tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37116730521213351542024-02-07T15:35:02.571+01:00HARDBOILEDHARCORE TILL DEATHDloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comBlogger688125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-16489428702995157252021-03-10T16:35:00.000+01:002021-03-10T16:35:13.066+01:00Biz Talk: Mentally Vexed<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSvPPA1LgFnA5f2l5z0yfSVAflm-ezMLFAdXMeSUuqd44uLz-iLmIiaxmdpj3twlli5i8mt1TeZGxpWPyUeyP4dfvdkYiLC7cFVl5twY1X9_kfTQqvdNtuoKJUWerDKBv0KJdvWbIPyztT/s0/mv+logo+2.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="808" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSvPPA1LgFnA5f2l5z0yfSVAflm-ezMLFAdXMeSUuqd44uLz-iLmIiaxmdpj3twlli5i8mt1TeZGxpWPyUeyP4dfvdkYiLC7cFVl5twY1X9_kfTQqvdNtuoKJUWerDKBv0KJdvWbIPyztT/s0/mv+logo+2.jpg"/></a></div>
<p class="intro">Here's the long awaited interview with Alec from Mentally Vexed records. The label has been carefully building a no-bullshit catalog of hardcore heavy-hitters with tape releases from bands like Sector, Minded Fury, Embrace Death, Out For Justice and more. From the choice of bands to the visuals, everything is craftsmanship. Check out Alec dropping some science on the innerworkings of an independent hardcore label.</p>
<p><b>When did you start Mentally Vexed and what is the philosophy behind it?</b></br>
Mentally Vexed started in March 2020. It's run by me (Alec), Jack, Mason and Ash, and the basic idea is to push smaller bands and businesses associated with the hardcore scene. We try to keep everything as DIY as possible, and where this isn't possible we use small businesses to do what we need (ie. independent local printers rather than big corporation).</p><a name='more'></a>
<p><b>Tell us something about the fanzine. It all started with the zine, right?</b></br>
My day job is in the events industry, so as of March 2020 I pretty much stopped working. I needed something to do, to stop myself going crazy, so decided to try and write a zine, which I was gonna publish online. I basically did interviews with friends and peers bands from the UK, and reached out to Year Of The Knife to try and get someone international involved too. Mully from YOTK really kindly answered a few questions from a stranger for a zine that didn't exist yet, and I put the finished thing online a few weeks later. People kept asking me when they could buy a print copy so I decided to print 50 and sold out in the first week. One by one the other guys came aboard and we haven't slowed down since.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk28B7vM9vuuKuIiZz_6ztBhrWadsEVwANWV9kbPvsH3MdYvJfMxX2SA_ewch7914XjVmSS4RLT0KiooPBDvc3CvUUlc25WJ5DHG0oVJHpyYH0ratjOOODfDf8Q_RGlBiC_AU4eVh2mLkQ/s400/155420725_261367818952944_57039655108837643_n.jpg"/></div>
<p><b>Nine releases in one year is an accomplishment, especially when it was 2020 when the pandemic took over. Is it a lot of work to run a hardcore label?</b></br>
Thanks! I wouldn't say it's a lot of work as such, but if you're not organised you'll fall flat on your face as soon as you start. I'm so proud of how much we achieved last year, so thanks to all the bands that made it possible.</p>
<p><b>Take us through stuff that needs to be done to put out a record/tape and how much time does it take?</b></br>
Everything can be broken down into tasks and ticked off as each task is completed, which keeps things organised. Generally the timeline is around a month from first contact to release, and the process will usually be;</br>
-Discuss numbers and what each party "gets" out of a release</br>
-Amend digital artwork to fit J-card/O-card (DIY)</br>
-Order J-cards/O-cards and tape labels (small business printer)</br>
-Order blank tapes (small business supplier)</br>
-Duplicate tapes (DIY)</br>
-Create release poster (DIY)</br>
-Assemble tapes with labels stickers etc. (DIY)</br>
-Share release around on social media, sell and send copies to distros</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="677" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6TsSK1C-nTmw9GKpCuOOjZ04z3pb1qbHsQUsnWxfhC-RnGDGWW6PoCIZHgo5kgwIYtWVaDHxmcX0bZp8Or1bU5lg7ntPQjyxdC5I7-27dqiYV1d9I-56E9fnDcZqtCn3Q4a2x54S_BDOA/s0/148300179_249693630120363_983380098629540560_n.jpg"/></div>
<p><b>You release almost only tapes. Why this format?</b></br>
There's a few reasons. Tapes are cheap enough that we don't need to charge loads to sell them, they are more collectible than CD's, and there's enough variables in colour, case/sleeve design etc. that you can go crazy with the DIY customisation.</p>
<p><b>What has the response been to the stuff you released so far? What release got the most attention?</b></br>
Yeah so far we've been super lucky with people buying stuff, sharing our shit and just generally enjoying what we do. We put a lot of time and effort into EVERYTHING we do, and I think that pays off. I would say the release that's got the most attention is, surprisingly for a new band, Upraised. I think there's probably a small degree of more people knowing about us and what we do, but mainly it's because the songs are really that good.</p>
<p><b>I love the rap influences on some of your graphics, it reminds me of No Limit esthetics. Where does it come from?</b></br>
Yeah that kind of snowballed a bit haha. All four of us love hip hop, and we decided to do a Madvillainy rip for the first release. Jack MVR though it would be funny to make a pen and pixel type promo poster for it so he did and we had a laugh and sold out of the tapes. Then we decided to do it again for the Sector release but with the Chicago Bulls on the poster as that's where they're from. It's carried on from there, picking something from each artists home town or state and incorporating it into the graphic. We've done so many that I don't think we can stop now...oops.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodRSjJokU02ggIc4QQqyIWomGaesXtbf14kfr57QtD36xWm_tfrBhFsR5iCSsDb9VZbGBIaitGbSwAGFfTkCqPeS7nUrROiEzhAajAo2GZs0EQBR6Y_m6t6HWWTB-6lKiMdr6Mpb9A6PT/s400/129868542_201502411606152_1967850965247033215_n.jpg"/></div>
<p><b>Could you tell us about your upcoming projects?</b></br>
Yeah, we're just printing issue #4 of the zine this week, and we're also working on getting the Suppress Promo tapes out ASAP. The songs are being mastered right now so they will be out soon. We have about 10 releases in the pipeline at this point, 3 of which are fully confirmed and should be available in the next month or so.</p>
<p><b>Is there any one band that you would like to work with that kids would be surprised to hear?</b></br>
Personally I'd love to do some more punk stuff, there's a band called Stiff Meds from London who I wanted to release but they already had something lined up elsewhere. I was too slow and you can't win em all, but you should definitely check their new(ish) album out because it's SICK.</p>
Catch <b>Mentally Vexed</b> @ <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mentallyvexedrecords/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mentallyvexedrecords/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://mentallyvexedrecords.bigcartel.com/" target="_blank">Bigcartel</a>Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-81906537035105431322021-02-25T21:06:00.002+01:002021-02-25T21:06:24.951+01:00Discography: Mentally Vexed<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAoLezsmQrVDdXo-BrSQP050yt5aY1jym5umgknPydaub-1zwV7dN20iEd2G9Zp6hsNfSt5oGx6xbeyLTfGlV8jlD6pySTBwrux1VABKuDqRChWBzm3Ie4w_sewS5eeRG5jHuoOzayML9o/s0/unnamed+%25281%25292.jpg"/></div>
<p class="intro">Mentally Vexed has been steadily dropping quality hardcore tapes for the last couple of months. For a label that started as a way to pass time during the lockdown, putting out 10 quality releases in a year demands respect. The operation is ran by four hardcore dudes dodging authorities and violating all the pandemic rules to give you the best in current hardcore. This only shows what few motivated individuals can accomplish if they put their minds to it. Who dates wins!
<br><br>A full blown interview is coming soon, in the meantime here's a list of label's releases to date with commentary from one the label bosses - Alec.</p>
<p>
<div style='font-size: 1em; margin: 5px 0px; font-weight: bold; ; font-family: Oswald; display:block; widht:100%;'>
MVR001 - Suppress - Yahzi.</div>
<div style='text-align:justify; margin: 0px 10px; font-style: italic;'>The band that me and Jack MVR play in, it never got a physical release when it came out in 2018 so we decided to put this out in the run up to a new release. The new release still isn't out nearly a year later haha. This one didn't have and tape labels and we also don't really know how many are out there - I think it's about 30. We got more organised after this..</div></p>
<p><div style='font-size: 1em; margin: 5px 0px; font-weight: bold; ; font-family: Oswald; display:block; widht:100%;'>MVR002 - Sector - The Virus Of Hate Infects The Ignorant Mind.</div>
<div style='text-align:justify; margin: 0px 10px; font-style: italic;'>
I was just listening to Sector and realised they hadn't had any kind of physicals in the UK, despite the scene being mega into them. I messaged them and Anchit (guitar) replied saying he'd love to do it - they were super easy to work with and are a great band. Aesthetically, this is the release I'm most proud of so far.</div></p>
<p><div style='font-size: 1em; margin: 5px 0px; font-weight: bold; ; font-family: Oswald; display:block; widht:100%;'>MVR003 - Minded Fury - Relapse of Mankind.</div>
<div style='text-align:justify; margin: 0px 10px; font-style: italic;'>
I was on a bit of a H8000 kick, and again just decided to message the band asking if they wanted a UK release. If we ever move into putting shows on, I'd love to have these guys over here.</div></p>
<p><div style='font-size: 1em; margin: 5px 0px; font-weight: bold; ; font-family: Oswald; display:block; widht:100%;'>MVR004 - Phaze Two - For The Core.</div>
<div style='text-align:justify; margin: 0px 10px; font-style: italic;'>
Phaze Two are from Birmingham UK, same as us, and we are friends with the band. This was one of my favourite local releases so it was a real pleasure when this came together. I really loved this EP, it's almost exclusively fast riffs and mosh riffs.</div></p>
<p><div style='font-size: 1em; margin: 5px 0px; font-weight: bold; ; font-family: Oswald; display:block; widht:100%;'>MVR005 - Embrace Death - Through Lifeless Eyes.</div>
<div style='text-align:justify; margin: 0px 10px; font-style: italic;'>
My other band Mantlet played a show in October-ish 2019 with Embrace Death, and we kept in touch since then, they're fun guys and play a nasty Irate cover. This was a co-release with our friends in Nuclear Family records, who did the standard artwork. Jack MVR put together this NAS rip as an alternative artwork for our version and even though I'm biased, I still think it's the best rip I've seen to date.</div></p>
<p><div style='font-size: 1em; margin: 5px 0px; font-weight: bold; ; font-family: Oswald; display:block; widht:100%;'>MVR006 - Infraction - The Black Room.</div>
<div style='text-align:justify; margin: 0px 10px; font-style: italic;'>
This was Infraction's second EP, and I was amazed at how they managed to get it sounding so tough as a home recording, especially as they all recorded their parts seperately from each other. This EP is thematically very dark and metallic, and John's vocals really stand out to me - so much, that I asked him to do a guest vocal feature on the new Mantlet EP (which will be out real soon!).</div></p>
<p><div style='font-size: 1em; margin: 5px 0px; font-weight: bold; ; font-family: Oswald; display:block; widht:100%;'>MVR007 - Out For Justice - NorthEazt Takeover.</div>
<div style='text-align:justify; margin: 0px 10px; font-style: italic;'>
The band pretty much gave us free reign to do what we wanted aesthetically, so Ash MVR (an incredible tattoo artist and illustrator) wrote out the track-list and credits in a handstyle similar to the band's logo, and it looked fucking incredible. When I sent the band their personal copies, guitarist Lumpy (also of Daze) was so stoked that he basically said "hit me up if you wanna do any of my stuff in the UK". We're taking him up on that, more info soon...</div></p>
<p><div style='font-size: 1em; margin: 5px 0px; font-weight: bold; ; font-family: Oswald; display:block; widht:100%;'>MVR008 - RAUM - Demo.</div>
<div style='text-align:justify; margin: 0px 10px; font-style: italic;'> The only "punk" record on the list, this was a lockdown project by our friend Jake from Cruelty - his brother Liam played drums and he did the rest. I really like the aesthetic Jake had for this band, and it's actually influenced the latest issue of the zine a lot. I listen to this record most days, even though it's only on shitty bandcamp which is a pain in the arse.</div></p>
<p><div style='font-size: 1em; margin: 5px 0px; font-weight: bold; ; font-family: Oswald; display:block; widht:100%;'>MVR009 - Upraised - WVHC.</div>
<div style='text-align:justify; margin: 0px 10px; font-style: italic;'> We heard Upraised writing these songs when we turned up for Suppress practice at the same rehearsal space, and knew we had to put them out. We're mates with the band, but realistically I'd have put it out anyway. I did a vocal feature for one of the songs but they decided they liked their vocalist's take on it better so didn't use my tracks - miserable bastards. The artwork for this one was fully designed by Ash MVR, and I think it's his finest work. For a new band, this release has done INCREDIBLY well and I hope to see Upraised on shows as soon as they start again.</div></p>
<p><div style='font-size: 1em; margin: 5px 0px; font-weight: bold; ; font-family: Oswald; display:block; widht:100%;'>MVR010 will be the Suppress promo tape</div>
<div style='text-align:justify; margin: 0px 10px; font-style: italic;'> for the upcoming EP. The songs are touch as fuck and we have something special and DIY planned for the release, keep your eye out for this.</div></p>Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-58704100591374094862021-02-16T21:05:00.001+01:002021-02-16T21:13:38.901+01:00New Blood: Ghetto Gospel<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1023" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimS9DVVGlmsmObeyyAeEDsztxqRwQ0yhTz3tDGnwQlWGjUBZLXXS0xIHT8SVFkYBOZ4q6AwuzGWCDkC-N_zFIo8sv-JF-WmXeP5c1pqBQ0Emj31LgFzwXAkJWFJwU2ZQVFptudZyr-jX7E/s0/149913906_246509493772116_8979190357904913424_n.jpg"/><figcaption>Photo credit: Lina V.</figcaption></div>
<p class="intro">
Ghetto Gospel are the new preachers of fast, attitude laden hardcore outta crisis-stricken Greece. The posse wasted no time and after just few weeks of jamming together in full conspiracy under the new Covid regime, they dropped a bomb in a form of <a href="https://ghettogospel.bandcamp.com/">The Price You Pay</a> - nine tracks to check out if early Agnostic Front or SSD is your thing. Read the interview to learn more about the band and Greek hardcore in general.
</p>
<p><b>To my knowledge, the story of Ghetto Gospel is short and straight forward - The Price You Pay is an outcome of just a few rehearsals. Is that correct?</b><br>
Hey, thanks for the interview and for being interested in GG. Yeah, we started the band in mid December 2020, composed all songs and recorded them in a week or so.Then we sent the songs to Made In Hell studio that took some time to mix them properly.
By mid January we had everything ready. It worked out really fast, faster than I expected, to be honest. Actually, we have never rehearsed in a real studio since we are not allowed to due to quarantine restrictions. We did everything at our drummer’s house (except of the drums that were recorded in a studio).</p>
<p><b>You all play in different bands, is Ghetto Gospel a side project or something more serious?</b><br>
True, we are all active in various bands, some of us for almost 2 decades now. Our drummer is the youngest one, but he has been (and still is) involved in a dozen bands already! I dare to say that GG is a serious project and hopefully (when all this craziness ends) we’ll be able to reach out to more people with live shows, etc. That said, we don’t wanna set limits, deadlines or boundaries, we are doing this for fun first and foremost and we’ll see where it takes us.</p>
<p><b>The demo is 80’-styled in-your-face bursts of hardcore with most of the tracks clocking way below one minute mark. Was it the idea from the beginning?</b><br>
Yeah, the main idea was to play raw and heavy, in your face, old school hardcore / thrash / punk / whatever, so the short songs do well for us. On the other hand, we never said let’s write a song that is 50 seconds or so, it came out kinda naturally. For me, long songs, when it comes to hardcore, are super boring, but that’s a different story.</p><a name='more'></a>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1789909655/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=333333/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="https://ghettogospel.bandcamp.com/album/the-price-you-pay-e-p">The Price You Pay E.P. by Ghetto Gospel</a></iframe>
<p><b>Is there a theme that runs throughout your lyrics?</b><br>
It’s all about every day life and my perspective of it. The lyrics cover sentiments varying from frustration, betrayal and depression to positivity, unity and fighting back. We are definitely sick of this society but let’s do something to change this.</p>
<p><b>Who are Tambores de Guerra and is the tape available yet?</b><br>
TDG is a Madrid based tape label, that has already put out great releases of the Spanish scene, but also cassettes for some cool international bands, like <a href="http://www.hardboiledzine.com/2018/02/new-blood-combust.html">Combust</a>, <a href="http://www.hardboiledzine.com/2018/07/new-blood-last-wishes.html">Last Wishes</a> or Blood Sermon. I am in touch with Yoshi, the guy behind TDG, since last year and he is a really nice person, super passionate for hardcore music. We thought that it’d be better to work with him to have that EP out instead of putting it out ourselves or do it with a Greek label (even though we got in touch with 1-2 in the beginning). It’s very easy working with him, so it was the right decision. The tapes will be available by the end of the February, limited to 40 red and 40 black ones, but most of them have been already pre-ordered or reserved, so you better get in touch with either TDG or us now!
There’s a cool collaborative t-shirt between us and TDG and some tee / tape bundles, available too!</p>
<p><b>What’s the hardcore scene like in Greece nowadays in terms of bands, labels and venues to play?</b><br>
Hm, tough one. I think that there’s a recession in the scene the last years; not many new bands coming up and old bands getting inactive. The DIY punk / post-punk / crust scene is blooming, though. But hardcore - wise (our style, USHC, etc.), not much is going on. Concerning the labels, there’s a handful of them working hard for the preservation of the scene, but not that many unfortunately. The same goes for the distros. There are some cool DIY venues in Athens and Thessaloniki (the 2 bigger cities), while lots of shows take place in squats, too (even though lately the state has evicted lots of them). There’s also the more ‘commercial’ shows taking place in professional venues. I don’t think that we lack of shows, there’s a lot going on, from big hardcore bands to small local gigs, but we definitely need more hardcore bands and more people to be active in the scene.</p>
<p><b>What’s the overall vibe of the scene? Is it rooted in punk rock, political or more into Nikes and merch or maybe something different?</b><br>
As I mentioned above, yeah the scene is more rooted in punk rock and politics, DIY ethics, autonomous centres and anti-authoritarian mentality. Big corporations have infiltrated the worldwide hardcore scene since day one, so it’s hard to get out of it, after all we all live in a capitalistic system, so yeah you get your Nikes and your Vans and your North Faces, too, but the overall mentality is going against the flow and the current cultural status quo.</p>
<p><b>Who Really Killed 2pac and WHY?</b><br>
I think we all know what killed him or better how the whole fight and shootings evolved, but I am not the one to investigate the whole scene, get away from me!
