These Bastards are a phenomenally-named Punk/Hardcore & Powerviolence band hailing from San Francisco, California. It appears as though These Bastards initially formed around January 2018, prior to the release of their frantic 6-track DEMO 2018 EP. These Bastards' first proper release, Old... ...and pissed's 7-inch liner notes proclaim, " These Bastards are these bastards: T.C. Bonelocs: Drums, Stoney: Guitar, Leech: Vocals, Bruno: Bass." These Bastards' Bandcamp page boasts it, in fact, consists of members of Conquest for Death, Venkman, Slobber, Agents of Satan, and Go Like This. These Bastards' Facebook page—I know, these bastards are all over social media!—additionally lists their "Affiliations" as: Dioretix, Fassbender, Mad Cow Dizeaze 182, Translators, Feldmans, Creepy People, Shed Wellaz, Gym Class Heroes(?), Say Bok Gwai, Theeannoying, Three Wheel Motion, and Useless Youth. Lo and behold, "Stoney Maloney" is, actually, Alex Yeung, who infamously played sax throughout SPAZZ's 1997 Sound Pollution Records/625 Thrashcore album, La Revancha, which was recently re-released digitally for the first time ever by Tankcrimes. I've also, recently learned that Leech is SPAZZ founder Dan Lactose AKA DJ Eons One's brother.


Back in 1997, SPAZZ/Slobber released a mysterious unlabeled split 7-inch housed in a blank cardboard sleeve on Sacapuntas. Leech & Dan Lactose, also, spent some time together playing in a short-lived band called Three Wheel Motion, along with Jon "J-Luv" Areds & Mark "Mark Ass MC" McCoy, who released one self-titled single-sided cassette on 36crazyFists. in 1996. Last night, while scrolling through Twitter, I stumbled upon a post from Kurlee Daddee Productions (@KurleeDaddee) entitled " These Bastards on Wed. Night Live @KZSU 1/23/19 (full set)" along with links to his blog, KurleeDaddee.com, as well as a YouTube video from KZSU Live. Honestly, the first thing I noticed one I clicked the link and turned on the 40-minute video was These Bastards' bassist Dave "Bruno" Bruno proudly rockin' a Dr. Octagon/Dr. Octagonecologyst T-shirt. Oddly enough, guitarist "Stoney" AKA Alex Yeung contributed "Sax & Violence" throughout SPAZZ's La Revancha, which also, featured Kool Keith AKA Dr. Octagon himself on album stand-out, "Camp Chestnut." As These Bastards' Wednesday Night Live session commences, frontman Leech proclaims: "Hi, in the temporary autonomous zone, in the shadow of the empire, you were hopin' for Those Bastards... but you got These Bastards instead!"


These Bastards then, launch into a frenzied set of songs that's almost Jazz-indebted and reminiscent of Henry Rollins-era Black Flag amidst KZSU Stanford 90.1 FM's "cramped" dusty basement-esque space. Through a series of separate sets strewn across nearly 40 minutes, I believe, These Bastards play a selection of choice cuts from both Old... ...and pissed and DEMO 2018, as well as "a couple new songs during that first set," as Stoney explains, which can be heard prior to the 12/13-minute mark. Leech & Bruno add that said new songs will be recorded in April at Earhammer Studios with Greg Wilkinson of Brainoil fame, who also, mixed and mastered Old... ...and pissed. According to Dave Bruno & Stoney Maloney, These Bastards' next live shows will be Feb. 21st at The Elbow Room in Oakland, California with Empty People, That Ship Has Sailed & Invertebrate and on March 9th at Mardi Gras Lounge in Redwood City, California. Leech further explains to the KZSU DJ that These Bastards are currently "planning tours, but that's super-secret top-level stuff... so secret, we don't even know!" These Bastards' Old... ...and pissed 7-inch is currently available to purchase on Bandcamp or as Leech calls it, "TheseBastards.TheBandcamp.commie."