Brutus

Post-punks making the brutal beautiful

Belgium’s Brutus are the product of a broad but heavy back catalogue of influences, combining blustering punk, black metal beats and reverb-clad post-rock tones.

Guitarist Stijn Vanhoegaerden is the elastic centre that binds these dynamic elements. His butterflyin-a-hurricane approach is channeled through a ’74 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe Goldtop, a 50-watt Marshall Plexi reissue and a few slapback and reverb pedals. It’s a simple set-up but one which results in scale and space, as evidenced on their electrifying and appropriately-titled debut Burst.

“I love Johnny Marr’s playing, how much melody he brings to the songs,” says Stijn, prompted on the dichotomy of his influences. “Every Smiths riff sounds like it should be played by five guitar players, then on the other hand I like Joe Strummer – because all you really need is three chords!”