New blood: Rhythm Of Fear

Stomping crossover from Florida for fans of classic sound along the lines of Born to Expire, Ride The Lighting, Victim in Pain or Life of Dreams. Their Mass Illusion EP is a feast for both hardcore kids and metal dudes I cannot pinpoint anything that is wrong with it, an essential listening if you're want to give new band a chance. Head to their bandcamp if you don't take my word for it, and let the band do the talking now...

Give us an introduction of Rhythm Of Fear. What was happening with the band between 2011 Demo and Mass Illusion?
The Mass Illusion EP is actually 4 songs from our full length record entitled "Maze Of Confusion", which should be released sometime in early 2016. We started recording the full length record in mid 2014 with our good friend Bob Presson who has played in many bands such as: Kids Like Us, Boys No Good and is now a tattoo artist at Shrunken Head Tattoo in Jacksonville, FL. While the tracks where still in the process of mixing and mastering, we we're approached by a guy by the name of John Howard who really wanted to record a Thrash Metal band. So we decided to just start over with John. After mastering the first 4 tracks, we released them as Mass Illusion EP in January 2015. Our demo was recorded by Bob Presson and after it's release we decided to take our time and write as much material we can and pass out as many demos at other shows we weren't playing and try to promote the band around Florida. This is why we had such a long gap between releases.

How do you feel musically you’ve progressed over the course of these two releases?
We have all progressed tremendously since we started in 2010. Looking back at our shows in early 2011-2013 we we're a little sloppy on stage. We didn't rehearse as much as we should have before shows. Now we practice several times a week and are constantly correcting each other to make sure we make fewer mistakes as possible. Also our musical influences have molded us to be a better band I feel. Always pushing ourselves to strive to be more "professional".

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New Mercyless album out on Cruzade Records

“Mundo Enfermo” is the second album of Mercyless after of the CD called “No Hay Paz” and the split with Officer Down. This CD have 7 tracks of brutal hardcore with trash parts and concious lyrics. Their music is incluenced by bands like Hatebreed and Born From Pain. Out on Cruzade Records!

Unite.Resist Interview

Here’s a quick background info on the band: Unite.Resist is a new and upcoming hardcore band hailing from Scranton, Pennsylvania. The band started out in 2010, has released their self-titled debut Ep in January 2011 on Universal Warning Records and if that’s important for you, there’s Tom from Strength For A Reason playing bass there. Unite.Resist is currently working on the upcoming split with Troublesome on Marked For Death which should be available in the upcoming months. If you like real, honest, down to earth hardcore that tell it like it is, here’s something for you. Hell, every band that mentions Mushmouth as one of their influences should immediately make to every hardcore kid’s ‘to listen’ list!

Here’s a quick background info on the band: Unite.Resist is a new and upcoming hardcore band hailing from Scranton, Pennsylvania. The band started out in 2010, has released their self-titled debut Ep in January 2011 on Universal Warning Records and if that’s important for you, there’s Tom from Strength For A Reason playing bass there. Unite.Resist is currently working on the upcoming split with Troublesome on Marked For Death which should be available in the upcoming months. If you like real, honest, down to earth hardcore that tell it like it is, here’s something for you. Hell, every band that mentions Mushmouth as one of their influences should immediately make to every hardcore kid’s ‘to listen’ list!

Can you give us a brief history of the band? What prompted you to start Unite.Resist and who is in the present line up? What prompted you to start Unite. Resist and who is in the present line up ?

Tom: The band started through a few different line-ups, but came together with the band Myriad in 2003, which was ERIC(vocals), Jim( Drums), Tom (bass), Vic(guitar) and Dom(guitar). In the evolution of that band, Jon (guitar) eventually joined to give the band a second guitar when Dom left. This band played mostly in PA through 2003-2006 During these years Tom joined SFAR and started to tour with them. A few years later when Strength’s drummer decided to step back from the reigns, Jim took on the job of drumming with them for obvious reasons including schedules. We then mulled around with some ideas and decided to get a new project together, topics for lyrics, type of sound, etc., then decided to come out strong in 2010. We recorded our songs before playing live and then started looking for a label. After recording we played a few shows and then released the self titled EP on Universal Warning Records in the first week of January. Lou joined the band in January shortly after the release, playing his first two shows solo , but that’s the way it always seems to go when you have to work a full time job. The present line-up is ERIC(vocals) JIM (drums) Jon (guitar) LOU (guitar) TOM (bass) .

How would you describe your playing sound to those who still haven’t heard your music? Is it something people are going to be able to compare to Strength For A Reason?

