Ruts DC have been extraordinarily prolific since the release of their last studio album ‘Counterculture?’ back in 2022. With their creative juices flowing freely, they cut two further volumes of their acclaimed ‘ElectrAcoustiC’ series, with volume two arriving in 2023 and volume three in 2024. Now the band are set to return again with a brand new four-song EP titled ‘Bound In Blood’, set for release September 11th via Sosumi Recordings. Due for release on CD and green and black smoke 10” vinyl, the EP leads with the song ‘Bound In Blood’, that first appeared in acoustic form on the aforementioned ‘ElectrAcoustiC’ Volume 3, followed by another brand new song titled ‘Wear The Crown’, although there are no A and B side preferences, leaving the listener or DJ to decide according to their mood and/or choice.
A message from Segs …
“Greetings all. We decided to make our first ever 10-inch EP! 4 tracks,3 songs 2 dubs.”
And here’s what’s on it:
BOUND IN BLOOD – “Some of you will know the song from ElectrAcoustiC vol.3 but here it is re-recorded in its full electric glory.”
BORN INNOCENT – Mitt’s Immortal Mix “A new mix featuring and dedicated to Mitt Gamon: This is one of the final records that Mitt played on before moving on to other realms. Glad to say that he actually heard and approved it before leaving us.”
WEAR THE CROWN – “The music had been circulating for some time, but lyrics finished following our Kings coronation “I pledge allegiance to autonomy”
DUB THE CROWN – “Time to think for yourself.”
“We hope you love it…”
Lovingly crafted for their own Sosumi Recordings label: the EP is packaged in stunning artwork based on an original painting by Oliver Howard thereby continuing the RuTs legacy of “Howard Artwork” (Rupert Howard who created the artwork for The Crack, Grin and Bear It, Rhythm Collision etc that was initiated on RuTs debut LP “The Crack” in 1979. (original painting now owned and cherished by Henry Rollins).
As they move towards the RUTS 50th anniversary tour in 2027, the solid trio of Segs, Ruffy and Heggarty are joined on this release by Rhythm Collision collaborator Mitt Gamon on harmonica and Boz Boorer on extra guitars to make this a very special one-off release.
Segs – “Keeping it real with an EP that is close to our hearts. One song about forgiveness, one about equality and one about Autonomy – it’s a must have.”
Bound In Blood EP track-listing:
Bound In Blood
Born Innocent (Mitt’s Immortal Mix)
Wear The Crown
Dub The Crown
Live Shows in 2026
Sept 22 Göteborg Sweden, Sept 24 Upsala Sweden, Sept 25 Stockholm Sweden, Sept 26 Nörrkoping Sweden
Nov 14 Morcombe Festival, Nov 20 Southampton 1865, Nov 21 Brighton Chalk,
A decade on from the release of their self-financed ‘Blatant Propaganda’ debut Brighton ska punks The Bar Stool Preachers return with their fourth record ‘Party Eternal’, and this time around they add producer Cameron Webb (Motörhead, Sum 41, Kelly Clarkson, Megadeth, Limp Bizkit & Jack Johnson to name but a few) to the musical equation to well and truly get the par-tay started.
Obviously with someone of Webb’s stature behind the desk ‘Party Eternal’ sounds exactly like you might expect for a major label record, however it’s not, not this time around, it’s self-released, and with Pure Noise Records now very much in the rear-view mirror singer T.J. McFaull along with his Preachers are returning to their DIY roots for this all new 14 track album pursuing a (long since smashed) £15,000 crowdfunder target by which to get their music recorded, pressed and released.
On first hearing ‘Party Eternal’ though, I honestly had to check it wasn’t coming out on Hellcat Records, because opener ‘Sick World’ sounds like the guys had Tim Armstrong working with them, not Cameron Webb, and that’s also before realising that T.J. is also trading vocals with none other than Angelo Moore from the mighty Fishbone. What an introduction!!!
It’s when ‘Plastic Romantic’ chimes in next, though, that I really get a sense of how high the songwriting bar is being set for this record. It’s a song with a very serious social message yet is also enormously catchy stuff and along with a few others like ‘Want To Know’, ‘Singing Along’ and ‘You’re Killing Me Eve’ the band take the more contemporary sounds of their genre-busting ‘Above the Static’ opus and once again deliver the goods with the fearlessness that we’ve all come to expect from a band now four records and countless worldwide gigs into their career.