Long live Tupac Shakur.</p>
<p><b>The Price You Pay is getting good reviews and lots of people are hungry for more. Is there any change for new music from you this year?</b><br>
The response so far has been overwhelming, lots of great feedback! Thank you very much to all of you that showed love to The Price You Pay. We have already started writing some new songs, so expect more music sooner or later.</p>
<p><b>What do you hope for the band when the pandemic is over?</b><br>
The one and only thing I cross my fingers for is to get back to shows soon and have the chance to perform live in 2021. Till then, stay safe and watch out for each other. Peace out.</p>
Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-81869822087620442702021-01-19T22:43:00.009+01:002021-01-20T22:46:38.899+01:002020 can go to hell (Best of)<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCy2zz1B9KnRFxgr5L-tmMo3BucfJq8x-Eyb9DZj_R0XQ_xXJG5hHn7c2EoIvLSP5ev1lFJZRFLs7Y5bmLBvZLaMmX81jzzXYFKJRcPYheNqkBJC1NuZW738MOVsu-G7L6156qCd_95iqu/s0/2021-01-19_22h42_29.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="902" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCy2zz1B9KnRFxgr5L-tmMo3BucfJq8x-Eyb9DZj_R0XQ_xXJG5hHn7c2EoIvLSP5ev1lFJZRFLs7Y5bmLBvZLaMmX81jzzXYFKJRcPYheNqkBJC1NuZW738MOVsu-G7L6156qCd_95iqu/s0/2021-01-19_22h42_29.png"/></a></div>
<p class="intro">2020 was wack. It started being wack one day in January, followed by another wack day, and then by 365 more. If your name not Bezos, you can relate. As far as hardcore, the scene has seen better days but I had no problem coming up with a few rippers. The list below proves that even in a dry year, you can still find some legit gems.</p>
<p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.6em">Here’s my top of 2020 (spoiler: no Higher Power):</p>
<p><h4><b>The best:</b> Pain Of Truth - No Blame... Just Facts</h4>
It was a blessing to get this ep at the tail end of 2020 to wrap up this fucked up year feeling strong and undefeated. At least that’s how I feel listening to this heavy ass record. </p>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1460078988/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=333333/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="https://ratelrecords.bandcamp.com/album/pain-of-truth-no-blame-just-facts">PAIN OF TRUTH - No Blame... Just Facts by RATEL RECORDS</a></iframe>
<p><h4><b>Second best:</b> Mindforce - Swingin Swords, Choppin Lords.</h4>
Mindforce never disappoints. </p>
<p><h4><b>Best split record:</b> Out For Justice / Sector - This Thing Of Ours</h4>
No lie, ever since I came across Out For Justice bandcamp I knew this split was gonna be in your face gutter hardcore. </p>
<p><h4><b>Most vicious:</b> Criminal Instinct - Skull Fucked</h4>
It’s just two tracks on digital release but both are sure to get your ass stomped. </p>
<p><h4><b>Best groove:</b> Three Knee Deep - Three Knee Deep</h4>
A record that should not be missed, this album delivers some of the best grooved out rap core of 2020.</p>
<p><h4><b>Best NYHC:</b> Big Cheese - Punishment Park</h4>
<i>Brightside-era Killing Time meets 90' Madball by way of Backtrack</i> (<a href="http://www.hardboiledzine.com/2021/01/review-big-cheese-punishment-park.html">review</a>)</p>
<p><h4><b>Best rap album:</b> Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist - Alfredo</h4>
It was alright, won only because the competition was not that great.</p>
<p><h4><b>Best Reissue:</b> One Second Thought - Queens Style 1995 - 1999</h4>
FWH did a great job combining everything from these Queens heavyweights into a nicely put together digipack. </p>
<p><h4><b>Second best reissue:</b> Sunrise - Generation Of Sleepwalkers</h4>
I never had any strong feeling about Sunrise back in the day, but this album deserved vinyl treatment.</p>
Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-42899233589937317472020-06-28T17:54:00.000+02:002020-06-28T17:54:20.583+02:00Interview: On Sight<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikoOxppYq5eMNMIKvDQrkUd6YTi6PH3eHXLmeVmj_nVTBj1z3DtcG0zLItV9loueyzTm2rONsNhoh0834f3zXFVopWpPTX1R6kDIndka6MGkMf4WQs-Y_JEvOXLIOpzbXPCcPEGVfXVrpn/s5472/4.17.19-OnSightPromos-20.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikoOxppYq5eMNMIKvDQrkUd6YTi6PH3eHXLmeVmj_nVTBj1z3DtcG0zLItV9loueyzTm2rONsNhoh0834f3zXFVopWpPTX1R6kDIndka6MGkMf4WQs-Y_JEvOXLIOpzbXPCcPEGVfXVrpn/w640-h426/4.17.19-OnSightPromos-20.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: Steven Pendini<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div></div><div><b>Could you please introduce On Sight and give us some history of the band?</b></div>On
sight started in 2016 most of us grew up together while those who didn’t years
of music has brought us together.<br /><br /><b>Were you in any bands before?</b><br />Doug
and Darren played in a few local projects before On Sight but I know Edgar and
Dante played in a solid njhc band KNUCKLE UP!<span><a name='more'></a></span><br /><br /><b>Cause of Pain has been
getting good feedback and that’s well deserved. How do you feel about the record
when it’s out in the world? </b><br />It was a awkward time releasing the
record during a pandemic like COVID but honestly the reaction has been amazing
and we are super thankful to all our listeners <br /><br /><b>The message behind
Cause of Pain is unfortunately extremely valid today. What’s your take on the
whole situation? Many of the readers are not from the US so they might not fully
comprehend what’s going on.</b><br />Without going to deep into things I’d
first like to say I think every country has its police brutality so what’s
going on in America is no secret. Cops are egotistical power trip hungry
bullies. And with our history it’s no secret that poc (people of color) have
been mistreated in this country for hundreds of years and still to this
day.<br /><br /><b>Has police brutality ever affected you personally?
</b><br />Yes in short details my mother was slammed to floor by a Paramus nj
police officer in result to knocking one of her bottom teeth out.<br /><br /><b>Addressing
everyday life problems and ills is something that makes hardcore resonate with
people no matter where they from.. I dig the message behind the songs on Cause
Of Pain, but how important are lyrics to you? </b><br />I feel Lyrics
are very important. For on it’s causing kids to want to grab the mic and scream
lyrics doing rid of that “horseshoe” shaped mosh pit as hate5six likes to call
it. <br />And i mean yea we all like the riffs and the breakdowns and
violence it’s what mostly attracted all of to it. But to me the message is very
important. Hardcore to me has always been a big fuck you to the society we live
in,in the best way possible. <br /><br /><div><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1945728647/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=333333/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 500px;"><a href="http://onsighthc.bandcamp.com/album/cause-of-pain">Cause of Pain by On Sight</a></iframe><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Tell us something Unbeaten Records and
how did you hook up with them? </b></div>Buddy who runs unbeaten records is
one of the nicest guys I’ve personally met through music. Him and his family
work hard to make the name they have for themselves and for that I respect the
shit out of them. Buddy saw us live a couple of times we linked up with
him. We already had cause of pain recorded and ready so we pulled the trigger
through him and it was a great decision.<br /><br /><b>You have a couple of videos
and they are all pretty cool. Tell us something about it. </b><br />Spit your
lies was our first video we took some clips from a few shows through em
together. <br /><br /><b>Fading out being our second video we had a buddy of ours
deema play kinda like this low life persona to fit what the song was about and
With a couple clips from a private show we put together </b><br />Expired
almost same thing we put together a show at a private location and just started
shooting<br /><br />Cause of pain was a video of one of homies tagging our album
and logo at a infamous spot in Newark nj and being chased out by a cop. With
COVID hitting when it did we weren’t able to go back and get some live shots
because of lockdown so we used what we had and it still came out cool.<br /><br /><b>Can
you tell me a little about the practicalities of the video production: budget,
schedule, locations etc? Does it usually go smoothly?</b><br />On sight is one
of those bands that just roll wit the punches. <br /><div><br /></div><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GS9UpJXVpe4" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /></div><div><br /></div><b>I’ve seen your show
on hate5six and it seems kids go nuts to your music. What are some your favorite
shows to date? Best places to play? </b><br />Me personally. I absolutely love
philly we played on a Monday night and the turnout was amazing. Nyc always
turns up too! And of course nj our home always shows love!<br /><br /><b>What’s the
craziest shit you’ve seen at a show?</b><br />Physical objects being thrown
across the room like a food fight, but with chairs. <br /><br /><b>NJHC is a brand
and everyone reading this knows Fury Of V, Second To None or NJ Bloodline. But
what is the new breed of bands kids should check out? </b><br />So many
honestly but to start: threat 2 society, roseblood,shackled, and
paralysis Are some of my favorites <br /><br /><b>What local bands or
people have shaped your view on hardcore? </b><br />Jesse from Stick To Your Guns
and Scott Vogel from Terror are some people I look up to as vocalist and people
who use their voice and hardcore as a platform to do so.<br /><br /><b>Last words,
is this world going insane?</b><br />Insane? No I think a lot of people are
just waking up.
Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-68463184331828197482019-12-21T22:29:00.001+01:002019-12-21T22:30:25.748+01:00Interview: Exposure <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9EfENZkV8hyphenhyphenNer56XcgrIiro1Drm3bm9tlPTQ-QsQxCoAt-nl0nmwruUhpFJSu2PbULPibW7JXkN_KXVCwAaWoV1BNBXY4yxE3bOLV7GJIrnGi9p1mnkT4nBrV3S1u_2LvDWo-xwmn-Hm/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9EfENZkV8hyphenhyphenNer56XcgrIiro1Drm3bm9tlPTQ-QsQxCoAt-nl0nmwruUhpFJSu2PbULPibW7JXkN_KXVCwAaWoV1BNBXY4yxE3bOLV7GJIrnGi9p1mnkT4nBrV3S1u_2LvDWo-xwmn-Hm/s640/1.jpg" width="640" height="427" data-original-width="1400" data-original-height="934" /></a><br />
<br />
<b>Exposure rep German hardcore scene and I gotta tell you, their latest stuff in the form of Atonement will wreck you. The band stays winning with heavy ass Clevo worship sounding like In Cold Blood or some shit. This is my unexpected champing of recent months and if you sleep on this band, you're a total ass.</b><br />
<br />
<b>Straight off the bat, that Atonement promo tracks are fire. We will talk about that, but first tell me about Exposure. How it all began?</b><br />
Thanks man, appreciate it. Exposure began as a - probably late night - idea of mine when I was watching some movie of questionable quality. I had a bunch of riffs and ideas floating around in my head and decided to try and turn them into songs. Few weeks later, I did some rough demoing and showed it to rest. Except for Mi(s)cha, we had all been in a Powerviolence band of sorts called Hikikomori that never really went anywhere and we had joked that Volker sounded too much like Dwid at times to not seize that opportunity, so there we are.<br />
<br />
<b>So, give us some insights about Atonement. How the promo tracks are representative for the upcoming full length?</b><br />
Well, they're 2 songs that sort of cover the spread of what we do as a band. We mosh, we pogo (leather jacket with Deathside and Bastard backpatches) and we enjoy the heavy metal music. Also, these are the 2 songs of the full length we've been playing for the longest. The rest of the full length is different variations of what we've done on the demo. A little more finesse maybe but in essence, our approach is trying to write a hard song with several hard riffs.<br />
<br />
<b>For the collectors, who will release the album and on what format?</b><br />
We're still trying to figure out the specifics but it will most likely be vinyl only.<br />
<br />
<b>Your sound has been compared to Clevo bands, do you agree with it? What bands were major influences when starting the band?</b><br />
Oh yeah, definitely. I'm trying to channel the obvious, golden era Integrity, Ringworm, In Cold Blood, Only The Strong Compilation but I also look to bands like Bastard, Deathside and other Japanese Hardcore bands for influence.<a name='more'></a> <br />
<br />
<b>What’s the story about the Integrity coverset show? Was it just that single Hannover show or you do it from time to time?</b><br />
It was a Halloween show, so we wanted to do a gimmick. I will confess, an Integrity cover set is almost painfully obvious but hey, you gotta show some respect to the classics. But I think it was a one time <br />
<br />
<b>German scene has always seemed huge, even in terms of numbers of kids involved. What do you attribute it to?</b><br />
I think it's due to the location. Almost every tour has to go through Germany to make it from one side of Europe to another. I never had the impression of it being a huge scene, though. Sure, there's always been tons of bands but it's only in recent years that the quality has been there in my opinion. Obvious exceptions to the rule exist of course, True Blue is one of the greatest Euro bands of all time. Also, everybody listen to Hasret's cover of "Dönence", originally by the great Baris Manco. It's amazing!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqd6o5rdkqJ6Fobl6cUEVf3A3sJKaG6wyyjAx2bKyO9D8Rjl4XMHdP-QGOFMx-a2jRtv6HWjFQCqTXqnY_5ylBT7Ft4EpmYI5PPnNgn7yYk8DQS1emQFa4FfPslRHjFchTYVBtN6UQsp8Y/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqd6o5rdkqJ6Fobl6cUEVf3A3sJKaG6wyyjAx2bKyO9D8Rjl4XMHdP-QGOFMx-a2jRtv6HWjFQCqTXqnY_5ylBT7Ft4EpmYI5PPnNgn7yYk8DQS1emQFa4FfPslRHjFchTYVBtN6UQsp8Y/s400/2.jpg" width="400" height="267" data-original-width="1400" data-original-height="934" /></a><br />
<br />
<b>I wonder, with the movement so strong, has any hardcore band in Germany ever broke out into mainstream?</b><br />
Not really sure. I'm certain that some have tried but being from Germany isn't exactly a sexy attribute, so even getting some sort of recognition in the hardcore scene outside Germany isn't guaranteed.<br />
<br />
<b>Recommend some newer bands from your area that deserve checking out.</b><br />
Since most bands tend to spread across different cities, I will just list off a couple of great newer bands from Germany:<br />
>>> <b>Spirit Crusher</b> should be an established commodity by now, simply because their live shows are some of the most intense shows you can see<br />
>>> <b>Slon </b>from Trier, Koblenz and I think Mannheim(?) is quickly becoming one of the tighter live bands around<br />
>>> <b>The Fog</b> hailing from Berlin and representing for the hateful geriatrics of deutschhc<br />
>>> <b>Powerage </b>from Düsseldorf, they don't play near enough shows but they're sick!<br />
>>> <b>Angst </b>from Hannover for everyone who likes violent music played by guys that look like a handsome indie band<br />
Cremations from Hannover<br />
>>> shout outs to Dasha Big Boss, all the way from the tundra of Siberia to Germany!<br />
>>> <b>Coldburn </b>from (originally) Leipzig aren't new anymore but if you like your drumming hard and tight and your riffs thick, this should be up your alley<br />
>>> <b>Cave Park and Ratlord</b> may not be Hardcore but if you like handsome-bandmember-pop music or slammy death metal, give them a shot<br />
Members of Exposure also appear in: Spark, Night Force, Persecution Mania, Kulak, new and unnamed projects, so keep your eyes and ears peeled.<br />
<br />
Exposure @ <a href="https://exposurehc.bandcamp.com/">Bandcamp</a>Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-50265983012439420652019-03-21T22:48:00.000+01:002019-03-21T22:48:42.332+01:00New Blood: Short Fuse<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKasCWF3ahQg8hibrTmX5wCLHQ-Z9Imeggu6-oTGa-keb13tY-KxkdrL2vdtKfFzhI20K9d5MOzq3uVR6uD9hQCoWEXn7isQn1jFrCsaEy2Q_shlRRzUCfzxWT8zXVCf5gJu4sxou73NZq/s1600/direct+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKasCWF3ahQg8hibrTmX5wCLHQ-Z9Imeggu6-oTGa-keb13tY-KxkdrL2vdtKfFzhI20K9d5MOzq3uVR6uD9hQCoWEXn7isQn1jFrCsaEy2Q_shlRRzUCfzxWT8zXVCf5gJu4sxou73NZq/s1600/direct+%25281%2529.jpg" data-original-width="1080" data-original-height="720" /></a><br />
<br />
<b>Italy's newest hardcore hope sharing some insights on...<br />
</b><br />
<b>...the band:<br />
<br />
</b><p class="quote">Short fuse is an hardcore band based in rome, born in 2014 by the need to play loud music and scream our voices through these hard times. after a rough two songs demo, recorded after only six months, and some line-up changes we recorded our first ep in 2016 "what still remains", released by indelirum records,. After two years of live shows in italy and a last line-up change, we improved our sound, we hope in more personal way, mixing 90's and old school roots with some melodic and metallic riffage. We recorded in august 2018 our first full length album "sink or Swim", released always through indelirium records, along with our first official video for the titletrack. Right now, we've just played the release party in our hometown and we're planning some next shows, and we can't wait to play live again, hopefully also outside italy!</p><br />
<b>... the message in the music:</b><br />
<br />
<p class="quote">Lyrically we're all engaged in social and political issues, because in our opinion, especially nowadays, there's literally the need to say something about what's going on in this mad world. We believe that's not anachronistic for a hardcore band to restate our positions against fascism, racism, sexism, homophobia and basically against everything built on hate, trying to spread a positive message. However we have always loved also the more personal issues in hardcore lyrics, so in this album we've also written something about our personal lives and feelings, hoping that someone out there can relate to it.</p><br />
<b>...live element:</b><br />
<br />
<p class="quote">Speaking about live shows, that's probably the aspect we like the most about being in a band, especially in a hardcore band. We always try to give 100% on stage, actually when there's a stage hah, because we feel that the energy created inside the gig's room should be used outside it, trying to give our best to turn those words into actions.</p><br />
<b>...Roma hardcore scene:</b><br />
<br />
<p class="quote">Rome's hardcore punk scene is alive and well and there are a lot of great bands! new Bands like Nofu, Not sober at all, movement, closed speech, blair, lenders, irao, fuoco and so on are keeping the standards really high, along with the old school bands, each one with a personal way of doing it. As short fuse we're also part otf the till death collective, a new crew made by friends with the simple but essential aim to aggregate people at hardcore gigs, sharing and comparing their own ideas and thoughts.</p><br />
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=993335941/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="http://shortfuseroma.bandcamp.com/album/sink-or-swim">Sink or Swim by Short Fuse</a></iframe><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjysF855UcX5QI-fLdJXLifj43iZaKlxt-oxETuVl_vNcZ9KwQlpJMeQ16ZFkSgIE3SzodZ0gvhsFJd1VVLrgRPdRiTMt__jezx9MjSpYe-mVgJVIU9OlV9NidwvOHHDubW_hYfOdmOBXXV/s1600/direct+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjysF855UcX5QI-fLdJXLifj43iZaKlxt-oxETuVl_vNcZ9KwQlpJMeQ16ZFkSgIE3SzodZ0gvhsFJd1VVLrgRPdRiTMt__jezx9MjSpYe-mVgJVIU9OlV9NidwvOHHDubW_hYfOdmOBXXV/s1600/direct+%25283%2529.jpg" data-original-width="1080" data-original-height="720" /></a><br />
<br />
