Raketkanon / Brutus live at the Stillery
Camden, London
9th March 2015
It’s very easy to get jaded about music. To not bother with support bands, to not open your ears to new sounds, to sit in the pub with your mates before the main band rather than getting in a bit early to check out something new that you might not have seen or heard before. True lovers and believers in music always dream and thrive off the possibility that the next band you could see might just be the one to change your life, your new favourite band. It doesn’t happen often but when it does, it feels pretty damn good. Tonight it happened with Brutus.
They come from Leuven, the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. They feature Stefanie Mannaerts on drums and vocals, Stijn on guitar and Peter on bass. Stefanie, with her supermodel features, leans back behind the drums and begins to lurch and roll around the kit, peeling off effortless blast beats and breakdowns, carving out technical rhythms, adding both ethereal and harsh vocals to the post-rock guitars swirling from the amps. It’s a massively impressive sound and look and you will be hearing a lot about Brutus over the coming months. “Trouble comes in threes. So does Brutus,” it says on their website. You have been warned.
As soon as Raketkanon hit the stage following a howling call from frontman Pieter-Paul Devos, a rhythmic explosion graces the venue with what seems like a charge from a lightning bolt. Precision beats from Pieter de Wilde keep the thumping bass lines moving only forward as they ascend into their set list. It’s the calling card for what’s to come as this lot are like a spring coil and nobody standing in this room has a clue what’s about to go down. All we do know though from the off is that it’s going to be amazing! It’s one of those nights.
We are only two tracks into the set when drum bastard Pieter de Wilde stands up and launches his high hats into the crowd with force, breaking them instantly, only to find himself back at the kit with just his ride for company. It’s only a few minutes after his ‘breakables’ are replaced and de Wilde is at it again; uncontrollably leaving his kit to reveal superwoman-like, red satin pants. He pulls them down from behind his monk-like cape at speed before he runs through the crowd, his old man swinging in every direction, crashing through bearded onlookers who hit the floor startled!
Some bands can try and have spontaneous moments in their sets and pull it off, where others fail and slow down the set, but this lot ooze class when they are in full swing; not missing a beat, riff, or a tweaked vocal harmony. Singer Pieter-Paul Devos has even invented his own language to accompany Raketkanon’s monstrously heavy musical arsenal, so he’s hardly able to fluff his lines as he screams and writhes on the floor upside down.
Those thinking this is all guitars and stabbing bass riffs though be warned. Jef Verbeeck’s sick guitar noodling on the mellow moments and his ability to make his rig sound like stone death when pushed to 11 is just one side of this band’s crown. Lode Vlaeminck’s bass synth steez is a technical display of keyboard infused butchery. He’s surrounded by pedals and knobs, flashing lights and volume controls, as his fingers tweak and deliver a soundscape of terrifying sounds, some reminiscent of hammer house of horrors. It’s a masterclass of sound production that all seems to mold together to create perfect cacophony with an eeriness that will have your teeth grinding into your gums.
There’s no need to rattle on about what songs they played because discovering a band for the first time live is all about getting to know how it works, especially when there’s intrigue ahead of a band performance like this. A combination of new tracks from their forthcoming album RKTKN#2 were heard, including the much blogged ‘Florent’ alongside ‘Herman’ and ‘Anna’ from their first album, aptly titled RKTKN#1. The set flowed to perfection, people’s jaws were left on the floor and there was no need for an encore.
Devos left the stage with blood streaming down his face – nobody knew he actually had knocked himself out in the chaotic curtain closer! We all left with hearing problems and stoked grins.
Raketkanon are pulverising live – pushing the boundaries of punk rock and metal forwards with a nuclear armed Sherman tank and should be seen at your earliest convenience.
Ph: Brutus in full swing.