Having also released a couple of videos in the drive to promote the record and in turn help them hit their crowdfunder target it was ‘Pick A Side’ that first got things up and running for many of us back in early 2026 and this track not only comes complete with a HUGE singalong chorus but also a message that maybe not all your musical heroes might be all they are cracked up to be.
Speaking of which, it’s obvious that T.J. still holds Mike Skinner in very high regard, as ‘Hand Grenade Heart’ and ‘The Closed Door’ both feature the BSP frontman in a more reflective, half-spoken vocal mode which not only helps break up the pace of the record but also adds another shade of colouring to the band’s extensive songwriting palette. Plus, for those of us still craving the ska punk band that gave us ‘Blatant Propaganda’, we have ‘Time Of Our Lives’, ‘Heartbeat Baby’, the riotous ‘SOS’, and the almost Marilyn Manson-esque stomp of ‘Party Eternal’ for us all to have a right proper knees up to.
In an age when audience strive to hear “the hits” by any band, it’s testament to the Bar Stool Preachers songwriting that any of the fourteen songs on ‘Party Eternal’ could be just that, a hit, in fact two of the strongest contenders are left right till the end, with the infectious “dah, na, na, na, nana, na na, nah” hook of ‘One For The Weekend’ and then ‘This Is Goodbye’ complete with “Oi! Oi! Oi!” help from The Rumjacks helps round things off in the finest of piratey fashions.
‘Party Eternal’ is an album that exudes a cocky confidence and bowls its way out of the speakers like it’s very much on a mission, that mission I guess being to get us all singing, dancing and, yes indeed, thinking.
So, when the Preachers return to stages around the UK this October to help promote this record, you best get your best your dancing shoes on and loosen up those singing voices, ready to ‘Party Eternal’.
You can pre-order your copy plus buy a load of other things by visiting the band HERE
Ricky Warwick has been a constant in my life since the late ‘80s. Like every other metalhead, I loved The Almighty. I saw them live many times and loved their music. There was something about the sneer and swagger that drew me in. Ricky was, of course, the biggest part of that whole greasy attitude and hard-living lifestyle that appealed to young rockers like me. Their outstanding performance at 1992’s Monsters of Rock festival has stayed with me ever since.
Since then, Ricky’s career has taken many turns – solo artist, frontman of the reformed Thin Lizzy and their subsequent incarnation, Black Star Riders, Ricky has kept himself busy and relevant. The Almighty’s recent reformation has proved very successful, and they have been hitting some big stages.
Ricky’s latest solo effort, ‘Fire and Vengeance’ is his ninth solo record. We get some great guest appearances from Def Leppard’s Phil Collen, Blackberry Smoke frontman Charlie Starr, ex-Dio and Whitesnake guitarist Doug Aldrich and Darren Holden of the High Kings.
The album is a mixture of high-octane rockers, bluesy ballads, and some Irish-tinged tunes that no doubt hark back to Ricky’s adolescent days growing up in Northern Ireland. Lyrically, Ricky likes to tell a story, and he has things of relevance to say. As Ricky himself says: “My favourite artists are the ones who have something to say. I enjoy a party rock n roll song as much as the next person, but the artists I continually return to are those who reach out to something I believe in and can connect with. That’s what I’m striving to do with my music.”
The ten songs that make up Fire and Vengeance have an energy that’s infectious. The opening title track has that undeniable Thin Lizzy vibe. Lyrically, it highlights the hardships that so many people are going through in this fucked up world at the moment. A catchy, sing-along chorus pulls you in after just one listen.
Hellbent & Heaven Sent has an almost Clash-like quality. Punky and in your face, the track is elevated by a shredding solo from Doug Aldrich. Seek Zen and Destroy, featuring Phil Collen, has a cool, funky vibe. When the King Falls shows Warwick’s diversity, a haunting ballad that the Stones would be proud of. You Just Lie uses guitars and synths to fantastic effect. The Angel’s Share is classic Warwick, he really knows how to paint a picture with words.
Last Chance to Dance shows Ricky channelling the late, great Phil Lynott, like only he has the right to do. After all, he filled his shoes with the reformed version of Thin Lizzy. Ricky is quoted as saying, “I always say that I never learned so much from a dead man.” Sweet County Down is a love letter to his homeland, as Ricky explains: “My family is from here, and we go way back. I viewed the song as my nod to that. And yeah, I borrowed the line “Sweet home County Down” from Sweet Home Alabama.”
