WIENER KEBAB - No One Makes It Out Alive

As the name may insinuate, Wiener Kebab are a rather unorthodox band. They blend the worlds of punk, progressive rock and country, seamlessly, sometimes opting for spoken word dialogues and audio clips from spaghetti westerns rather than a traditional vocal melody. They have deemed this signature sound “Cowpunk” which couldn’t describe it more accurately. Over the past few years they have made waves in the Ontario scene with this eclectic mix of sonic textures, yet this EP may be their strangest and most interesting effort yet.

The opening track “Overture” is essentially a soundscape of western themed soundbites, over an extremely melodic and diverse mix of distorted electric guitars, banjos and classical guitars. Every layer of instrumentation, sample and voice clip is methodically arranged into a musical soundscape that seems sort of like a hardcore cartoon soundtrack on drugs. This bizarre yet ear catching introduction perfectly sets the tone for the experience that is about to unfold.

The next song and lead single “Julio” opens with a theatric telling of a story peppered with horns, glockenspiels and more classical guitars. It quickly transitions into a breakdown straight out of a nu-metal track only to crumble into their signature brand of zany punk before the band break into chanting “kill John Lennon” repeatedly. You really can’t make this shit up. Well unless you’re a member of Wiener Kebab that is.

"Bolero" is a more straight-forward western style track that steadily increases in speed until you’re left wondering how the hell they were able to play some of these classical guitar riffs at tempo. The EP continues on switching between punk verses full of distorted guitars , chugging and nailing pinch harmonics and classic country sections, littered with banjos and other traditional instruments. Believe it or not, under all the layers of weirdness this EP is as lyrically conceptual as they come, essentially telling the story of the character “Julio” without straying far from the main idea. The band consistently break into hardcore style breakdowns seemingly out of nowhere, that could even get the crowd killers two stepping. As if taunting you after just blowing your mind for 17 consecutive minutes, they leave you with one final message: “You want some? Come get some. We’re Wiener Kebab, what’s up?”.

This project’s ability to blend genres and production styles is quite literally unparalleled and the bands sense of humour, artful use of samples and whacky production make this one of the most interesting projects I’ve ever heard. Seriously, even if this doesn’t sound like your thing, you should give it at least one listen. We are so eager to hear what this band has in store for us next and you should be too.