Devon Kasler of High Tide Tattoo debuts Anger Machine EP

Juneau artist Devon Kasler’s premier EP Anger Machine is an even dose of teenage angst and fantasy. With his band Slim Grim & The Reaper Bros, Kasler evokes a familiar feeling of secretly listening to Black Sabbath or Danzig or Queens of the Stone Age, whatever your poison was. But for Kasler, it wasn’t just a phase. The blood, skulls and gore of musical past carry over to his day job as a tattoo artist at High Tide Tattoo.

His music is sinister, full of ghastly hooks, and it’s loud, as if Alice Cooper came of age in the early 2000s. The release is the result of a partnership between Kasler and high-school-friend-turned-producer Cole Paramore who mixed the EP and contributed percussion over the tracks Kasler recorded alone in his bedroom, many in a single take. 

You can hear collaboration on the single “Skeletal Ghoul,” which opens with brooding guitars that remain rooted in Paramore’s drumming, growing louder until it concludes with a ripping guitar solo from Kasler. Somehow, you can just guess this guy’s pedal board is bigger than yours.

The album artwork was created by fellow High Tide Tattoo employee Jolene Chup who goes by the handle Fakewitch, releasing her own series of visual art last September.

Get these bad boy vibes on Bandcamp or see the six-track EP performed live tonight at the Taqueria when Kasler debuts his new line of patches, T-shirts and lighters inspired by his collection of music. 

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