Hood Rats
Montréal, Quebec, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2017 | INDIE
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Press
Nasty, energetic ’80s-styled streetpunk with guttural vocals and shreddy solos to give it a Motörhead twist. Lyrics range from the comically grotesque (“Sell Your Body to Science”) to anti-capitalist rage (“Hostile Takeover,” “Sleeping in the Street”) and nihilistic self-loathing (“Off Drugs and Miserable”). Definitely something I could have heard blasting from my little brother’s room around eighth grade, probably in between Varukers and Broken Bones. In a good way! - Indiana Laub
Contrairement à la fois où je ne me suis pas pointé à temps pour voir Machine Head, je suis arrivé à 8: 30 tapante pour être certain de ne rien manquer. C’était une bonne idée parce que Hood Rats nous a offert un set qui nous fait penser à du bon vieux Dead Kennedys. Ok! on s’enligne pour une bonne soirée même s’il y a 3 bands et je ne serai pas chez moi avant 2 heures du matin. Mais ça c’est un problème pour futur Louis et ce gars-là est bon pour gérer des problèmes.
Warish se pointe sur scène sans bassiste, mais avec une pédale d’octave (son bassiste n’a pas passé aux douanes). Par contre ça déménage on dirait du Alice in Chains sur Les stéroïdes (la pédale d’octave aide beaucoup) avec du scream. Décidément plus hardcore que Hood Rats, Warish donne tout un show!
Sinon en même temps Sur la petite scène, Sleaze Way Out faisait son lancement d’album et comme j’étais en quête d’une place assise, j’ai assisté à 3 ou 4 chansons et c’était vraiment super bon. Du vrai métal pur et dur à coup de Flying V de headbanging et un vocal à la Bruce Dickinson qui m’a mis à terre. Même si je suis là pour les Black Lips, il faut donner à César ce qui revient à César et Sleazy Way Out donne tout un show.
En passant je vous conseille grandement d’encourager les Hood Rats, un band de chez nous qui roule sa bosse depuis un petit moment. C’est vraiment bon et quelque chose à découvrir - Louis bedard gulione
The last time I saw the Hood Rats was pre-pandemic times, when they opened up for the legendary D.O.A – and at that time, Tony Salador was singing from the drum throne. Now though, Salador is on the guitar, singing the way he needs to be – the way he is known to, and the Hood Rats are far better off as a result. Instead, Guillaume Tremblay now plays drums in the band, with Andy McAdam on bass – fun fact, both Salador and Tremblay played in UK Oi legends The Blood while they toured North America last, so you just know the chemistry is there.
Included in their setlist, were the four new tracks off of their brand new EP, 2022 Demo Tracks – which as the name implies, is a demonstrational recording that will serve as a stop-gap until their new full-length album drops. Most of their material came from their 2019 record, 40 oz. Of Fury, and to my knowledge, this was the first time they had played these songs live, with this line-up and with Salador on guitar. The crowd’s reaction was massive, with dancing and moshing – and without an actual stage, that meant that the action sometimes spilled into the Hood Rats – who didn’t seem to care.
And then a dog walked onto the stage…
There were other artists that played before the Hood Rats, but to be honest, I was outside drinking with old faces I hadn’t seen in a while and soaking in the ambiance of the place – a truly unique crowd of people. I was here to see the Hood Rats and didn’t expect to have half as good of a time as I did. - Kieron Yates
Starting off the night were the Hood Rats, playing their first ever show together. Although their drummer and singer, one mister Tony Salador, has been in more bands than I’ve had hot meals – tonight was the first time I’ve seen the lad drum. I’ve seen him on the guitar many, many times, with Suburban Trash and Roadbones and Tainted Youth and way more than I care to remember, and I once drove out to Ottawa to catch The Blood (UK) play and to my surprise, there was Tony on stage, playing the bass for them. The boy gets about in his spare time. He and the Hood Rats seemed at ease on stage, and were solid – more like a group playing its home crowd for the umpteenth time than for the first. Hopefully there will be more to come from the ‘Rats – enjoyable debut. - montreal rocks
Simplicity. All of the best things in life are simple. A basic entity stripped down to nothing more than raw, basic elements. Bread. Fire. A sunset. A drizzle of honey. Punk rock. No additives required and no amount of schmaltz, sweetener or enhancement can bolster that primeval oomph that these staples deliver to the senses. Montreal’s Hood Rats are living proof.
Hood Rats are all in this great world that embodies raw, honest, straight to the gut punk rock. No bullshit here. Just balls to the wall, cut throat rock ‘n’ roll played and recorded the way punk rock ought to be; on cheap equipment, in a bedroom, loud, bratty and obnoxious with a D.I.Y. tradition so deeply embedded in the genre’s DNA, that it’s almost criminal to play it any other way.
Hood Rats’ ‘Digital Wasteland’ is a D.I.Y. high colonic. Ridding one’s entrails of hindering impurities such as over-production, big-budget self-importance, and that irritating kernel of late nineties pop-punk corn that’s been lodged in your bowel for the past two decades. It’s a ten track onslaught of blistering rock ‘n’ roll played with pure venom and emotion that calls the bygone ethos of Canada’s Subhumans, early 80’s DC hardcore or the burgeon of punk rock in late 70’s Australia.
By no means is ‘Digital Wasteland’ solely a punk or hardcore record, it’s as damn entertaining as it is brutal with a rock ‘n’ roll swagger that is sadly missing from the vast majority of punk records today.
And it’s on the album opener ‘Cheap Rent’ where this point is driven home right from the get go. The riffage is intense and keeps the listener wound up and on edge, only letting loose on brief occasion so you can… y’know… breathe. But what comes through most of all on this track and the nine remaining is that these dudes are having nothing but great fun. Isn’t that all we ask for from our music?
Look, if it’s slick production and a jolly good sing-a-long lyric you’re looking for, then you’re shit out of luck with ‘Digital Wasteland’. But if it’s honest, raw, loud and emotive punk rock that floats your boat, then I suggest you hop on over to Bandcamp right now and download yourself a copy. IT’S FREE! - 50Thirdand3rd
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
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Bio
We play 80’s style punk rock with late 70’s leather jacket rock and roll attitude. It’s the type of music you’d listen to late at night around a trash can fire under a bridge. Sorry, no love songs here! Our songs are about the struggles of life & most of them are under 2 minutes. If you’re a fan of “Motörhead” and “Circle Jerks” we should party together.
Since 2017, Hood Rats have toured the USA, shared the stage with a range of acts from "D.O.A" to "The Black Lips" and recently appeared on a vinyl compilation with "Oh Sees". Last year the band kept it real by playing free B.Y.O.B. parties and outdoor all ages shows, now we're back on the road and ready to bring the party to your city.
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