Eric: If you’re a fan of mid 90s hardcore you will enjoy us, it’s a break from all the breakdown bands that seem to be coming out , if you have V.O.D , Mushmouth , Madball on your ipod pick up a cd . If your a fan of Strength for a Reason I’m sure you would enjoy Unite Resist, but to compare us to them I would say no we have a different sound and style of writing.

Tell us something about your debut album. What do you hope people make of it?

Tom: The aspect that I liked about this recording is that we recorded totally analog, and with all live takes, so when a mistake was made we had to re-do the entire song. On a side note it just so happened that when ideas for the artwork on our Universal Warning EP were completed we used pictures from Ireland, Greece, etc. By the time the discs were printed and released, these countries were having protests in the streets over the economics situations and bailouts.

As for what I would like people to make of it, I would hope that something on the record would strike a chord with a listener, whether it be the music or one of the topics in the lyrics. I wouldn’t want to downplay the music because that is a huge part of a band, but I personally would hope that one of some of the lyrics could possibly start a conversation (especially in the states). The U.S. has taken a turn since 9/11. Whether it be the new attitude the country has taken, surveillance of citizens, erosion of civil liberties and our constitution (which the average person in this country seems to want to give away freely). I think these topics are in need of some serious discussion. I feel this can also strike a chord around the world, not only in the states, due to some of the events that we have seen in the past year. Bailouts in Europe and unrest in the middle-east, N. Africa and Eastern Europe. When it comes to the payment of a country’s debt, the people have to realize that they do not owe the debt, monetary practices are the cause of the troubles. The people have a right to be upset.

Eric: I hope people from 15 to 50 enjoy what we are doing on this release, and see how much work we put into it plus its all analog so the sound of the cd is nice and crisp not a lot of bands do analog anymore . We will also be putting out a split CD with the band Troublesome this summer on Marked For Death Records which will be released in Europe. So be on the lookout.

What are you be singing about on the record?

Tom: If you take a song like “Weaponless” the song is saying that people have a voice to speak out or address their grievances or change their world. But possibly someone who is in the lower or middle class may not be able to flex an economic muscle or pull some political “strings” like someone in a higher class would. So that’s why you hear people say, “that’s the way it is. What am I going to do about it? We can’t change it.” If everyone would change that mindset things could change tomorrow. My favorite part of the song is the MLK excerpt which refers to the U.S. staying true to its constitution, which is the solution to the many problems our country is facing currently. And of course there are other weapons that can be used, but the song is saying that non-violently the only weapon we’ve been left with is our voice and it can be powerful. Now would be a time to speak up in America, because you would rather see a problem solved peacefully than to have to resort to violence. But I am 100% behind the people of Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Egypt, Etc. The song “Pain in Change” is a play on the Obama presidential campaign slogan. Although the U.S. voted the man into office and the world seemed to justify him by giving him the Nobel Peace Prize. He never really had desire to change any of the Bush policies, as the people of the U.S. assumed.

Eric: I agree with what Tom said on the songs and also to let people know its not how cool you are b/c of the way you dress or went to a hardcore show. Its about knowing the people around you and knowing yourself that this is the place. Most people go to get away or to hang out with friends. Due to this current emphasis on fashion or text messaging and facebook you may not always see and to hear what some of the bands are saying open your ears people.

Where do your lyrics come from? What are your main inspirations?

Tom: When I first started seeing hardcore bands it was more the atmosphere of the show that I admired. It gave me the feeling that these people were here for a reason and had a very important message to convey to the audience. For some of the bands it was in their message, but for others it was in what they spoke about between songs. To me it always had a positive message,(or that’s what I heard or gravitated towards). Messages about believing in yourself, standing up for one another, and not being afraid to speak out against what grievances were around at the time socially, etc. I know that there are bands that currently have a something to say, and along with them we hope to contribute to more of a message brought back to hardcore. Currently my inspirations are found in the news. Europe is having economic problems in Iceland, Ireland, Greece, Spain. Problems that other countries will soon see. What happened in Egypt with the internet shutdown and use of the military against citizens in Libya could happen in any country. Europe and the U.S. are not an exception.

Eric: I remember when hardcore had a message, and has seemed to have lost some of that message. We are here because we love the music and the people and I really wanted to say a lot to the kids who just wanted to be cool at shows or to go outside and txt and tell people, “hey I’m at a show “. The kids who start bands who want to just say I’m in a hardcore band but really have no message and no heart they just want the look. We come to this place to get away its our high and we must keep the people with open minds in it that stay true to what's real.

