Brutal Truth ending. Dan Lilker retiring on his 50th birthday

…from being a full time recording and touring musician

by Doug Moore

Dan Lilker with Brutal Truth, 2012 (more by Greg Cristman)

Dan Lilker is far and away one of the most important bassists in metal history; from his early-’80s thrash and grind work in Anthrax, Exit-13 and S.O.D. to his going concerns in Brutal Truth, Nuclear Assault and Venomous Concept, he’s routinely been a step ahead of the rest of the scene. He’s also served as a live utility player for several notable bands, including Autopsy, Dark Angel, Lock Up, and (weirdly) Soulfly.

Sadly, we will be seeing a lot less of both Lilker and Brutal Truth in the coming years. According to a message on Brutal Truth’s Facebook, Lilker is retiring from active touring on October 18th, which is his 50th birthday. Brutal Truth will tour actively until then and then throw in the towel as well. Lilker will be remain active in his Rochester non-touring acts Blurring (which features several members of the underrated deathgrind band Kalibas, including one-time Brutal Truth guitarist Erik Burke on drums) and Nokturnal Hellstorm.

Bittersweet news. While it’s always sad when influential legends like Lilker and Brutal Truth hang up their…um…van-driving gloves, both entities have given plenty to the metal world over their lengthy tours of duty. They deserve their rest.

Read Lilker’s statement in full below…

—

A Message From Dan Lilker

I regret to inform Brutal Truth fans that as of October 18th, 2014, I will be retiring from being a full time recording and touring musician. That date is my 50th birthday, so I chose it symbolically as a significant milestone to make such a weighty decision. As a lot of you know, I’ve been an active member of the metal scene since the early 80s with the thrash metal bands I’ve been in before the formation of Brutal Truth in 1990, and I’m simply just tired of the rigors of touring mostly. Unlike some of my peers from the 80’s who went on to sell millions of records I have always been drawn to extreme underground metal. I don’t care about staying in 5 star hotels and having a big cushy tour bus but I am getting tired of squeezing into a van for 8 hours after all these years on the road. I have always played what I believe in and that is been priority #1, but the time has come to have a little bit more stability in my life.

Brutal Truth will still be active on the touring front until mid-October and will aim to do as much as we can in the next 9 months or so. After that, I will still have creative output with my 2 local bands in Rochester NY, Nokturnal Hellstorm and Blurring and do the occasional project tour, but yes, as of mid-October, Brutal Truth will no longer exist. I do realize that will be an extreme disappointment to all the grind freaks out there that have supported this band so rabidly all these years, and your enthusiasm will always have a special place in my heart, but I’ve made my decision, and I hope everyone can respect that.

Please note that messages sent to the Brutal Truth facebook will not be answered as I do not have my own personal facebook page therefore I do not have access.

Thanks,
Dan Lilker

—