We’re Here! to Kill, God Hates We’re Here! to Kill Credit: Courtesy

(Self-released, CD, digital)

Here’s something that feels incredibly fitting: The first track on an album from a band called We’re Here! to Kill has the refrain “We all deserve to die!”

That rager, titled “Glory,” kicks off a ferocious collection of punk and alt-rock bangers that make up the Burlington band’s wonderfully chaotic debut. It might sound like a “no duh” kind of sentiment, but God Hates We’re Here! to Kill is a seriously pissed-off record. Sure, punk is rarely sunny, but this is an album brimming with fury.

The band takes on late-stage capitalism on “Worth It,” with co-vocalist Teagan Cook bellowing, “You built a monument to your father’s father’s dream / A man who wanted to keep kids in factories.”

“Guillotine” is pretty much exactly what you’d expect, an anthem for lopping off fascist heads, all set to churning power chords from guitarists Fisher Wagg and Emma Rossignol and pounding, explosive drums from Riley Rae Burridge. Bassist Becca Hammond drops into the pocket nicely, giving the tune heavy groove.

Cook and Wagg trade lead singer duties, often mid-song. The contrasting tones and styles link up seamlessly, with both able to alternate between melody and screaming rage. The band mirrors that relationship sonically, moving from more lighthearted pop-punk terrain on tunes such as “In Advance” to the surfy-camp style of the Cramps on “With Hammers” to more hardcore-adjacent riffage on “Presidents Day.”

While it’s not unusual for a punk band to channel multiple influences and substyles of the genre, not many do it this well. We’re Here! to Kill encapsulate many of the best traits of good punk — laser-tight dynamics, anthemic choruses, big guitars and snarling politics married to a sense of humor — in one raging, screaming package.

If God Hates We’re Here! to Kill were just a testament to political rage, it would still be a good listen. But the band doesn’t take itself too seriously. “With Hammers” features such lyrics as “Things have gotten bad this week / I’ve started drinking my own urine” and “You like Huey Lewis and the News? I’m into murder and executions mostly.”

“Water Under the Bridge” opens with a massive guitar riff before Cook describes a host of situations that drive them to murderous thoughts, such as a fantasy of drowning their boss after he bragged about his wealth. “Instead of pulling myself up by my bootstraps, all I can imagine is dragging him into the river with me, man. / But I guess it’s all just water under the bridge.”

We’re Here! to Kill have announced themselves to the scene with a strong, cohesive debut record capturing their many punk sides. The album drops on Saturday, October 24, on major streaming services. It’s also available on CD, which can be purchased at the release show the same day at Burlington Odd Fellows.

This article appears in The Tech Issue • 2026.

Music editor Chris Farnsworth has written countless albums reviews and features on Vermont's best musicians, and has seen more shows than is medically advisable. He's played in multiple bands over decades in the local scene and is a recording artist in his own right. He can often be found searching for the perfect soft pretzel or listening to a podcast about the X-Men.