The Covid-19 pandemic has been a hard blow for most musicians, but for Chat Pile, it ended up being a catalyst. The band’s music, a brooding mix of Big Black-style guitars, heaviness hinting to Korn or Godflesh, raw, disillusioned Americana, and sludge, turned out to be the ideal soundtrack to the ambient claustrophobia and anxiety—as they say themselves, “the sound of your world collapsing.” Inventive, sarcastic, and confrontational, Chat Pile is a breath of fresh air: the buzz created in just a few EPs landed them a deal with The Flenser, and it’s on this prestigious label that their first album, the aptly named God’s Country was released.

I jumped on the opportunity to chat about these explosive beginnings with the band during the 2023 edition of Roadburn, before their first gig in Europe. Friendly, relaxed, and obviously very happy to be there, Luther Manhole (guitar), Stin (bass), self-professed jokester Raygun Busch (vocals), and the discreet Cap’n Ron (drums) talked about the genesis of God’s Country and life in Oklahoma, whose stifling religiosity and industrial past (chat piles included, obviously) permeate the songs.

This interview took place in April 2023 and was first published on Radio Metal.

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