Bastard Squad

25 years and counting... Bastard Squad are a Melbourne based hardcore punk band who played their first ever gig at the Duke of Edinburgh Hotel in October 1987. The band was conceived in a driveway at a party during slurred ravings between Matt (ex Death Ray Cafe and Feedus In Space), Tony (ex Rosemary's Baby) and Daryl as the front man. In March 1987 Spike, (ex New Barbarians) joined the band as drummer and Peter (ex Sandpit) joined as rhythm guitarist. By this stage Daryl left the band and Matt took over as singer/guitarist until Jason (ex No Remorse) came onto the scene and became the third and final lead singer. From their first gig in October 1987 until May 1988 Bastard Squad stayed with this five piece line up - touring interstate and performing local gigs on a regular basis. The next change was when they adopted new drummer Andrew as Spike had left due to other commitments and Peter left due to musical differences. The line up on the band's first album Hardcore Revolution was Jason-vox, Matt-guitar, Tony (Pig)- Bass and Andrew- drums. In February 1989 Andrew left the band and Ross (Swamprats, Bodyjar) took over temporarily until a permanent drummer in the form of ex Rod Squad drummer Neil was found in June 1989. At around the same time Tony left and Frazer (ex Dogs of War, The Mess) took up the bass. John (ex Death Sentence, Verbal Revenge and WSCK) replaced Frazer on bass. This line up recorded the second album Shows Over. Scabnutts drummer Alex Odd (later guitar with WSCK, OddBall, Poncho Estrada and No Idea) took over from Neil in 1991. After an extended break the band reformed in 2002 to rejoin the live gig circuit. In 2005 they hit the studio to record Realpolitik. This is arguably the band's most political statement yet with it's angry anti-imperialist stance. The line up for this recording was Jason-vox, John-bass, Alex Odd-guitar and Ben (Phalanx)-drums. Second guitarist Dan (Mullgrinder, Beanflipper, Phalanx) was added to this line up and later replaced by Stu of Loners With Boners and Scratch 'n' Sniff fame. Bass player John also left and was replaced by Duff (Distorted Truth) who has now been replaced by Dean (Long Haul Paul and The Pukes). Phew! The Fight Goes On (2007) is the fourth studio album from the band and has been well received all over the world. The line up on this album was Jason-vox, Alex Odd-guitar, Ben-drums, Duff-bass. A UK tour in 2007 and more interstate touring to support the CD cemented the band's global reputation as a tight and furious machine with a message. With their various line up changes, Bastard Squad have played a stack of shows with a dedicated following in Melbourne, interstate and overseas. This has earned them spots on compilations from all over the world and allowed them to share the stage/tour with many of the bands that inspired them to play in the first place - The Exploited, Anti Nowhere League, UK Subs, The Adicts, Dayglo Abortions, Peter and The Test Tube Babies, Beerzone, Barnyard Masturbator, Billy Liar, Drongoes For Europe etc... Mid 2009 when members of Bastard Squad left due to other commitments, the line-up of Social Suicide (a punk covers band formed just for fun) became the line-up of Bastard Squad - Jason-vox, Jezz-drums, Boobs-guitar & Red-bass. Boobs recently left to pursue other interests and Simon (of 'Scurvy') is currently filling the guitar spot. In August 2010, Bastard Squad returned to the UK to play several gigs including Rebellion in Blackpool. After coming back home to Melbourne the band decided to concentrate on recording a fifth studio album and spent most of 2011 on this project. This project ended up being postponed and was picked up again in early 2013. In January 2012, Jamie from UK's Poundaflesh joined Bastard Squad and played guitar as a full time member until late 2013. The full line-up being - Jason-vox, Jezz-drums, Red-bass, Jamie-guitar. With this line-up Bastard Squad played numerous gigs in both Melbourne and interstate and recorded 5 tracks for a split CD with The English Dogs. In April 2014 Bastard Squad released their 5th studio album 'Wars of Recognition'. The line-up on this recording being Jason-vox,, Red-bass, Jamie-guitar and Daniel (Bulletproof, Tas) filling in on drums. With their 3rd overseas tour approaching in June/July 2014 (this time including gigs in Belgium and Germany as well as the UK) Bastard Squad became a 5 piece line-up with some old members back on board. The current line-up being: Jason-vox, Ben-drums, Red-bass, Alex-guitar, Stu-guitar. 2014 BASTARD SQUAD TOUR!!!! 6 GIGS IN UK & 3 GIGS IN EUROPE (1 IN BELGIUM & 2 IN GERMANY).

Pig

(Raymond Watts) inhabits a genre of one. How to begin to describe it? We can start with KMFDM, since the unforgettable Englishman behind it – Raymond Watts – was a founder member. Once you have a certain combination of hard rock, soulful electro-pop and funk in your head, you can introduce Foetus: big band, blues and classical samples pounded into place by some behemoth of machinery – but zigs where Foetus zags. JG Thirlwell was a frequent collaborator and shaper of the early sound; he appears on ‘Peoria‘ and ‘Sick City‘ and produced the first couple of albums. Accordingly, Watts took a brief turn in the Foetus live band, and contributed to the first two Steroid Maximus albums.

So, we’re up to hard rock, electro-pop, funk, big band, blues, clanging metallic percussion, samples of classical, world music, soundtracks … and we can throw in the auras of his erstwhile collaborators, too: the swaggering, strutting sexuality of 90s Foetus topped with the effortless glamour of KMFDM. Then take his time in Japan, where he’s played with Schaft and Schwein – sounding roughly like all of the above but with Buck-Tick’s punky Visual Kei sensibility added to the mix.

Ignoring the occasional curveball (such as the latin influence on ‘Salambo’), we could almost by this point imagine the sound, were it not for the one thing that makes truly unique. makes rock like nobody else. Take the chunky, maddeningly memorable riffs from Metallica’s ‘Black Album‘ and double them. Punishing and pleasing in equal measure, it’s a perfect storm of pop hooks and grinding guitars. Take any track from ‘Sinsation‘ or ‘Wrecked‘ – ‘Everything‘, ‘Serial Killer Thriller‘, the popular single ‘Painiac‘ … there you have it in distilled and devastating form. is obliteration and alliteration.

is a soufflé of scorching, searing squeals, pummeling percussion and eccentric electronics. Raymond’s voice ricochets between delicious soulful croon and aggressive, snarling growl. Take a track like ‘Scumsberg‘ that blends Gregorian chant samples, dissonant bells, playful brass, dramatic orchestral stabs and the most absurdly funky bassline you’ll never forget. Take the uptempo ‘Contempt‘ – surely the most dance floor-friendly disco-metal stomper since Raymond’s own ‘Juke Joint Jezebel‘. Take the ferocious, frenzied ‘Hamstrung on the Highway‘, or the candy-sweet ‘Angel‘ or the joyfully colossal ‘Death Rattle and Roll‘.

A collection of beautifully-written, catchy rock songs with quirky arrangements is a starting point, but doesn’t get close to what makes unique. Ultimately, just has to be heard.

-Joanna Weber

Cyanotic

Bastard Squad

Performers