Label - Blighttown Records
Release Date- 3 June 2022
Words - Joey Lowe
From Yanomamo and Oar to Hadal Maw, Mountain Wizard Death Cult and Burial Pit, there is no shortage of heavy music coming out of Australia. If you follow the podcast you will have seen a lot of interviews with some of these incredibly talented bands. Burial Pit released their latest - and brilliant - album Subhuman Scum in 2021 during the height of the pandemic, and are currently touring their arses off supporting it. So, when Jack (guitarist in Burial Pit) got in contact asking if we would like to check out his latest project Who Bastard, a self-styled 'blackened surf punk’ band, it was a no brainer. The three piece, hailing from Melbourne, will release ‘Gangrel’, their debut EP on 3rd June 2022 via Blighttown Records.
There will understandably be some question marks over what to expect from a black metal/surf punk record, and it's not hard to wonder if these musicians were out in the sun too long and got heat stroke when putting this idea together. Black metal elitists may instantly turn their nose up at the idea of surf punk being associated with the genre but would be willfully overlooking the fact that some of black metal's most revered acts openly admit that punk played a big part in their development. Look no further than the godfathers of the Norwegian second wave, Mayhem. The elite-minded can breathe a sigh of relief anyway, as this EP comes across as a black metal band with a smidge of surf punk influences, rather than the other way around.
From the opening track ‘Crook’, the elements of black metal are instantly recognisable, from the vocals to the buzz-saw bass tone. You can hear those ‘surf punk’ elements very early on in the track, the drums drive with pace and quick fill patterns, coupled with some Anti-Flag style riffs.
The second track ‘Scales’ has a wonderfully hooky bass line that really gets the shoulders moving, while at the same time the dissonant guitar lead and haunting vocals keep you deeply engrossed in the frosty foundations.
‘Howler’, follows, and being the longest track coming in at five minutes, is the real stand out on this four track EP. The blood-curdling vocals are top-notch, maintaining that harsh style yet staying audible enough to catch the lyrics. Shout out to Luke Walton who recorded, mixed and mastered the EP. The bass is so wonderfully layered in the mix that, unlike so many albums of late, they are never lost amongst a wall of guitars and drums even for a second. It’s great to hear every instrument so audible throughout, including the vocals.
The closing track is where you can really hear those punk elements shining through. The black components ever present, the band let loose, and it’s so much fun and almost impossible to not get a warm fuzzy feeling from the lead riff.
Do not let the description of the style of music Who Bastard play put you off this release. With the way the world is at the moment, we could all certainly do with donning a Hawaiian shirt and corpse paint and enjoying ourselves. It's what the boys would want.
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