Loud, angry, nihilistic; Gout is the doom-inducing metal project from members of Glasgow bands Lucia & the Best Boys and The Ninth Wave. A far cry from these projects, however, Gout distils the intensity of hardcore with the low, driven crush of sludge forebears. In 2025, following the release of its debut EP ‘Born Rotting’ and a buzz-generating debut show at Glasgow’s Core Festival, the band was chosen as one of The Skinny magazine’s ones to watch and played a sold out debut headline show as well as a host of other shows across the country throughout the year, supporting acts such as Portrayal of Guilt and Inter Arma. Gout’s newest EP, ‘Actual Bastard’, released on 17 April, is a brutal evolution of the band’s sound. Across 5 songs recorded and mixed by the band themselves in Glasgow, the EP is - like the band's eponym - largely unrelenting. Lyrically, vocalist Ally Scott reflects on some of the most uncomfortable aspects of self, evoking visceral imagery of hopelessness and dread, at times with cutting humour and self deprecation. The band add, "Musically, we wanted to have a song which was completely unrelenting from start to finish. We wanted to include a bit of a knuckledragging riff which is where the first riff comes in. We love playing this live and so approached the recording in the same way - not thinking too hard about anything and just laying it all out there." All tracks were recorded live in a small room in Glasgow, with minimal overdubs. This approach preserved the volatility of the performances, allowing mistakes, noise, and momentum to remain part of the sound rather than be edited out. We really wanted to convey the physicality of the band’s live performances and were confident in these new songs, so we didn’t feel the need to dress them up at all. There was an intention to having the sound be really quite exposed, letting the songs drag, surge, and fracture naturally. Although the songs are pretty brutal in places, we’re always mindful of integrating melody to the overall mixture. Many of Ally’s words deal with quite tough issues, sometimes personal and sometimes observational. Though delivered with a lot of intensity and aggression, the words are often very emotive or charged with humour. For example, the first single ‘I Am a Beacon of Health and Wellbeing’ is a case study in fragile masculinity: burying your insecurities under a veil of unwarranted self help advice, preaching about being the best version of yourself when really you were up till 10am snorting drugs with total weirdos and now there is literal blood coming out of your arsehole. In this regard, see the lyric ‘I am a vision of health and wellbeing, from the shit in my blood to the blood in my shit’. Ally’s lyrics are, at other times, more introspective and personal, dealing with mental health on a day-to-day basis: for example, ‘I’m an inmate, and this skin is a prison.’" I got to sit down with vocalist Ally Scott where we talked about how the band started, the recording for the bands EP, 'Actual Bastard', and what the music scene is like in Glasgow. With great stories, chats and banter this is not one to be missed. Avalible on all streaming platforms. Check out GOUT here: https://www.instagram.com/__gout/ Track Played, 'I Am a Beacon of Health and Wellbeing', ©️ all rights reserved GOUT. Edited by Richie Duhig of The Metal Cell Podcast. Like, subscribe and always support the scene. Horns up and stay safe 🤘🤘 The Smashing Skull Sessions: https://www.instagram.com/thesmashingskullsessions/
