Fifteen years and still going strong, Propagandhi aren’t a band goddammit, they’re a way of life. Either get on board or get the fuck out of their way. The four anti-capitalist vegans from the plains of Winnipeg are a blunt force trauma to the skull of staid punk rock, who aren’t so much a band for the people by the people, but a band for the people by hockey-loving radicals who are smarter, better read and do more volunteer work than you do. And if that wasn’t enough, they can play their instruments like a hurricane.

“Supporting Caste,” the band’s fifth LP, also happens to be their first not released by Fat Wreck Chords. Instead, the band stay close to home, giving the record to Canadian indie Smallman records for North America. In addition, the band have added a second guitar player (David “The Beave” Guillas), presumably giving the band’s live show an extra kick in the ass in addition to providing another weapon in the band’s already deadly guitar arsenal (guitarsenal?).

As they’ve done on previous outings, Propagandhi flexes both their musical and lyrical muscles on “Caste,” as mega-watt metal guitar thrashing accompanies the forceful wail of Chris Hannah (and bassist Todd Kowalski on a trio of tracks). Though the band has grown less melodic over the years, particularly with the departure of John K. Samson in 1996, the record is just melodic enough to be accessible, but not so much so that they come off as wimpy.

The songs on “Supporting Caste” veer from from politics (”Last Will & Testament”) to hockey (”Dear Coach’s Corner”) to dueling songs about death. “Without Love” tackles with the topic literally: “Is breathing just the ticking of an unwinding clock?,” Hannah sings as he contemplates the passing of a kindred spirit. While “The Funeral Procession” grapples with a different kind of dying — a humdrum life on a fucked up planet. “I try to keep my composure amidst the insanity,” he sings. “Resigned to the truth that I will not live to see the dawn of a better day that might wash away the sadness of this age.”

But Propagandhi know how to have fun too. Despite the record’s serious moments, they’re goofballs at heart. “The Banger’s Embrace” chronicles a journey to see the reunion concert of a one-time favorite metal band. For a bunch of cynical fucks, these guys can be surprisingly sentimental. “When the music died,” Hannah sings on the track, “two ends of time had been neatly tied.” Aww.

Propagandhi may just be the only band on the planet who can quote both Michael Pollan and Captain Kirk in their liner notes and not have it seem weird. Take them or leave them, Propagandhi have a lot to say. Sure they can be heavy-handed, but that’s the point. They may be complicated, but they’re not subtle. And even if you only crash their party every few years, it’s nice to see they’re still at it, still uncompromising in their vision and still the most entertaining propagandists you’re ever likely to hear.

Propagandhi - “Dear Coach’s Corner”
Propagandhi - “Potemkin City Limits”

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