Brutus
Brutus compiled an array of different styles of heavy metal into one solid composition of head-banging glory. The band is an ensemble of hard-rocking metal making machine. Formed in 2007, although Brutus hails from Cairo, Egypt, the band is consisted of four musicians from four different parts of the world.
There are a lot of unsigned metal bands out there but ones that truly deserve attention are rare, Brutus is one of them, and metal fans will probably find it easy to appreciate Brutus as their music is simply impressive. But enough from us, read our interview below with Brutus, turn up your stereo and give a listen to their music.
Indiefonica: It's great to see people from different backgrounds play in the same band, how did you guys meet and start the band?
T: Myself and Al had moved to Egypt six to seven years ago, around the same time, even more strangely for the same reason due to losing someone in the family. In my honest opinion, I believe our paths were meant to cross for whatever reason that may be. Shortly afterwards I saw Bassam & Wez, still students at the time, separately on numerous occasions at local parties & shows, never really making any contact at first. The heavy music scene or community is not as big as everyone would like to admit, nor is it as cohesive as it was back in the mid-nineties when I was here a student myself and played in metal or rock bands at the time as well; as far as numbers were concerned…anyway…
Al & I decided to put this project together while vacationing at the Red Sea a couple of years ago…upon our return, just the two of us started jamming across different studios in Cairo, trying out various 'singers' & bass players along the way. I was also playing in another metal / rock band, and while going to & performing at a gig, I met Wez through a mutual friend, found he played guitar as well, we hung out & jammed a few times, realized we had similar tastes, basically - that's how he joined the band. Having also seen Bassam at some of those gigs, really hard not to notice if you'll ever get the chance to see him in person; eventually, his transition into the band was as smooth & natural, then we kick started the whole thing, not really waiting or looking for a bassist anymore. Not long down the line, we got fed up from the hassle of rehearsing in studios due to problems with the equipment, getting there, the general atmosphere and so on - we found a small private rehearsal space that we could call our own and began seriously working on the batch of songs that we had all collaborated on. Once they were more than 90% complete we set up the place for recording live drums - Al laid all the tracks down in less than 3 days, then we went back to his home recording studio to work on the guitars and vocals, which took many weeks to get right, not to mention the several more weeks for all the editing & post-production, mastering, artwork, cd prints, etc….it takes time & money when it's DIY, but it only makes us happier & prouder of the results in the end.
Indiefonica: How do you describe your music? And what do you want to accomplish through your music?
T: Since the beginning we did not forget why we are doing all of this - not for the money, it's not a popularity contest, it is all for the sake of fun! Some of us are students, have day jobs, and families, whatever, so it's a privilege to be able to do what you love. All we want is some appreciation for our efforts and hopefully people enjoy listening to it. We like what we are doing so we hope it shows in the music yet we really don't know how everyone is going to perceive it. In my eyes, or ears, it is heavy, dark, hard-hitting, modern sounding, a bit old-school, not technical but demanding where necessary - we wanted to give something people can seriously headbang to, get their blood pumping, and release all that pent up aggression from living the daily grind during these hard times…or just bob their heads to, if they appreciate honest music. We don't really have a particular message but at the same time we would like to let everyone know the bullshit that we see in our lives everyday. There are several world political references in our song titles but the lyrics are just catharsis for whoever wrote the words; basically, thoughts on personal struggles, expressed in different ways - some of it is straightforward some not really, like a stream of consciousness, but who said it's supposed to make sense anyway.
Indiefonica: So you're based in Egypt, and I presume that metal is not the most popular genre in the Middle East region, how do people perceive your kind of music there?
T: The attitude of the general public is pretty much "WTF?" - not very receptive, and overall dislike of what they don't really care to understand. It's the underdog of all musical genres, so the fans always feel stereotyped, and even get harassed sometimes, because the persecutors associate it with the negative aspects of life and would never dare to consider that it is just therapeutic…not unusual really…as everyone is always worried about the younger generation today - what I can guarantee is that young people are much better informed today than their parents & older siblings when they were the same age. Nowadays people who like this type of heavy music are using the internet to their advantage, also there are more musical equipment shops, recording & rehearsal studios, and services in general that help in preventing this style of music from falling into obscurity, which it never will as we all know.
Indiefonica: Who are your listeners? How should people listen to your music?
T: Well…I think it's mostly our own close friends and a handful of family friends or members…and just ourselves….we started a Myspace page first, which is now full of crazy randomness that is not a real good indicator of who actually listens to us. . . lately people started to join our Facebook page and I would have to say that it is mainly younger Egyptians & Arabs…some Europeans & Americans…and now I'm happy to say we got some fans in Indonesia & Malaysia…which is great. Blast the songs in your headphones, car stereos, computer speakers, sound systems…just blast it…it's not chill out music.
Indiefonica: What kind of musicians do you like and what kind do you hate, if any, and why?
T: All the guys in the band share similar tastes in music but we listen to everything from heavy rock to reggae, rap, and drum 'n' bass…but to be unfair in labeling each one of us, then Bassam is the epitome of a death metal head, Al brings the hardcore, Wez is on contemporary American & Scandinavian metal band sounds dropping into southern and old school rock, while I like it all, listening to really mellow melodic music [e.g. Portishead or Sade] at times, or grindcore [e.g. Cephalic Carnage or Pig Destroyer] on other occasions, really depends on the mood. Some of us grew up listening to old school thrash, death metal, & heavy metal bands, but all of us have a serious appetite for (relatively) new bands coming out these days who are putting a new spin on the wheel…personal favorites would definitely include Mastodon, Bring Me The Horizon, All Shall Perish, Veil Of Maya, The Dillinger Escape Plan,,,but then there are also the stalwart bands like Meshuggah, Overkill, Merauder, At The Gates, and the almighty Crowbar.
I think most of us pay more attention to the output of musicians than the actually people themselves. I respect those who are dedicated to what they do and do it for the love of it…individuals who are well versed in their instruments from a technical point of view is undoubtedly very impressive, but if there's no 'feel' in their work, then I would probably lose interest in that artist or band. Like I said before, as individuals sometimes we like the same musicians or maybe not, but for reasons that at the end of the day one cannot justify to be right or wrong.
Indiefonica: Is there anything you'd like to add?
T: Thank you for the support and giving us the opportunity to say a few words. Get in touch through our websites to get a copy of our debut cd "All Roads Lead To Rome". Stay tuned as we are writing material for our next release which should be some time early next year. Thank you to Indiefonica and our fans in the Far East !
Indiefonica: Thanks.
The Band:
AL - DRUMS (IRELAND) WEZ - GUITAR (EGYPT) T - GUITAR (RUSSIA) BASSAM - VOCALS (PALESTINE).
Track List:
1) All Roads Lead To Rome (2010):
Click here to download
More Info:
http://www.myspace.com/brutusegypt
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/BRUTUS/319890908730
(Metal) (Death Metal) (Hardcore)
Last Updated on Tuesday, 02 August 2011 20:13