PA bands are recognized for their strong, heavy hitting brand of hardcore . How does coming from there shape your attitude to the music and hardcore culture?

Tom: I’m very proud to come from the PA hardcore scene, and the Northeast area in general. I would like to think that with any band the attitude and sound comes from the regions we were raised. The area we are from, which is an older industrial region, we are people of the same socio-economic backgrounds, all working class families. In the 90s our area was fortunate enough to have a stable club that brought in hardcore bands from other areas and allowed local bands to develop their music, Strength for a Reason was one of these bands. Our proximity to New York (2 hr) also helped. These bands that came up in that time period in turn passed that hardcore ethic along. Some people get it and some people don’t. I feel that the area that we come from is similar to the parts of Europe that have the same brands of music, such as the Ruhrpott in Germany ,England, or Poland. Especially Pennsylvania which produced coal, iron, steel and agriculture. I also feel we also get our work ethic from parents and especially our grandparents, who were hard workers, and I feel that this influences our attitudes.

And what do you think of the hardcore scene right now? What are some other bands you’re down with?

Tom, Eric : I think that the scene has a healthy influx of new bands. Some good fests going on in the U.S. like the new Tsunami Fest, This is Hardcore, Long Island Fest, etc. Some great new bands that have come out at the same time as us are: Troublesome , Lifeless ,Ready to Die , Rock Bottom , Born Low and Wrong Answer who we are really into presently. Right now I am liking the band Carrying the Fire from Baltimore, I like the message and I feel all around the band is amazing. Mother of Mercy is also very good. Steel Nation, who we all agree on, is another PA band who we happen to know personally, as well as Strength for a Reason, Cold World, Wisdom in Chains, Not til Death , and Concrete Reality . And these are bands that are more or less from our "area".So yeah I think there is a lot of potential right now to keep it moving in the right direction.The scene is strong the real bands keep it moving along and keep it alive thank god. The venues are sometimes tough to keep, but everyone will usually work together to find a hall, other location, or basement, which we have played over the last weekend. Its great to see people and the bands come together and put shows on no matter if your from one part of town or another, we should all be working together and pushing for each other. We are all the same, we love this thing called hardcore we love the feeling of being at a show together thats what its about, not doing presales for someone or to get the most facebook likes.

How do you rate paper fanzines, and do you think they still have a part to play in the hardcore scene?

Tom:I think that it is great that people communicate and share ideas through paper zines. It has contributed to the attitude and the drive that made hardcore what it is and we have to preserve that tradition. The internet can’t be the only form of communication within the scene. Whenever I’m at a show and see a zine or a paper pamphlet I will take one to read. While answering these questions I was looking at the Thinking Cap fanzine that I picked up at a show in Philadelphia.

What's your impression of the European hardcore scene?

Tom: I love going on trips to Europe, not only for the sights but for the friends I’ve met in several countries. Having been over to Europe a few times I can say that the fans are very appreciative to the bands from the US, and that the clubs and promoters are better organized that those in the U.S.. I appreciate the honesty European fans will give when it comes to opinions on performances or certain songs. I’ve had the opportunity to play with and befriend the guys in No Turning Back, Cheap Thrills, Bleed Into One, New Morality, For The Glory, Nasty, BOLT , Fallbrawl, Black Friday '29 . And others like Look My Way, World Eater, The Ice and I also happen to be fans of all of these bands. And as in the U.S. I see that when bands dissolve or break up the members usually end up staying in the scene and starting new bands, labels, and zines. This year SFAR had the opportunity to play in Katowice Poland this year and the thing I will remember was that Poland dances HARD. It was a show that I will remember, as well as the ice cold vodka shots, which I crave from time to time now that I’m home.

Five books everyone should read?

I’m sorry that I didn’t keep it to five books, but pick any of these five and you should enjoy

1. Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited by Auldous Huxley

( A similar book is 1984 by George Orwell, but I feel that Huxley realizes that the government will use a different form of control (through media and entertainment) rather that just brute force.

2. Inside the third Reich by Albert Speer

( As you should know our band does not condone fascism or national socialism, but stands for the opposite. I feel that everyone should at some point in their lives read a book about how a system like that can be built up around a population when the right circumstances permit. If one realizes how this happens, we would possibly not repeat the same mistake. Other books in this same vein could be The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn or The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard Evans)

3. Media Control : The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda by Noam Chomsky (also, the book that started it all: Propaganda by Edward Bernays or you could watch the documentary about Bernays “The Century of the Self” that can be found on youtube. Byernays was the nephew of Freud and the man who invented propaganda)

4. Slaughter House Five by kurt Vonnegut

(any of his books are a good read, Blackbeard, Cat’s Cradle, etc.)