Check out Short Fuse @ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/shortfuseroma">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/shortfuse_hc/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://shortfuseroma.bandcamp.com/">Bandcamp</a>Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-10479754359900164192018-12-02T20:58:00.001+01:002018-12-02T20:59:46.410+01:00Interview: Mindwar<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxhNWRDBOsjupsCFZJvX57EHmUMihPrzzvPnrdD9uguH1OjITw_eao4u62qPQmLs0dGheOBl1fcQgojqY-RCbSrfhef4pTDq8JwLFgdA4vZrGyoQm7bI6YjwbBF1s8aR1tR0NFM9IAGaSj/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxhNWRDBOsjupsCFZJvX57EHmUMihPrzzvPnrdD9uguH1OjITw_eao4u62qPQmLs0dGheOBl1fcQgojqY-RCbSrfhef4pTDq8JwLFgdA4vZrGyoQm7bI6YjwbBF1s8aR1tR0NFM9IAGaSj/s1600/1.jpg" data-original-width="500" data-original-height="300" /></a><br />
<br />
<b>Up for some heavy ass NYHC worship? Then step right up. Belgium's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/mindwarhc/">Mindwar </a>is up and coming name on the European hardcore map and their latest EP, Hollow, has an energy that I really like. I could hear Backtrack, No Turning Back and even some Blacklisted influence in these tracks. They got all the ingredients of that style right plus the lyrics that anyone feeling down, angry or just dealing with some awkward situations can relate to. Check out the interview to learn more about these boys.<br />
</b><br />
<b>Can you us give a quick introduction to Mindwar and explain a little how you got started playing music together?<br />
</b>Mindwar is basically a big "band of brothers" (literally!) Anthony (vocals) and Emanuel (guitar) are in fact brothers and I've known these guys for over 19y so we're practicly family. We' all grew up in the same city and share more or less the same interests, one of them being hardcore. After a few years of going to shows together we felt like the Belgian scene was missing something. Beatdown was very popular at that time (thank god those days are over, everyone acted as if they grew up in the hood or some shit looking like they were living in a fucking trailerpark) and we were more into the groovier "I wanna stomp holes in the floor and stagedive headfirst into a brick wall" type of hardcore. Nobody was doing that at the time so that's when we came up with the idea of starting our own band. At first we just jammed either in mine or in Anthony and Emanuel's backyard, just the 3 of us goofing around. Things started speeding up when we invited long-time friend Jelle to the party. At that time he didn't even know how to play drums, still he was our best bet for making this band kinda work. Recently we added Andy to our ranks as a 2nd guitarist and now here we are, just released our ep "Hollow".<br />
<br />
<b>Give us some details on the upcoming ep Hollow. Is it going to be along the lines of the demo and generally, what kids should expect from it?<br />
</b>Our ep is basically the demo 2.0. We wrote the songs for our demo like 3-4 years ago and to be honest back than we had no idea what we were doing or how a "Mindwar-song" was supposed to sound like, we just wrote whatever we felt like writing. The demo was pure hardcore worship that included every element we liked about the genre at that time. While writing for our ep I feel like we really found our sound and stepped up our game as far as songwriting goes. Since the release of our demo we all grew so much both as musicians and as people and I think that you're able to hear that growth when you listen to the ep. The hooks are bigger, the riffs are heavier… We just wanted to be the best version of Mindwar we could possibly be and write the best Mindwar tunes we could possibly write.<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vNG1LW0dGN0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>The overall tone of the title track is rather bleak and negative. What are some of the main things that you are trying to convey and why?<br />
</b>Anthony does all of the lyric writing (at the end of the day he's the one shouting those words at the audience so I guess that makes the most sense) He likes to keep things very real and personal, not about dungeons and dragons or some shit but real life struggles and problems he has to face. He went through a "darker" period in his life where he didn't really know what to do with himself, which direction to go and that inner struggle is a theme he covers a lot on this ep. However not every song on Hollow is as negative as that one tho, the song "Never again" (my personal favourite) has a much more hopefull and positive message to it, saying you should stop playing the blame game and stop making up bullshit excuses for yourself.<br />
<br />
<b>How did you get two labels working on that release?<br />
</b>For this release we wanted to get signed to the biggest label that would take us so we would have like a proper platform for releasing our music BUT (and that's a very big but!) they had to really understand hardcore and what we as a band stand for, you know? We wanted a label run by the kids for the kids. Reality records is the biggest hardcore label in Belgium and among the biggest in whole of Europe so when they showed interest we didn't hesitate a single bit. Kick Out The Jams however were the first people who ever gave us a chance so we decided to release a limited run of tapes with them. They did an emazing job on our demo so I'm confident the ep will come out even better.<br />
<br />
<b>What is playing in a hardcore band about to you? <br />
</b>For me honoustly playing in a hardcore band is all about having fun. Don't wanna sound to PMA here but everyone in Mindwar is loving life and getting up on stage with your best friends, watching people go apeshit while playing the songs you poured your heart and soul into is one of the coolest things ever.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Nru774uwLYk1S_Hvis1Kw4496K8_S5JGKOcRWfyZ8QeI5AWvUw7OdaDIKTvkvePlKn9ZBYcHpqJAJHezfkYO3AbNV-u1COA05caJD7iZ6ApRyHY3JkPKoM9RUpYebFyboZdZcFPu7dIo/s1600/received_324374338379160.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Nru774uwLYk1S_Hvis1Kw4496K8_S5JGKOcRWfyZ8QeI5AWvUw7OdaDIKTvkvePlKn9ZBYcHpqJAJHezfkYO3AbNV-u1COA05caJD7iZ6ApRyHY3JkPKoM9RUpYebFyboZdZcFPu7dIo/s400/received_324374338379160.jpeg" width="400" height="194" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="775" /></a></div><br />
<b>What do you want people to take away from what you’re doing?<br />
</b>That it's ok to not be the biggest guy at the show. Being a hardcore kid is not about being a fucking gorilla with the big chest and the big arms, beating up the smaller kids while at the same time kissing the asses of those who are even tougher than them. That's some "survival of the fit" shit and that's NOT what hardcore is about. It's about being moved by the music and losing your shit no matter how big or small you are and regardless how "stupid" it may look (let's be real here, we're all punching air so I don't think we can consider any of us a cool guy…) You have every right to be there, so loosen up and start having some fucking fun!<br />
<br />
<b>How did you find hardcore? What was it about it that really engaged you?<br />
</b>I didn't find hardcore, hardcore found me haha. I used to listen to pop-punk/punkrock when I was younger. I really liked the outcast mentality and the "us against the world" aspect of it but after a while I felt like I needed something more. I needed something heavier, something faster and meaner. Salvation came when I saw Sick Of It All killing it at this Belgian festival called Groezrock. Me, Emanuel and Anthony still talk about that show a lot cause it was probably one of our first encounters with hardcore. I'll never forget how we got the shit beaten out of us by a bunch of old, bald, drunk dudes and how we loved every second of it. The raw energy, the fear, the tension. It was new, it was different and we wanted more. We NEEDED more. So after that it didn't take long before we started going to local (and not so local) shows every week.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6Xju5XCh-Uwf9b-rh3rMQw3w_FfCHgPPUYII3Ejh_6JUlGPLVgtNQFfbE0lTl1liH2shqdcnAyWWlXMgn_oXOsgcI4bRBNiNfta8AF_G7XZlSaijQV-XRXU7IoUO6jsOB-9PzqEYs-Ej/s1600/32105182_1257252767710558_4969289990539313152_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6Xju5XCh-Uwf9b-rh3rMQw3w_FfCHgPPUYII3Ejh_6JUlGPLVgtNQFfbE0lTl1liH2shqdcnAyWWlXMgn_oXOsgcI4bRBNiNfta8AF_G7XZlSaijQV-XRXU7IoUO6jsOB-9PzqEYs-Ej/s320/32105182_1257252767710558_4969289990539313152_n.jpg" width="256" height="320" data-original-width="768" data-original-height="960" /></a></div><b>For a band with only a demo under your belt you have played plenty of shows. How did you manage to pull off a week tour?<br />
</b>Yeah I'm still not sure how we managed to pull that one off but with only our demo we managed to play with some of the biggest hardcore acts in the industry. We got the chance to open up for Sick of it all, Harley "Cro Mags" Flanagan, Agnostic Front, Trapped under Ice, Justice, Backtrack, Expire,... Unfortunately back then apart from Belgium and the Netherlands there wasn't really that much intrest in Mindwar as far as other countries went. But since going on tour was like our lifelong dream we decided to try book everything ourselves. And let me tell you, hitting the road for 8 days was one of the coolest things we've ever done. Hanging out with your best friends all day, playing some kick ass shows, jumping of bridges, sipping on some cold ones, life doesn't get much better than that.<br />
<br />
To be fair I have to give a lot of credit to Jelle for making this tour work, he booked a lot of the shows himself and he put in an insane amount of effort. Summer time is never easy for a smaller band like us to book a tour. Lucky for us the Flex from the UK was on tour that same time too so we managed to get on a date with them in Vienna and end the tour with them in a tiny punkrock club in the West of Belgium. Also, Hardside and Will to Die from the USA were on tour as well and we got the chance to play 2 dates with them in Swiss. The first 2 shows of the tour we played alongside Cornered from the Netherlands (both shows were crazy as fuck!)<br />
<br />
<b>What are some memories from being on a road?<br />
</b>Oh boy, where to begin... Definetly one of the coolest things that happened during those 8 days was when some of our friends drove all the way to the fucking Czech republic to watch us play our very first headine show abroad. Safe to say they absolutely destroyed the place. People were diving off the bar and shit, beer everywhere, shit was wild. The next day we partied it up in Prague (got totally smashed and danced on the freakin' ceiling all night long) But my favourite tour memory has to be playing in lovely Zürich. We played the wildest show of the entire tour there. During our soundcheck there were only like a few kids but as soon as we started playing the whole venue filled up and everyone just started beating the shit out of eachother! Boys, girls, everyone! Later that evening Anthony even knocked out Emanuel while moshing to Hardside. Thinking about it brings a smile to my face, such good memories. Even our drummer (who usually NEVER EVER moshes) entered the pit that night, shit was surreal.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-itYWqe-m0tbey_FbSviKnWfByb-oUiavl9ZBBF8IO4glcwrBNr4A05F_atTYfJo0MNLxny6DjdVYHNtz3T-jVOXZEO4OwAorm58MqiC11IHFSxN7CsWoZ-MRx1_QTZOKo5eaDnwrFebj/s1600/received_1871982659582110.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-itYWqe-m0tbey_FbSviKnWfByb-oUiavl9ZBBF8IO4glcwrBNr4A05F_atTYfJo0MNLxny6DjdVYHNtz3T-jVOXZEO4OwAorm58MqiC11IHFSxN7CsWoZ-MRx1_QTZOKo5eaDnwrFebj/s400/received_1871982659582110.jpeg" width="400" height="327" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1309" /></a></div><br />
<b>What is next for Mindwar apart from the ep?<br />
</b>Well we had a very busy summer with Mindwar. We played our release show which was epic as fuck, supported Merauder on 3 dates of their European run (one being a sold out show in the Netherlands, one in Antwerp alongisde Harm's Way and Sanction, and one being Ieperfest) Playing the holy ground of Ieperfest was always the goal for both us as a band and as people so getting the chance to get up on that stage and watch people going off was a dream coming true. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't get myself to stop smiling the entire set. To top of our summer we took a 10h drive to play a show on this Swiss metal festival Called "Abyss". This show was without a doubt one of the coolest if not thé coolest show we've ever played on the biggest stage we've ever hit, infront of the biggest crowd we've ever drew.<br />
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qwsDpAeUQM8" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
And we're not thinking about slowing down any time soon. We're planning on hitting the road again next summer to do a 2nd european run, there are plans to go to the UK as well and we already started working on new songs but how and when they will be released is something we haven't decided yet. Maybe we'll do a split with a band we like, maybe we just start writing for our full length, maybe both,... who knows?! Exciting times ahead that's for sure ;)<br />
<br />
<b>Do you have any shoutouts you want to give?</b><br />
First of all I wanna give a big fucking shout out to our boys and girls in the "Mindwar platoon". Without our boys following us all across Belgium and Europe being in Mindwar just wouldn't be as much fun as it is right now. Shout out to Kick out the jams and Reality for helping us getting our music out, shout out to everyone who ever bothered watching us play and not walking out on us and shout out to everyone taking a minute out of their day to read this! And thank you so much for doing this interview with us, it means the world. Peace!<br />
<br />
Mindwar @ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/mindwarhc/">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://mindwarhc.bandcamp.com/">Bandcamp</a>Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-30992082440654359902018-11-29T23:18:00.002+01:002018-12-02T20:59:52.444+01:00Review: Peace Of Mind - Penance<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKsSWpLRQvE9p7qlGQBaq6yWUN5ldE4M-GmB52JfT_hXGSsuu7g4V34cMIakjmBUyBEo-FK2bLE9BWDcW4v4u0luavFMUZgM2Lzf4oa2S6sgH9xVS3RQSVoyO-HZoBC6-UCyUSLdhV96Jt/s1600/a0919561886_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKsSWpLRQvE9p7qlGQBaq6yWUN5ldE4M-GmB52JfT_hXGSsuu7g4V34cMIakjmBUyBEo-FK2bLE9BWDcW4v4u0luavFMUZgM2Lzf4oa2S6sgH9xVS3RQSVoyO-HZoBC6-UCyUSLdhV96Jt/s400/a0919561886_10.jpg" width="400" height="400" data-original-width="1200" data-original-height="1200" /></a><br />
<br />
Peace Of Mind rep Germany, one of the strongest scenes in Europe, and this is their newest baby. <a href="https://peaceofmindhardcore.bandcamp.com/album/penance">Penance</a> is 12-track strong and delivers heavy-ass hardcore with a healthy dose of thrash vibe that is so hyped in the scene right now. Musically, it's alright. Nothing that stands out in the current hardcore state of the art, but nothing they should be ashamed of neither. Listening to some of the riffs it's clear the band handles their shit like a pros, but because the head-turning moments are so few the music gets bland at times. Nonetheless, you can hear they put some effort, skills and heart into these tracks. <br />
<br />
The vocals are whatever, took me a while to get used to but I give'em a pass. To be honest, every time there are guest vocals on some track I think how much better this record would sound if they went for more harsh delivery instead of high-pitched screams that remind me of that First Blood guy. I hate this style of singing. Even worse, I am not an expert but there's probably a heavy dose of studio engineering needed to make the human voice sound like that which kills any human emotions the singing should convey. As a default, more Jeff Perlin less Carl Schwartz on the vocals is always right.<br />
<br />
Some harsh words have been said here, but fuck that review and check for yourself cause chances are you're gonna like at least part of it.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://deadserious.de">Dead Serious Records</a>, 2018Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-10798283452873611952018-11-08T21:22:00.000+01:002018-12-02T20:59:40.975+01:00New blood: Last Orders<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2yG_xhjK0g8Xo7A6XCjvsDlDlhMgJfIXqvEI2WvEDmS4W4m0rW0FY9YzmgrsznDg-K7ezJipt_N6Ktz304dHY2ijMqzrwY4uAN9Z0_eKcCiKRDtru3FjvoDbp-50qesB1WH-ABMGhd9We/s1600/27867878_2023405241240725_1897951815539818276_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2yG_xhjK0g8Xo7A6XCjvsDlDlhMgJfIXqvEI2WvEDmS4W4m0rW0FY9YzmgrsznDg-K7ezJipt_N6Ktz304dHY2ijMqzrwY4uAN9Z0_eKcCiKRDtru3FjvoDbp-50qesB1WH-ABMGhd9We/s1600/27867878_2023405241240725_1897951815539818276_n.jpg" data-original-width="960" data-original-height="539" /></a><br />
<br />
<b>Cold Hard Truth, Crippler LBU, Ironed Out, Proven... these are just some of the bands members of Last Orders had their dirty hands in. If you know anything about LBU scene you know it reads like who is who over there, meaning quality is guaranteed. Last Orders is more on the relaxed side of things, especially when it comes to subject matter that revolves around beer, fried chicken and telling hipsters to FUCK OFF... All acceptable topics for a hardcore song. Check out the interview with Ryan (guitar) and Louis (vocals).</b><br />
<br />
<b>First off, Last Orders - give us some overview of the band. How did you get started? <br />
</b><br />
Ryan: Bunch of mates that talked about doing an old school sounding band for a while. Ended up all fitting together well with everyone being on the same page as to what they wanted this band to be....<br />
<br />
Louis: Ry (Guitars) had an idea to start a new band but wanted to try something a little different. So he approached Louis (Vocals) who was looking to start another band but wanted to do vocals on his own. After that Ry spoke with Joe (Guitar), Louis chatted to Jake (Drums) and finally Joe asked Skel (Bass) who was up for doing something after taking a few years out from playing in a band.<br />
<br />
<b>There’s no money and no fame in playing hardcore, so why do it?<br />
</b><br />
Ryan: We do it because we love it. The music, the message and the people we meet along the way. <br />
<br />
Louis: For me I've always done it for two reasons. Firstly, as a release and secondly because in a world that is hard to get your voice heard without diluting your message, hardcore is a great platform to get whatever it is off your chest and spit your rage (so to speak). It's never, ever been about money or fame. <a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0e06B-4K_za_5ZUNRAx2WHDxX656e7ssSy12tzGbNBPLRWXHned9ikAihXEsfkMbsboVCoYYvASLXbMRRx8GuFr3yD60jyCUVX0bNcRwiJEip31t8Ax0NcfxTkgsovh5EjTU9gZ4B-042/s1600/lastorderstape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0e06B-4K_za_5ZUNRAx2WHDxX656e7ssSy12tzGbNBPLRWXHned9ikAihXEsfkMbsboVCoYYvASLXbMRRx8GuFr3yD60jyCUVX0bNcRwiJEip31t8Ax0NcfxTkgsovh5EjTU9gZ4B-042/s320/lastorderstape.jpg" width="250" height="242" data-original-width="342" data-original-height="333" /></a></div><b>The demo is your first release. How long was it in the making? <br />
</b><br />
Ryan: Some of the riffs have been around for a while but all came together when this band got in a room and played. Bits got switched up, ideas got flowing and it just worked. The recording itself was done over a couple of evenings at k town studios by our good friend Steve BDF.<br />
<br />
Louis: Not too long. Whole process was done in within a couple of days by our good friend Steve BDF.<br />
<br />
<b>Are you happy with the final result?<br />
</b><br />
Ryan: Steve did a blinding job of capturing where we were at that point of the band. We wanted something a bit more raw sounding than we had done in our previous or current other bands and he did just that for us.<br />
<br />
