Like most sprawling urbanite locations, Canada’s Ontario province is a place of omnipresent contrasts. Home to middle class oasis’s of luxury as well as strangling sprawls of urban decay and poverty, the city is a classic example of a modern metropolitan dystopia. One act who has bore witness to this divide and civic contrast is Chastity, a collective who paint vivid portraits of the issues found here through the art of noise and doom tinged punk marred with soaring vocals. The brainchild of one Brandon Williams, the act is the true embodiment of the DIY ethos, shunning any material that is artificial and fraudulent in the process. In true vein to this, the first Chastity show was hosted within Williams’ bedroom, a show that was promptly shut down by local law enforcement due to the chaos that ensured. Such an incident spurred the act to fully incorporate the underground ethos and grit of the scene into their work and aesthetic, releasing their debut TAPE EP in 2015. Since then the project has become to be a favorite among the Ontario scene, performing with fellow noisemakers such as Metz, Fucked Up and Chelsea Wolfe. In 2017 the group signed with the Brooklyn based Captured Tracks; a label that allowed their music to flow to new territories whilst allowing the group to create their craft without the atypical restrictions that sometimes come hand in hand with signing to label. Such a statement was solidified with their Chains EP. The release saw the band additional gargantuan heft and fluidity to their sound, forging a release that was simultaneously crushing and beautiful, an uncensored view of what it’s like to be raised in an environment where a polarising sense of despondency was unmasked. Many have cited the act as the millennial adaption of Smashing Pumpkins and Deftones; a group who taken the inspirations of the forefathers of the genre whilst not adhering to the blueprints while growing to loathe the corruption and divide within mainstream society. The project is now on the cusp of releasing their full-length debut; Death Lust. Being released on July the 13th, the anticipation for the record peaked on the release of the doom laced lead single ‘Children’ and it’s accompanying video. Flowing with metallic gruel, it’s a vivid snapshot of the institutional racism embedded within the province’s police force. The track and video were inspired by the unprovoked assault of a young black man by two members of the police force. Directed by Justin Singer, the film animates such a horrific crime in way most intense, channeling the rage and frustration felt by members of the Ontario community who have been dealt injustice. Death Lust is released on Friday 13th June via Captured Tracks Records. Watch the fantastic video for ‘Children’ below. facebook:/chastitysongs