5. The Brothers Karamozov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

(which gets me into other books like War and Peace by Tolstoy)

Also you can not go wrong with the classics

Art of War by Sun Tzu

The Republic by Plato

The Iliad of The Odyssey by Homer

The Gallic War and othe Writings of Julius Ceasar by Julius Ceasar

The Prince by Machiavelli

The Trial and The Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka

The Grapes of Wrath By John Steinbeck

Three mistakes everyone should do before they die?

Eric: I have no clue im only 27 find me when im 60 if im still alive and ask me .

What are some future plans for the band? What should we expect from Unite.Resist in the 2011?

Eric : we are writing for our Europe release as of right now, taking it easy on shows it should be out this July on Marked For Death Records .we all have a lot more time in the summer's soon as we are done recording that we will be playing out as much as we can .

Any last words ?

Eric : Thanks to all who support us we are thankful for how far we have come in just a few months and we plan to keep moving with our message as far as we can go .

Downpresser Interview

Downpresser from Santa Barbara, Cali brings nothing but a hard mosh and blood to the dance floor! They've been getting a lot of good reviews for their music but what is more important is that all the kids I know who had a chance to see them live were coming home with bruises. If a hardcore band makes you wanna sing along while getting your ass constantly kicked in the pit you know it's a real deal! Read the interview to know where and when see them playing live and what's up with the upcoming Lp!

Downpresser from Santa Barbara, Cali brings nothing but a hard mosh and blood to the dance floor! They've been getting a lot of good reviews for their music but what is more important is that all the kids I know who had a chance to see them live were coming home with bruises. If a hardcore band makes you wanna sing along while getting your ass constantly kicked in the pit you know it's a real deal! Read the interview to know where and when see them playing live and what's up with the upcoming Lp!

First off, thanks for taking your time to do this interview. Lets have some introductions, Who are you, and what is your role in Downpresser?

I'm Dan, I sing in DP.

How did Downpresser begin?

Sean (guitar) and Jim (drums) started playing together in late 2005. Russ (bass) joined and then I was asked to do vocals. We wrote a demo started playing out and it went from there.

What are some major influences for you guys?

Musically, I think Merauder, Biohazard, Leeway, No Warning, All Out War, Stigmata, etc. Bands like that.

Where/what do you draw from your life to create lyrics?

Probably the same as anyone else.. Emotions, opinions, situations in my life. Some of my lyrics are metaphorical but they're still personal. I try to be honest.

What song have you written means the most to you? Why?

Arm's Length. It's one of my favorite songs to play live and the lyrics have continued to gain new meanings the more we play it.

You play bass in Minus as well, what are things you enjoy/differences being in each band?

It's just different. Two different kinds of playing. I love each. The tour we did over the summer was perfect. I love playing with both bands.

For those who haven’t heard you guys, what can they expect when they pick up one of your records?

I don't know man. We just like writing hardcore that we would want to listen to. That's it, haha.

My first time seeing you guys was with Hammerbros in Sacramento, it was a religious experience for me. What shows have you been to that you will never forget?

Thanks! Recently, United Blood 2011. So much fun. Overall... I have a lot of memories from the early 2000's when I was coming up. Seeing In Control, Terror, American Nightmare, and so many other bands all the time was a huge influence on me personally. I was into punk originally, so seeing like Rancid and shit like that back when I was a kid was huge too.

How is hardcore in your hometown?

Strong right now. We have a bunch of good venues going right now and a solid group of kids that regularly come out.

What has the band released?

Demo, Perverted Justice 12"ep, split 7" with Creatures, Age Of Ignorance 7".

Any new releases coming up?

Working on an LP. It's about halfway done. We're trying to record it in the summer before Sound & Fury.

What are your touring plans? Upcoming shows?

At the end of May we're touring up to Rainfest with Rotting Out and Alpha & Omega. Right after Sound & Fury we're leaving on a full U.S. tour with New Morality and Cornered, both from the Netherlands. Cornered's got a record coming out on 6131 before the tour so keep an eye out for that.

Once again, thanks for doing this interview. Any final thoughts or shout outs?

Thank you. Hi to all my friends.

Interview done by Jeffrey Wang from San Jose, CA

New Blood: Maya Over Eyes

Maya Over Eyes really began in the summer of 2004 in San Jose CA. In no time at all they began sharing the stage with some of the biggest names in Hardcore, establishing themselves as a prominent figure in the local scene. Their first recording came as a demo in 2006. Soon after they finished their first demo, the band began to venture out on the road, including a western US tour in 2007 and a northwestern US tour in 2009.

