Boston band Dystopiate's sound is equal parts d-beat, crust, and black metal. Originally starting as a solo project in late 2019, the band was born out of both necessity and loss. “The band started in late 2019 as a one-man band, myself,” bassist/vocalist Cody tells No Echo. Over the next couple of years, he released splits, demos, and albums before bringing in close friends to turn it into a full band. “We’ve all been friends for over a decade,” he says. But the turning point came under heavier circumstances. “Basically, the band came out of a tough circumstance. Our best friend, Steve, passed… When we were going through his stuff, we started talking, and Dystopiate basically was born from that point on.”
That foundation still defines the band today, even as the lineup has shifted down to a two-piece consisting of Cody and guitarist Tom. “I’d describe our sound as ‘blackened d-beat punk,’” Cody explains. “Yes, it’s a strange descriptor.” While the term might suggest something more traditionally black metal, the band approaches it differently. “We basically use a lot of black metal style riffs, punk them up… sometimes we use a blast beat, and sometimes we just keep things as they are.”
That unpredictability runs throughout Filth Film, the band’s latest full-length. “The album’s lyrical topics are basically what’s in my head all the time,” Cody explains, pointing to everything from current world events to horror imagery, depression, and the idea of escape. That last element is key. “That’s very important to show—the escape of it all. A lot of people can’t see it.” Still, the band isn’t above injecting some chaos into the mix. “One song I decided to have a lot of fun with… it’s about a rockin’ clown. You figure out the rest.”
Back home, Cody sees a scene with potential but needs more bands willing to push things forward. “It’s not that it’s a lack of thriving, it’s a lack of good bands doing it,” he says bluntly, before shouting out groups like Psycho, Bvrt Bacharach, Rancorous, Abhorred, Cruentation, and Verminizer. “They’re always playing shows… coming from the true old school of Boston punk/hardcore/metal.”
That same spirit carries into Dystopiate’s approach. “We’ve been playing in bands a long time and we’re still thrashing,” Cody says.
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Filth Film is available digitally, and on CD, via I Heart Noise.
Dystopiate on social media: Instagram
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