The thing that hit me when I’ve heard your band for the first time was that you music got this dirty and raw punk rock feel to it, sometimes even close grindcore sound, but at the same time it’s still hardcore. Was it something you planned and where do you draw your influences when writing music?
First off I just want everyone to know this is Dan. I can’t really answer for the rest of the band but I will do my best when I need to. I don’t think we ever really planned on our songs being what they are, to me this is a form of expression or a lashing out at the things I see as wrong or fucked up. We all listen to many many hardcore bands and sub genres of hardcore so musically we draw from a lot of places. Black Flag, Napalm Death, Integrity, Crossed Out, and Left For Dead are a few but it goes far beyond that. Lyrically as I kind of stated before; whatever is bothering me, whatever fucked up experience I had for the day, whatever problems I'm dealing with is what goes into my lyrics.
There has been a plenty of bands lately who name Integrity as their influences but you guys stand out somehow. What do you think it is about Clevo sound that have such an impact on the scene lately?
I think the attraction to the Integrity/Ringworm/Holy Terror/Clevo sound is that it is dark and angry. We are kind of hitting rough times so I think more people are upset and angry and may have dark things going though their heads.. also Integrity and Ringworm are amazing artists and deserve any recognition they get.
What is the meaning behind the religious themed artwork of the album? The cover art of your demo was based on Begotten, an experimental movie which, as many interpret it as so, also deals with religious issues with the main theme of the biblical story of creation. Was it something you planned and does it have any relation with the lyrics of the songs?
Well I have personal issues regarding organized religion and for the most part I see it as corrupt and disgusting. Too many wars, deaths, broken homes, and other terrible acts have been the result of organized religion. Its only natural to have similarly themed art work to reflect the content of our songs.
Talking about movies, what type of stuff you like and does it happen that some flick you see or book you read is an inspiration for your songs?We watch a lot of different movies. I know that George happens to be a big fan of really fucked up and obscure horror movies. Movies and books don’t really inspire me to write lyrics that much. I did write a song very loosely based on Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, but it is a very very loose reference.
As you recall it now, what made you start a band in the first place? How do you think your attitude changed since then? Do you think you look at the hardcore scene somehow different since you started playing and get to know the scene from the this point of view?
I was actually not with Revenge when they originally started. They had another singer but he lived in New York. I was in this other band that wasn’t really working out for me, but it happened that the guys in Revenge came to one of our shows and asked if I would do fill in vocals for them afterwards. Things worked out so I ended up recording the demo with them and becoming full time vocals. We haven't been a band that long.. just under a year now.. I feel it would be pretentious of me to say how much the scene has changed since we’ve been around... so I won’t.
What is the hardcore scene like in Massachusetts? Any bands or labels you would recommend?
The scene in Mass, as far as I can tell since I started going to shows anyways, has been a little bit rough for a while. I have been pretty excited to see what bands out of mass have been doing as of late though. Bands like Shoot To Kill, Debaser, BearTrap, Inhibition, Pitfall, Think Again, Abomination, and Can’t Heal have all been killing it. As far as labels go keep an eye on Frequency Deleted Records and Neutral Territory, so many good releases are coming out on both.
You guys played with a variety of bands, small shows and festivals. What are some most memorable gigs?
Both shows we played at the Montrose Basement in NY have been insane, we played Significant Fest in tampa after an all night drive with Tyson from Think Again on bass (do to some travel disasters) he was a trooper and learned our songs about an hour before we had to play and pulled them off pretty flawlessly. We also played a show with a bunch of posi/youth crew bands in the kitchen of a loft apartment in a warehouse somewhere in Brooklyn, the PA wasn’t working so I was just screaming at people and the posi kids lost their minds and shoved someone into a hole in the wall.
Since the 2012 is the next date for the end of the world, at least the way we know it, what are your plans with the band till then? What do you guys want to archive?
I personally don’t believe that 2012 is the end of existence, according to religious leaders and other crazies we should all be dead by now, the world was supposed to have ended in 1992, 97, 98, 99, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and that is in recent years, I see it as an attempt to scare us. However despite out impending doom we plan on recording some new material within the next year, playing as many shows as we can, and hopefully attempt a full US tour in the summer
Anything else you would like to add?Keep an eye out in the future, I have some details on some shit, I’m just not sure if I can drop that knowledge yet so be on the look out for announcements. Keep an eye on FDR and the bands I mentioned, I'm sure that good things will be coming out of them. Buy the LP we owe Anthony money now. Thanks.
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