Maya Over Eyes really began in the summer of 2004 in San Jose CA. In no time at all they began sharing the stage with some of the biggest names in Hardcore, establishing themselves as a prominent figure in the local scene. Their first recording came as a demo in 2006. Soon after they finished their first demo, the band began to venture out on the road, including a western US tour in 2007 and a northwestern US tour in 2009.

First off introductions, what is your name/instrument played in the band?

Paco, vocals.

How did Maya Over Eyes come to be?

Maya Over Eyes started in late 2003 as a high school project. With no plans to do anything major. Just a bunch of kids into metal/punk that believed family and friends was the biggest thing in life when it came to hardcore music with a few other influences. As 2004 began, things had gone from jamming in a garage/back yards to performing at the Campbell, Ca Gaslighter. High school talent show at D.C.P. Collage prep. We started to get a following in San Jose, Ca as soon as the Cave opened. Gig after gig we soon wanted to become a full time touring band.

What bands influence you guys?

Maya Over Eyes has a very diverse influences when it comes to music. There's bands from all different genres that have a huge impact on us. They range from latin bands to metal bands, but I think we can all agree that Hatebreed is our most major influence.

What is the band all about? (What is the message the band wants to send out?)

The message we have is pretty basic. Live life to the fullest and be happy with what you have.... "Better Times" is a song that we released that breaks down everything we stand for. Hard times or not, there's always better times..

Where/what do you draw from your life to write lyrics?

I write lyrics from my past. Experiences my family and friends have gone through. Things in life will take you to the most extremes without planning. Definitely worth writing. Everyone has things to say. Poetry to write or rhymes to rap about. Life itself is where things come from..

What is the biggest challenge you guys have faced as a band?

The biggest challenge we've had is keeping this project together. With so many line up changes. Things always get complicated. But some how, some way we manage to keep it rollin...

How is hardcore in the Bay Area?

B.A.H.C. is very strange. It has a South Bay, East Bay divisions. When they come together, it's really huge. We have a few generations that hold it down. Over all Bay Area has a great scene. If you can turn heads in your direction, no doubt you can make some damage.

What is the band’s current label situation?

We've never had a label. This has always been D.I.Y. band. Never had plans to sign with any labels but things keep going our way. As long as we got heart and a little cash. Maya will keep doing they're thing.

What has the band released? (Put download links as well if you guys want)

"Things Get Worse Before They Get Better" is the only official self release E.P. we have since 2009. Theres a few demos but nothing worth downloading.

Here's a link:
http://www.mediafire.com/?lwzly0imjmt

Any touring plans? Upcoming shows?

A full U.S. tour with Make It Reign (Reno, NV) & Forty Winters
(Coral Springs, FL) in June. It's a month and a week long. First U.S. tour we will do. A few gigs coming up but for that you can check out the Facebook page..

http://www.facebook.com/mayaovereyes?sk=app_123966167614127

Thanks for your time. Any final thoughts or shout outs?

We want to thank everyone that has always had their arms open to us. Lets us stay on their floors, shower and have taken care of us like family. You all know theres too many to name. To the kids that haven't seen us. It's only a matter of time. Shout outs to all San Jose for giving us there love. We always keep it 408 no matter where we go.

Interview was done by Jeffrey Wang

Strike Back Interview

Strike Back hails from France and is all about angry hardcore played at decent speeds and with a decent weight on it. Ten years after their debut album and they still have not lost it. After two full lengths and couple of Eps, the band has self released their new album called Still Holding On in January. If you read the review I’ve posted some time ago than you know it’s good, if not, make sure you check out this shit. Fans of Madball or Sick Of It All will be happy, fans of My Chemical Dildo might be disappointed.

Strike Back hails from France and is all about angry hardcore played at decent speeds and with a decent weight on it. Ten years after their debut album and they still have not lost it. After two full lengths and couple of Eps, the band has self released their new album called Still Holding On in January. If you read the review I’ve posted some time ago than you know it’s good, if not, make sure you check out this shit. Fans of Madball or Sick Of It All will be happy, fans of My Chemical Dildo might be disappointed.

Can you tell us a bit about the history of Strike Back? How things got started and what have you been up to so far?

The band started 10 years ago, on New Year’s Eve 2000. With 3 friends of mine we wanted to play punk hardcore music, something in between Strife / Sick of it all / Madball /Agnostic front etc… a mix of all the bands we loved at that time. The problem was that we weren’t great musicians, we were young and inexperienced, so the beginning was hard and it took a while to find our own style. In 2004 came out our first LP “Straight from the 95”. When I listen to it now, it sounds a bit weird, a mix of punk rock, street punk and hardcore songs but I think it was a decent CD. You know now it’s a collector, very hard to find!

