Austrian political noise rock/punk act Desolat releases new single »The Art Of Shit« from upcoming LP »People As Idiots & Idiots As Leaders«

Vienna, Austria based hardcore/noise rock trio Desolat has released new single »The Art Of Shit« taken from their new album, »People As Idiots & Idiots As Leaders«, due out on October 9th, 2026 via Reptilian Records, Exotic Fever Records, Bloodshed666 Records, Grazil Records, Araki Records, minoRobscuR, Geenger Records, Rat Run Records and Geertruida.

Tracklist:
01. Idiots As Leaders
02. Pig Race To The Apocalypse 03:22
03. This Sadness Makes Me Rage (feat. Jarboe)
04. No Depression When Dead (feat. Michael Masen)
05. Wannabe V.I.P. (feat. RBK)
06. Good People Keep Their Mouths Shut While The Assholes Believe The World Belongs To Them
07. The Art Of Shit
08. Cyberdyne Employment Application
09. Humans Are Such Easy Prey

Courtesy of Earsplit PR:

»The Art Of Shit« is the bitter new track and corresponding video from Vienna, Austria-based political hardcore punk/noise rock trio Desolat, the latest preview of their incoming third LP, »People As Idiots & Idiots As Leaders«.

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).

Photos by Katharina Fruehwirth

Desolat guitarist/vocalist Alfred Satani reveals, “»The Art Of Shit« is one out of two songs from the album which are out of the overall concept on the decline of democracy and the loss utopia. The song’s lyrics offer a lighthearted exploration of the mechanisms of the art and culture industry and its marketing strategies – and, not infrequently, the self-marketing strategies of artists themselves, particularly on social media.

“It’s important to note that the song is not anti-art! The personal satisfaction and empowerment that people can experience through creating art is a thoroughly positive aspect – one that should absolutely be encouraged. However, this is a more psychosocial and emotional approach, which is certainly closer to art in an authentic or idealistic sense than the profit-driven logic of the art markets under capitalism.

“When the song’s lyrics were sung in the recording studio, the sound engineer raised his eyebrows and asked with a smug grin, ‘Alfred, are you making fun of the art world?’ – YES! These superlatives and attributions of meaning in flowery, intellectual phrases are so often just ridiculous bullshit bingo, vain and transparent!

“Musically the song is quite punkish and inspired by the likes of Lard, Ministry, and Minor Threat. Although it has a very sludgy middle-part in the vein of the band’s all-time favorites, Bongzilla.”

The video for Desolat’s »The Art Of Shit« is now playing on YouTube HERE.

»People As Idiots & Idiots As Leaders« will be released digitally and on marbled oxblood vinyl on October 9th and disseminated to the masses 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.

Preorders for all regions can be found HERE.

A hometown album release party has been booked for October 16th, with more live plans in the works.

Desolat Live:
10/16/2026 Venster99 – Vienna, AT *album release show

Nine years after the breakup of the stoner/sludge band Cyruss, the successor trio Desolat was formed, consisting of three longtime members of the Viennese scene and (former) members of Phal:Angst, Cyruss, Dim Prospects, La Ligne Maginot, Gfrast, Face The Owl, Radikalkur, E.M.S., and others. Desolat’s second album, »Get Sick And Let Me Watch You Die«, was released in 2024 on the legendary U.S. noise rock/punk label Reptilian Records, and marked a milestone for the band in terms of international attention.

The nine songs on Desolat’s »People As Idiots & Idiots As Leaders« largely follow a thematic concept rooted in our times. In a world where wannabe and actual autocrats, far-right extremists and populists, macho loudmouths, and religious fanatics are elected to lead nations, democracy appears increasingly fragile. When the trajectory of social and political development seems to be heading primarily downward, democracy becomes a precious commodity even for anarchists – one that we must hope will at least be maintained at its current level. The conflict between revolutionaries and reformists within the left-wing scene suddenly seems ridiculous. When one is surrounded by figures like Putin, Orbán, Erdoğan, Trump, Bolsonaro, Milei, Meloni, Kaczyński, and the like – and when parties such as the FPÖ and AfD (both far-right/populist) are enjoying enormous success in one’s own and the neighboring country – it becomes disheartening to hold out hope for the future. The media landscape is shifting towards sickening and emotionally radicalizing social media dynamics controlled by ridiculously rich oligarchs who openly express anti-democratic fantasies of omnipotence and would love to play the role of world leaders.

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well