Louis: Definitely, we didn't want a polished sound. A lot of new bands spend hundreds on doing a demo and we wanted the opposite of that. <br />
<br />
<b>Apart from dissing avocados, is there any type of message in your music that you want to send to the listeners?<br />
</b><br />
Ryan: Hahaha. Overall we want this band to be about having a good time but Louis always writes lyrics that are true to him.<br />
<br />
Louis: Haha, our overriding message is we will say what we want within reason of course. You don't have to like us or pretend to like us either. Having said that, we just want to have fun with our music and see how far we can progress with it. There are no deadlines or time limits. In a scene where most bands write about politics, animal rights etc we just wanna talk about trival dumb shit. We can't all change the world sadly.<br />
<br />
<b>What bands inspired the music on the demo?<br />
</b><br />
Ryan: We all listen to loads of different music, but I would say Cro mags, knuckledust, wisdom in chains, sick of it all, skarhead. Just those old school anthemic hardcore bands that you can grab the mic and sing along and stage dive.<br />
<br />
Louis: Fast, aggressive hc like Warzone, KD and our experience with playing in mostly metal influenced hc bands. <br />
<br />
<b>What’s the state of London hardcore nowadays?<br />
</b><br />
Ryan: Stronger than ever. Rucktion Records are holding it down as per usual with their latest release (Ironed Out’s ep) and they are 20 years deep.... just look at that back catalogue to see how strong it is. There are load of Incredible shows and huge line ups being put on around the capital by people such as Ready Eye Collective. Who would have thought you would see a UK exclusive of Meruader playing Master Killer in full?! so huge thank you to the hard work of the Ready Eye dudes.<br />
<br />
Louis: It's decent. We have some good people putting on shows like Ready Eye Collective, Moral Decay, United Voices HC formerly London HC collective and of course Rucktion Records who have been involved with the London scene for 20 plus years and still going strong. There is a little split but that's always been there for whatever reason.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO6NHnUv4Ue55MtehC6BWAdh4p18Bboe1u6f4mcYv1mSlKwIqIRxetZ-scmAVgo-rGDl8StFZs0k8Jsn9irTSzclAj9loZl5yDMlrBEJv0EfL5SSvRfF5ZApnV5arP021rdhrkQ4mYw0By/s1600/39506482_2156173907963857_4381105510821134336_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO6NHnUv4Ue55MtehC6BWAdh4p18Bboe1u6f4mcYv1mSlKwIqIRxetZ-scmAVgo-rGDl8StFZs0k8Jsn9irTSzclAj9loZl5yDMlrBEJv0EfL5SSvRfF5ZApnV5arP021rdhrkQ4mYw0By/s400/39506482_2156173907963857_4381105510821134336_n.jpg" width="261" height="400" data-original-width="626" data-original-height="960" /></a></div><b>The list of your ex and current other bands is long and some of them already left the mark on the UK hardcore. When you look back, what are some of your best memories being part of the scene?<br />
</b><br />
Ryan: For me personally just being able to be a part of this scene is a privelage and part of me being who I am today. The people we meet along the way become family and the memories we share we hold strong.<br />
<br />
Louis: Best memories are making all the friends and family I have now and being able to travel to places as close as Belgium and as far as Finland. <br />
<br />
<b>Top 3 UKHC albums of all time?<br />
</b><br />
Ryan: Ok so these aren’t technically all albums but I have to go with:<br />
Knuckledust: time won’t heal this<br />
xCanaanx: Gehenna Made Flesh<br />
50 Caliber: Internal bleeding <br />
<br />
Honourable mentions for me go to:<br />
Ninebar: urban legends<br />
Awoken: take aim <br />
BDF: First Family<br />
<br />
Louis: Knuckledust - Unbreakable<br />
Ninebar - Urban Legends<br />
Blades of Unity - Backpack full of C4<br />
<br />
<b>London is a metropolis which comes with both positives and negatives. Are you born and raised there? <br />
</b><br />
Ryan: Personally, no I’m from Canterbury in Kent originally. I have been in and around London my entire life though and it’s the city we love.<br />
<br />
Louis: Louis is from East London and Jakes from South London. Ry is from the Garden of England, Kent. Skel and Joe are from Boston in Lincolnshire but Joe has been living in London for about two years now. Living in a city comes with its challenges but I think the hardest thing is paying bills because it's an expensive city to live in. <br />
<br />
<b>What’s your daily life like?<br />
</b><br />
Ryan: We all work full time and some of us have families. We make time to do this because we want to make music together and it’s an escape from our everyday lives. <br />
<br />
Louis: Work, eat, band practice, shows, booze, rant, booze, eat, sleep. Sometimes the order does change. <br />
<br />
<b>What does hardcore need more of? <br />
</b><br />
Ryan: We need more of the younger generation to carry this on and keep it fresh and continue this thing.... we need more people to go to shows so people like Ready Eye Collective can continue to bring you the best bands possible.<br />
<br />
Louis: People supporting shows by paying into the venue. Bands need to be paid at the very least petrol money. <br />
<br />
<b>What does it need less of?<br />
</b><br />
Ryan: Rats. Shit talkers. Fakes. <br />
<br />
Louis: Identity politics, cosplay poverty and new bands being placed above bands that are already established. A lot of young promoters are forced/bullied into putting new hype bands higher up a bill and I think it goes against the ethics of who and what we're about. Pay your fucking dues. End of story.<br />
<br />
<b>Band’s plans for the future?<br />
</b><br />
Ryan: We are playing with Knuckledust and wisdom in chains this weekend, with our friends in Pints and Injury Time and have a few new tunes we are working on. We hope to have something new recorded by the end of the year.<br />
<br />
Louis: Tour, write more music and just have as much fun with this as possible.Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-79902280176960427462018-10-04T21:39:00.000+02:002018-10-04T21:55:53.785+02:00New blood: Existence<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3wj8kn5sXdLtt7VULWEHbTxCZyO2Ogw2d_UrQC6lZEAizU1cYFNK7m9hwvOFc17Ik0cPK84fXj6-j8AYzhwBcjZ7WCEHTa6cpjAVp7CIjXtk5MI_CLcONQED1sba99GU2vbX9FUaB7Hm/s1600/R1-09.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3wj8kn5sXdLtt7VULWEHbTxCZyO2Ogw2d_UrQC6lZEAizU1cYFNK7m9hwvOFc17Ik0cPK84fXj6-j8AYzhwBcjZ7WCEHTa6cpjAVp7CIjXtk5MI_CLcONQED1sba99GU2vbX9FUaB7Hm/s1600/R1-09.JPG" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1081" /></a><br />
<br />
<b>No doubt Into The Furnace by Sweden's Existence is bound for a high place on my best of 2018 list. My body wasn't ready for the amount of anger and fury these 4 tracks deliver. No lie! It has massive groove and spiteful vocals but even though technically everything is spot on, there's a fair layer of dirt all over. I don't want nothing to do with hardcore that's too perfect and polished, I don't like it. If it's not raw it ain't worth my time. I think these dudes think alike cause Furnace is darker and grittier than your average hardcore nowadays. Give'em a chance.</b><br />
<br />
<b>First of all, how did the Euro summer tour go?<br />
</b>The summer tour went very well. The response on all shows was overwhealming, and of course it's always great to be able to hang out with old and new friends.<br />
<br />
<b>Let’s talk about the new ep. The musical and lyrical tone and feeling of Into The Furnace is rather intense and bleak, how do the lyrics reflect the way that you view life and things?<br />
</b>The world is a cruel and unforgiving place. I’m just calling things as I see them. I’m not necessarily a negative person, quite the opposite actually. Writing lyrics and music is my sole outlet and it’s a key note in my way of dealing with difficult emotions and thoughts. Writing something, even just a word can spark a whole process of thoughts that may have been buried somewhere far in the back of my head. Other lyrics that comes across as more direct, still have some sort of sentimental line of thought that lead up to the finished product.<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 500px; height: 620px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2917648152/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=333333/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="http://existencehc.bandcamp.com/album/into-the-furnace">Into the Furnace by Existence</a></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>Attitude, knowledge, ethics - in your opinion, what does the best hardcore music gets across to the listener?<br />
</b>One of the most important aspects of hardcore, and one of those things that truly makes me get into a band is when I actually believe the lyrics. Not necessarily by the word, but the feelings and thoughts projected through them. I hate lazy, uninspired template hardcore lyrics. If it doesn’t mean something, then what’s the point? It’s such a privilege to be able have an outlet like this, and it’s a shame to see so many people just wasting it by writing complete nonsense meant to sound cool and hard or whatever their chosen output might require. If you don’t have anything to say, step aside, swallow your ego and let someone else do it. So to answer your question, authenticity is what I think is the most important thing for a hardcore band to get across to the listener. Regardless if it’s about politics, emotions or whatever it may be.<br />
<br />
<b>Why’d you name the album Into The Furnace?<br />
</b>We had a couple of titles in mind for the record. We settled on into the furnace because we felt it summarized the vibe of the songs, both lyrically and musically.<br />
<br />
<b>Musically these new tracks sound massively powerful. What were the main influences when writing these tunes?<br />
</b>The tracks are mostly influenced by nyhc classics like cro-mags, leeway, killing time aswell as more metallic acts, biohazard, life of agony, merauder to name a few.<br />
<br />
<b>Have you gotten any sense of how the response has been to the record so far?<br />
</b>So far the response has been great. Other than enjoying the music, a lot of people seem to like the artwork and the way the physical record turned out.<br />
<br />
<b>How did you hook up with Quality Control HQ for the 7” release?<br />
</b>Ola came up to us after a show in rastatt, germany to buy a t-shirt and said she really liked the songs we played. We had some demo recordings for the 7" and after sending her those, we started discussing working together. QCHQ is one of the currently hardest working labels in europe and working with Ola has been a pleasure, as she puts a lot of time, effort and involvement into making the releases as good as possible.<br />
<br />
<b>Tell us what’s the scene like out there in Sweden at the moment? In terms of music and kids’ attitude, do you feel like it is in a good place today?<br />
</b>I feel like there are a lot of swedish bands taking their music and hardcore very seriously right now, and it shows. I can’t remember the last time we had these many active (and good) bands in all different tiers of hardcore. There’s a lot of people traveling to shows within our nation and abroad, which is very cool. But I also feel like the scene has become more and more centered around the three biggest cities, which is a shame. Existence is 3/5 migrated hillbillies. But yeah, overall swedish hardcore is definitely in a good place right now and I’m excited to see what the future holds.<br />
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mEizUKn9ct4" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>Swedish bands and scene tend to be very much into politics, even more than in some other parts of Europe. Where do you think it’s coming from?<br />
</b>Sweden is a very progressive country and I guess it reflects in the culture we produce. The most violent and radical nazi organisation we have here, still thinks people should be allowed to be gay. Our most conservative politicians in the parliament, still picks hillary clinton over trump etc. Hardcore in Sweden has for as far I know been strongly connected to the autonomous left wing movement as well as the animals rights movement, even if that particular part isn’t as prominent today as it was in the 90’s. I guess our ”default” is just a lite more to the left than most others.<br />
<br />
<b>Tell something about Existence for those unfamiliar. How and when did the band get started?<br />
</b>We started as a band in the summer of 2016. We had a few people coming and going before we set out to record the demo released on neutral words records. The demo was recorded as a four piece but as the songs were written with two guitar players in mind, we joined forces with simon, and the line-up was complete.<br />
<br />
<b>What the future holds for Existence?<br />
</b>We are hungry for playing more shows around europe and the uk and some are already in the plans. Meanwhile we are writing new tracks for upcoming releases.Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-41589028556501635182018-08-11T15:50:00.000+02:002018-08-24T22:41:51.252+02:00Review: Wisdom In Chains - Nothing in Nature Respects Weakness<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cWWK-EF9XgyOQiEifv_XKXi6o5Zeexecx2LekhVVHBiPIXE8ffvJX3JXBFleTmoWo4Fp7I1Kzioj6Lg8qNf3b3sq58FnwvAaFmA3xSk0sNWuXRDsyfUIt-UjPETR6NpqKoStcHQ0iXjX/s1600/unnamed-2-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cWWK-EF9XgyOQiEifv_XKXi6o5Zeexecx2LekhVVHBiPIXE8ffvJX3JXBFleTmoWo4Fp7I1Kzioj6Lg8qNf3b3sq58FnwvAaFmA3xSk0sNWuXRDsyfUIt-UjPETR6NpqKoStcHQ0iXjX/s400/unnamed-2-8.jpg" width="400" height="400" data-original-width="750" data-original-height="750" /></a><br />
<br />
One of the most solid bands that blessed this scene is back with new material. No doubt this was the most anticipated record of the year for me. Now when it has finally dropped and after a considerable amount of time spent nodding my head to these tracks I know this will be high on my best of 2018 list. Straight off the bat, I think it’s their strongest release since Class War. They hooked my ass after just the first track and there was no letting go till the final. <br />
<br />
Wisdom’s core sound stayed the same and Nothing… fits well with the overall evolution of the band, but the album is somehow a return to form after disappointing The God Rhythm. For sure it’s way heavier and sharper. Over the years they moved from the aggressive in-your-face style of their early work into a more vibing sound that takes from diverse styles like punk rock, oi! or even straight up rock. No way this made them sound weak, but on the previous record, man, they took a few strange turns that made me skip through some of the tracks. This time the focus is on intensity. <br />
<br />
Already Dead and Duck Down Stay Down are the hard stuff. On the other side of the spectrum are Slow Down and Turn My Back, both have a nostalgic feel to them that gives you a chance to contemplate that hard life of yours. <i>Why do bad things happen to good people? Seems that life is just a constant war between good and evil.</i> These odd elements and moods flow together perfectly. With all the diversity on this album, you must be crazy not to find something for yourself.<br />
<br />
Special props to Mad Joe cause he must be the best lyricist in hardcore right now. Dude can write painfully real stories so rooted in life that if they don’t click with you then what’s wrong with you? If you’re caught up in the daily struggles trying to keep trouble from the door you can relate. This is grown man trying to make sense of this chaos. No fake thug posturing or cliches, just honest perspective on the world today without having to make shit up.<br />
<br />
This album is all pro. I have listened to it maybe a hundred times already and it is one of those albums I can just put on and feel the same way about every time. Cop this shit and let the music diffuse all the tension.<br />
<br />
Demons Run Amok Entertainment / FastbreakDloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-33910099203423071582018-07-02T23:11:00.000+02:002018-07-09T20:19:19.938+02:00New Blood: Last Wishes<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9iXcqF_8Ztl2SiYMmS-Yab7GOp3myh_LrY0N6RNP6jiuZqJbLLaZ0RCPLUuKyhyphenhyphenk-RIQKGreqwxOfwwRRH8Gn669GAEh4zW7GFPkD6aH1eRTbXTcRmOstlgi2A9_eFRHuOFlOyMViWn8_/s1600/IMG_0207.jpeg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9iXcqF_8Ztl2SiYMmS-Yab7GOp3myh_LrY0N6RNP6jiuZqJbLLaZ0RCPLUuKyhyphenhyphenk-RIQKGreqwxOfwwRRH8Gn669GAEh4zW7GFPkD6aH1eRTbXTcRmOstlgi2A9_eFRHuOFlOyMViWn8_/s1600/IMG_0207.jpeg"></a><br />
<br />
<b>The promo tracks Last Wishes dropped earlier this year couldn't hit me harder. Ruthless hardcore with levels of energy that could be only a result of having to deal with some serious struggles in your life. The fact they're from Belfast makes me believe this could be true cause god knows this city has its shady side. Irish hardcore tends to be overlooked which could be working against them but these dudes could easily kick their feet up with European hardcore's elite. I hope Last Wishes get the credit they deserve and can’t wait to see what’s next for the band.<br />
</b><br />
<b>For those who don’t know - tell the history of the band. How and when it all started?<br />
</b>When we started in 2015 there wasn't really any active heavier sounding bands around apart from Stronghold & Frustration(one of the best modern bands ever) and not to leave out older bands like Crowd Control/2000 Strong etc. We just wanted to play straight up hardcore for the moshers. Our first show was actually Frustrations last one with Risk It from Germany playing too, abut 200 people showed up for them , it was nuts and was sick seeing them go out with such a bang cuz they deserved it! Originally we started with a different line up as well but didn't do much so really the band only started in 2016/17.<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<b>Two new promo tracks are No Solace and Survival Instinct. Can you explain the titles and the themes behind these songs?<br />
</b>They both come from lines in the song cuz I have trouble coming up with creative song names haha but they suit them I guess. No Solace is basically about how fucked society is, if you don't come from a wealthy background your automatically put into a class and it seems harder for common people to gain a lot opportunity's, if you end up homeless or jobless, who's gonna help you? You have to "know your place" essentially. Survival Instinct is about over coming mental health issues, trying to stay positive. The line "My instinct is survival" accidently works as a cheesy mosh call so you could say it has a double meaning haha.<br />
<br />
<b>What is the main driving force behind your lyrics? When writing what's the first thing that comes to your mind and what is the rest of the creative process?<br />
</b>Pretty much day to day shit/battling mental health, some people can be too afraid to speak up to say what needs to be said. Musically it's all Tommy, he usually comes with a riff or two that we piece everything around or i'll have some lyrics to send his way with a general idea to work from, it's always fun when we jam new stuff cuz everyone always has cool ideas to add into the mix. We have 2 songs previously written with an old guitarist but Tommy made them his own now and they're a lot better. Feels good to finally be heading in the right direction.<br />
<br />
<b>Can you describe band’s sound and style? Obviously classic NYHC comes to mind, but let us know what bands do you look up to when writing music.<br />