Overall, Fire and Vengeance is a fine, solid addition to Warwick’s solo material. A thoroughly enjoyable listen. The production from Keith Nelson is bright and potent, the songs are memorable, and Warwick’s performance and sentiments are real. Great stuff. Go and get it!
Another Day Another John Reis album. This guy has hit a purple patch and is churning out records like they’re going out of fashion, but he always has his finger on the pulse. Be it Plosives, solo, Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu or Rocket From The Crypt, the guy knows how to write pretty damn awesome records.
This is his fifth solo album – featuring members of Hot Snakes, Delta 72, Drive Like Jehu, Jejune, Pinback, PLOSIVS and more (If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it). Navajo White is a colour. It’s the colour of off-white interior house paint. Throughout his teens into adulthood, John Reis was as a house painter by trade. So it makes sense to call the album after a shade of colour. Stick to what you know and Reis obviously knows paint and rock n roll.
This is the fifth Swami John Reis album and features Jason Kourkounis (Hot Snakes, Delta 72, Night Marchers) on drums as well as contributions from Rick Froberg (Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu, Obits) on guitar, Gar Wood (Hot Snakes, Tanner, Night Marchers) on bass, Joe Guevara (Jejune, Swami and the Bed Of Nails) on piano and keyboards and Rob Crow (Pinback, PLOSIVS) and Jacob Turnbloom (Mrs. Magician) on backing vocals. So it is his comfortable crew who don the rock n roll overalls and start spraying the familiar tones around the studio.
‘Its Not Fair’ kicks off proceedings with a sprightly tempo washing over the canvas with a melodic pop tune and melody building to a chorus via some smart backbeat and chiming guitars. It’s like a ray of sunshine in a dark world. Let it wash over you and turn it up you’ll be singing along in no time at all.
It’s eight songs in under half an hour, with the MO of writing awesome melodies and wrapping them in layers of alternative punk rock n pop. Hey presto, it’s not rocket science Reis has been doing this shit for his whole musical career to varying degrees, but his solo records are so strong. ‘Future Moods’ is more of the same with a dark edge like a Twin Peaks outro tune. Threatening to break out big time but always showing restraint, it’s a thin line to tread, but Reis knows this line like the back of his hand. Whereas the new Afghan Whigs are one morose tempo and don’t break out of the shackles Dulli puts on the band, Reis isn’t bothered by such likes he does wherever the melody takes him. He does the last knockings of summer late-night tunes like ‘From Here On Out’ superbly, and boy, he carries the melody as well and he does the older, more mature punk rocker tunes as well, as he easily goes through the gears.
‘Lies Don’t Lie’ sounds like something the Saints would have penned and shows how good a songwriter he is, Hell, The album closes with a song that reminds me of mid period Bailey Saints and all power to Reis for it, and it’s fair to say we’re lucky to have him as something of a constant making and releasing such great records with the minimum of fanfare and commercial pats on the back, which is where we come in. Buy this record it will brighten your days and make you fall in love with guitar alternative rock n roll again if you ever walked away from the fight, and if you’re still in the fight, then you know what to do. Buy or steal this record its a banger, or as the kids would say – pure fire.
Legendary German thrashmeisters Exhumer have returned with a brand-spanking-new slab of metallic deliciousness: Death Mask Messiah. Their first album since 2019, it showcases eleven relentless tracks of thrash metal at its finest.
After Exhumer reformed back in 2008, they have made it their mission to continue as a relevant force to be reckoned with. No nostalgia trips here, just top-quality riff-rama that’s as good (if not better) than anything they released back in the ‘80s.
The album opens with the title track, and we are off at full pelt. Superb musicianship, quality songwriting, and perfect production make DMM a very enjoyable listen. American politics and the demise of human existence are just some of the lyrical content on display here, as vocalist M. V. Stein explains: “The misinformation that the federal government used in the ’90s is the same playbook that is being used today and is the common denominator between leadership in the past and present.”
Songs like Sin Bleeder, Eradication and Ravishing Waste have more hooks than your local fishing supplier. Just because Exhumer plays full-on thrash, they still know how to pull you in. Some real earworms on display here, with some Exodus-style gang vocals. DMM really is excellent.