We started playing a few shows around Paris too and basically that’s how things started for us.

In 2007 came out our 2nd LP “Where I Stand”, we got great reviews and many people said it was one of the best hardcore CD ever released in France. We recorded it in a great studio and it really was a step forward for us. We played many shows in France and abroad with this CD and played with many great bands as well (Champion, Ensign, Comeback Kid, Internal affairs, Verse, No Turning back… )

In 2010, after a tour in the UK, all the guys left the band one after the other, I guess after 8 or 9 years in the band some guys wanted to do something else or were pissed with the hardcore scene.

So there was a total change of line up and luckily some new guys joined the band; otherwise it would have been the end of the band I reckon.

We worked hard and after a few months we were ready to record a new CD. Unfortunately our label stopped its activity so we had to do things on our own with a few friends for this one, the recordings, the promo etc… that’s a lot of work as you can imagine. Anyway, this CD is harder than the previous one and more aggressive. I think it’s our best CD, the songs are good, and the lyrics are sincere.

When you listen to this CD you kind of figure out who we are. We’re musicians, and normal people, we love playing music and writing new songs, we‘re not rock stars or hipsters. We spend more time in the studio then in bars or in clubs showing off or on the web spreading bullshit. We don’t try to be people we’re not.

Your album Still Holding On has been out recently. How has the reception been so far for? How long did it take to put the album together?

The CD came out 2 months ago; so far the reviews are very positive. We try to propose to the public something else, more authentic. I guess the youngsters won’t find us cool enough but usually the people who’ve been around for more than 6 months appreciate what we do.

The final line up was set in August 10 and we recorded in December 10. Many songs were written before august 10, with past and present members but we had to rework on everything to do something coherent.

So what can kids expect when they pick up a copy of the disc?

We play down to earth hardcore in the NY vein. There is no technical shit and no fantasy here. If you are into aggressive, sincere and energic hardcore this is for you. We talk about things we know and we deal with everyday there is no bullshit in here.

Which bands influenced Strike Back sound the most?

Each and every member of the band listens to different things, metal, hardcore, punk rock. We have always listed in our influences the same bands: STRIFE / MADBALL / SICK OF IT ALL for instance.

Speaking for myself, I’m not that much into new bands, and I still listen to the same old bands I used to listen to when I was younger: INTEGRITY / MERAUDER / CROWN OF THORNZ / WARZONE and also faster things like 10 YARD FIGHT or IN MY EYES

What are your overall thoughts about the state of the hardcore music and community nowadays? I am asking after reading the lyrics to couple of tracks on the album, like Newbie In This Game or Fuck Your Scene. What inspired these rants?

I think that for many people it’s meaningless. You know we live in a consumption society were image is important and commitment and trust is not. Everything goes very fast now, so it’s easy to move on to something else.

If I look at the old bands some recorded 3 or 5 CDs now it seems that every new band lasts 1 or 2 years and then split, you see what I mean, either they get tired of it or they weren’t that interested in playing music and being part of that. This is why I’m not that interested in the new things cause you never know what is the spirit behind that. I am not saying everybody is like that, but it seems that music, creation, the message, is not that important. Some people have understood it very well, some bands will sell 10 different types of shirts and have only recorded 5 or 6 songs… you know there is something wrong with that, the approach is different.

As I said before I’m not that much into new bands because, you need to know what you’re talking about, I wasn’t born yesterday and I know how things work, so when I meet 18 year old kids who talk shit, about politics, the scene, life etc… I just move on…

I dig the Crashing Down song but I am wondering, how do you guys cope with the new, challenging economic situation facing everyone today? What’s your advice to get ahead but not to get trapped in life´s routine?

Today if you want to survive in this world, you need money… there is no alternative and sometimes you sit on your principles. You know people don’t like to talk about money in the hardcore scene, but people are selling shirts and CDs against money … so for me there is no problem in having a real job and still being part of the hardcore movement. Why? because if you want to talk about society about what’s going wrong, the best thing is to be involved in that and to face it every day. In every job there is some kind of routine, no doubt about that, but if you like what you do and it allows you to do your things afterwards (like music, sports or what so ever) then it’s good.

I guess having a passion and hanging out with good friends sugar the pill

And what is the story behind the Self Respect song? What you think should be done to keep kids away from drugs and fucking up their lives in general?

