photos by Katharina Fruehwirth
People As Idiots & Idiots As Leaders, the volatile, diverse, and politically-charged third LP by Vienna, Austrian hardcore punk/noise rock trio DESOLAT, is out today and streaming in full.
While DESOLAT’s output combines elements of noise rock, sludge, and hardcore, at heart, its members are anarcho-punks who can’t let the injustices of modern society go unaddressed. 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”). It 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 into the band’s sound for the first time, revisiting the past projects of its members.
People As Idiots & Idiots As Leaders features guest appearances by vocalist/musician Jarboe (ex-Swans), saxophonist Michael Masen (Mozo Mozo), and RBK from post-punk band Rolltreppe. The album was recorded and mixed at Cosmix Studio in Vienna by Rainer Spänle and mastered by Swedish death metal legend Dan Swanö at Unisound (Edge Of Sanity, Katatonia, Bloodbath).
DESOLAT guitarist/vocalist Alfred Satani writes, “An album release is one of the most wonderful moments in a band’s existence. It’s the crowning achievement, the reward for all the work. The songwriting process for this album began in July 2023, and it took four band retreats to finalize all the songs and arrangements before heading into the studio in March 2025. So, with the album is released today, it is the result of more than three years of fun, work, creativity, discussions, struggles, and friendship. We can only hope that there will be people out there who appreciate it. But that’s just the icing on the cake. The cake is the album itself, and that alone makes us completely happy.”
People As Idiots & Idiots As Leaders is now available digitally and on marbled oxblood vinyl as a DIY collaborative release by nine labels and three distributors from seven countries, including, Reptilian Records and Exotic Fever Records in the US, Bloodshed666 Records and Grazil Records in Austria, Araki Records in France, minoRobscuR in Germany, Geenger Records in Croatia, Rat Run Records in the UK, and Geertruida in the Netherlands, and distributed by Dischord Direct, Stickfigure, Sounds Of Subterrania.
The political dissent of DESOLAT’s People As Idiots & Idiots As Leaders is now streaming and available for purchase HERE.
DESOLAT’s hometown album release party takes place one week from today on Friday, October 16th. The band has also just posted a trio of dates across the Czech Republic and Austria October 23rd through 25th, and a gig in Wien on December 19th. The shows will continue into the new year.
DESOLAT Tour Dates:
10/16/2026 Venster99 – Vienna, AU *album release show w/ Z.U.A., Vomits
10/23/2026 Futra – Orlova, CZ w/ Moebius, Tilikum
10/24/2026 Vesmir – Vsetin, CZ w/ Risposta, Koitu-SS, Abortion, Godoth Youth
10/25/2026 Willy Fred – AT w/ Murianda, Mika Bankomat
12/19/2026 Arena Beisl – Wien, AT w/ Dim Prospects, Phal:Angst
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https://desolatvienna.bandcamp.com
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