Charlatan Are Making a Freakish, Catchy-As-Hell Racket In Salt Lake City

It’s funny when people are surprised to discover that Utah has spawned some of the gnarliest metal and hardcore bands out there. The Mormon state? Yeah, of course the Mormon state, just like how the stodgy, overbearing Christianity of Scandinavia turned all of its teenagers into demon-worshipping war buffs. Utah’s specific mixture of southwestern wasteland and Latter Day Saints definitely generates some especially insane acts — and Charlatan from Salt Lake City are exactly that kind of band.

Not to make Charlatan out to sound like Cult Leader — in fact, it’s a little weirder than that. The foundation of the band’s sound is more akin to that of acts like Avatar, Ice Nine Kills, and Fantomas, with a solid injection of Wednesday 13-ish bounce and Gerard Way sneer. The love of the freak is very real with Charlatan, even as their music is catchy as fuck.

When we reached out to the band to find out what makes them sick, here’s how they defined themselves:

“Based in SLC, Utah, Charlatan was formed in 2008 by singer Grey Sorenson & guitarist Austin Heath. With a sturdy backbone of metal, rock, and punk, Charlatan fuses each of their songs with a wide variety genres & a healthy dose of sarcasm; a unique sound they have lovingly dubbed Scrap Metal.’”

SCRAP METAL. I looove that shit — giving your genre a title that’s also a thing with actual ‘metal’ in its name. Classic.

As for what the band have coming down the pipeline:

“Catch us live at CrucialFest in Salt Lake City on August 25th, check out the music video for our newest single ‘SHEEP,’ and stay tuned for our new EP KILL, dropping this year.”

We’re here for it. Check out the video for “Sheep” below, and get tickets to see Charlatan at CrucialFest via the festival’s web portal.