Rotting Out

With a name like Rotting Out, you’re probably always going to end up playing pretty visceral punk music; the youthful five-piece are certainly not shy of some serious volume and some rough and ready guitar parts. What really sets them apart from so many of their contemporaries, though, is the way that they truly represent their hometown of Los Angeles through their music; plenty of rappers, down the years, seem to have addressed the nitty-gritty of life in the city’s more poverty-stricken areas, but seldom has a rock band tried to do the same, not just lyrically but sonically, too. Such is the anger and resentment fueling their songs, then, it’s perhaps not surprising that Rotting Out live shows are such brutal affairs; the divide between band and audience is blurred, with stage invasions a staple of the show and frontman Walter Delgado prowling the stage like a animal that’s just managed to burst out of its cage - their shows epitomise the way in which the band have forced together hardcore and punk influences for their own ends.