Review Summary: Brutus fire on all cylinders to deliver an emotional, genre-blurring masterpiece
Brutus is a tough band to define. The Belgian trio has already made a name for themselves for their unique style that is as immediately infectious as it is difficult to describe. On their sophomore release,
Nest, Brutus goes for broke, taking risks at every turn and in the end, solidifying themselves as one of music’s best new acts, regardless of whatever genre you want to label them in.
At its core,
Nest is an album of contradictions. It’s an album that is immensely crushing on its whole but filled with individual moments that are strangely uplifting and beautiful. It somehow feels simultaneously massive and expansive, while also feeling suffocating and claustrophobic.
It's an album that proudly wears its influences on its sleeves, pulling from a wide range of genres such as hardcore, shoegaze, black metal, and prog rock (and all of their various “post-“tinged counterparts). However, they so effortlessly blend these genres that it makes it tough to figure out where one influence ends and another begins. From start to finish, Brutus builds a wall of sound that barely seems possible with a full orchestra, let alone a three-piece. Even if the whole thing might not be up your alley, there’s so much variety within it that fans of all types of “heavy” music will find something to appreciate.
And that’s the biggest (and most impressive) contradiction of all- you don’t need to love “heavy” music to love this album.
While there is no denying that
Nest is very dark and painful, Brutus has managed to present their music in a palatable format that doesn’t compromise on their metal and hardcore influences. Blast beats and frenetic guitar parts underscore undeniably catchy hooks, and Brutus creates an album that can be appreciated by both diehard extreme music fans and people who shy away from the heavier stuff. (As an anecdote, I showed this album to a few friends who are not remotely interested in anything metal or metal-adjacent and every single one of them was blown away.) The genre-bending risks Brutus takes are executed flawlessly and as such, build a world that can attract (and more importantly enrapture) fans of a wide variety of music.
Even the music itself is rife with contradictions. The songwriting is clean and tight, as every note feels warranted and purposeful. Despite this though, Brutus still makes every song feel frantic and disheveled, two emotions that you wouldn’t normally associate with such compact songwriting. All three members prove that they have mastered their respective instruments, not by technical wizardry, but rather by the ability to shift from style to style so fluidly, oftentimes in the same song. For example, on album standout “War”, Brutus transition from a melancholic ballad to screeching black metal, to finishing off the song with a classic post-hardcore assault primed to be unleashed in a mosh pit. There’s even a song (“Space”) who’s upbeat, major-key shift away from the sheer nihilism on the rest of the album wouldn’t feel out of place on some sort of dystopian pop-punk record. On their own, none of these ideas should work, but time and time again they do and the payoff is incredible.
Speaking of incredible, I have to pause to comment on vocalist/drummer Stefanie Mannaerts. While both guitarist Stijn Vanhoegaerden and bassist Peter Mulders both deliver fantastic performances in their own right and leave their fingerprints all over the album, the true standout is Mannaerts. The sheer force of her vocals is enough to move this album from “great” to “best of the year” territory, and that’s not even considering her ridiculous range. From the wailing cries of “Your hate will always be my guide” on the aforementioned “War”, to the crusty, punk-influenced shouts on “Cemetery”, to the desperate pleading of “I need water” on album-opener “Fire”, Mannaerts delivers an earth-shattering performance that is breathtakingly packed with emotion. Her vocals on their own are amazing… and then you remember she’s also the drummer. There’s a reason why there aren’t many bands who make their drummer also handle the primary vocal duties and even the ones that do tend to sacrifice some level of technicality or force on one in favor of showcasing their abilities on the other. Not only does Mannaerts not compromise on either of these fronts, she completely obliterates both. She turns in both one of the year’s best vocal masterclasses and one of the year’s best drum performances… at the same time.
There is one final contradiction that I think sums up
Nest perfectly. While only time will tell where this album lives in the pantheon of great albums, it feels pivotal. It is so epic in scale and so flawlessly executed that it reads like Brutus’ magnum opus, despite the band only churning out albums since 2017. It feels like an album that a band releases ten years into their career as they have matured and honed their songwriting chops, not a second release that came out of nowhere to become your favorite band’s favorite band. Looking towards the future, I have a hard time imagining how Brutus top
Nest, but that’s the beautiful contradiction here- they’re just getting started.
Favorite songs: "Fire", "War", "Horde V"