</b>You've basically nailed it on the head there man haha. When we started with other members we defiantly lacked some sparks creatively. Now that we have a solid line up I'd say our main influences are bands like Hatebreed / Merauder / Biohazard / Crown Of Thornz. We pretty much just write music that we wanna hear. <br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2033869058/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=333333/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 241px; width: 400px;"><a href="http://lastwishes.bandcamp.com/album/promo-2018">PROMO 2018 by LAST WISHES</a></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>The 2017 demo was titled Stepped On Since Birth - what does that title mean?<br />
</b>It just means that growing up in a society that steps down on you from day 1 cuz you don't necessarily fit in with everyone else or want to fall in line. I guess all our stuff has the same theme haha.<br />
<br />
<div class="quote_dope"><span style="font-size: 24px;">"growing up in a society that steps down on you from day 1 cuz you don't necessarily fit in with everyone else or want to fall in line</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">I guess all our stuff has the same theme"</div></div><br />
<b>You did couple shows in UK this year. How did it go?<br />
</b>They were sick, we just finished a run with Cornered from Holland but John couldn't make it cuz of his work so we had our mate Aaron Jones from the GHC filling in on bass. Then the last Shedfest in Leeds at the end of may which popped plus a weekender with Revolve from Glasgow a little bit before that. All were awesome, love playing over there so hopefully we keep going back.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTM1kPXN2Ip41GQLyT-asiAtRDaXBpTaql60G_Wp2-_OIfYUsbZo9H9m-Xh-tZ5QG7Zkql_3BLuoPheELKEEOUht1kUZIzczx9RFm4nufxKvbrCc60VWE0SWnNi_scSYVGrvF-xQqUFfo/s1600/30127477_1616990055051072_360241189405851648_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="678" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTM1kPXN2Ip41GQLyT-asiAtRDaXBpTaql60G_Wp2-_OIfYUsbZo9H9m-Xh-tZ5QG7Zkql_3BLuoPheELKEEOUht1kUZIzczx9RFm4nufxKvbrCc60VWE0SWnNi_scSYVGrvF-xQqUFfo/s320/30127477_1616990055051072_360241189405851648_n.jpg" width="226"></a><b>Do you play much around Ireland? What are other places with strong hardcore community apart from Belfast?</b><br />
To be honest, not much latetly as we're trying to go over seas more and branch out a bit but we may have something cool this summer. There's a lack of new faces but things are starting to kick up again so Ireland is coming back on the map in a big way. If any bands wana come over, hit us up.<br />
<br />
<b>What music have been listening to lately?<br />
</b>Loads of 90's hip hop like Kill Army/Mobb Deep and the new Day By Day record, everything they put out just gets better and better. Also had Floorpunch on repeat cuz they're playing Outbreak this year, gona be wild.<br />
<br />
<b>Are you all from Belfast? For most people when they think Belfast they think violence and problems. Give us some insights of what living there means.<br />
</b>Well only Tommy is originally from Belfast, myself & Wilson are from small towns outside it but both of us grew up coming here. John's from Dublin, he'd kick up a fuss if someone thought he was from the north hahaha. I'm not going to bullshit you and say I know what it was like during the troubles cuz I was too young but I can tell you there's still negative/gritty sides to it and politics can get forced down your throat if you let it but it's not actually as bad as everyone thinks. Just kind of boring and full of idiot racists like everywhere else.<br />
<br />
<b>And what’s the hardcore scene like over there? Is it going strong or weak in terms of community, bands, venoues etc?<br />
</b>Belfast is kind of in a limbo state these days with the lack of bands kicking about. Growing up there wasn't any hardcore shows in the north to my knowledge apart from the punk scene, so it evolved from that in 2011/12 when the Warzone Centre re-opened. Then I started going down to Dublin, they've always had a strong scene with so many classic bands(Bang Bros/Frustration/The Blind/Nibiru) to mention a few. I'd been down to see bigger touring bands before but my first DHC show was one of the last or maybe the last Life and Death Fest, so many UK bands played like the Flex and Egotrip and it felt good to finally be around so many like minded people just a few hours away. <br />
<br />
<b>What are some local bands people should check out?<br />
</b>Some new Irish bands to check are Alter Ego, FFO: Killing Time, Breakdown. World Of Difference, a new straight edge band with ex Bang Bros/Frustation/Held Back. Also No Approval, the only Belfast band at the minute with members all from the north. The U.K always has sick new bands too like Big Cheese(Leeds), Rancour(Cardiff), xServitudex(Glasgow/Leeds/Birmingham), Bitter Youth(Liverpool) and All Fear Death(Glasgow). They all have bandcamps, check them out. <br />
<br />
<b>What can we expect from Last Wishes in the near future?<br />
</b>The next thing we're doing is recording 5 tracks in a couple weeks that we're super excited about so watch out. We also just got announced for Foundations fest in Leeds this September with Shattered Realm playing which is mental(shout out Mog LBU) and a show with Regulate, Candy,<br />
Bitter Youth & xServitudex in November also in Leeds (again big up Mog for helping us out with so any shows). We wana hit Europe too!<br />
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Last Wishes @ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lastwisheshc/">Facebook</a>Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-33460625970773377602018-05-21T21:51:00.000+02:002018-05-21T22:16:28.121+02:00Interview: Big Cheese (UK)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg966Weuiu4qSOrFmkrWkp_spKlmCUVJ_5g_Rz8n3y4RfvwJ6l4TV5D6P2nak9G-aWXhg9v0j_fkHT8G32egAQqklkN0sFW68ylSglzoSNRAiwNmjRxrjVClvbkR9iYqlqfgOyobN65talD/s1600/unnamed-22.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg966Weuiu4qSOrFmkrWkp_spKlmCUVJ_5g_Rz8n3y4RfvwJ6l4TV5D6P2nak9G-aWXhg9v0j_fkHT8G32egAQqklkN0sFW68ylSglzoSNRAiwNmjRxrjVClvbkR9iYqlqfgOyobN65talD/s1600/unnamed-22.jpg" data-original-width="901" data-original-height="901" /></a><br />
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<b>Big Cheese rep UK and sound like Breakdown and Warzone put together. Their Aggravated Mopery ep from last year is a definite must listen because of how killer it is. This is your soundtrack if you want to go out and do stupid shit.<br />
</b><br />
<b>Give us some background on the band. How did Big Cheese come about?<br />
</b>Maegan our guitarist had just moved in with me at the time. She had some songs written and showed them to me and asked if I’d sing on them. After we adapted them and wrote them into full songs we took them to a practice room and asked Louis (guitar) and Alex (drums) who also play in Higher Power to join as I knew it’d be right up their street. From then we recorded the Sports Day demo with an old chap at a spot in Leeds for 40 quid or so. I played bass in the band initially and on this recording. When it came to playing live, we eventually got Anth in on bass.<br />
<br />
<b>I’ve been listening to Aggravated Mopery and this record is straight up true blue hardcore they way it should be done. Let us know your feelings now when this staff he’s been out there for some time now?<br />
</b>Thanks for the kind words mate. I have a hard time listening back to anything I’ve played on as I pick holes in it and wish I’d done something different. I’m sure the others would agree. In this case, I think we’re all proud of Aggravated Mopery and feel like we’ve done a good thing. People seem to be digging it and that’s all I could ever ask for!<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2153340662/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=333333/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 400px;"><a href="http://bigcheesehc.bandcamp.com/album/aggravated-mopery">Aggravated Mopery by Big Cheese</a></iframe><br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>THEY WON’T ADMIT IT / AUTHORITY FANTASY / BUT YOU CAN SMELL IT / SOME’LL DO THE DIRT FOR FREE / MOPERS WILL SHIT IT / WEAKENED SOCIETY / NORMALISE THE HATE / “SOMEONE’S GOT IT IN FOR ME” </i></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>IT’S AGGRAVATED MOPERY</b></i></div></b></i><br />
<br />
<b>I hear tons of classic NYHC influences in your sound. What is it about bands like Warzone, Breakdown or Madball that resonate with you?<br />
</b>I feel the sound of those bands and others alike is unique. It’s ferocious but also stylish and captures the mood of a time and place. It would be difficult to describe exactly how listening to this style of music makes me feel individually as I’m sure we share similar feelings but as a drummer and a vocalist, it’s almost the perfect amalgamation of aggression which is pertinent to punk music and creative expression; such as dropping a funk or a hip hop beat over a metal riff, or in a lot of cases articulating something pretty positive and unifying. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCh1ha0PjsorihrTn86c1_ddvPJ3Ka7z186vb9RK4rOl_uzlQ0ltcV3FnonYxRxlIQCX46_yOb6mK8k5SHAirdjtjEDBGiHgu-iFjzuce3Vt-1t3q7c1GmlqR0fGsVreGYIdAE-e2p_Br1/s1600/unnamed+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCh1ha0PjsorihrTn86c1_ddvPJ3Ka7z186vb9RK4rOl_uzlQ0ltcV3FnonYxRxlIQCX46_yOb6mK8k5SHAirdjtjEDBGiHgu-iFjzuce3Vt-1t3q7c1GmlqR0fGsVreGYIdAE-e2p_Br1/s1600/unnamed+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<b>Best Warzone track?<br />
</b>The best Warzone song is War Between Races.<br />
<br />
<b>Forget US, are there any UK bands that you especially look up to?<br />
</b>Motorhead, GBH, Ripcord, Voorhees, all of it! I’d say my favourite bands in the UK right now are Vile Spirit, Frame of Mind, Arms Race, The Flex to name a few. I look up to em all in different ways.<br />
<br />
<b>I relate to many of the lyrics on the ep, they’re bleak and negative but it’s hard not to feel that way looking at the world around. For those who will not bother to dig deeper, what is the main message you wanted to get across to the listener?<br />
</b>I didn’t want to put anything particularly mind-altering across but I wanted to have fun with the lyrics in a way that would make people think these words are daft but hang on a minute, I think I get it! haha. TCP I’d thought of as I stood by my old house overlooking abandoned industrial estates and a crumbling railway bridge with a junkyard dog barking out at everyone who walked past. I wanted to convey the bleakness of life and general disdain for the powers that be without being overly serious. Glass In Your Foot was another theme that had been on my mind a lot, humans living vicariously through social media rather than kicking a football against a wall or being fulfilled by real life experiences.<br />
<br />
<b>What is playing in hardcore band about to you? What do you want people to take away from what you’re doing?<br />
</b>Music is my hobby and has been since I was about 7 years old. Playing in a hardcore band is fun and a release from the facades you sometimes have to put on in every day life. I’d want people to think it isn’t about trying to be cool or fashionable but if you’re gunna do it, really give it some and without any compromise.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuB51hPX01S-m9C-DX799TfD314CPkAuMxodTLtVWLQezsGGODiJehkue4CQUzpJxBcAenhQGIdjERjO3am_4b1adkL7-t-saGhRmQbwh7LNr9V5apQoFxdh05MUHXbub13RLEYLP4kp8r/s1600/unnamed+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuB51hPX01S-m9C-DX799TfD314CPkAuMxodTLtVWLQezsGGODiJehkue4CQUzpJxBcAenhQGIdjERjO3am_4b1adkL7-t-saGhRmQbwh7LNr9V5apQoFxdh05MUHXbub13RLEYLP4kp8r/s1600/unnamed+%25282%2529.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<b>There’s a lot of hype concerning UK hardcore nowadays. As an insider, what’s your opinion about the scene over there?<br />
</b>To be honest, it ebbs and flows and people come and go quicker than the length of our demo. At the moment, it seems there’s all of the bands but none of the fans and shows are hard to come by. It’s this way up and down the country, except maybe London. When it’s good, it’s really good though and there’s some unforgettable memories; I love it.<br />
<br />
<b>If you want to give props to your label, Quality Control HQ, now is the time.<br />
</b>QCHQ is factually the best DIY label in the world, cheers.<br />
<br />
<b>What the future holds for the band?<br />
</b>We are writing an LP and are touring Europe with NYC’s Illusion in August. We also have a song coming out on a comp cassette on Platinum Hits with bands such as Diztort, Odd Man Out etc. but I couldn’t tell you a date. Hopefully we’ll be gracing the US of A soon.<br />
<br />
Follow Big Cheese on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bigcheesehc/">Facebook</a>. Cop some music and merch at <a href="https://qualitycontrolhq.bigcartel.com/">Quality Control</a> as well.<br />
<br />
Pics credits by order of appearance: Aurora Bono, Roman Laris, Natalie WoodDloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-40100353219429569542018-03-31T01:02:00.000+02:002018-04-02T15:56:02.384+02:00Interview: Chain Reaction<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqOCm_MD_-S2OdFUaThoJrFVu5cwqVvINBQeV3bXnFtMtwJfa8-u6tnZENpaSD7JrgEzlId36RSiWlgw7L0W1PbP1y3c_Rqb4L4MDoSuN5L-CZkqPm5Wb38iJAaa1zpssjNM_frbSonJEV/s1600/0012864929_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqOCm_MD_-S2OdFUaThoJrFVu5cwqVvINBQeV3bXnFtMtwJfa8-u6tnZENpaSD7JrgEzlId36RSiWlgw7L0W1PbP1y3c_Rqb4L4MDoSuN5L-CZkqPm5Wb38iJAaa1zpssjNM_frbSonJEV/s1600/0012864929_10.jpg" data-original-width="1200" data-original-height="800" /></a><br />
<br />
<b>Chain Reaction is heavy and ungodly hardcore from Belgium started by local scene veterans. Mixing grim observations of modern world with some unrelenting rage, their latest Hangman ep is a definite winner. I predict big things for them, because that ep is right on the money. If you sleep on this band you're a total idiot.</b><br />
<br />
<b>You guys have been in amazing bands before, what is it about Chain Reaction that keeps you excited to still do hardcore? What was it that made you all get together and give this band a go?</b><br />
The rest of the band (Murph, Sim & Clovis) started jamming and writing songs before I came into the picture. They've all been friends since the 90's and have been doing bands together on and off during those years. So obviously what got us started was a deep-rooted friendship and a love for hardcore. It's the kind of thing that becomes part of your DNA and hard to let go. As they couldn't really find a singer, the option of me joining the band came up when I was hanging with Murph one night, listening to the songs they'd recorded. I loved what I heard and felt like I should give it a shot. I didn't really count on doing bands anymore but fuck it.<br />
<br />
<b>I guess a lot of people will expect CR to sound like Rise And Fall, cause that band was huge in it’s time and kids were waiting for that last record that never came. Is there any pressure because of that?</b><br />
Not sure what people expect, if they expect anything at all. Either way, Chain Reaction definitely is a very different band in terms of sound, dynamics and aesthetics. Obviously, my vocals will sound somewhat familiar but that's pretty much as far as it goes. Pressure isn't an issue really, it feels dope doing a new band and starting from scratch. Plus I've been wanting to do a band with a heavy NYHC influence for the longest time, so I'm stoked to be able to do this. Honestly, pressure is a much bigger deal when you're in a long-running band like Rise And Fall. You always want to outdo what you did before, you worry about whether or not people are still going to like do the band, if enough people will show up for your headlining tours etc.<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 450px; height: 307px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1528995950/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=333333/artwork=small/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="http://chainreactionbelgium.bandcamp.com/album/hangman-ep">HANGMAN - EP by Chain Reaction</a></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>I’ve been checking out Hangman on bandcamp and to me this ep is fucking solid. How does the ep sit with you when it’s been out for some time already? Are you satisfied with the response?</b><br />
I'm still very happy with how it came out. Sounds the way we wanted it to sound, looks cool too. We play all of these songs live (except for "Tightrope") and they really get me going every time. Response has been cool so far, it seems like people dig what we're doing. <br />
<br />
<b>I read people compare you to everything from Clevo to NYHC to thrash and to me they all got a point. Let us know what was your idea how you wanted these tracks to sound?</b><br />
Ha. Like I said, late 80's /early 90's NYHC is a huge influence. Leeway, Crown Of Thornz, Outburst, Breakdown. Those bands for sure. Some A.F. crossover-era riffing as well. The Clevo-touch is very minimal and only really present in the song "Hangman" if you ask me. Basically we're trying to put our own spin on a classic sound. Groove, good dynamics, some bounce in there and a small yet healthy dose of ignorance. <br />
<br />
<b>Belgium used to have a sick scene back in the days and to this time Liar, Congress or Sektor are one of my all time faves. Does that legacy still have any impact on you musically?</b><br />
Not at all. We all grew up with those bands during the heydays of the H8000 scene, our bassplayer Clovis was in Congress for a long time, Sim and Murph were in Spirit Of Youth so we were all there and witnessed it first hand. I look back at that era with fondness, because it was amazing to see that scene grow and thrive, but to me the H8000 thing was always a time and place type of thing. Apart from the bigger bands like Congress, Liar and Blindfold very few others managed to create a style of their own and most didn't age well.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkwjda__T8XW5rT6XZltHrFMv5cz5ei57mMiD8rVaWSOFQ3b8B2Wx8Hot6NzRV_cLD-bx2QltQoIguHgJp46qi3TI4acbdnFjOy-oW2ZCDaZd5mpYg2GQa1SqLHy22TYO7XJF4a-ONisbJ/s1600/IMG_3922.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkwjda__T8XW5rT6XZltHrFMv5cz5ei57mMiD8rVaWSOFQ3b8B2Wx8Hot6NzRV_cLD-bx2QltQoIguHgJp46qi3TI4acbdnFjOy-oW2ZCDaZd5mpYg2GQa1SqLHy22TYO7XJF4a-ONisbJ/s1600/IMG_3922.JPG" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1323" /></a><br />
<br />
<b>I dig the lyrics, very down to earth topics but at the same the way they’re written add more depth to the music. A lot of it is personal but I have no problems to relate. Anything particular you needed to get off your chest?</b><br />
Thanks. Lyrics to me have always been a way to deal with the world around me, life and everything that comes with it. A lot of them stem from personal experiences, while others are more socially and politically inclined. The song "Scapegoat" for example deals with how we shove people into corners, point fingers at them and blame them for everything that seems to go wrong in our world. Usually these are the same people that are barely represented politically and who don't have the means or the power to defend themselves. As time passes and the finger-pointing and blaming continues it becomes normal and accepted as a new "truth", playing right into the hands of those in power or those seeking power.<br />
<br />
<b>Control Records is releasing the ep in Europe and Six Feet Under Records in USA. How did this come about?</b><br />
Easily, actually. Geert who runs Control has been one of my best friends for a long time. When he heard the demo recordings he immediately wanted to help us release it and doing the 7" with him was an obvious next step. It's been awesome working on a mutual project with him. At the same time he's close with Dave who runs Six Feet Under, so they decided to press an extra 100 copies for US distribution. Nothing crazy, just friends helping friends. <br />
<br />
<b>Since it’s been officially released in US, any plans to go on tour over there?</b><br />