DMM is a wonderful collection of metal mayhem. The entire band are on fire here, but a special shoutout goes to the new rhythm section of bassist and drummer Alex Voss and Jerome Reil, who play their arses off. Supreme!
Brutal, catchy, heavy as fuck. That’s 2026 Exhumer in a nutshell. Go and buy it!!
(noun) the absence of a clear-cut boundary between one category and another
The name of the band encapsulates everything you need to know about Gradience. There’s so much going on here. The band is full on death metal one minute, hip hop the next. The obvious comparisons to Sleep Token are apparent here too.
Do I like Gradience? I wasn’t sure after my first listen. I felt that the constant jumping between genres was jarring. After revisiting Anomaly, I realised that Gradience are some kind of bastardised geniuses. You have to admire the seamless mixing of musical styles. In all of the madness though, there are well written songs with hooks that pull you in.
Opening track – Vermin is a perfect mix up of death metal, pop, and Linkin Park style rap interludes. It really is an assault on the senses. If you can get through Vermin, you’re set for the rest of the album. Blame Me is a heady mix of guitars, Prodigy style electronic stabs and a perfect blend of grunt vocals and pop sensibility.
Agony is my favourite track on the album. I can imagine a field full of festival goers losing their minds and jumping in unison to the tribal rhythms. The massive production from Chris Kreutzfeldt elevates the album’s intensity.
Anomaly is a short, sharp blast to the senses that delivers on every front. The band consists of guitarist Jakob Harris and vocalist Gavin Mistry. Drummer Frederik Kjelstrup Hansen and bass player Patrick Peterson complete the line up.
The duo met at a Copenhagen show for local deathcore heroes Cabal. They quickly found common ground and built a strong working relationship. Jakob and Gavin explain how Gradience was born:
“We found out we had many of the same musical influences in metal, even though neither of us had ever played in a metal band,” says Jakob. “We later found out we both were at a crossroads with the bands/projects we had going on, and we both felt an urge to create something new together.” As Gavin remembers, this inciting revelation took place on the most important day of his life, one way and another: “I invited Jakob to my wedding, where we talked over the idea of joining forces in a semi-drunken haze. I was searching for something where I could blend my honed skills in rap and rock, the right way.”
Gradience has come up with something that’s very rare these days – an album that’s completely original. If you’re looking for your new favorite band, you may have just found them.
Having been down something of a Seattle themed rabbit hole in my listening pleasures this past few weeks, when RPM head honcho Double Dee asked me if I fancied reviewing German Grunge trio Daily Thompson’s soon to be released seventh studio album ‘Glue’ I was like “pass me a Lucozade” (think about it), and I was off, albeit without the accompanying Iron Maiden soundtrack (got it now?).
Formed all the way back in 2012, whilst singer and guitarist Danny Zaremba, bassist Mercedes Lalakakis-Bee and drummer Thorsten ‘Babblz’ Stratmann can’t take any credit for ridding the music world of the 90s pop metal movement, the genre of music from which they draw their influences from most certainly can, hooking up once again with producer Tony Reed (he also worked on the band’s previous album ‘Chuparosa’) at APL Recording Studios in Port Orchard/Washington to get that full US West Coast feedback driven garage punk sound.
Kicking off with perhaps my favourite song of the album, ‘Heart of Bones’ is the type of track of you’d hear/see everywhere on early nineties music channels. A breezy, lilting Lemonheads-esque refrain that would be a surefire chart hit if those places still existed.
Talking of which, the band’s first video and single from ‘Glue’ is ‘BTK’ which also sees Mercedes Lalakakis-Bee take over the microphone for the first time, and also has more than a hint of US college radio about it, but this time more in Breeders/Pixies territory.
Likewise ‘Work Out’ and ‘Fake A Smile’ with Danny back on vocals both doff their trucker caps to Black Francis and Co, whilst of the album’s remaining four tracks these range from the Nirvana fuzz pop of ‘Here I Stand’ and ‘Lovebugs’ to the more straight up hard rock of ‘SIAM’ (which also boasts a close vocal harmony akin to Alice In Chains) by way of the epic (Pearl) jam that is, the just shy of 8 minutes, ‘Chains’.
Released on August 21st on Noisolution Records whilst ‘Glue’ is (most probably) never about to sell in the same amounts that the likes of ‘Nevermind’, ‘Ten’ or ‘Melon Collie’ ever did, it’s most certainly worth checking out even if just to give yourselves a break from the bland-ola “classic rock” the mainstream music media is constantly pushing these days.
