Style Weekly
Richmond's alternative for news, arts, culture and opinion
Municipal Waste
Making a Scene
The crowd churned with special vigor one night last month while the band shot its first video. The song "Unleash the Bastards" capitalizes on The Waste's signature qualities: quick, loud and catchy.
In order to glean sufficient footage, the band performed "Unleash the Bastards" several times during the free show, where audience members were encouraged to come dressed as zombies — and they did not disappoint. "Now you're going to hear the same song that you've heard three times already tonight," Foresta growled into the mic. Enthusiasm did not flag, even on the song's fourth run. Evidently there were enough plastic body parts and enough fake blood to keep things going.
The Waste recently signed with Earache Records. Earache's given Municipal Waste a chunk of advance cash to shoot a video that they can shop around to MTV and Fuse to see if there are any takers. But The Waste is less concerned with the video's success than with their artistic freedom.
"As long as we get to do what we wanna do," Foresta says. "We're not gonna water anything down for MTV."
"It's a way to spread the energy," guitarist Ryan Joy explains.
They say the real milestone will be when the album comes out.
The Waste's sound straddles a few related genres. It's short and fast like punk rock, but loud and heavy like metal, and lyrics aren't punk-political; instead they tend toward the narrative. Favorite topics include death, killing, carnage and robots taking over their masters. They listen to a lot of Slayer.
"We're kind of more for adults that still read comics," Foresta says. — Amy Biegelsen
"Louder Than Hell" and "Waste 'Em All" are in stores on Six Weeks Records. "Hazardous Mutation," the band's debut release on Earache, will be out in August. The Waste is planning a full U.S. tour for the summer. www.earache.com
More Music Issue...
In order to glean sufficient footage, the band performed "Unleash the Bastards" several times during the free show, where audience members were encouraged to come dressed as zombies — and they did not disappoint. "Now you're going to hear the same song that you've heard three times already tonight," Foresta growled into the mic. Enthusiasm did not flag, even on the song's fourth run. Evidently there were enough plastic body parts and enough fake blood to keep things going.
The Waste recently signed with Earache Records. Earache's given Municipal Waste a chunk of advance cash to shoot a video that they can shop around to MTV and Fuse to see if there are any takers. But The Waste is less concerned with the video's success than with their artistic freedom.
"As long as we get to do what we wanna do," Foresta says. "We're not gonna water anything down for MTV."
"It's a way to spread the energy," guitarist Ryan Joy explains.
They say the real milestone will be when the album comes out.
The Waste's sound straddles a few related genres. It's short and fast like punk rock, but loud and heavy like metal, and lyrics aren't punk-political; instead they tend toward the narrative. Favorite topics include death, killing, carnage and robots taking over their masters. They listen to a lot of Slayer.
"We're kind of more for adults that still read comics," Foresta says. — Amy Biegelsen
"Louder Than Hell" and "Waste 'Em All" are in stores on Six Weeks Records. "Hazardous Mutation," the band's debut release on Earache, will be out in August. The Waste is planning a full U.S. tour for the summer. www.earache.com
More Music Issue...
Letters to the editor may be sent to: letters@styleweekly.com
Other Publications