This song is dedicated to all the people who ruin their everyday life because their too fucked up to move on and to do things. I mean since we were kids people have told us that drug using is shit so why people keep on doing that? I’m not Straight Edge and I enjoy sharing a drink with my friends but in a conscious way because I know that the day after I have things to do and I can’t afford to screw everything up because I got high the night before.

I don’t have a solution to keep kids away from drugs, I guess the inner personality is important, some people are stronger, some are weaker, and it’s easy for someone who has a boring job, no girlfriend, no ambition or dreams to fall in that trap.

France has always had a reputation for having one of the hardest bands in hardcore. What are some of the current bands from your country everyone should check out?

Unfortunately most of the bands we hang out or played with stopped… we had a bunch of great bands here in France. Nowadays there are a few new bands that hit the stage recently and that sound pretty good.

If you are into hardcore music, you can check out: xDIGx or BLACK SPIRALS, if you are into New school hardcore, check out REVIVAL, and if you are more into Punk Rock, check out THE DAVID CARRADINE APOCALYPSE.

What does the future hold for you guys as a band?

We are going to try spreading our name as much as possible. We got some shows coming up, and with the new CD out, we’ll try to play more after this summer. We ‘re also looking for people who could helps us dealing the CD abroad, review it and talk about the band too. We would like to go abroad for a few shows before the end of the year too. We are also going to do our first video clip in May on the song “Self Respect” .So we’ll see what comes up

Do you have any shout outs or anything that you would like to say?

I just want to thank all the people who have supported us since day 1 and all the others. As you can see we’re still around and we’ll keep on doing what we do best.

If you are interested in the band, the music etc… don’t hesitate to get in touch with us too through www.myspace.com/strikeback95 or facebook .

Finally thanks to the people who picked up our last CD too and to you for giving us the chance to appear in your webzine

Summer Of Hate - first info and partial line-up

Summer Of Hate V will take place July 9th at Peabody's in Cleveland, OH. So far, the following bands were announced for the show: Bulldoze, Stout, Suburban Scum, Crowd Deterrent, Harm's Way, Ten Of Swords, Taste Of Steel, Line Of Scrimmage and Homewrecker. More names to come for sure! Taken from Hard-Ass Records blog: Here is a partial line-up for the show, There will be more bands announced, but don't expect anymore bands to be announced for another month or 2. Just because there's not 15 bands announced doesn't mean the slots are not full/booked, so please don't bombard us with requests to play the show... although we'd like to have every band play the show (and some very good bands ask us) the fact is that we only have so much time (and money) to work with and sometimes even bands that we are good friends with cannot play as a result.

Pay No Respect - Moving On

Moving On is highly anticipated follow up to the band’s self released debut Fear Profits Man Nothing. Once again, Pay No Respect shelved out a collection of hard hitting songs saturated in a hostile sound and raging aggression. The album has its share of catchy hooks and memorable moments and even with the limited diversity of sound and style, none of the tracks are skip-worthy. The music seems to be more detailed than on their prior release, which shows that the band is progressing and actually made an effort to live up to the expectations. The riffs are bone crushing, the drumming is heavy and forceful and the bass completes the sound. The delivery is razor sharp and consistent, with one track flowing seamlessly to the next but never slowing down its adrenaline pace. And when you combine it with ‘not to be fucked with’ vocals, it’s hard not to imagine broken noses and black eyes during their show. Lyrically, the band pledges the alliance to the lifestyle based on holding your own and not caring what society says. It may seem cliché but I still enjoy stuff like this. Overall, Moving On is a decent album that offers something enjoyable no matter if you are invested more into breakdowns, faster parts, or both.

Review by Dloogi
Label: Spook Records
Year: 2010
Band's website

x Burning The Fallen x - Keeping Edge Alive

I don’t know much about xBurning The Fallenx except that they hail from Medellín, Colombia. It seems the band is heavily into straight edge lifestyle, but because of the language barrier, I can’t tell much about their lyrics and the overall message. As for the music, I’ve seen them being compared to bands like Nueva Etica or Point Of No Return and it pretty much nails it down. xBurning The Fallenx offers heavy, metallic new school hardcore that ranges mainly in the lower and mid tempos, with only occasional faster parts now and there. While the band has some potential and their gigs must be a blast, there’s still some work to do in the song-writing department. In the future I want to hear from them more intense and hard hitting tracks like the intro song or Verdadera Libertad. Download it!

