Glasgow Metal Act Gout Return

Featuring members of Glasgow bands Lucia & The Best Boys and The Ninth Wave, “doom-inducing” metal project Gout is being described as “loud, angry, nihilistic” and with new EP Actual Bastard due out on 17th April it’s fair to say you’ll have a good idea of what to expect.

However, since we live in a world of constant contradictions, ahead of the EP comes a new single bearing the title ‘I Am A Beacon Of Health And Wellbeing’.

Across the EP as a whole, lyrically, vocalist Ally Scott reflects on some of the most uncomfortable aspects of self, evoking visceral imagery of hopelessness and dread, at times with cutting humour and self-deprecation. In terms of the single, he remarked:

“The first single is in fact a case study in fragile masculinity: burying your insecurities under a veil of unwarranted self-help advice, preaching about being the best version of yourself when really you were up till 10am snorting drugs with total weirdos and now there is literal blood coming out of your arsehole. In this regard, see the lyric ‘I am a vision of health and wellbeing, from the shit in my blood to the blood in my shit’.” At other times, he is more introspective and personal, dealing with mental health on a day-to-day basis, with lines such as: “‘I’m an inmate, and this skin is a prison.'”

‘I Am A Beacon Of Health And Wellbeing’ can be listened to here.

Gout’s debut EP, Born Rotting, came out last year and following a buzz-generating debut show at Glasgow’s Core Festival, the band was chosen as one of The Skinny magazine’s ones to watch and played a sold out debut headline show as well as a host of other shows across the country throughout the year, supporting acts such as Portrayal Of Guilt and Inter Arma.

The new EP features five songs recorded and mixed by the band, said to be “a brutal evolution” of their sound. “We’re really passionate about doing things DIY,” they explained. “So, the EP was recorded and mixed entirely by the band in a single room in Glasgow and we are releasing the EP physically, a limited release of vinyl, on a fully DIY basis.”

“Musically, we wanted to have a song which was completely unrelenting from start to finish. We wanted to include a bit of a knuckle-dragging riff which is where the first riff comes in. We love playing this live and so approached the recording in the same way, not thinking too hard about anything and just laying it all out there.”

“All tracks were recorded live in a small room in Glasgow, with minimal overdubs. This approach preserved the volatility of the performances, allowing mistakes, noise, and momentum to remain part of the sound rather than be edited out. We really wanted to convey the physicality of the band’s live performances and were confident in these new songs, so we didn’t feel the need to dress them up at all. There was an intention to having the sound be really quite exposed, letting the songs drag, surge, and fracture naturally. Although the songs are pretty brutal in places, we’re always mindful of integrating melody to the overall mixture.”

Gout will launch their new EP live at The Flying Duck, Glasgow on 17th April. Tickets are available here.