Five long years after their last album, Bongs Of Praise, party doom riff merchants Gurt return with Satan Etc, due for release on 7th June.
A lot has happened in the band members’ lives since 2019, some suffered tragic losses, some welcomed new life into the world, some grew skullet haircuts. Not to mention that global event in 2020 that kept us all inside.
Left to ferment in frustrating circumstances, the band’s new material has become more aggressive and abrasive than previous offerings, whilst still retaining that signature Gurt silliness and swagger.
In January 2024 Gurt took these new songs into Monolith Studios in London and under the watchful eye of Steve Sears, they birthed Satan Etc. The album marks the band’s fifth collaboration with Sears, who apparently always coaxes the best out of the band with a healthy mixture of positive support and scathing insults.
When asked about the influences and inspiration behind this album Kelly said: “It’s about survival in the very fucked up world we live in, but of course delivered in the bands tongue in cheek style”.While drummer Bill Jacobs said: “We wanted shorter punchier songs to go with the new aggro vibe, nothing to do with us being older and fatter,” whilst bassist David ‘Spicy’ Blakemore enigmatically added “I’ve been listening to lots of Slavic hardcore!”.
The band, also featuring guitarist Rich Williams, delved into varied topics, from bodged vasectomies to the beauty of brown cars, from self-pleasure on Arrakis to the wholesome matter of how damn much Gareth loves his kids. Satan Etc is said to be the sound of the band ready to get back to doing what they love most: having a great big sludgy party with their rabid fans.
Out now is the first single ’Knife Fever’, from the album, about which Kelly commented: “This song is simply about the sheer incompetence of the geriatric surgeon that operated on me, and best of all it was a fucking vasectomy! Simply harrowing, so much so, I wrote him a love letter in this song!”
You can check out the video to ‘Knife Fever’ here at RAMzine.
Satan Etc is a statement of intent for a band that want to show that five years out of the game, only makes them thirstier to have a damned good party with its rabid fanbase! Gurt has previously toured with Dopethrone and supported the likes of Eyehategod, Weedeater, Red Fang, Black Tusk and Cough alongside appearances at Bloodstock Festival and Desertfest London.
Released on 7th June via When Planets Collide, Satan Etc can be ordered here.
