Third album by the Viennese noise rock / hardcore band: a concept album released as an international DIY collaboration

After their second album, “Get Sick And Let Me Watch You Die,” was released in 2024 by the U.S. noise rock/punk label “Reptilian Records” - thereby introducing the band to a wider audience for the first time - the band is taking their release policy a step further by making the record available through a total of nine labels and three distributors across seven countries. A DIY collaborative release of the kind the band members know from their anarcho-punk roots. It wasn’t an easy project, but if you love networking, it was a fun one. Build your own fucking life!
The nine songs on “People As Idiots & Idiots As Leaders” largely follow a thematic concept rooted in our times. In a world where wannabe and actual autocrats, far-right extremists and populists, macho loudmouths, and religious fanatics are elected to lead nations, democracy appears increasingly fragile.
When the trajectory of social and political development seems to be heading primarily downward, democracy becomes a precious commodity even for anarchists - one that we must hope will at least be maintained at its current level. The media landscape is shifting towards sickening and emotionally-irrational radicalizing social media dynamics controlled by ridiculously rich oligarchs who openly express anti-democratic fantasies of omnipotence and would love to play the role of world leaders.
Desolat play a mix of noise rock, sludge, and hardcore, and at heart they’re anarcho-punks - you can’t let those things go uncommented.
The album’s chronology follows an initial assessment (Idiots as Leaders, Pig Race To The Apocalypse), followed by depression (This Sadness Makes Me Rage, No Depression When Dead, Good People Keep Their Mouths Shut While The Assholes Believe The World Belongs To Them) and ultimately culminates in cynicism and resignation (Cyberdyne Employment Application, Humans Are Such Easy Prey).
Doesn’t sound very uplifting. Yet anger at the state of the world and one’s own condition is omnipresent in the energy of the music and lyrics.
Stylistically, emocore elements have crept in for the first time, revisiting the band members’ past projects. Life’s a circle.
The album features guest appearances by JARBOE (SWANS, NEUROSIS), Michael Masen (MOZO MOZO), and RBK (ROLLTREPPE).
The album was once again recorded and mixed at Cosmix Studio in Vienna by Rainer Spänle, and mastered by Swedish death metal legend Dan Swanö / UNISOUND (EDGE OF SANITY, KATATONIA, BLOODBATH).

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