St. John’s black metal band Rot has released their first duo of singles. The two songs, entitled “Rupture” and “Delight” respectively, were released through Michael Barron’s YouTube channel on September 17th, 2023. Rot is a relatively new band that features Kobe Loveless on vocals and guitar, Nathaniel Howell on guitar, Tomas Hiscock on bass, and D-Beat Steve on drums. These two tracks were recorded and mixed by Michael Barron.
You can listen to both “Rupture” and “Delight” through our YouTube embeds below.
Kaspam Cult – For a Kinder World You Close Your Mouth March 5th, 2021 Crossover Thrash / Hardcore Punk Independently Released St. John’s, Newfoundland
For a Kinder World You Close Your Mouth, the debut EP from St. John’s crossover thrash outfit Kaspam Cult, takes its title from the lyrics of the EP’s fourth track, “White T(h)rash”, one of many songs in which the group rants about political and societal issues of the modern day. The EP stands as the group’s first collection of songs, following their earlier single “One Trillion Straws”, and a spastic, punkified cover of The Knack classic “My Sharona”. On this EP the band delves headfirst into territory that sonically draws a lot of influence from the crossover heavy hitters of the 80’s, namely Suicidal Tendencies. But they also have a bit of a unique flair beyond that, approaching their instrumentation and vocal melodies in a way that you might not expect.
On “Break My Little Heart”, the group opens things up with a groovy bass and drum intro before launching into a fairly standard riff that sounds a lot like something the aforementioned Suicidal Tendencies or Excel would write. It’s a simple riff but it’s catchy as fuck, and in my opinion is one of the standout moments on the EP. It’s followed up a chorus that has some very strange vocal melodies buried in the background that, once again, draw a comparison to Mike Muir. The post-chorus delves into some old school hard rock riffage before returning to the intro, again, rinse and repeat. There are also some interesting background chords going on during the crossover riffage that I mentioned earlier which gives that section of the track a very off-putting and bizarre ambiance compared to the rest of the song. Overall I think it’s a strong opener that sets the stage for the branching paths of styles that are to be experienced listening to this release.
“Break My Little Heart” ends with vocalist and guitarist Kyle Crotty-Upshall mock vomiting and screaming in pain before launching into “Teenage Blues”, a punked-up version of a standard bluesy rock song where the lyrics rail against the bullshit that society forces upon teenagers against their will, and the hypocrisy of older adults. I appreciate the fact that this track does delve into the very real phenomenon of adults who criticize teenagers for the same shit that they did when they were kids, such as the angst that is so ubiquitous to that stage of life, as well as the laziness that comes along with being forced to spend hours a day in a garbage education system that does a piss poor job of preparing youngins for the real world. It’s a rather short track, and I can’t say I’m particularly fond of the vocal performance, especially during the chorus, but I appreciate the attitude that’s presented.
Up next we have “White T(h)rash”, another short track, clocking in at just over two minutes. Similarly to “Beak My Little Heart”, this track opens up with a slower intro before speeding up with riffs that sound reminiscent of Kill ‘Em All era Metallica. It’s clear that the band has taken influence not just from the world of 80’s crossover, but the old school thrash metal bands that were active around the same time, who were still in the process of evolving from NWOBHM-style speed metal into the more extreme style that would later become the norm. The guitars in this track have a metal edge, but still manage to sound punk as fuck, merging the two worlds together in true crossover fashion. Lyrically the song seems to tackle the reality of living in an area that is both predominantly white as well as intensely homophobic, a topic which I can heavily relate to being someone who is both queer and grew up in the oppressive environment of small town Newfoundland. The reality of being called a piece of shit and “fucking worthless” by people in these areas, despite being in roughly the same economic class as them, and often dealing with similar struggles, is one that is all too real and hits close to home. But as the song states, “I hate me too, but I’m here to stay.”
Next we come to “Please Wear a Poppy”, an anti-war song that has the strangest and most discordant guitar work on the entire release. Crotty-Upshall and Ian “Bean” Phillips take a borderline ‘progressive’ approach to the guitars on this track, reminding me of something that maybe Frank Zappa would come up with. It’s one of those ‘mind-melting’ riffs that makes you feel as if you’re going insane, which makes sense given how the lyrics tackle the subject of soldiers coming home from war and struggling with PTSD, being fed medication that either doesn’t work or exacerbates their symptoms, sometimes even leading to suicide. Instrumentally I also really like the approach to the drums that percussionist Michael Barron takes here, playing some tricky little hi-hat beats that remind me of some Alice in Chains cuts (think “No Excuses”) before heading into a disco beat mixed with the occasional passage of double bass drumming. It’s a pretty interesting song and definitely stands out on the tracklist for me. I will say, however, that I wish the vocals were mixed higher, since a lot of the time it feels like they’re buried behind the rest of the instrumentation.
Lastly we have “Song for the Everybodies”, a song who’s verses feel more in line with an alt rock or grunge band from the 90’s with its clean guitars. However, there’s an air of self-aware humor present throughout this track, almost as if the group is parodying songs that sound this way, especially with the way the verses end in the band’s screams of phrases like “work a desk job” and “our world is fucked”. It feels very reminiscent of D.R.I. in the way the band talks about serious issues but simultaneously doesn’t take themselves too seriously in spite of that. Lyrically the song tackles conformism, speaking about the average person who doesn’t invest themselves in politics, global issues or the matters of the day, who finds comfort in adherence to brand loyalty and avoiding critical thinking. It’s a fairly scathing critique of the ways in which many people choose to divest themselves from living a more fulfilling life, though I do feel the song fails to acknowledge that for lots of people this isn’t a choice, but rather a path they’ve been forced down due to either capitalist propaganda or the capitalist system itself. I also really like the way that bassist Mark-Antoine Holloway leads the song into its closing minute, which is much more melancholy and emotive than anything else present on the EP.
One thing’s for certain: Kaspam Cult know how to present variety. None of the songs on this EP sound similar, yet they are cohesive in their aesthetic. The EP sounds like all of the songs were written by the same band despite how different they all sound from one another, and if the band continues to engage in this kind of creative approach to songwriting I think they’ll be able to carve themselves a nice little niche in the Newfoundland metal and punk community. For a group that consists mostly of teenagers I think this is a fairly strong debut effort. While there are some issues that prevent me from absolutely loving this release, namely some production pitfalls and occasionally murky lyrics, overall I think it’s still highly enjoyable and a solid first effort from one of the more prolific bands in St. John’s up-and-coming next generation of punk and metal musicians.
Final Verdict: 3/5 Good
Favourite Tracks: “Break My Little Heart” “White T(h)rash” “Please Wear a Poppy”
HeavyNFLD 