With the band also gracing our shores for a series of six UK dates to promote the album in October starting in Bridgwater on the 12th, it’s time to hit the links below to find out more.
As far as debut gigs go, it always helps to have some music out there in the ether and maybe make it a hometown show with another band on the up this time in the shape of Bambees from Merthyr. With a near capacity turnout, it’s Friday night in the canteena from Star Wars, where cans of Red Stripe or Stella are the cocktails of choice. With the band not hitting the stage until 10PM, it was a wise move to get everyone loosened up for the pop show.
It was a joy to see Darren and Ginge on stage again after a lengthy hiatus. As the band took to the stage and struck up their intro as the ringmaster marched on to signal that it was time for the audience to join in with the backing vocals of ‘I Want Something I Don’t Care About’, and we were up and running. The band sounded tight, and the songs sounded upbeat and full of energy. Sitting somewhere between early Manics, 60 ft Dolls married with a healthy dose of Sorry & The Sinatras punk n Roll for good measure and top melodies turned up a notch or two and pretty much everything sitting on the shelves of Ginge’s record collection (apart from his copy of Jimmy Nails ‘Crocodile Shoes’) it was hook after hook, swapping songs about darkness and self loathing for songs of love and nice things, funnily enough a track entitled ‘L-U-V’ was an excellent tune and a real highlight alongside ‘I Was A Teenage Arsonist’ something Ginge openely admitted was a true story, these alongside the already released pair of songs these were right in the pocket of catchy, sleazy rock n roll that’s been missing from the scene and some real immediate earworms. Going home singing the woah ohs! can drive you nuts but what a way to go. The audience was loving it, and the joy was infectious, but having the band sound in such a great place was a bonus I’m glad I was part of. Bring on the EP and the next show Lithium Kicks have arrived boys n girls substance and alcohol free and all the better for it, straight edge punk n roll its the bloody future I’m telling you.
Being their debut show I’m sure they’ll find places to tighten up and sharpen, but from a punter’s point of view they were right on the money, and it was infectious with people singing along with unfamiliar choruses like they were well worn songs they’ve been listening to for years, which is always the sign of a top tune wrapping itself around you and making everything alright.
Being the beginning of the journey the set was short and oh so sweet with the music being the real highlight on display sure it was great to see Ginge back on stage making music but it has to be quality and to be fair with the new material he’s knocked it out of the park thus far and the other new songs that were played there’s no sign of it stopping quite yet this train is bound for glory baby and I’m sitting in first class. Hop on board as they stop in a town near you, because this should gather pace, and it’s always cool to say you were there at the beginning. Bring on the Lithium Kicks, we all need some rock n roll highs.
Lovely to see a local venue packed to the gills on a school night in anticipation of three very fine bands all flying the flag for independent music. First up, Positive Reaction were a no-show, the reason unknown. So it is the trimmed-down but always ferocious and captivating Bad Sam. Now down to a two piece of Guitar and voice and a laptop, meaning there are only two people to disagree with, rather than a band of 4 with all that equipment.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that Bad Sam have lost any of their edge or ferocity because that simply wouldn’t be true. With a brand new album to peddle, this was ‘Trauma’ time for Beddis as he climbed down off the stage and right into the thick of the packed audience. ‘Popcorn and Blood’ set the tone for the brief set. Rich was in charge of the laptop (prob for the best) and his guitar up on the rather high Bunkhouse stage whilst Dean prowled the audience barking out the lyrics. Of all the new songs, ‘Tupperware Death Party’ brought all those in attendance of a certain age to a nostalgic tear or two, but the noticeable thing was the fact that there were only two of them they lost none of the punch or power the music needs to tear Swansea a new one.
Alas their time is too short so there isn’t any reworking of a ‘Snake With Tits’, ‘Mr Trump’ perhaps a ‘Dicks With Dogs’ or ‘I Love The Port’ but that’s ok like I said this was Trauma time and hearing new Bad Sam music is always a pleasure and hopefully with the reception they got this won’t be the last time they head down west maybe for a headline set where they can work in some of the old magic with this new found direction. Awesome stuff.
