Emerging from Montreal’s underground grindcore and hardcore scenes, Feartilizer 1492 delivers a ferocious and unflinching debut EP titled “Wape’k Mntu” that confronts the ongoing violence of colonization with brutal honesty and relentless intensity. Founded by vocalist and lyricist Samaël Condo-Lavoie, alongside bassist Mathieu Desgroseilliers, guitarist Samuel Villeneuve, and drummer Samuel Martineau Lépine, the band blends old-school extreme metal influences like Cryptopsy and Cannibal Corpse with newer aggressive acts such as Nails and Full of Hell, crafting a sound that is both chaotic and deeply purposeful.

From the band’s name itself, a sharp indictment of settler colonialism is laid down — “Feartilizer 1492” references the year Christopher Columbus first arrived in the "New World" from his voyage, a period of destruction and imposed violence. The entire EP in fact serves as a sonic confrontation designed to criticize genocide, false reconciliation and cultural erasure. Wape'k Mntu is music born of rage, memory, and the desire to reclaim Indigenous identity and space.

We spoke with Samaël, who’s a Mi’gmaq from Gesgaspegiag, about how his heritage & ancestry has impacted the bands message.

“THIS RECORD IS NOT ABOUT HEALING IN A QUIET WAY. IT’S ABOUT SURVIVAL WITH SCARS SHOWING. IT’S ABOUT LETTING THE RAGE SPEAK BECAUSE TOO MUCH HAS BEEN BURIED.

THIS IS MUSIC MADE FOR MY ANCESTORS, FOR OUR COMMUNITIES AND FOR EVERY INDIGINOUS PERSON FORCED TO SURVIVE ON A ‘WAITING LIST’.”

- SAMAËL, @FEARTILIZIER1492

For the band, crafting music that is impactful as it is rhythmic is a collaborative and dynamic effort, beginning with core guitar riffs by Villeneuve and Mathieu, who bring diverse musical backgrounds including jazz and contemporary classical. Their approach balances aggressive intensity with moments of unexpected hooks and structure, carefully avoiding predictable progressions. For the title track and others, they experimented with dissonance and improvisation to evoke raw emotion and complexity. 

Lyrically, Samaël’s words cut straight. Tracks like “Flatline” call out false allies and settler guilt masking ongoing harm, while “Manifest of War” champions reclaiming identity through resistance and struggle. The track “Apex Predator” is especially haunting, as it uses the Wendigo myth, an Algonquin legend of a creature with an insatiable hunger for human flesh, to symbolize destructive settler greed. 

Since their formation less than a year ago, Feartilizer 1492 has rapidly gained momentum, sharing stages with staple underground acts and playing at Sled Island Festival on Indigenous Peoples Day. Their forthcoming shows in Gespeg (Gaspésie) and Montreal promise to further amplify their message: to use music and art as platforms to inspire Indigenous youth, speak truth to power, and break the silence surrounding ongoing colonial violence.