by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Portland’s Gaytheist have been proving that you can make heavy music without taking yourselves so seriously for near a decade, having first caught our ear back in 2012 with the exceptional Stealth Beats album. They’ve been at it ever since, and before anyone decides to get up in arms, it should be known that Jason Rivera (guitar/vocals) is indeed gay and an atheist, and he’s been having fun making sludge metal that will make you smile. Set to release their fifth full length, How Long Have I Been On Fire?, on April 10th via Hex Records (Pinko, USA Nails, Great Sabatini), it’s the band’s first album for the label and their first in three (increasingly long) years. Combining elements of metal, punk, hardcore, and noise rock with an ever present sense of humor, the band play fast, loud, and abrasive, decimating ear drums and sensibilities all the same.
With lead single “The Dark Deep” already available, Gaytheist share their latest, “Hornswoggled,” and it’s more than just a great name. With a bass line that clunks along into rattling guitars and a viciously heavy drum beat that’s built on massive fills, the band waste no time steamrolling everything in sight with a dive bomb attack. The lyrics deal with the easily duped, bamboozled, and hornswoggled, raging out for those easily confused that don’t always operate in their own best interests. It’s a quick hitting blast of fuzzy sludge rock and it’s about as much fun as you can have in quarantine.