After years of shifting lineups and stylistic tug-of-war, the Montreal-based quartet found the right chemistry with their “Mark III” formation. CHÜZO’s latest EP M.T.M.D (Maximum Threshold, Minimum Decay) is the first real statement from this version of the band. It’s sharp, pissed-off, and personal.
“Brutalator,” the opening track, now gets a lyric video that hits just as hard as the track itself. It’s about an anti-hero—a figure who shows up in broken towns to level the field against greed and corruption. Mischa Marmade’s lyrics paint him as someone betrayed by life, reshaped by pain, and now answering only to his own brutal sense of justice. It’s revenge metal, but grounded in real-world frustration.
“We’d been jamming the music for a long time, but something was missing,” says guitarist and co-vocalist Cristian Salamanca. “Then Mischa and I had this talk about anti-heroes in metal—Edgecrusher, The Wizard—and that sparked it. She came back with these lyrics and suddenly the whole thing just locked in.”
CHÜZO’s sound—what they call “Aggro Metal”—pulls from grindcore, Swedish death, and thrash, but with a real hardcore punk pulse running through it. Cristian, Mischa, Carlos (drums), and Alex (bass) all bring different cultural backgrounds—Chile, Brazil, Venezuela, Russia—but their shared base now is Montreal. And it shows: this is working-class, DIY metal, done with heart.
“This lineup’s been together for over a year now. We’ve toured Ontario, did Wacken Metal Battle, and now we’re looking ahead,” Cristian says. “We’ve already written new material that pushes beyond M.T.M.D., and while we’re taking a bit of a break for personal stuff, we’re not slowing down. We’re lining up more shows for the summer and starting to think about who we want to produce the next record.”
“Brutalator” is the opening track from CHÜZO’s latest EP M.T.M.D (Maximum Threshold, Minimum Decay), released on November 15, 2024. The song is accompanied by a lyric video and was produced by Kevin Jardine (SLAVES ON DOPE) at Uplift Recordings in Montreal.
The current CHÜZO lineup features Mischa Marmade on vocals, Cristian Salamanca on guitars and backing vocals, Alex Shlyannikov on bass, and Carlos Gutierrez on drums.
