Never in the history of my metal concert-going experience have I ever seen the main act get creamed by the opening bands, but last night sort-of legendary Grindcore band Brutal Truth got their ass handed to them by fellow metallers Macabre, Devourment and Malignancy. Brutal Truth, looking tired and frail, tried their very best to match up with their young compeers in the Deathgrind genre of metal but came up short in the end. An initially boring set that lifted but ultimately crumbled from its own weight and history in the end.
The club - formerly known as Downtime on 30th St. and 8th Ave - looks like a typical dive bar, situated in a part of Manhattan where the homeless call home and are laid out for you to trip on. Inside, the building must have been a fucking warehouse where gangsters may have hid the bodies during the Roaring Twenties. There are iron pipes and chains hanging everywhere, comfy sofas against the walls, cages where hot chicks are supposed to dance and flash titties, and crumbling bricks make up the wall. The stage is practically the size of an 8x10 headshot, with only four spaces for the crowd to be upfront. Metal bands will have their shows ANYWHERE, even in a veritable sewer!
My main reason for going was because I wanted to meet veteran bassist Dan Lilker, who has performed in the past with such metal acts as Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, S.O.D., and most recently Venomous Concept. So I decide to spend $20 of my money to see what Brutal Truth, who came out with their debut album in 1992, were all about. When the show began, some lame ass band named The Communion opened up and quickly sank. The singer is a complete tool who shows no passion or technique except sitting on the floor and grunting like a mongoloid. The rest of the band tried and failed to make a cohesive set happen and were quickly forgotten. It's time to put this band to rest already.
Next up were a much more skilled and familiar band - Malignancy. I had seen these guys play last year when Obituary played at Europa, and just as that last show, their frontman was quick with the jokes and brought some much needed humor before going into their devastating set. I'm still not ready yet to accept or open myself up to Malignancy and their music, but I have noticed that they are slowly becoming quite popular within the NY death metal underground. Their T-shirts are bring bought and worn - which a good sign - and people actually know their lyrics. Their frontman, Danny, is also a really nice guy and genuinely humbled by the fans' support. Their drummer, Mike, however had that same stupid "DAMN IT, my kit doesn't sound right... BOO-HOO!" look on his face just like at the Obituary show. Dude, nothing will ever sound perfect, get over it!
The next band, Devourment, made up for Communion's and Malignancy's lack of boomage. This band's music actually moved me - literally! The power of the vibration from the monitors shook me and I couldn't help but headbang along with everyone else around me. Despite the narrow corridors of the club, people still managed to mosh. Nothing ready new or special with Devourment except that the bassist, this muscular blond douchebag, actually tried to dive into the crowd and ended up falling flat on his ass like the dumbass he is. I couldn't help but laugh at him... and he went down hard! Despite this, the crowd wanted an encore and got it, even though Mr. Douche was out of it. Still he managed to climb the stage and use the last 3 strings on his five-string bass that had already come apart. Truth be told, this was the best set of the evening and these guys should be proud of themselves.
Macabre, the fourth band up, took stage and pretty much fed the crowd some serial killer-themed, psychobabble bullshit that bordered on the hilarity of Malignancy with some lyrics that would make Slayer cringe. Serial killers' names were thrown out there, such as Jeffrey Dahmer and Ed Gein, who strangely enough were the subject of two respective Slayer songs. Dahmer for "213" and Gein for "Dead Skin Mask." The frontman needs to cut that stupid-looking mullet and lose the hair plugs. Their music is not really originally or brutal by any means, but the old farts manage to make it into a mini horror show that had the crowd singing along. Pretty solid for a band of 50-year-olds.
Finally, came Brutal Truth. First, some brutal truth from yours truly. They bombed! This moment was built up because Dan Lilker of S.O.D. and Nuclear Assault was playing with Brutal Truth, another discarded band. First, the singer came out fat and barefoot, and they all played pretty much in a one-note style, all aggression with absolutely no control or focus. They couldn't even start a fucking mosh-pit and they're a goddamn Grindcore band? That's when I knew they should have called it quits. Let's face it, when you can't get the crowd to move, and you're in a metal band, then you should really ask yourself if your band should continue. Fortunately for bassist Dan Lilker, he has 16 other bands he could always play in should one fail. Well, Brutal Truth failed big time. And the big scarecrow knew it as well.
Which probably explains his aloof behavior outside Rebel. I mean, he was kind enough to take a pic with me, but he just couldn't stand still and answer a few questions for HMN.com. I think all that weed has made his brain rather soft as I told him later, and he should really be more grateful to fans who spend their money and use their last sick day from work, like yours truly, before acting like a complete shit. There's a reason why Anthrax booted Lilker's ass 25 years ago, as well as why his ancillary bands never pan out, it's because he's a dick! He's too old for this game and I think it's time he retired. Someone told me that Brutal Truth was a really good band and it was the funniest thing I heard all evening. Lilker even had the gall to say that I had to buy beer for him because I downloaded BT's music for free. Well, he can have them all back if he wants.
And why the fuck were the NYDM at the show selling their crap merchandise? Haven't these guys ever heard of eBay? How lame and very intrusive.
Bottom line: I should have gone to work yesterday. A big disappointment from a band that I expected would deliver big, but ended up coming in dead last among the pack.
6 out of 10
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