Evolution Through Revolution

I am basically going to agree with gk and his review. I had very high hopes for this comeback, but this album is just ok. "Need to Control" is one of the best grind albums ever recorded, and "Extreme Conditions..." is an excellent death/grind album. No matter if the band themselves(well at least Lilker) consider "Sounds of the Animal Kingdom" their best effort(directly from Lilker's mouth when I saw them at the Double Door in Chicago), I just don't agree.

This new album is somewhat a departure from all of their previous efforts which is fine by me, but it just doesn't work all that well. Burke's guitar playing is adequate as far as skill is concerned, but he does this squealy thing quite often and it just isn't doing it for me. Former axehand Gurn is sorely missed in my opinion. He was a fuckin whirlwind of a guitarist. Also, Sharpe was undoubtedly one of my favorite vocalists ever after hearing "Need to Control". His high pitched screaming was unreal. Nothing had ever been so chaotic & great. He lost that range on "Sounds of the Animal Kingdom" and it is still missing on this release. Hoak & Lilker are both solid, but it's just not enough to keep this album from just being mediocre.

A few standout tracks on the album are "Powder Burn" (where Shape's vocals are different than on anything else he's ever done, but to my liking), "Lifer" which is a pretty intense and memorable song and "Afterworld" which is really catchy. Beyond that, though, I can't recall any of the other tracks. Not really a good sign considering there are twenty songs on the album.

Brutal Truth is a great band who are tight as hell considering the intensity of their music. I am also glad they have reunited, but "Evolution through Revolution" is their weakest release to date. I sure hope they stick around for another album and redeem themselves.