January 30, 2026
20 years of rebellion
Montreal hardcore punks Subsistance celebrated their 20th year of existence this past Saturday in St-Henri.
And what better way of celebrating 2 decades of politically charged, explosive punk, than to play in the quaintly putrid venue known as Death Can – or was it House of Trash? Anyways, you know the one! A modest celebration for a gang of friends that have been playing music together on a and off for 2 decades.
See Also: Blind Guardian at Mtelus, Montreal
Theirs is a tale that reaches back to high school. It’s a tale of destruction and partying that carried them across Canada and all over Europe. And what’s more, it’s an adventure that doesn’t seem to be entirely done.
20 years is a long time to keep something going and I’ve known them ever since. Let’s take a gander down memory lane.
The early days
In the whereabouts of 2001, a band called 3 Toke Pass was born.
Scott was on drums, Phil on guitar and Mat played bass, as well as sang. And for some time, an old pal Goran, was the 4th member, playing lead guitar. He was a great player, very technical. Not so much punk. But was a great skateboarder too. But that’s another story!
They would play their first show at Felix-Leclerc high school, in Pointe-Claire. As I recall, I went down to the front of the auditorium to listen to them up front at the stage. I think I moshed around with another friend.
“Why is that guy going down to the stage?”, they all must have wondered. Looking back on it now, I think I was also part of the spectacle, from the crowd’s point of view.
That day, they played a NOFX cover, Dinosaurs will die, as well another cover or two, and I made somewhat of a fool of myself. I have no regrets.
Soon after, they’d mutate into a more focused form, Subsistance.
Under this new name, they would begin to venture out and compose a lot of unique material and making new connections in the greater world of punk music. For years to come, they’d play Montreal extensively, one of their first public performances being at the legendary venue L’X.
During that set, Mat would destroy his bass by smashing it on the stage. Two kids, who were even more kid than us – they mustn’t have been older than 14 – salvaged the splinters of the now annihilated instrument and were ecstatic. I remember photographing that moment on a disposable camera thought for the life of me, can’t remember where it ran off to.
Touring, releases and legacy
In 2007, they independently released their debut album, Bleed, sweat and strive. In the years following that pivotal moment, they would go on to tour across Europe twice, and Canada once. During their entire punk rock career, they they would create bonds with home turf, Canadian bands. Bands like British Columbia’s The Rebell Spell(RIP Todd). Over time, they would also end up sharing share the bill with notable Canadian legends such DOA, SNFU, Ripcordz and Dayglo Abortions.
And though the Canadian punk rock landscape has greatly changed, some semblance of legacy of those times lingers still, in the ancient grime of our ear wax. During their recent show at Fattal, the songs they played revived old memories in many a wizened head.
After many years of laying dormant, these audio fossils in canals of our anatomical listening instruments, awoke.
Beyond Subsistance
The Sound of our Subsistance, released in 2010, would mark the band’s final, full length release as a tightly knit unit.
Following this however, they would still sporadically write and record new material. This body of work would end up being released many years later, in 2020, during the covid-19 pandemic; an LP entitled Unstoppable. Though ironically titled for a final release, the band’s members would prove to be themselves unstoppable, moving on to find creative outlet in other forms. Scott had already begun playing with other bands, such as Hold a Grudge, a well revered Montreal hardcore staple, as well as drinking deeper from the well of oi, with Shotcallers.
Eventually though, Phil and Scott would reunite in Offside, a hardcore project that would gain great traction locally and abroad and eventually found Big Boss. Mat, the band’s bassist, would eventually find kindred spirits in The Raymonds, a Ramones cover band. He would also create a short lived stoner project entitled Leeech with drummer Mucky of Ultra Razzia and guitarist Mathieu Gougeon. They would release one self-titled album and play the first show I’d see, post covid 19 pandemic restrictions, at Montreal’s Barfly.
Read More:
>> Lord Of The Lost at Beanfield Theatre, Montreal
>> Gowan at Mtelus, Montreal
>> Die Spitz at Le Ritz PDB, Montreal
Now, in 2026, they’re still at it. And though the world, along with it’s narrative, has greatly changed, Subsistance’s music still sounded relevant and resounded with the everyone present at the recent Fattal show.
Something tells me we’ve not heard the last of this enduring Montreal trio.
