Brutal Truth interview with Dan Lilker

MORBIDZINE: Hi Danny! Hails to the legendary grind guys from New York! Thanks so much for the interview. Since 2006, Brutal Truth has been back with us again. What have you been doing since the reunion?

DAN LILKER: Greetings! We've been quite busy between doing tours of Europe, Japan, a few shows here in the States and writing new music.

MORBIDZINE: What were the main factors that influenced your reunion? Was it fan requests or something else?

DAN LILKER: Initially it was a request from a dude compiling a benefit for Eye Hate God, whose equipment was trashed during Hurricane Katrina. Then, we just decided it was fun and continued. Of course, many fans had asked me before the reunion if it was ever possible to do the band again, so we knew people would be pleased.

MORBIDZINE: Did you ever regret taking a 6–7 year break? What were the reasons behind the initial split?

DAN LILKER: Sure it sucked having to stop back then, but there were problems in the band then that are not there now...

MORBIDZINE: Summer has ended, and you played several festivals. Were there any particularly unforgettable moments?

DAN LILKER: Well... we only did a couple of festivals this year, With Full Force and Hole In The Sky, but both were awesome and we've had a lot of positive reactions from these appearances from grindfreaks everywhere. WFF was great ’cos we played with great bands like Mayhem, Krisiun, Rotting Christ, etc., and HITS was also killer as we played with Carcass, Municipal Waste, Behemoth, Asphyx and more. Always cool to see your friends and party!

MORBIDZINE: From your perspective, how has the band’s chemistry or musical direction evolved over these years?

DAN LILKER: New guitarist Erik definitely makes a difference with his playing and songwriting, he manages to fit right in with our unusual approach to writing and playing music. If you have heard the stuff on the comp you will ask about soon, you will see that we're just as wacky as ever. If anything we're even more intense now.

MORBIDZINE: How do you see Brutal Truth’s place in the grind scene today compared to the past?

DAN LILKER: Ha! Today we get more respect hahahahaha. Seriously, it's very flattering to see how many people are supporting us now and I think we are definitely firmly a part of today’s grindcore scene, whatever that is...

MORBIDZINE: There are four new songs on the This Comp Kills Fascists compilation. Are they from the new album?

DAN LILKER: No, they are exclusive to the comp.

MORBIDZINE: The compilation has a striking cover. Do you know who came up with the idea for the artwork?

DAN LILKER: No, but it's pretty cool looking. But my Mom doesn't look like that.

MORBIDZINE: A new album is probably the most anticipated thing by Brutal Truth fans. What can you share about it? Will it be similar in sound to Sounds of the Animal Kingdom?

DAN LILKER: We are starting the recording October 4th, it should be on Relapse, it's very intense, but we will use a different producer so it will not sound like Sounds..., but stylistically it's not light years away.

MORBIDZINE: What are your thoughts on working again with Erik, your former bandmate from Nuclear Assault?

DAN LILKER: Absolutely. He was great in Nuke, but in BT he shines even more ’cos grind is more his style, so his songwriting skills can be used as well.

MORBIDZINE: You have other projects like Nuclear Assault, Ravenous, and S.O.D. Which of these do you prioritize now?

DAN LILKER: Well I also play in Venomous Concept now, as well as my band CRUCIFIST here in Rochester, NY (yes we have a myspace) so although Brutal Truth is priority one, I also find time to concentrate on these bands, and if we ever do another The Ravenous record I'll do that. S.O.D. and Nuke are basically finished... which is OK ’cos I’m fucking busy.

MORBIDZINE: Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses was a landmark debut. Did you expect such an impact?

DAN LILKER: We of course hoped to make an extreme grindcore record and I think we succeeded, which I'm very proud of. It represents where we were at the time very well, Colin did a great job producing it and I'm happy that it was such an influence to others.

MORBIDZINE: Why did you make a video for “Collateral Damage”? What do you think about its Guinness World Record?

DAN LILKER: A good friend made the video for us, we just paid him with a bag of weed, and yes, apparently Earache submitted it to the Guinness Book and they accepted it! Unfuckin’ believable...

