In Crust We Trust: A Roachleg Addendum

Kia ora, crüe.

It’s always the way, innit!?! You spend weeks writing a War and Peace-length round-up of recent punk releases, and then 30 seconds after you submit the damn thing, out of nowhere, a reliably great label drops several more tempting releases on Bandcamp.

Honestly, you’d think the fine-tuned scheduling of an obscure blogger like me means nothing to these people. Luckily, I’m a magnanimous guy, and thus, I forgive NYC’s finest, Roachleg Records, for forcing me to write this rapid-fire addendum.

Seriously, though, I wasn’t actually planning to publish any more ICWT-related content until the year-end list season commences. I could have easily skipped writing about the music below, but Roachleg Records always releases such enticing fare: see Rigorous Institution’s recent Tormentor EP, which I raved about (at length) in the last edition of ICWT.

The following releases are also well worth talking about, so let’s call this post a supplemental chapter – or deafening add-on – to the already-overstuffed ICWT: Vol 33.

That’s it for ICWT until the end-of-year madness begins. Be cool. Take care of each other. I’ll see you soon.

Kia kaha

Gnostics – Revelation

Richmond, Virginia band Gnostics features Rigorous Institution’s original guitarist, Scully, in its ranks. If you’re a fan of Rigorous Institution – and I can’t think of any good reason why you wouldn’t be – then I bring good news. There are strong sonic and psychic connections between Gnostics and Rigorous Institution. In fact, if you, like me, were hooked by the eldritch sorcery on Rigorous Institution’s early EPs – see Survival / Despotism, Penitent, and Cover of The Coming Of The Terror – then I’d strongly advise you to secure a copy of Gnostics’ Revelation debut immediately.

Like Rigorous Institution, Gnostics’ stench-heavy tunes call to mind bonfires in the darkness; fevered night terrors; arcane secrets spilling from the mouths of corpses; and, of course, enough ‘shrooms to turn you inside out. Sound good? Trust me, it’s great.

Revelation tracks like “Crucified Sun” and “Chapel Perilous” are dripping with existential dread and all manner of folk horrors; think The Wicker Man soundtracked by the crustiest and most ominously clad cohort of troubadours you can imagine. Revelation is dark – super-dark – and fans of Amebix, Antisect, and kin will delight in the heavyweight guitars and the murky atmospherics that engulf tracks like “Ill Omens” and “Is Love Lost?”.

What kicks Revelation up a notch, and adds more character to Gnostics’ songs, are veins of anarcho-punk, post-punk, and acoustic instrumentation (see “Children of the Stones”) woven into the band’s primordial crust. Dual vocals—gruff and guttural, and whispered and gothic—add more texture and variety to Gnostics’ tracks. I’m sure some would like to see the band’s guttural songs beefed up (but not buffed up), too. But the rawness here – production-wise – adds a lot to the sinister/esoteric mood saturating Revelation’s tracks.

The world we currently inhabit is, of course, a hellscape. In that sense, the sheer grimness of Gnostics tracks like “The End is Nigh” feels very zeitgeisty, even though the band’s songs often have a rustic, anachronistic feel. Revelation’s bleakness is undeniable. But that’s where our old friend catharsis kicks in; there is comfort to be found in Revelation’s gloom.

So here’s the deal: tune in for the Out From The Void riffage and Death Church weirdness, and stick around for the Killing Joke apocalypticism and Drunks In Rusty Transits filthiness. Revelation is, very much, a revelation, in and of itself. Gnostics’ debut swallows you whole, like a python, squeezing the life out of you. Revelation is a hard recommendation from yours truly.

TL;DR: If you love Rigorous Institution, you’ll love Gnostics, too.

P.S. Not to ruin the doom and gloom that Gnostics have summoned into being, but can I just say, I’m super excited to hear what the band does next. Apologies for being so upbeat amidst a storm of downbeat crust.

Sayón – Demo

Sayón are a self-described “metal, crust, punk, stenchore” trio from Barcelona, Spain. The band’s 4-song demo was originally released in February this year (by labels Disordera Records and Polze De La Mort), and it’s a sure sign that Sayón are doing something right, given that Roachleg Records have stepped in to release the band’s demo stateside.