Not right now. Not sure how realistic it would be for us to do so but you never know.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBDOflYBGwR_NB1K9oxIRrr9QmfUnSJ9xw_ZOnAvWn4-dfgReAc0Chuwsul1aFiWcQM9q3NAbrHrL7z_OAe1WheGB_UOIJklW21ebYFM7bX8yxabOfyflT66ZvtVzLIBNqyyEzIvh9s3e/s1600/22550044_1558700500856882_6828909552604681883_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBDOflYBGwR_NB1K9oxIRrr9QmfUnSJ9xw_ZOnAvWn4-dfgReAc0Chuwsul1aFiWcQM9q3NAbrHrL7z_OAe1WheGB_UOIJklW21ebYFM7bX8yxabOfyflT66ZvtVzLIBNqyyEzIvh9s3e/s1600/22550044_1558700500856882_6828909552604681883_n.jpg" data-original-width="960" data-original-height="949" /></a><br />
<br />
<b>Rise And Fall used to be associated with H8000. What’s happening with that crew nowadays? Is it still going?</b><br />
Well, in my mind Rise And Fall was only loosely connected with the H8000 scene, because most of the band members grew up in that scene and with those bands. As a tribute we ended up recording our version of "Sinking In Sin" (Congress) eventually. As I stated earlier on, in my eyes there really wasn't or isn't a H8000 scene or crew after '99/'00, even if bands like Congress and Liar kept on going for quite a while. Some bands from that part of the country (H8000 refers to the province of West-Vlaanderen, with the area code 8000) still throw around the term and associate themselves with the H8000 thing and I won't stop them, but I honestly feel like it's irrelevant and unnecessary. <br />
<br />
<b>What is scene in Belgium like? Any good new bands from over there?</b><br />
Belgium's always had a solid scene with a ton of bands, gigs, zines and a bunch of cool venues even though - like in any other country - these things go in ups and downs. Right now we're not exactly at a peak but there definitely are some good bands going, depending on what you're into. <b>Mindwar </b>and <b>Absolve </b>are two newer bands bringing a harder style to the table, while one of the best Belgian bands in recent memory, <b>Redemption Denied</b>, will also start playing out again soon. <b>Force </b>is fuckin' cool too, their demo is raw, early 80's Boston-style hardcore done right. <b>Lotus </b>is another band worth checking out, their sound is pretty fresh and mid 00's-inspired (bands like Ceremony and The Suicide File come to mind). On the punkier side of things, <b>Raw Peace </b>and <b>Permanent Debt</b> are making a name for themselves too.<br />
<b><br />
Since the overall tone of the ep is heavy and depressing, Is living in Belgium hard? What do you guys do outside of the band?</b><br />
I'd agree that the tone of the EP is heavy but to me it ain't necessarily depressing. Belgium's a good country to live in, even if there's plenty going on that I don't agree with. We can't be blind to the fact that economically we're better off than a lot of other countries. That doesn't mean that it's perfect or great to everyone that lives here, there's a long way to go before we'll hit that point. Outside of the band we all have full time jobs, families and kids. Can't speak for anyone else but next to all of that I enjoy going to shows, reading books, sippin' a Coke and eating well. <br />
<br />
<b>Is there anything about the world today that really makes you lose it?</b><br />
Plenty of things, ranging from pet peeves to issues that are actually relevant. What often blows my mind is the situation in Syria, which is much too complex for a simple soul like myself to make sense of. But fact of the matter is that thousands and thousands of innocent civilians (men, women and children) have died and continue to die in war between a fascist dictator, various rebel alliances, religious extremists and foreign forces, while we all turn away.<br />
<br />
<b>Any words of wisdom to wrap this up?</b><br />
Peace to everyone that has picked up our EP or that has simply taken the time to listen to it in one way or another. We'll be recording some new songs later this year and we've got a bunch of cool shows coming up. Thanks for the interview, looking forward to seeing the result.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEJ9dUubiLn9BerTmZdymUw-ZZ2F60Q7wnTJFx2BV3OtmNuI_6_fziEY8rLLAXFdHD_wMt-tUptukVZ15SW7PN6CGS39ZHU0_kFMb3NVcsOyRppEVTw8DApkVufCOMlDqb5X6wdGM72jZQ/s1600/2477486716_3142ab070c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEJ9dUubiLn9BerTmZdymUw-ZZ2F60Q7wnTJFx2BV3OtmNuI_6_fziEY8rLLAXFdHD_wMt-tUptukVZ15SW7PN6CGS39ZHU0_kFMb3NVcsOyRppEVTw8DApkVufCOMlDqb5X6wdGM72jZQ/s1600/2477486716_3142ab070c.jpg" data-original-width="410" data-original-height="500" /></a><br />
<i>This time there'll be no mercy <br />
This time your hand was dealt <br />
Face to face with a lying disgrace <br />
Close your eyes as history repeats itself <br />
You say you're talking to God <br />
I think you're falling apart </i></div>Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-43565441813190381822018-03-04T15:14:00.002+01:002018-03-04T15:14:15.872+01:00Review: Climate Of Fear - Holy Terror<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLm_Qp4BnK7_KnPhnHwXJf8gfP8bFzaiBvmsz8gZur6vAPV3XGq4wBZCwbKvyeTF1STrJGNUSeD5Cw_JFX-IZfyygsdqe8hZ3xqSpr3-hfEa2EuDYHaIwhazdxSMYg6vy-zZ_PUowo_YTn/s1600/Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLm_Qp4BnK7_KnPhnHwXJf8gfP8bFzaiBvmsz8gZur6vAPV3XGq4wBZCwbKvyeTF1STrJGNUSeD5Cw_JFX-IZfyygsdqe8hZ3xqSpr3-hfEa2EuDYHaIwhazdxSMYg6vy-zZ_PUowo_YTn/s400/Cover.jpg" width="400" height="400" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1600" /></a><br />
<br />
Debut album from UK's Climate Of Fear. The name of the band sounds familiar and to be honest I was hoping this one to be along the vibe of early Bitter End albums. Can you blame me? Turns out that was misleading cause the band's focus is more on heavier mid-tempo stuff than pure aggressive and reckless hardcore goodness. The two opening tracks are whatever but it gets better in the second half of this short album. Holy Terror is solid as hell, while Entombed sounds fucking great and is a definite stand out. The dramatic intensity of this latter track goes from menacing mid-tempo vibe to slick faster part and this combination is musical equivalent of timebomb.<br />
<br />
You can hear they were aiming high when it comes to technicality and complexity in the music, doing what they could with the skills they have to make these tracks engaging and complex. This leads me to question some of their stylistic choices. There are just too many slower parts and 99% of them don't do nothing for me. I could have done without all those basic ass breakdowns they felt they need to do every 30 seconds of each track. That way otherwise brilliant songs, like already mentioned Entombed, don't flow like they should. I guess it's their weird way to show they can play but no one ever asked for that shit. <br />
<br />
The production is crisp and clean, it's not bad but I miss the dirt and grime and reverb. Hardcore does not need to be overly produced. <br />
<br />
All in all, despite me bitching about some stuff, it's still a solid record. Next time they just need to drop their ego and get rid of that metal wankery and stick to that more straight forward stuff.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.demonsrunamok.de/">Demons Run Amok</a>Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-63418448927762592612018-02-04T13:52:00.001+01:002018-02-04T13:52:59.918+01:002017: Best of the worst<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODIkzz7lnac1d53lOq5Zl6ODzJ0bayIeY44FYK8TASWDuITPO9lEQJoWOVbTvrtuQwh064EyenQXcuFzDMbcd74o6pv-jyEH_mGKRgHuPNX1YQJdolElFvyyly-DNWtEcZEhtdqBl8X5u/s1600/thedayafter1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODIkzz7lnac1d53lOq5Zl6ODzJ0bayIeY44FYK8TASWDuITPO9lEQJoWOVbTvrtuQwh064EyenQXcuFzDMbcd74o6pv-jyEH_mGKRgHuPNX1YQJdolElFvyyly-DNWtEcZEhtdqBl8X5u/s1600/thedayafter1.jpg" /></a><br />
<b><br />
WORLD PEACE CAN'T BE DONE</b><br />
<br />
No doubt 2017 was a turmoil on a global scale. People went mental with politics and religion and just having a twisted outlook on how the world should look like. I’ve always been cool with different views than mine even if I don't agree with them, but it seems most people are going bat-shit crazy right now. Right wing, left wing, whatever. They just lost it. Total nuts. The common sense and reason is in retreat. And because the rich get richer and the rest of us stay poor, the problems will only increase and for sure more dumb shit is to come. With all that tension building up there's bound to be release and I know where it's all heading. Conflict is what I predict. World war III. Thinking about all the drama in Middle East, Russia war on Ukraine, terrorism, fucked up politics in Europe and US and Asia - shit is falling apart at high speed. My advice to you, stock up on some serious amounts of canned food and big ass guns and wait for shit to hit the fan. It's only matter of time. Trust me, I'm from eastern Europe so I should know. And like always we'll be the ones to get the ass whooping. Big time.<br />
<br />
So yeah, thinking about world peace is giving me headaches, but don’t even get me started on the personal stuff. I've been busy with a lot of shit and all that kept me from updating this blog as often as I could. Hopefully 2019 will be better in that regard. Who the fuck knows? <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5awZXhrSQWcZPXFvdnibJunCebzWHrA4EFWCl9UFBWVGEuPxDdyxLKg2hDuNnKYJ9ALwfCqzvmvfQz3H-3O2pvkjsgEzoeYvwyFxBceX0ZBiQdprharfjcv2fXGvAWnCmPuVzWSd8uAiJ/s1600/deadprez-e1441377516343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="630" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5awZXhrSQWcZPXFvdnibJunCebzWHrA4EFWCl9UFBWVGEuPxDdyxLKg2hDuNnKYJ9ALwfCqzvmvfQz3H-3O2pvkjsgEzoeYvwyFxBceX0ZBiQdprharfjcv2fXGvAWnCmPuVzWSd8uAiJ/s200/deadprez-e1441377516343.jpg" width="200" /></a><i>Freedom of my life, why make it a mess?<br />
Give me a job, I've got to survive<br />
Discriminate me, why can't you help?<br />
Everybody thinks I'm a scum</i><br />
<div style="clear:left"></div>On the positive note, the more fucked up the world gets, the harder hardcore gets. It’s been always like that. So enough of getting soft, here's the best hardcore of 2017. (I know it's already February but fuck being on time).<br />
<br />
<b>TOP FIVE:<br />
</b><br />
<b>Freedom - Never Had A Choice<br />
</b>I got no time to overthink stuff so I need my hardcore to be swift and straightforward, no bullshitting. Life is complicated so hardcore shouldn't. I also love it when bands sound like they're here on purpose and don't take shit from no one. That's why this stuff right here is the best record that came out last year, and possible one of the best in recent years. This is 100% hardcore based on the same mentality that made Breakdown, Negative Approach or 4 Skins. Life in Detroit is not a joke and that record perfectly reflects that.<br />
<br />
<b>Unified Right - If I Can't Listen to UNIFIED RIGHT in Heaven Then Send Me Straight to Hell <br />
</b>Fuck yeah, this year was a year of straight up hardcore and this is another record that will go down in history as the finest example of how this shit was meant to be. The founding fathers of hardcore didn't care about nuisance, and nor Unified Right do. This is raw and aggressive but with the right amount of groove and even short periods of melody. In a times when many records are either overproduced or sound like total shit, this one strikes a good balance between grit and being listenable. <br />
<br />
<b>Clearview - Absolute Madness<br />
</b>My boys from Brazil dropped this gem at the middle of the year and though I knew it's gonna be good, I didn't expect that level of good. The lyrics, the music, the vibe are all that I want in hardore and more. If you don’t like this record I don’t even want to talk to you.<br />
<br />
<b>Templars - Deus Vult<br />
</b>I am not the biggest Templars fan but I dig couple of older tracks from various past records and was curious when I heard they're making a come back. Turned out this is one of the highlights of last year. Battle scarred oi! sound with classic skinhead rock leanings that's rough where it needs to and melodic when it's time for it. Favorite tracks: Take A Stand, Middle Road and Forgotten Souls. Classic shit. I love oi! and this is supposed to be one of the best that US ever had to offer so I might give their past material more spins to find out what I'm missing out.<br />
<br />
<b>Crowd Deterrent - Welcome To Youngstown - ep<br />
</b>Too bad this material is is only available in digital form so far, I would definitely cop a cd or vinyl. What can I say, Crowd Deterrent do what they do best. The band has a basic premise and they execute it to perfection: antisocial hardcore that gives no fucks. This was one of the rawest and grittiest records of last year. Call me immature but this band has the best lyrics in hardcore since <i>Demonstrating My Style</i>. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc0GAAQ7DLOcJOFkVj55ubJkPxB-VNdMjHMbskL0J4ayxB1cPdqDPTR2L2lqhL8HacwAWA9X7FDKp1lMAVA7sX0g2fgPy6cUEcXKDvNNFopJy5fFpDpdUjt8XRjGTFaPItoXYE5X5vrSja/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc0GAAQ7DLOcJOFkVj55ubJkPxB-VNdMjHMbskL0J4ayxB1cPdqDPTR2L2lqhL8HacwAWA9X7FDKp1lMAVA7sX0g2fgPy6cUEcXKDvNNFopJy5fFpDpdUjt8XRjGTFaPItoXYE5X5vrSja/s320/images.jpg" width="320" height="179" data-original-width="300" data-original-height="168" /></a><br />
<i>a place called nowhere's where we live our lives, <br />
a total legacy of violence and crime , <br />
its the environment that molded our minds, <br />
until im cold in the ground welcome to youngstown<br />
</i><br />
<b>Other records that don’t suck:<br />
</b>Cock Sparrer - Forever<br />
No Warning - Torture Culture<br />
Firm Standing Law - Unashamed<br />
Forced Order - One Last Prayer<br />
St Hood - He Age Of Unreason<br />
Terror - The Walls Will Fall<br />
Queensway - Swift Minds Of The Darkside<br />
Life After Death - Friends Fade, Enemies Stay<br />
<br />
So yeah, good year for hardcore and bad for anything else.Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-42007188306112399582017-08-17T23:19:00.002+02:002018-07-09T20:19:20.007+02:00New Blood: Fuse<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqr3vNrEXfcJ1yuN6r8M06nn2-q4n4TKxiwpMpQWY7PJ_gIAOD-3qOgk4f-WZHKXtAzIVWgVkiKEKMcDfBb3rMu7MrIlQIMRaqTpaO8Lp2h8HFTALCOFz88uV0YboW5wJv-virdTBb4IGh/s1600/LIVE+PHOTO+FUSE.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1082" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqr3vNrEXfcJ1yuN6r8M06nn2-q4n4TKxiwpMpQWY7PJ_gIAOD-3qOgk4f-WZHKXtAzIVWgVkiKEKMcDfBb3rMu7MrIlQIMRaqTpaO8Lp2h8HFTALCOFz88uV0YboW5wJv-virdTBb4IGh/s1600/LIVE+PHOTO+FUSE.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<b>Fuse is a killer all-female hardcore from Singapure whose recent demo was a massive display of force and strength. This band definitely deserves attention.</b><br />
<br />
<b>There are 2 aspects that people first notice when they learn of Fuse. First, it’s all female band. Second, you’re from Singapur. Let’s start with the first one, was it an idea from the start to have only girls in the band?</b><br />
At first, yes, we only wanted girls in the band. This is because we feel that they aren't many females who are given the chance to be included in something that they love. Some females can't seem to find a place where they can have an outlet to showcase their talent and express themselves. But we then realised, we wanted to expand not only to females but those males who were outcasted in some way. So, we kept our options very open. The vocalist went around to find a second guitarist that was male who was interested in joining the band as the rest were all already girls. However, we found our current guitarist now, that happens to be a female and is one of the best guitarist we can find! <br />
<br />
<b>Do you get any funny reactions because of that? Does the local scene show proper support?</b><br />
Funny reactions? Not really. We aren't the first female band in Singapore after all. Before us, especially the pioneers, have already established some form of female empowerment in the music scene. The Singapore scene has showed us more love than we ever expected! And we are eternally grateful for our friends who helped us a lot in the preparation of shaping Fuse. Not all of us have much experience in music and thus took us quite a long time to actually decide that we were ready to record. With many supportive friends who advice us on tone, what kind of gears to get, giving us their opinions etc, has helped us a lot.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kPtcPEr4NWvUQAxh9JhUvKmogT0ow3wMMSiioLJNj9QHYI4YV3lROjEhqV_D2cSoSiB7EISdbb4aSeBe2FXbs3Sn5vqj608n6U_f-3jFrQ9YoYWMvupuo5ez8p4fMWePs7BUnEPANnAr/s1600/FUSE+COLLAGE.jpeg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kPtcPEr4NWvUQAxh9JhUvKmogT0ow3wMMSiioLJNj9QHYI4YV3lROjEhqV_D2cSoSiB7EISdbb4aSeBe2FXbs3Sn5vqj608n6U_f-3jFrQ9YoYWMvupuo5ez8p4fMWePs7BUnEPANnAr/s1600/FUSE+COLLAGE.jpeg" /></a><br />
<br />
<b>I need to say that I’m really feeling the demo, it definitely rips! Are you happy with how it came out and response it’s getting?</b><br />
To be honest, when we release it, we were just feeling 80% overall of the promo. We weren't sure what to expect, really. Thus, it was nerve-wrecking to actually released it to public ears. Plus, even before releasing our promo, since Singapore is THAT small, quite a few already knew who was Fuse and they were really excited to listen to what we are all about. That made us feel even more nervous, cos we feel like we have to give them something they would really enjoy, giving them a good first impression. But at the end of the day, needless to say, the support we received was beyond our expectations and we were so overwhelmed. What's better was that it grew to listeners outside of Singapore - Malaysia, Australia and even North America. We didn't know that people would enjoy it a lot. We feel so happy because that was our hard work since late 2016. <br />
<br />
<b>What are bands that you look up to when writing tracks?</b><br />
Some of the bands that as a whole we really look up to is The Rival Mob, Freedom and Primitive Blast. These are some of the bands that we were inspired by especially with their sound. We still want to have that tinge of individuality as a band so we still stick to what we wanted to sound and focus more on the bigger picture. Usually we'll listen to a lot of bands and what we love is what pushes us to be better. You've no idea the amount of songs we've discarded and changed. We kept changing the parts in songs to a point that we even mixed a lot of songs up. <br />
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<b>Let us know what inspired the lyrics on the demo.</b><br />
Our lyrics in the promo are mainly frustrations towards our ever-growing society. There are a lot of people you meet in the span of your life, all with very different personalities. The amount of people you meet, some of which are so negative and basically toxic to your life. This is what we call Poison. People who are narrow-minded with their beliefs and only care about themselves and not others.<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2979973407/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 470px; width: 350px;"><a href="http://fusenoise.bandcamp.com/album/promo-2017">Promo 2017 by Fuse</a></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>I guess not many people from other parts of the world are familiar with scene in Singapur. Give us some insights: is it going strong in terms of bands, shows, kids, labels…</b><br />
Well, to begin, Singapore is very small. Being small means that almost everybody knows everyone and we are all like a one big family. The scene here, personally from our eyes, are very supportive of one another and that is one of the qualities that we so proud of about our own scene here. We are flooded with very talented people, all doing well in their forte - art, music, photography, DIY, graphics, videography. You name it. From our very own experience ever since we started getting involved in the scene, our community has bloomed a lot. Coming from a small country, we don't have a lot of chances and opportunities to get our music out there and mainly we are stuck in here. Now, bands are even touring the States, Europe, playing shows in Germany and Japan. We really give credits to these bands who've made it far and allowing others to know what Singapore Hardcore has to offer. <br />