Next up was local(ish) lads Only Fools And Corpses that are part Newport part Swansea lads with their Helmet meets NomeansNo meets a brick to the temple punk /alt-hardcore noise they peddle, and to be fair, they do it oh so well. This isn’t my first encounter with these gentlemen because we met at a chaotic performance in the tight surroundings of Afan Ales many moons ago but this was a much nicer experience with a decent and very loud PA and packed house the two guitarists traded vocals as they thumped their way through their set sadly for the last time as they’ve decided that tonight was the night to call it a day for Only Fools And Corpses but Cameron did announce that he’d been writing new material so hopefully it wont be long before they are back all be it under a new name and different guise again something different to Bad Sam but equally excellent which only meant it was time for the headliners to make their Swansea debut. Considering they’ve been at this since 1980 and played every village and venue under the sun around this spinning rock its quite remarkable that this was their first visit to this fair city, something that wasn’t lost on Dick.
Now, considering this was a midweek show, it was great to see the place packed to the rafters, and for such an occasion, it was great to see the reliably good Subhumans deliver a set of top-notch anarcho punk. Anyone who’s seen the band perform will know that anything less that 100% isn’t an option and if you were to see them play more than once in a run of shows you wont get the same set twice however you will obviously get ‘Micky Mouse IS Dead’, ‘Rats’ and ‘No’ but its always great to hear newer songs like ‘99%’ it wouldn’t’ seem right if you didn’t have a mixed set because Dick Lucas was born to do this and gives nothing short every performance as he flits across the stage not pausing or stopping for breath for a second of the hour plus they are on stage. The band sounds tight as and looks like they’re enjoying the rapturous applause they’re getting from the very appreciative venue.
Twenty-plus songs in an hour from gentlemen of a certain age giving it large, showing people a fraction of their age how it’s done with passion and purpose. That, my friends, was a wonderful evening in the company of three exceptional bands absolutely smashing it. Less than £15 a ticket, all for charity, I believe, which is unbelievable value for money in these tough times. Please, whoever books shows in this city, let’s have all three back sometime in the not-too-distant future and seeing an audience that was a very healthy mix of teenagers to us older me, it was heart-warming to see and be part of. Uppa Punx!
“No kings, No masters / Kick against fascist bastards”
“We write a song, a year later it’s more relevant than the day we wrote it. That keeps happening, and to be honest, it fills me with dismay.”
Backstage at the Camden Underworld, minutes before his band Dead Pioneers take the stage and devastate a capacity crowd with all the pain, power and primal energy of a classic punk-rock show, Gregg Deal exhales slowly. He’s been warming to his theme for almost an hour now, in much the same way an acetylene torch warms to the metal it must burn through. That theme is America, and there are few voices in punk-rock so uniquely qualified to speak on the country’s moral, social and political degradation, especially in the era of the orange despot.
Being Native American, however, Deal knows the systems he fights against, the history of injustice he chronicles, stretch back further than the Trump era, back past Nixon and segregation and the KKK and all those other white stains on the canvas of American history, to the very ‘birth’ of a nation that existed and was populated for millennia before Columbus ‘discovered’ it. It’s been the very text of all the work he did before Dead Pioneers began to form in 2020, motivating the activism he’s undertaken and the art he’s created, tackling the centuries-old culture wars against Indigenous people.
Deal was born in Tennessee, where his father grew up, but landed in Utah when he was two years old and grew up there; he says that “‘pioneer heritage’ is a big thing in Utah, meaning our band name is very pointedly irreverent”. He later relocated to Washington, DC and studied art, going on to work as a graphic designer. Throughout those years, he began another, parallel career as a visual and conceptual artist, creating powerful, political works like The Last Indian On Earth, a performance piece confronting the racism behind how white US society perceives Indigenous people; Redskin, an installation tackling the Washington NFL team’s racist name; and Supreme Law Of The Land – which Deal performed at the Denver Art Museum in 2016, shortly after moving to Colorado – exploring how Trump’s enabling of the Keystone oil pipeline in North Dakota, in the face of protest by Indigenous campaigners, contradicted treaties signed centuries earlier. “The line of work and its social awareness goes from racism, stereotypes and cultural appropriation, all in a socially aware lens, to the more specific politics of Native people as a whole and the way it’s engaged both socially but also through power structures managing these things, like the federal government,” Deal explains.