Sayón’s demo will hit the mark if you’re a fan of the most nihilistic work of stench-crust OGs like Nausea, Amebix, Axegrinder, Deviated Instinct, or Hellbastard. Sayón’s members – Anyela (vox/bass), Esteban (vox/gat), and Xavi (drums) – also play in bands like Haren, Dominación, and Ayucaba (and in case you missed it, Ayucaba released one of the best punk albums of 2025 earlier this year, see the fantastic Operación Masacre). Sayón’s tracks chug and churn at a – mostly – mid-tempo pace, and the band’s thickset, jagged riffs are mixed with martial percussion and bulldozing bass.

Amebix, of course, play a big inspirational role here, especially in Sayón’s more atmospheric moments. However, you can’t mistake the Cybergod grimness, Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness brutality, or the Behind The Realms Of Madness influences thrashin’ in Sayón’s songs. Tracks like “Enemigo” and the utterly raging “Vive, Muere, Arrodillate” have as much NYC gutter-crust fuelling their fire as any UK stench-stonk. But what matters most here is that every song on Sayón’s demo reeks like a sewer.

Sayón rant and rage about the enshittification of virtually every element of our lives, and Anyela and Esteban’s back-and-forth vocals add plenty of classic crust crunch to their demo’s malodorous mix. Sayón’s demo is definitely lo-fi-ish, but its harshness doesn’t detract from the band’s obvious talents. Sure, it would be great to hear these songs bulked out – made heavier and denser – but I’ve got no complaints about how Sayón’s demo sounds as is.

If the point of a demo is to sketch out a few good ideas while hopefully sparking some interest, then Sayón have clearly succeeded on both counts, no matter how abrasive or rough around the edges their demo sounds. More to the point, Sayón’s rawness suits their songs, which are all squat-crust ragers, through and through.

Sayón’s fusion of dark and grimy metalpunk has a lot of potential, and the band’s first recording ramps up expectations for their next batch of barrelling stenchcore. Sayón are well worth keeping a close eye on.

Tardive Dyskinesia – Never Trust a Dream

Tardive dyskinesia is a neurological disorder, characterised by involuntary movements of the face and jaw, often as a result of taking antipsychotic medication. Tardive Dyskinesia is a noise punk band, and their music is also prone to spasmodic tics. Tardive Dyskinesia call the sunny climes of Fresno, California, home, but the band’s Never Trust a Dream cassette – and, for that matter, Tardive Dyskinesia’s equally ugly-sounding Demo 2025, from earlier in the year – don’t exude a bright or sunny disposition.

Never Trust a Dream begins with a guttural growl, and then the rawest-of-raw punk kicks into gear on in-your-face tracks. The crucial fact here is that Tardive Dyskinesia are a two-bass, zero-guitar band. Thus, Never Trust a Dream tracks, like “Weaponized Youth”, “Numb Life”, and “Live Fast Die”, slap, blap, and burp with plenty of low-slung (but high-energy) grunt. Every song sees noise punk’s chaos collide with raw hardcore’s rage, and all the undecipherable barks and pogoing action shit upon compositional sophistication with lo-fi glee.

Like all noise punk, Tardive Dyskinesia’s music is an acquired taste. But there are crude hooks here, and it’s entirely possible to surf the waves of musical mayhem. Never Trust a Dream’s bass-heavy tracks are raw, ragged, and filthier than a gutter punk’s intergluteal cleft. They’re also a hell of a lot of goddamn fun.

ICWT Recommends

Check out Analog Attack’s Best Japanese Punk Compilations video. As per, AA’s Mike sprinkles tasty background info in his videos that’ll tweak the interest of both longtime and fresh-faced Japanese hardcore fans. Best Japanese Punk Compilations is a short but solid introduction to some great comps and great bands. AA also posted a Top 5 D-beat Albums video recently, which also features some raging groups, including Disgust, Disaster, and Disfear. Tune in and feel free to debate who’s missing or who’s wildly overrated.

Posted by Craig Hayes

Old man from Aotearoa New Zealand. I write about dadcrust for d-beat dorks, raw punk nerds, and metal dweebs.

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