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<b>When should we expect to hear more music from you?</b><br />
For now, we are currently still focusing on building our stage presence and improving ourselves, live. Sound setting, knowing what to do on stage, getting interactive with audience etc. We want to be able to enjoy ourselves with the crowd too, get comfortable with being on stage. Although we have quite a few shows on the timeline for us, we are also considering releasing our Demo by this year too. Hopefully, if all runs smoothly, you'll be expecting new stuff from us pretty soon! <br />
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<b>Any other plans?</b><br />
Aside from music, we are in the midst of discussion for tapes. We want some physical copies that people can actually want to keep it home, add into their collection... anything. Just stay close with us on social media (@FUSENOISE on Twitter) cos this year will be exciting! <br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><div dir="ltr" lang="et">POISON! <a href="https://t.co/saPpvXJXOW">pic.twitter.com/saPpvXJXOW</a></div>— FUSE (@FUSENOISE) <a href="https://twitter.com/FUSENOISE/status/884043169762914304">July 9, 2017</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-9744925399373310932017-08-15T21:43:00.000+02:002017-08-15T21:43:01.665+02:00Naysayer - Nation Of Greed<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEIMyvEShazT_apmJZIDJx10tmVDeZDmNvu8o0AAtxZFlSRmSflKWQbB6xxUALXgsaLB35q9VWRNnZYt3aUcFNA_gxe3BiBAbzkbDgzAKN8ru8eM6LynqNVQ_gQbZKjU-NkIMIejFapPl/s1600/a0541127088_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEIMyvEShazT_apmJZIDJx10tmVDeZDmNvu8o0AAtxZFlSRmSflKWQbB6xxUALXgsaLB35q9VWRNnZYt3aUcFNA_gxe3BiBAbzkbDgzAKN8ru8eM6LynqNVQ_gQbZKjU-NkIMIejFapPl/s400/a0541127088_5.jpg" width="400" height="400" data-original-width="700" data-original-height="700" /></a><br />
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Solid hardcore is of plenty nowadays but only few of the newer bands are able to resonate with my inner self to the point of provoking deeper feelings and thoughts. Be it the fury of Manipulate, social skills of Crowd Deterrent or world commentary of Bitter End, I am always down for taking the path of self awareness through slick riff, loud drums and antisocial tendencies. Naysayer fall into that category and since the demo they've been known to deliver heavy hitters with grit and dirt levels of epic proportions. That landed them a deal with Reaper for the debut ep. Any random band from the street can't just walk up to that label's CEO and have their shit released. One LP and two EPs deeper into their career and they haven't been dropped yet, which shows how steady they are with quality of their output. <br />
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Not that much changed with how they go about their craft. This new ep <i>Nation Of Greed</i> is little more metallic than <i>Laid To Rest</i> but still hits with a familiar crunch. It’s 7 tracks in about 12 minutes, and no moment is wasted. There are lot of creeping mid to slow tempo parts, driven by slick, thrash guitar work and just nasty groove. I sense something seriously sinister about the tracks like <i>Can You Feel it?</i> or <i>Face The Fantasy</i> that gives me goosebumps. Lyrically it’s pessimistic as it deals with lower depths of society and what it takes to stand your ground in face of all the madness around. The delivery is straight in your face though. If you’re looking for abstract poetry and souls searching this ain’t one.<br />
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Summary: both the music and the message and the mindset behind the band makes me believe we have the same outlook on hardcore and live in general. This is something I respect and look for in other people. This ep got my sincere recommendation.<br />
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FFO: Timberlands, army pants, black hoodies...<br />
Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-52358005187794135402017-07-21T23:12:00.000+02:002017-07-21T23:12:12.366+02:00Review: Crowd Deterrent - Show Of Supreme Force<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2y-QiapXAZHy391EAevEWV8ar3WXlezVnRvmt4xXArGU89eA3Esc_wEl282RL8QUDJQu9BcQDQpBZtcGepjqxULFTwMd7takrOwxasR4K3SGS49g_OvWrpOl1h0Wy2ucFsMt0E3JTrLlD/s1600/R-10470963-1498545410-5482.jpeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2y-QiapXAZHy391EAevEWV8ar3WXlezVnRvmt4xXArGU89eA3Esc_wEl282RL8QUDJQu9BcQDQpBZtcGepjqxULFTwMd7takrOwxasR4K3SGS49g_OvWrpOl1h0Wy2ucFsMt0E3JTrLlD/s400/R-10470963-1498545410-5482.jpeg.jpg" width="400" height="387" data-original-width="600" data-original-height="581" /></a><br />
<br />
Being a hardcore kid is like being a junkie in many ways. You get hooked up first time you hear Set It Off, Crime Ridden Society or Brightside and the rest of your life you just chase the same feeling. And sometimes you succeed. Crowd Deterrent for last couple of years has been the bomb and this lp combines their various shit since Show of Supreme Force ep came out in 2012. I didn’t need to sell my TV to get this record yet but I would if I had to. Somehow they do it better than anyone out there. <br />
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For those who don’t know, CR sound is Agnostic Front meets One Life Crew meets Blitz meets Sheer Terror and just every hardcore band in history that cultivated values such as hatred for fellow man and not-to-be-fucked-with attitude. And they put their own stamp on it with obnoxious antisocial vibe and gang mentality. Combined with technical skills that keeps their delivery sharp and effective you know we’re talking serious shit here. And the vocals are of beast kind, on tracks like Worldwie or Outcast Mentality he proves he has some serious vocal chops. The dude has been blessed with a perfect voice for this shit. <br />
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Show of Supreme Force ep are hands down the best of the batch. These tracks are fat to death, I don’t even have a favorite one, front to back this is top notch. This record is already in my top ten for the last decade. The title track is aggressive and raw, hitting you hard with tight groove and sharp riffs all bound together by the meanest vocals. <i>"Life's on the line for you/ no matter what I do/ always stay down for the crew"</i>. Hard as nails! As for the Certain Death, I got no problem putting it next to Murdario Stomp easily. The Hated Ones tracks are solid as well, just see me wilding out in my living room to these tunes. The lyrics are the same, most of all a salute to sticking to your guns in world gone to shit. <i>"I can’t handle all this stress / I’m a paranoid mess/ There’s no life left in these eyes/ Seeking shelter but there’s none to bo found /The only peace I’ll find when I’m six feet underground"</i><br />
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This lp gets my highest recommendation. <br />
Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-53242851643035095162017-06-27T22:55:00.000+02:002017-06-27T22:55:50.562+02:00Interview: Society Sucker<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwOHxb5FDcCOhmLxXXKSKhv49AHFKT8pTMRLvF2z53lm3ZrXGsyGSHW8vTCndMMZejD1Y61Yqbek8dVNlfcf5lPD-Zg2RdwX_QEP200PV_aDug05KutuZ-cufwht-3oV-tgx58FvW02F2V/s1600/0006692023_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwOHxb5FDcCOhmLxXXKSKhv49AHFKT8pTMRLvF2z53lm3ZrXGsyGSHW8vTCndMMZejD1Y61Yqbek8dVNlfcf5lPD-Zg2RdwX_QEP200PV_aDug05KutuZ-cufwht-3oV-tgx58FvW02F2V/s1600/0006692023_10.jpg" data-original-width="750" data-original-height="493" /></a><br />
<br />
<div class="quote_dope"><span style="font-size: 30px;">"hardcore is a very powerful cultural force in the underground</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">When we stop worrying about social and political matters we are actively working against what hardcore itself is supposed to be. "</div></div><br />
<b>Can you give Society Sucker some introduction. Where you from, how long you’ve been around?</b><br />
Society Sucker is a hardcore band based in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Wilmington, North Carolina. We wrote and recorded a shitty demo in a week in 2013 and have been at it in one form or the other since then. <br />
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<b>Promo ‘17 sounds sick. Tell us something about these new songs. Is there a new album coming and do you have any other new tracks ready?</b><br />
Thank you so much for saying that! And yeah these two songs are part of a larger grouping of songs that we plan to put on an LP later this year. We have about 3 more songs finished more or less and a handful more in the process of coming together as I write this. We don't have any real plans yet with the actual physical release but its a little too early to worry about that stuff right now. We wanted to get the promo out to let people we are still alive and writing and show them the direction that we are going in for the LP since we feel it is our strongest material to date.<br />
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<b>How is average Society Sucker track put down?</b><br />
We have a pretty cool set up at our guitarist Chris's house where we are able to jam pretty much anytime and record it, so we riff around a lot and work off of ideas until we come up with something that sticks. The whole process is pretty organic, we try and get everyone's input and write stuff that we want to listen to or beat someone's ass to, whichever works.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-Kg4dYHjwOgyJ1FB2WnbMMu3ToMXMfugEuW-eX5avi0HaWq6J0zgtWz-jgRUovalmCdxF5_K6vddqhaLVpV22qiaDaPMrpE640kjxBFEk9Pv-jtqGIrXhSGdrOnFWMkI1SLCtqoQ-j46/s1600/16730661_714604762040046_1809689741944103026_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-Kg4dYHjwOgyJ1FB2WnbMMu3ToMXMfugEuW-eX5avi0HaWq6J0zgtWz-jgRUovalmCdxF5_K6vddqhaLVpV22qiaDaPMrpE640kjxBFEk9Pv-jtqGIrXhSGdrOnFWMkI1SLCtqoQ-j46/s1600/16730661_714604762040046_1809689741944103026_n.jpg" data-original-width="640" data-original-height="640" /></a><br />
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<b>People compare your band to Merauder, Leeway.... How would you describe your sound to people who are just getting familiar with you?</b><br />
We started out wanting to be groovy and heavy, mixing elements of NYHC with thrash metal and crossover, but we kept kind of evolving between our demo to our first 7" to our split with Will to Die to now. The influences are still there but our approach to writing the type of hardcore that interests us has changed. I would say we are a heavy hardcore band at our core without a doubt, but we aren't trying to replicate anyone else's sound or be a "X-type of band" or whatever. We definitely take influence from Merauder, Leeway, Crown of Thornz, Stigmata and its obvious, but we also take just as much from bands like Alice in Chains, Guns N' Roses, all sorts of other shit so it's hard to pin down where exactly we are at any given moment. We are hardcore dudes playing the type of hardcore that we want to hear.<a name='more'></a> <br />
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<b>Your lyrics are far from positive. Is it you getting emotional, or the world is going to shit?</b><br />
A little bit of both probably. I am a father so I think I see things through more of an expanded view since I am not just looking out for myself at this point, but on the other hand the world changing and happening as it has is what caused me to think the way that I do to begin with and involve myself in the things that I have. Hardcore is a release to me so writing positively isn't usually my first go-to, so I guess in that aspect it is me getting emotional.<br />
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<b>Values in hardcore. Do you think it’s important for the music and the scene in this days and age to keep integrity and stand out for social or political matters? </b><br />
Absolutely. Whether or not people like to acknowledge it, hardcore is a very powerful cultural force in the underground, and the way we talk/act/think/conduct ourselves directly affects lots of people outside of hardcore whether or not they are even aware of it. When we stop worrying about social and political matters we are actively working against what hardcore itself is supposed to be. <br />
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<b>What does hardcore mean to you?</b><br />
Hardcore is an imperfect corner of the world full of imperfect people coming together to communicate and express ideas collectively in a way that no other scene, culture, whatever has. I owe a good chunk of my life to relationships and connections made through the hardcore scene, it is a major defining factor in my life. Even at 27 years old with a full-time job and 3 year old son, I still book shows all over the state of North Carolina, even though I talk about stopping all the time because its a pain in my ass.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zueM9oUM4Si-FU9pLfSih3NoRETZblQFrp8n-v57EHR1gllzpQcjkMtlWfEXufnEHb1mroIVo4YESx1HiEs0q2j1b05mhKYcZHJj90XW-eaLQMETep_YuswJbYWz44YURXHAQXHDNPI2/s1600/13731505_602441283256395_2332440637862484042_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zueM9oUM4Si-FU9pLfSih3NoRETZblQFrp8n-v57EHR1gllzpQcjkMtlWfEXufnEHb1mroIVo4YESx1HiEs0q2j1b05mhKYcZHJj90XW-eaLQMETep_YuswJbYWz44YURXHAQXHDNPI2/s1600/13731505_602441283256395_2332440637862484042_n.jpg" data-original-width="854" data-original-height="854" /></a><br />
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<b>Society Sucker by Agnostic Front or Skarhead?</b><br />
Depends on how many drinks we've had so far.<br />
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<b>What else do you have lined up for the rest of the year?</b><br />
Playing a fest in Texas in November, we are gonna be playing some shows around it in the south. I think we are playing Baltimore at some point too with Queensway, and we are playing our first show in a minute in our hometown with Three Knee Deep, Stone, Broken Teeth, Break Away, Division of Mind, and Magnitude on July 21st. Gonna try and finish writing this LP and figure out how we are gonna put it out. Who knows what else.<br />
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Top photo by Lloyd Anderson<br />
Photo 2 & 3 by Josh Huff<br />
Big thanks!Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-69257753417929587762017-04-23T13:37:00.000+02:002017-04-23T13:40:46.543+02:00Is that new Cold As Life any good?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUKH_J-I5eVHg-YWwa1tVZ4UHZLktxYC_WrLghJXurumZdMQIWKAq_hZzkjECAkoieGlZr0gGMMSogOzJtHaCXQKDYJfthyreL6ZX7YpE3UXhDN5-ila9LhAD5tfp9AMIVbOqbqY6PF9m4/s1600/detroit-abandoned-buildings-joe-gee.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUKH_J-I5eVHg-YWwa1tVZ4UHZLktxYC_WrLghJXurumZdMQIWKAq_hZzkjECAkoieGlZr0gGMMSogOzJtHaCXQKDYJfthyreL6ZX7YpE3UXhDN5-ila9LhAD5tfp9AMIVbOqbqY6PF9m4/s1600/detroit-abandoned-buildings-joe-gee.jpg" /></a><br />
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Cold As Life keeps on coming back together every now and then but this time beside touring there's new music to be expected. When you got a band with that huge rep and history it's hard to live up to the past. No wonder there are lots of different opinions on whether this Cold As Life is legit or not. Especially when there's just one dude (drummer Roy Bates) that connects to the times when the band got is start. The rest of the line up are new dudes or guys who joined the ranks when they started touring again some time ago. You can suspect some money grab scheme but who am I to tell? First, is there any serious money to be made here? Part of me doubts that, but I also know there will be many dudes in Germany or Belgium ready to buy merch and shit in large quantities. Secondly, who am I to interfere in internal Detroit power struggles? So politics aside, let the music speak for itself. Is this new incarnation of Cold As Life even worth checking out on the stremph of the new songs?<br />
<br />
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/track=1624983344/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=333333/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="http://coldaslife.bandcamp.com/track/suffer">Suffer by Cold As Life</a></iframe><br />
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<b>Suffer </b>- musically it lacks that dirt and filth that made their old albums so menacing but compared to majority of current hardcore it delivers. The lyrics are deep and brutal dealing with a loss of a close one to addiction. People changed but Cold can still provide that eerie grime storytelling few other bands could relay. Jesse's vocals are made to sound very much like Jeff Gunnells which is probably the smartest thing to do. I had very low expectations going in but Suffer is a menacing cut that still holds its CTYC roots.<br />
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<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/track=971335942/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=333333/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="http://coldaslife.bandcamp.com/track/for-the-few">For The Few by Cold As Life</a></iframe><br />
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<b>For The Few </b> - solid tune but doesn't carry that much force as Suffer. This is basically a salute to your homeboys holding it down for you which doesn't necessary mean a bad thing in hardcore but it's not what I would expect from this band. On the music front nothing above average. Though I’d wanted new Cold As Life to be like the old Cold As Life I know that is not possible.<br />
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So it's 50/50 chances <a href="http://www.demonsrunamok.de/">this new ep</a> is not gonna suck.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0BsZYuRRmNdWRgYBFwwVXD-ifssEhtHFPGB9M0-wkOABD-hUphEjrZMEnpD8NfG2ATRA3MRjJTQsDfkH3NrSWOmucG1ftBkeUDIQ9JdSp7n1ppIGgQb7CO0_BNpmm9Dskho2ue4XQoqsG/s1600/scan10.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0BsZYuRRmNdWRgYBFwwVXD-ifssEhtHFPGB9M0-wkOABD-hUphEjrZMEnpD8NfG2ATRA3MRjJTQsDfkH3NrSWOmucG1ftBkeUDIQ9JdSp7n1ppIGgQb7CO0_BNpmm9Dskho2ue4XQoqsG/s1600/scan10.jpg" /></a><br />
<i>Days of old</i><br />
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Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-18580898050317144432017-04-12T22:21:00.000+02:002017-04-12T22:22:28.457+02:00Interview: Altered Beast<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUF8Iu9f0vEh0lXLv4t5_rg9Y1z2Ejr-Hf-7Igu9r0hVMTmfhZT6fwhk-TwUB_xicGKweGcTmBMqBqvEJ7ByO8sOPwXNspkoVKeQ3goWWVETAdXWFuf48C2d8xzl9-sZkhcefG2nYODPYE/s1600/11181860_1653591021530580_5276209263433471996_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUF8Iu9f0vEh0lXLv4t5_rg9Y1z2Ejr-Hf-7Igu9r0hVMTmfhZT6fwhk-TwUB_xicGKweGcTmBMqBqvEJ7ByO8sOPwXNspkoVKeQ3goWWVETAdXWFuf48C2d8xzl9-sZkhcefG2nYODPYE/s1600/11181860_1653591021530580_5276209263433471996_n.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>Give us some info about Altered Beast?</b><br />
We all live in Kansas City, Missouri. We started the band in early 2014. Been chugging away since then. Aren't really built for touring because me and the drummer have a lot of kids and life going on. Haha. We are open to some ideas though if people reach out. We definitely aren't going to turn anything cool down.<br />
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<b>How did the band come about?</b><br />
