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.
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?
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.
So, give us some insights about Atonement. How the promo tracks are representative for the upcoming full length?
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.
For the collectors, who will release the album and on what format?
We're still trying to figure out the specifics but it will most likely be vinyl only.
Your sound has been compared to Clevo bands, do you agree with it? What bands were major influences when starting the band?
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.
What’s the story about the Integrity coverset show? Was it just that single Hannover show or you do it from time to time?
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
German scene has always seemed huge, even in terms of numbers of kids involved. What do you attribute it to?
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!
I wonder, with the movement so strong, has any hardcore band in Germany ever broke out into mainstream?
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.
Recommend some newer bands from your area that deserve checking out.
Since most bands tend to spread across different cities, I will just list off a couple of great newer bands from Germany:
>>> Spirit Crusher should be an established commodity by now, simply because their live shows are some of the most intense shows you can see
>>> Slon from Trier, Koblenz and I think Mannheim(?) is quickly becoming one of the tighter live bands around
>>> The Fog hailing from Berlin and representing for the hateful geriatrics of deutschhc
>>> Powerage from Düsseldorf, they don't play near enough shows but they're sick!
>>> Angst from Hannover for everyone who likes violent music played by guys that look like a handsome indie band
Cremations from Hannover
>>> shout outs to Dasha Big Boss, all the way from the tundra of Siberia to Germany!
>>> Coldburn 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
>>> Cave Park and Ratlord may not be Hardcore but if you like handsome-bandmember-pop music or slammy death metal, give them a shot
Members of Exposure also appear in: Spark, Night Force, Persecution Mania, Kulak, new and unnamed projects, so keep your eyes and ears peeled.
Exposure @ Bandcamp