Dead Pioneers is rooted in a 2020 piece called The Punk Pan-Indian Romantic Comedy, a deeply personal work that dealt with Deal’s upbringing. Following an embryonic performance of the piece, Deal secured a grant to expand it to include music created especially for the work. “The idea was to mix spoken word with punk music,” explains Deal, who hooked up with drummer Shane Zweygardt and guitarist Joshua Rivera during lockdown and began kicking the concept around. “Josh is Mexican-American,” says Deal. “He is also inherently Indigenous, under a different set of circumstances within colonialism. But I consider him to be my Indigenous brother. We spend a lot of time trying to figure out how all of this fits together.”
But what became Dead Pioneers didn’t truly take shape until Deal connected with bassist Lee Tesche, who you may know from righteous Atlantan post-punks Algiers. Unlikely as it sounds, a wide-ranging conversation between Tesche and Deal about music (with Tesche clueing Deal into the righteous noise of future Dead Pioneers collaborators Sleaford Mods) evolved into a creative connection that’s now three albums deep; the arrival of guitarist Abe Brennan made the quintet quorate.
A miraculous, natural chemistry made this supposed one-off project an actual band almost as soon as they cut what became their 2023 eponymous debut album (“We approached it like I approach my visual art: execute quickly, first thought is best thought,” Deal says), but they didn’t necessarily take it seriously until, unexpectedly, the outside world did. “I was like, we’ve made this record – what should I do with it? Put it online?” Deal remembers. The response was vigorously positive, and soon came demands to commit this noise to vinyl. A first thousand-copy pressing sold out in minutes. “So then we pressed another thousand,” he adds, still marveling at it all. “And then they were gone, too.”
“Coming from bands that typically don’t make money,” grins Tesche, “I was like, ‘Gregg – what have you started??’”
What followed was “a series of strange accidents” that led to the group signing to Hassle, befriending Jello Biafra and touring with kindred spirits like Pennywise, Propaghandi, even Pearl Jam. “Punk-rock had made everything seem so accessible when I was a kid,” says Deal. “Like, simply having the balls to get up on stage and stage dive and then be carried off by people that become your best friends once they get your feet back on the ground.” Now, punk-rock was reaching out its hands to Dead Pioneers and pulling them onto larger and larger stages. The group returned that favour by simply getting better and better: their second album, 2025’s PO$T AMERICAN, was sharper, angrier, funnier than the debut, a riot riveted with punch-a-Nazi thrills.
And now, Wagon Burner, their fearsome third album. Described by Deal as “more collaborative”, it’s a heavier, harder but also more accessible set, vicious hooks scattered among the punk-rock melee and guest appearances by kindred spirits Cheap Perfume (on the righteous ‘Nazi Teeth’), The Interrupters (on the shout-a-long anthem ‘Never Alone’) and, bringing it back to the group’s beginnings, Sleaford Mods (on the searing slow-burn of ‘The Worst Among Us’). The world might be darkening by the day, but Dead Pioneers are rising to that miserable occasion, casting their empowering light into the gloom.
“The record was influenced by watching the political climate become more and more exacerbated, and feeling the responsibility that comes along with that,” says Deal. But of course, he’s under no illusion that the horrorshow of America in 2026 is anything new. “Reagan set the stage; Trump is the star of the show, the encore,” Deal says. “He’s a really terrible person. But the stage was set for him.”
What’s happening now, then, is a culmination of centuries of the same bullshit. “As a Native person, the past and the present and the future all exist in the same space,” Deal says. “My kids can probably school just about anyone on all the historical narratives, because we understand, as Indigenous people, that education and knowledge are tools of survival. Every Native person understands you might actually save your skin if you express and articulate something that helps people understand enough to shut their mouths. 40% of Americans believe that Native people no longer exist, that we’re completely extinct. We’re fighting to make sure that people know we are not foreigners in our own homelands, that we are here despite what history has told you. We speak our language, and white people need to hear it, because then you’re hearing the power of our words on our homelands, where our people have existed for thousands and thousands of years. It’s a responsibility that I understand.”
Their battle is our battle, on a landscape where, as Deal bellows on ‘Circle Jerk The Wagons’, “bootlicking cucks for billionaire bastards” and “fascist fucks abound”. On our side, we have Dead Pioneers, as fearsome, whip-smart and beautiful a noise as punk-rock ever mustered. The fascists and the Nazis and the white supremacists don’t stand a chance.
Recent Comments