Just over 3 months after the release of their fifth studio album “In Dark Places” on Holy Roar Records, UK heavy hardcore band BRUTALITY WILL PREVAIL checks in with a quick interview on their recent South Asian and European tours, the details behind the new record and the darkness in their work. The band also spoke to us about their plans and dropped some worthy recommendations to keep your mind busy. You can read the full interview after the scroll.
BWP are arguably the backbone of UK hardcore and prove once again that they’re a band that deserves your undivided attention.
Since their inception BWP have gone through a series of line-up changes before finally reaching their current, concrete formidable line-up. They have since made festival appearances at Reading/Leeds and Download festival, supported bands such as The Acacia Strain, Cancer Bats and Terror as well as touring throughout China, South-East Asia and Australia as well as across Europe many times over.
Clocking in at just under 40 minutes, ‘In Dark Places’ is a true representation of a band that has spent 11 years mastering their own brand of bleak, downtempo, sludgy, yet catchy, hardcore. Lyrically the album is based around promoting unorthodox thinking, questioning the foundations of religion and dealing with the burden of unbridled self-doubt and restlessness.
BrutalityWillPrevail continue their dance on the doom/sludge edge of hardcore whilst returning somewhat to their raw original hardcore sound.
Continued below…
Hey guys! Thanks so much for catching up with us. How are you? How’s the tour going?
Hey we just got back from our second time touring South East Asia and it was awesome. Some of the wildest and hottest shows we’ve ever played. Got to have some cool adventures. Hard work but a lot of fun!
Awesome! Considering the spots you have visited this time, as well as the bands you’ve met, what’s been the highlight of this trek?
We played with a really good band from Malaysia called Triangle which you should definitely check out. We had a show cancelled so they took us out 2 hours into the Indonesian jungle where we went body rafting up to a waterfall. We got to visit the islands off of Padang where we got to jump off cliffs into the sea. Kuala Lumpur and Singapore were definitely the wildest shows. We posted a highlight video on youtube you can check out of it!
What’s something you really love about being on the road?
Love experiencing new cultures and places. Getting to jump off shit. Playing in somewhere like cardiff or London and getting the same kind of reaction on the other side of the word. Its humbling going to different countries and have people sing the words back at you.
Energy-wise, how were these shows? How many sets of strings have you broken? ;)
Like i said they were wild. A few I felt like i sweat half my body weight off. Luckily not too many strings were broken. Having a black eye the next day where you have no idea where it came from. But that kind of a regular thing with us. When we played Groezrock i somehow managed to come out of that set covered in my own blood ha
Are there any older tracks in particular that bring back any deep seeded memories?
I enjoy playing all the songs in the set. Cant wait to add some more new songs too
How do you feel the new songs are received in a live setting?
Since the new record came out we’ve been getting as good reaction to the new songs as the older ones, which we weren’t expecting.
Alright, so let’s talk about your new record. Can you please drop a little on the process that led you to recording “In Dark Places”? Mentally, as a band, where were you coming from when approaching writing tasks for the record?
We kinda took an unplanned hiatus and we decided it had to be the best record it could be. We also didnt wanna play any shows until we had new stuff out. We worked really hard and it took us a long time to get it done and I think it shows.
Technically speaking, were there any differences to what you did previously in the tracking process? Production-wise, who did you work with and how did third party particiants influence your sound?
Having Mophead back in the band on drums was big. Nick and Mop are the same combination that wrote Root Of All Evil and Scatter The Ashes. They been writing songs together since they were kids. We also recorded with our friend Tim Vincent at his studio. He really worked us hard to get the best out of us. A lot of stuff was rerecorded until everyone felt it was just right.
Where does the gloomy darkness come from?
We’ve always been into dark imagery and the same with a lot of the bands we love. Feels like it gives the music an atmosphere and a common theme. A lot of the lyrics are about darkness but i don’t see it in a sad way. Life is difficult and there is a lot of darkness out there but that should never stop you from living your life the way you want it. I don’t believe in an afterlife, but i don’t think thats depressing, i think it should free you in a way that when you die you die with no regrets.
Where do you hope your current interests will lead you artistically?
Honestly we don’t know. We’ll always have new interests and they’ll always be reflected in the music. We’re already talking about ideas for the next release so we’ll see where it takes us.
Alright guys, so what are your plans for the rest of the year?
Working on a UK tour right now. Also got a few one off festival shows coming up. We all have commitments outside of the band so we have a limited amount of time in the year we can do stuff.
Finally, as an attendee and a listener, both gig and record wise, is there anything you’ve particularly enjoyed this year?
Not sure when it cam out but love that last CRUEL HAND LP. New TERROR is so good. FIRM STANDING LAW dropped an EP on Carry The Weight records which is so sick! Also CHAMBER are killing it. You should check out RANCOUR from Cardiff. Our friends from AYS dropped a fucking awesome record this year too! That’s all I can think of off the top of my head.
Great! Thanks a lot for the recommendations! Cheers for your time and enjoy the Spring!
Thanks have a good one!
