist Erik Burke, several tracks on the new album, the parallels between yoga and extreme metal and how the band will be playing their entire new record at live shows.
Hoak also joked that he’s beginning to feel a bit older at some of his shows: “Sometimes, playing grindcore is like being a chaperone at a high school dance. It’s me and half a dozen adults and everyone else is a teenager. Time flies when you are having fun, I guess. It’s the kind of thing I stumbled into and was kind of swept away.”
Justin M. Norton: The economy is in tatters, we’re in two wars, and everyone seems in danger of losing their home. It seems like the right time for a Brutal Truth comeback, no?
Rich Hoak: People haven’t been facing up to the truth for a long time now. It ‘s an interesting coincidence that as people need to face up to the truth of what’s happening on the planet, that Brutal Truth is coming back with a batch of songs and lyrics that tackle what’s going on in society. That’s one of the reasons I joined Brutal Truth back in the day. It’s music with meaning. It wasn’t just about cars or girls or cutting up girls. There are serious problems and our new music addresses that.
What preceded the reunion and what made you decide to start writing music together again?
My buddy called me up and said they were putting together an Eyehategod compilation to raise money for the Eyehategod guys who lost all of their equipment in Hurricane Katrina. He wanted to find out if Brutal Truth would do a song. I’m always in touch with Danny (bassist Dan Lilker) so we got in touch, then got in touch with the other guys and they were into it. It came together really well, and we played shows and started writing more material.
Brutal Truth has always been a pretty intuitive band. It’s the kind of thing where we get together and it’s like “this is cool, man. Let’s grind like that.”
What was it like writing the new album after you all have charted different music courses lately?
It was pretty natural. It felt right. We just get together, hang out and burn, think about musical ideas that are extreme; whether fast or slow or ironic chords next to each other. I would travel to New York to rehearse with Danny and Erik and write songs one weekend every month. We would write music from 5 p.m. on Friday until Sunday at 3 a.m. without stopping.
How did you hook up with Erik?
Danny moved up to Rochester with his wife in 2002 and that’s where Erik is from. Danny started looking for a guitar player right in his backyard. We’d all known him before so it wasn’t like we were strangers. He’s of the same mindset the rest of us are.
Did he contribute a lot of ideas to the album?
Absolutely. He brings a real friendly and energetic style of guitar playing to Brutal Truth. He’s laid back but a very aggressive and complicated guitar player. That’s a great way to be.
Brutal Truth is not the band where people come in and say here’s a song, let’s chart it out. We just lock up in a rehearsal room, get together, have breakfast and coffee, smoke out, and say I have a good riff…
“Semi-Automatic Carnation” is an interesting track and seems to flirt a bit with some of the ambient noise projects you do on the side.
That’s an improvisational number. It was the kind of thing where we had a mood and we wanted to write a song, make it slow and creepy. We recorded a bunch, we had some lunch and coffee and smoked out and then just played it through. There was never any particular structure to it, just a feeling. Sometimes those things don’t work at all and it sounds like someone pooped on the microphone, but we had good luck with that.
For fans who weren’t around for your 90s heyday, is Evolution Through Revolution a good introduction to the world of Brutal Truth?
It’s the best, most current, most pertinent to what’s going on the world Brutal Truth. Brutal Truth records are always a snapshot of the times. You can go back and listen to Songs Of The Animal Kingdom or Extreme Conditions. but you’d have to listen to them in the context of when they were recorded. I’m into new music and current events so I think the new Brutal Truth record is the best place to start.
We are going to be playing the whole album live. We play like the whole album beginning to end, then we have a set with three or four songs from each other record. That will get you about an hour of grind.
Do you ever pay attention when critics give your old records such high praise, sometimes in retrospect?
I always read that kind of stuff. I have a Google alert set up for Brutal Truth. And I’m definitely interested in other takes. I always like when people understand. There are reviews when people understand and get it, and those are the reviews I am most excited about. If you are going to be out there in public life you need to deal with this stuff.
How is your mindset different when you approach a Brutal Truth record as opposed to your other projects?
In Brutal Truth it’s recognized up front that it’s a four-way split and each member has an equal say. Brutal Truth is very democratic and goes by consensus, and that’s very natural for us because we’re all sort of on the same wavelength.
