By Julie Horner

Bay Area metal thrash/punk crossover outfit Outpost 31 was forged in the Santa Cruz Mountains by veterans of the underground music scene, Loukas Kalenderidis (lead vocals), Anthony Ciandella (lead guitar), Jared Rohde (bass), and Aaron Bruski (drums). They’re comfortable operating in the shadows, playing intimate spaces where the non-conformist crowd mingle. They had their biggest show yet this summer at the Brookdale Lodge, and Aaron said he’s still high. “I was genuinely stoked and overwhelmed at how much the community showed up, it was really really cool! I won’t forget that for a long time.” 

The band released its first EP, Rendering Psalm, on June 6th, 2026. Powerful from the get-go, the 6-track record features all-original music that is fast and technical, “pissed off” yet purposefully melodic with nuanced vocals, growly and scary around the edges. Working with Joe Clements of Compound Studios in Ben Lomond, the final tracking was handled by Olav Tabatabai, mixed and mastered by Chris Beeble and Jason Livermore at the legendary Blasting Room Studios in Fort Collins, CO. If you like it fast, this is in your wheelhouse. Aaron said, “I would describe our stuff as prog and thrash elements packaged into a punk format with overly thought syncopation and time signature curve balls.” From promotions to writing and composition, the effort is purely collaborative, everyone in the band is rowing hard.

Aaron, son of a drummer, grew up in a small town in north Michigan, drawn to the fast-paced intensity of high-energy music and hungry for shows in the big city, Detroit totally worth the 5-hour roundtrip from podunk. “Soaked from being in the mosh pit, I’d watch these guys just rip on stage then come down to slang their stuff at the merch table. What struck me is I could walk up to these guys as a little drum nerd, and these guys would pull me aside and answer my questions. OMG these guys are amazing musicians but they’re also attainable.” A hallmark of the inclusivity of the thrash punk scene.

Australian born Loukas Kalenderidis is lead vocalist and songwriter for Outpost 31. The multi-instrumentalist is also in the melodic punk band Give You Nothing based in Santa Cruz and a number of other projects overseas. Bass player Jared Rohde plays in the punk rock band Counterpunch based in Chicago and the Los Angeles melodic hardcore band Death by Stereo. Aaron said, “Anthony Ciandella, our lead guitar, pulls all of this off. As our main songwriter, he can write a song from start to finish based on what he’s hearing in his head and hand it off to the other band members to mess with in one day. He’s been kind of like a machine cooking and pumping out the material. They’re all really really rad guys. Crafting the stuff we’ve made. Not just cohorts, they’re friends.” 

The name Outpost 31 is a nod to “The Thing,” John Carpenter’s 1982 sci-fi horror film. Album graphics by Australia’s Glenno Art by Glenn Smith. “Crafted darkness, aggression, a gamut of emotions, that part stokes me out,” Aaron said. “But as a musician I need to have more sweet than sour. Rendering Psalm carries a lot of emotions packed up into a fast paced dark train. It’s been really cool to have something to share with folks.” 

Next shows: August 22 at The Caravan Lounge, San Jose and August 27 at 924 Gillman Street, Berkeley. Rendering Psalm is available as vinyl and audio download. outpost31punk.com

 Featured photo, left to right:
Loukas Kalenderidis, Anthony “The Maestro” Ciandella, Aaron Bruski, Jared Rohde