Max and Dakota (guitarists) approached me about doing vocals. They had a song (Come Clean) off the demo written and threw it my direction. I scammed our drummer Dan because he and I had been working on some other ideas. We started writing songs and scooped Steve up on bass. The cool thing is none of us had any other projects at the time. It is a good energy when everyone is hungry and focused on one project. Since then things have changed. Most the other guys have other things going on. We aren't writing as many songs as I want, but I'm not stressing.<br />
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<b>Just recently you dropped new self-titled ep. What was your main goal when writing these new tracks?</b><br />
We had been playing these tracks live for a while. We instantly kept writing after we dropped the demo tape. The songs were pretty mature by the time we hit the studio the second time for this ep. We still kept it bare bones as far as production. The one thing we did consistent was record in the same studio. It is a super nice modern studio with great equipment and rooms. War of Ages, and Norma Jean had both recorded there. The goal was to keep it natural and raw sounding. No bullshit effects that made us sound like some studio monster. I wanted that live sound. We record the songs live and punch in the fixes for any mistakes we made. I save the vocals tracks for the end, and usually try to nail them with a single take. I don't like reverb or any overdubbing on my vocals. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDSixJnPhhRxCamSnl7MGBDyQVT9BL98uzwdgtHt64DrXEUeITMlMcFsQYAahyWTIvUvKSgCkJaIEWt1m8NkNVHOagAxRd3b3PF5ejLwBYGJAw2g7wc_rv1fL_34ANGrlI3lU8iu63bCXL/s1600/16114639_1856082937948053_8271711773676721257_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDSixJnPhhRxCamSnl7MGBDyQVT9BL98uzwdgtHt64DrXEUeITMlMcFsQYAahyWTIvUvKSgCkJaIEWt1m8NkNVHOagAxRd3b3PF5ejLwBYGJAw2g7wc_rv1fL_34ANGrlI3lU8iu63bCXL/s1600/16114639_1856082937948053_8271711773676721257_n.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>Who is going to release it on a physical format?</b><br />
We actually have it pressed on 7 inch now with our friend Sam from Blak Skul Records now out of KC. He lives next to Max and has been super cool putting it out. We have gotten some good responses out of it. Even Maximum Rock N Roll gave us a cool review. I was pretty nervous when Sam submitted it to them. Normally they chew bands like us and spit them out. Haha. We pressed 400 on black, and around 100 on red. <br />
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<b>How did you get involved in hardcore?</b><br />
I got involved in hardcore by just listening to the music. I lived in a very small town and there were some older friends that were part of the early 80's movement that taught me the ways. I didn't understand the subgenres until I started getting older. You gotta understand that I am about to be 41 years old. I began listening to independent music at a really young age. I was exposed to DRI and Slayer when I was in 6th grade. So that was around 1985/1986. I got directly involved by playing in a local band after high school and opening up a lot of the local shows. I was always going to shows though. I was addicted to dancing and having fun. I didn't care if I was solo or going with a group of friends. After all those years I just kept getting more and more involved from running sound at a local venue, to putting on random shows of my own in the city. <br />
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<b>What did you find inspiring about that movement?</b><br />
The first time I understood what the difference between hardcore and other music was when I began to get deep into NYHC worship. I was so intrigued with who was related to who, and what bands they all had before. I had known about most of the bands through the years, but like I said, I didn't understand that Agnostic Front, Slapshot, Murphys Law, etc were part of a sub genre call hardcore. The most inspiring thing that drew me in was hearing AF Last Warning and hearing the in between talking that Roger did. He was talking about unity and caring about social causes that were affecting them in NYHC. That whole positive banter and vibe showed me the reality of their style. After that I picked up on 25 Ta Life and Rick's lyrics were super positive on Strength Through Unity. At that time I was sold on the idea of Unity and Togetherness. That is what initially attracted me to hardcore. How you could sound so tough, and the pits be so wild, and have such a caring and inclusive message.<a name='more'></a> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKGfTK6o4pVQ2tfwQaclL4gZ3HodUQarJe_2U69n7kSIiBI4uzNJhTv54JrwuD3oVS0ieO9alAQ1gXCfvoEizjQ2tc53mmQcXERjdn7A8J3gw28PzrnA0AuTKt616J1TkyUkVfjyQK4nLl/s1600/110403_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKGfTK6o4pVQ2tfwQaclL4gZ3HodUQarJe_2U69n7kSIiBI4uzNJhTv54JrwuD3oVS0ieO9alAQ1gXCfvoEizjQ2tc53mmQcXERjdn7A8J3gw28PzrnA0AuTKt616J1TkyUkVfjyQK4nLl/s1600/110403_0.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>There must have been a certain album or band that made you want to start a band, what were they?</b><br />
As far back as I can remember I was into acting like I was in a band. My stepbrothers and I would lip sync and play air guitar and drums in the bedroom to Motley Crue and WASP. I always would sing along to stuff and really get into the music. I can't narrow it down to an album or artist, but it was inevitable that I would be in a band. I used to take Quiet Riot and Kiss records to daycare when I was super young. The ladies that were our teachers would bring in their older sons heavy metal magazines so I could read them and look at the pictures. I started my first band in 1995. Since then I have had quite a few. I have always been a hardcore singer. I don't worship any weird shit and always feel the need to sing about reality. I still dance hard for bands, buy merch and try to set a good example. <br />
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<b>Kansas City is not a place I would first look for hardcore, but maybe it’s just my perspective not being from US. What’s happening over there in terms of hardcore scene?</b><br />
There has always been a draw for hardcore in this city. This stems back the 80's when the OD's were playing local shows here. I would have to say though the modern hardcore movements from the 90's era were headed by Coalesce. They brought bands from all over to play small shows with them. The most recent active local bands though are SPINE, Blindside USA, Agent, Altered Beast, Contrast, NO QTR, Conflicts, and many more of different styles. Our shows are split up just like any scene with social circles and different age groups. There are always places to play here though. Whether it be in a ghetto ass house or an upscale downtown bar, there is always an option. There are quite a few veteran musicians that have kept involved and run successful musical venues. And there will always be the younger ones that don't mind housing a show in their residence. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-conFrLVF4iWcV8S9FqTfGK_QNcfoh85PFD7N021jyh5jK9SDrkiPEls_UyuzhXTrt5HFITuKltubprfbZRYaTT_3njW82J7Oie6ck8EYp7nD6BuN7em9EBO6WnvGLCKDvfjgTH7W3dnq/s1600/13873142_1785707481652266_1333114475768638998_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-conFrLVF4iWcV8S9FqTfGK_QNcfoh85PFD7N021jyh5jK9SDrkiPEls_UyuzhXTrt5HFITuKltubprfbZRYaTT_3njW82J7Oie6ck8EYp7nD6BuN7em9EBO6WnvGLCKDvfjgTH7W3dnq/s1600/13873142_1785707481652266_1333114475768638998_n.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>What is band’s gig history like to date?</b><br />
We have been very fortunate to open for some great bands. Bent Life, Axis, Blistered, Eternal Sleep, Cross Examination, Homewrecker, Sons Of Southern Darkness, Breaking Wheel, The Beautiful Ones, Of Feather and Bone, Impalers, etc.<br />
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We have also gotten to open for some legendary bands at larger venues. Superjoint Ritual, Exodus, Napalm Death, Voi Vod, C.O.C., Madball, Death Angel, Exhumed, Iron Reagan, etc.<br />
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<b>What do shows in Kansas City look like?</b><br />
They are typical mixes of age groups depending on the venue. There is a pretty good mix of male and females. The old heads still come out from time to time. We have some hard moshers here. Not really a lot of crowd killing stuff. The basement shows have the wiggle punks and floor creepers who go from side to side. The turnouts are hit and miss. It is crazy how some shows will have an average turnout then out of the blue a show will come through town and so many people I have never seen will show up and create a wild ass time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_abMzRPiicSspsr-lcij0becwTvEOfC5wuMFsINvf0n9Aok_dAlfQ14Zg-4mCVUfEoI6yYrOkKVo03vB6c2OcIUI6tNm3Euk3FHsZwnJhY6wl8d-J0l0FEIVMook0Bz7dLXBrAFqXM9n/s1600/FBI__KC_among_nationwide_worst_for_viole_2924150000_18016792_ver1.0_640_480.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_abMzRPiicSspsr-lcij0becwTvEOfC5wuMFsINvf0n9Aok_dAlfQ14Zg-4mCVUfEoI6yYrOkKVo03vB6c2OcIUI6tNm3Euk3FHsZwnJhY6wl8d-J0l0FEIVMook0Bz7dLXBrAFqXM9n/s1600/FBI__KC_among_nationwide_worst_for_viole_2924150000_18016792_ver1.0_640_480.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>In The City deals with the bleak side of your city, is it really that bad?</b><br />
If you walk around long enough in a city you will see all sides of society. I didn't think talking about the fun and happy stuff would mix with that instrumental, haha. I chose to focus on the nasty shit I have seen in through the years of walking to work. I spared a lot of stories that would make your stomach turn. But overall the city does have all the elements of any larger city in the U.S. Drugs, crime, murder, and poverty ring true for many Midtown KC residents. I did the start the song off by stating the location of the observations being "Midtown" KC. Out in the suburbs its definitely more chill. I was just speaking as I see it because I live in the middle of it all.<br />
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<b>If you want to say something about Beyond Four Walls, now it’s the time.</b><br />
Beyond Four Walls is my fanzine I started in 2002ish. My first interview was Madball and the latest interview I did was with Blood In Blood Out from Indiana. I usually pick some touring bands and a local for each issue. I normally try to interview bands that I personally like. Past issues have included interviews with All Out War, Ringworm, Warzone (OG Guitarist), Harms Way, Hoods, Cro Mags, 25 Ta Life, Midnight, Semper Eadem, The Killer, Power Trip, Venom Prison, Wolf Down, so many great ones. I normally half page size. I still have plenty of copies left. I have been a collector and buyer of fanzines for many years. A buddy of mine had a zine call FUNGUS BOY in my hometown when I was a kid. He is the reason I do it today. Max my guitar player helps me out and has been doing some of the layouts in the last couple years.<br />
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<b>What’s next for the band?</b><br />
We are currently trying to play some show out of town to get the seven inch out there. We have started writing some new songs for the next release. We are sitting on some covers (Left For Dead, Who Do Ya Know, and Warzone, Crazy But Not Insane) that we did while in the studio for maybe a compilation of some sort. Just trying to keep the fire burning. I have lots of shit on my mind right now, so song writing is very therapeutic and mandatory.<br />
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<b>Famous last words?</b><br />
Just figure out what you want to take with you in this world. I have kept every lyric I have ever written. I save stickers, fliers, buttons, ticket stubs. I will always be involved in music. My hopes is that one day people can recognize that I did my best to hold it town for my scene and be the best person I could pull off as somebody you could see and know that I tried. I hope my kids will one day read this interview online and see what I chose to do with my spare time. I want to thank my band members for jamming with me in Altered Beast. I also want to thank my kids Presley, Tate, Izabel, and Layne for giving me something to work hard for. I gotta shout out to my crazy ass wife Jennifer. Sometimes this world and its pressures has me holding on by a thread. I guess it's better a thread than the end of a rope with no hope in site. <br />
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Altered Beast @<a href="https://alteredbeastkc.bandcamp.com/">Bandcamp</a><br />
Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-11675482869802770312017-03-22T23:08:00.000+01:002017-03-22T23:08:39.336+01:00Review: Schizma - O Nas<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG14qBpNuSW4lfcj-WNxqI7CGcoDuBg6hZOL2XRMoHpfis1LEX-MrIw4w-nMxhRz3R8reTCHDSJi5IJf1n-cAtUWXqJ9MmuhhSCvdRLk6Q6DAYVDncRsrZLJWcRpx7M27HLMLyujLno-Rh/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG14qBpNuSW4lfcj-WNxqI7CGcoDuBg6hZOL2XRMoHpfis1LEX-MrIw4w-nMxhRz3R8reTCHDSJi5IJf1n-cAtUWXqJ9MmuhhSCvdRLk6Q6DAYVDncRsrZLJWcRpx7M27HLMLyujLno-Rh/s320/7.jpg" width="307" height="320" /></a><br />
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Schizma are local legends in their native Poland but among international hardcore community their status is not so solid. It’s a shame cause they released some of the finest hardcore music I’ve heard in my life. I pity people not familiar with their magnum force opus <i>Unity 2000</i>, a beast of a record from, you guess, year 2000. That album is one of my top ever, but I’m also never far away from a copy of <i>Pod Naciskiem</i>, their previous output where they really nailed their NYHC-infused sound. It’s crazy to think those albums came out over 15 years ago. Many consider that to be the best era of the band. The records the band put out in 2000s appeared to be a series of close misses or shots that veered way off target. Nothing embarrassing, but nothing great neither. In recent years they switched their formula and instead of full length album every couple of years they started putting out shorter four track eps. This format works for them and the band may really be getting some of their mojo back. <br />
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<i>O Nas</i> is a top quality hardore. There are 4 tracks and everything about them just clicks. The ep flows well from start to finish. The band plays tought ass hadcore with a crossover/thrash vibe but they try to put their stamp on it so it’s not just a mixtape of different influences. Some of the riffs sound like they could be lifted from Chaos AD, while some tracks are straight up hardcore. The music do not get stale and it’s amazing how many creative ways they came up with to make this stuff above average without losing aggression and focus. Not a moment of this feels too long or repetitive. On top of it all, fertile vocals deliver the message of strength and resilience without sounding pretentious. If you don’t mind this being sung in Polish give it a try.<br />
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Spook Recods, 2017Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3711673052121335154.post-88443496290966891832017-03-13T22:25:00.000+01:002018-07-09T20:19:20.284+02:00New Blood: La Guadana<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsFwMfi5JPn2sj77OFNE_0LBUfnq8c_b7IkiYlXEQiHzza9hvgbGRrE-OzHuOy7y6LNVW-FiTNwA7A8fDOcfFbjvGHFNuUQoaGCvsji2M6Rugl_DhzAoPX53ST-iSoN-WWTD6z4zRUKwN/s1600/0008889964_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsFwMfi5JPn2sj77OFNE_0LBUfnq8c_b7IkiYlXEQiHzza9hvgbGRrE-OzHuOy7y6LNVW-FiTNwA7A8fDOcfFbjvGHFNuUQoaGCvsji2M6Rugl_DhzAoPX53ST-iSoN-WWTD6z4zRUKwN/s1600/0008889964_10.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>Give us some background about the band? Who are the members, when was it formed and where your're based?</b><br />
Basically La Guadaña is only 3 old friends who had the idea for so long to play together and record something before our guitar player moved to Israel for a few months.<br />
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The members are Samuel, the drumer , Ofer ( guitar ) and myself, Josue ( voice, bass and some guitars) We all live in a small town near Barcelona called El Masnou.<br />
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Samuel and me have played together for almost 20 years in the band Anal Hard, Samuel plays aswell in a punk rock band called Guspira and I have a rock band Called Destierro. Ofer also has a Stoner rock band called Grass and played many years in the hardcore band Fresh Thrash.<br />
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<b>What have you released so far?</b><br />
So far all we have is the demo cassette with 6 tracks on it, released on backside records a while ago.<a name='more'></a> <br />
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<b>Major influences?</b><br />
That' s easy, Cro-mags, Slapshot, The Rival Mob and Rip ( the old spanish band )<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX0Crg9Ypsa9EloZkw0ReZC7AF1RK697G50L3bTrGESFFOAfP_qb5Rpib7Y74IwQkA0REktPki3i4RKYfKtNzC5j-PtUh8YQ9_DJ5Gl39oNIa_Lu03j-onP2BIxPLvlCInXTwGIT2pWnhw/s1600/a0327438892_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX0Crg9Ypsa9EloZkw0ReZC7AF1RK697G50L3bTrGESFFOAfP_qb5Rpib7Y74IwQkA0REktPki3i4RKYfKtNzC5j-PtUh8YQ9_DJ5Gl39oNIa_Lu03j-onP2BIxPLvlCInXTwGIT2pWnhw/s1600/a0327438892_10.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>Spanish always sound fine in hardcore but the downside is that I have no clue what you're singing about. Can you shed some light about the subject matter of your songs</b><br />
I agree, I really think spanish is a great language for hardcore, even if most of the spanish hc bands sing in english. Let´s talk about our songs:<br />
-1"perros de presa"is against the police<br />
-2"ejecutor" is against the judges<br />
-3"plebeyo" is about cowards that try to look some way but you really know who he really is.<br />
-4"cadena perpetua" is about the day by day when you have to get up to suffer and fight against everything.<br />
-5"ante la guillotina" is basically against inquisition of the church back in the days.<br />
-6"rencor" is about someone you trusted but stabed you in the back.<br />
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<b>Since the Spanish economy has gone to shit I reckon life over there is not spoiling you that much. What's your personal take on what's happening in your country right now? Where's it going?</b><br />
this is a country run by tyrants and we the people are tired of living under their economical pressures, taxes and basically being robbed by the government . Thanks god we have a very nice weather and food ( hahaha ) and that makes us conformists.<br />
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<b>Has it affected local hardcore scene in any way?</b><br />
Sure it has ! Specially during the 80s there was a nice wawe of punk and hardcore bands with a nice message and ideas ( eskorbuto, Rip, decibelios, Cicatriz ) and they settle the basis and ideas for many new bands who learled something out of their lirics.<br />
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<b>What are some othe local bands kids should check out?</b><br />
Now a days you should check out some other local bands such La inquision, Constrict, La oposicion , Grass, Appraise<br />
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<b>What the future holds for the band?</b><br />
We have plans on recording a 12” next summer once our guitar player is back from Israel, we already have a few new tracks ready!<br />
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<a href="https://laguadana.bandcamp.com/releases">Bandcamp </a>/ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/laguadanahc/">Facebook </a>/ <a href="http://backsiderecords.bigcartel.com/">Backside Records</a>Dloogihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672727403071656661noreply@blogger.com