Guitars, Drums, Tones, and Saxophones

Propagandhi - Supporting Caste

Canada’s angriest sons are back, with another platter of “progressive thrash” screeds against the injustice they see in the world, be it toward people, animals, or the earth itself.

It’s been nearly 4 years since their last LP, Potemkin City Limits, dropped, bringing with it some increased leanings toward metal, and less straightfoward punk rock. Supporting Caste further moves the band down this path. The addition of a second guitarist has expanded their attack, and seems to have amped up their ferocity. These guys play by the “loud fast rules” playbook, and every ounce of anger and frustration in the lyrics is reflected in the music. There are no love songs here.

As usual, the album features dual vocalists. I tend to prefer when Chris gets on the mic (the title track, “Tertium Non Datur,” etc.) to Todd, but that’s personal preference. They both have their strengths as vocalists, and the songs they sing suit them. Todd’s vocals appear more on the brutally fast, more hardcore-influenced songs like “Incalculable Effects.”

Oddly, there’s a song on this record called Potemkin City Limits. I realize that it happens, but it’s weird to see another album’s title track on a different album.

It’s strange; I really, really enjoy this album. I’ve loved where Propagandhi has gone with their music since their debut, How To Clean Everything, and particularly with their most recent releases Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s Ashes and Potemkin, and this album is very much a continuation of the musical trend the band emabrked upon with those albums. So, by that logic, people who liked/loved those albums will like/love this album. Propagandhi have very strong opinions about the world around them, and they’ve never shied away from that; they have songs with titles like “With Friends Like These, Who the Fuck Needs COINTELPRO?” and “Rock for Sustainable Capitalism.”  That hasn’t changed here, though the titles are less explicit.

Supporting Caste finds the band further honing their attack, and getting better and better as time goes on. Chris has claimed that the near-collapse of G7 Welcoming Committee (their record label) will give them more time to work on the band, so we as fans won’t have to wait nearly as long between albums. If they keep producing material like this, I dearly hope that’s true.

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