MORBIDZINE: Need to Control introduced industrial influences to your sound. How would you compare it to your debut?

DAN LILKER: We had absolutely no regrets about our debut album, but we didn't want to just play it safe and duplicate it either, so when we got Rich, who played quite differently than Scott, we took the opportunity to experiment. Since the writing of the first album, our influences had gotten more varied, so we consciously injected those different elements in the music that was recorded for the Need To Control album to make things more interesting. I guess the major differences between the albums would be the production, the inclusion of more industrial and hardcore/punk elements and the approach to the writing, since a lot of the first record was stuff I’d written myself.

MORBIDZINE: There were some cover songs on that album. Why did you choose to cover The Germs?

DAN LILKER: That was Kevin’s baby. He came from the punk scene originally and wanted to pay tribute to a band that was very important for him early on in his musical discoveries.

MORBIDZINE: Brutal Truth’s sound has evolved with each album — including stoner, crust, d-beat influences. What drove these stylistic shifts?

DAN LILKER: No bands in particular, we just expanded the band's style so yes, it was still grind, but not the death-grind of the first record. Again, we didn't like doing the same thing twice ’cos we thought that was boring.

MORBIDZINE: Was your desire for more extreme music the reason you left Nuclear Assault in 1992?

DAN LILKER: That was certainly a big reason I left. Thrash wasn’t inspiring me anymore, and I’ve always done whatever I wanted to do... so it was time to grind!

MORBIDZINE: Sounds of the Animal Kingdom is personally my favorite. Was it the farthest point in Brutal Truth’s sound? Or will there be even more experimentation?

DAN LILKER: It was the farthest point back then, but I think the new stuff is a lot better, so you will have to wait and see what you think when you hear it. Erik's songwriting contributions have brought things to a whole new level of mayhem.

MORBIDZINE: Where does the phrase “Still not loud enough, still not fast enough” come from? Is it a motto for you?

DAN LILKER: It was a sample from the Dr. Seuss movie The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. Terwilliger about a guy who ran a piano school and was very hard on his students! And yes, it works very well as a motto!!

MORBIDZINE: What’s the story behind the song “Jemenez Cricket”? What does the title mean?

DAN LILKER: That is a song that is quite personal for Kevin who wrote it about a friend of his that died. That's all I really know about it.

MORBIDZINE: “Prey” is a strange 22-minute track that doesn’t change much throughout. Why did you write such a song?

DAN LILKER: Just to be extreme and annoy people, really. No big reason.

MORBIDZINE: What are your thoughts on the upcoming U.S. presidential election? If Obama wins, do you think there will be major changes?

DAN LILKER: I sure fucking hope so, ’cos the Bush administration has done terrible damage to this country. We need a president who is intellectual and who cares about all Americans, not just the rich, white Christians who voted for him. If McCain is elected, things will stay shitty...

MORBIDZINE: Do you follow movies? Any that had a strong impact on you?

DAN LILKER: I mostly enjoy science fiction and horror with some comedy too. I guess the first time I saw The Exorcist, it had quite an effect on me just like the first time I heard Black Sabbath! You know, it’s like “Wow, this is crazy!”

MORBIDZINE: Which bands and albums were milestones for you musically? Which punk/crust bands inspired you before Brutal Truth?

DAN LILKER: Well, that's two different questions... my musical life (as you know I guess) includes a lot of stuff before and after BT. For my thrash days, bands like Metallica with their early albums, same with Slayer, earlier stuff like Venom, Hellhammer, Angel Witch, etc were very influential as well as hardcore bands like Discharge (the Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing album) and D.R.I. (first two albums). For Brutal Truth, bands like Napalm Death, Carcass and Morbid Angel (yes, the Earache squad!) helped shape our original stylistic motivation...

MORBIDZINE: Thanks so much from Morbidzine and your Turkish fans!!! I’m sure Brutal Truth will destroy again! Any last message to the fans?

DAN LILKER: Hail to Turkey! I hope one day we can finally play your country and grind you to pieces!!!