Corpse Rat was a Te Whanganui-a-Tara/ Wellington punk band known for their raw punk sound fusing Japanese fastcore with black metal crust. The band featured Sam Thurston on vocals, Matt Szwed on drums, Connor on bass, and Otavio on guitar. All four band members had previously played in various punk and metal bands in the Wellington scene and beyond.

Formed in 2017, Corpse Rat debuted on August 5 at Newtown Bowling Club, supporting Ayn Randy’s tape release. They recorded their first tracks on October 8 at Turret House and released a self-titled, five-song EP of blown-out, noise punk, on November 19, 2017, through Matt’s label Razored Raw. That same month, they contributed a track to the NO NZ punk compilation and smashed out a set at Neil Roberts Day in Whanganui on November 25. In early 2018, Corpse Rat joined the “North Island Domination Tour” alongside Feral Blood, Stress Ghetto, and Sick Old Man, releasing a split 7” with Feral Blood to mark the occasion.

Corpse Rat disbanded shortly after the tour with Sam and Connor going on to form Bordger with ex-Johos drummer Jessy McNamara.

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Origin	Newtown, Turret House
Genre	fastcore, raw punk, blackened crust
Years Active	2017 – 2018
Labels	Always Never Fun, Razored Raw
Associated Acts	Bordger, Piggery
Past Members	Sam Thurston (vocals) Otavio (guitar) Matt Szwed (drums) Connor (bass)

Releases

Title	Date	Label	Type	Format
Corpse Rat	2017, Nov 19	Razored Raw	demo	tape/ DL
NO NZ	2017, Nov 19	Razored Raw	compilation	tape/ DL
Corpse Rat/ Feral Blood	2018, March 1	Always Never Fun Razored Raw	split	7″/ DL
Hairy Palm Vol. 2	2018, March 2	Hairy Palm	compilation