Embrace Destruction to release new album on Strikedown Records

Embrace Destruction has joined the StrikeDown Records Family to release their 3rd full length called "Reign Of Terror". The album will be recorded and produced by Danny Giordana (European sound engineer of Madball, Hatebreed) at One Voice Studio (Italy) and Stevan Van Neerven (ex Born from Pain) at Heart Work studios (Holland) in March 2011. Reigh Of Terror will be released in a Cd version by StrikeDown Records in mid April 2011. Embrace Destruction will be on Tour across Europe from April 16th to May 1st to promote the new Album. A large number of Release Shows and week end shows are planned all over Europe to reinforce the promotion of "Reign of Terror",to check the dates please visit: Strikedown website and band's Myspace

Cold Steel - Cold War

Cold Steel hails from Strasbourg, France and play tough hardcore that is sure to keep fans of bands like Fury Of V or Bulldoze happy. Dual vocals got the job done and they deliver some heavy stuff - sometimes they slow down, but the meat of the demo re tight, mid-tempo grooves. My only complaint would be with sound quality, but guess you shouldn't expect much from the demo. Download it.

Overlord

I've never been into 'ex-members of' hype but when you got guys from one of the most respected bands in European hardcore teaming up for a heavy, mosh driven hardcore, you gotta pay attention. Overlord is made up of people who played previously in Born From Pain, The Setup, Diablo Boulevard and Leng Tch'e. Their mission is to deliver the heavy, metallic hardcore sound the way it was played when Under The Knife came out.

Introduce yourself to the world… who is who and how did Overlord come about?

Nicolas: I'm Nicolas and I play bass in Leng Tch'e and Overlord. I joined because all the guys in the band are longtime friends of mine and I thought it would be fun to play in a no-nonsense straight up hardcore band for shits and giggles. And what do you know, people actually enjoy it.
Dries: Overlord is also Andries (guitar+backings), formerly The Setup (co-founder) and Born From Pain and currently main songwriter in Diablo Boulevard. We’ve got Serch on drums (and also hitting hard in The Setup and Bear) and myselfs on vocals (I used to do vocals in The Setup). Actually Overlord was already formed about 4 years ago when Andries, Serch and Nicolas wanted to do a no-nonsense heavy hardcoreband together. At the time Kris (who now sings for The Setup) was doing vocals. They rehearsed for a while and even recorded about ten songs but those never were released and the project never really took off. Last winter we decided to breath some new life in the project and I (who at the time had decided to quit The Setup) was asked to do vocals. Right now we’re finishing off 4 songs from the old recordings but with the vocals from Dries and we hope to release them as a 7” or MCD pretty soon. We’re also playing some shows to get out there and kick some serious butt.

Born From Pain, The Setup, Diablo Boulevard, Leng Tch’e – this list is pretty impressive. How Overlord is different from what you did in your previous bands?

Dries: I think the biggest difference is the way we see Overlord. It’s a spontaneous project without any pressure, ambitions or “musts”. Most of the guys play in bands with heavy touring shedules so we play whenever we can but most importantly whenever we feel like it, without any pressure. The band’s got simple rules: we want to play heavy hardcore, it has to be real good but we keep it simple and we don’t over-rationalize when we write songs. That keeps it all really fresh and fun.

Do you feel any pressure because people might expect more from you because of your past bands?
Nicolas: Personally I don't because my other band plays in a radically different scene and I don't see those two scenes (extreme deathmetal/grindcore and hardcore) crossing paths anytime soon.
Dries: of course people got expectations when they learn about the people involved in this band. Because of our past and current or previous bands we owe it to ourselves to try at least NOT TO SUCK?. But since this is a project we do just because we love hardcore and we don’t feel the need to prove anything to anyone we just enjoy it and don’t care too much about expectations and what not..

Your music doesn’t bullshit around anything and is pretty much delivered in a raw and straight up heavy way. What inspired you to play this kind of music?

Overlord: We all have our roots in hardcore, most of us got into the scene more then a decade ago and we all share a mutual love for heavy hardcore and heavy music in general. We draw influences from the heavy NYHC bands, Hatebreed (Under the knife, Satisfaction, Perseverance-era) but also metalbands like Crowbar, Down.. We just wanted to do a band without too many frills, a band that’s just straight-up heavy. We enjoy playing together and it’s just a great outlet for all of us.

Is there any lyrical theme behind Overlord? Do you feel that playing in a hardcore bands is like some kind of mission to get your message across to the listener?

Dries: The lyrics are the music and vice versa so don’t expect any lightness or happiness there? Overlord is an outlet for anger, the more dark emotions. That can of course mean anger about socio-political issues but also stuff that’s coming from a personal point of view. I mostly write about the world I know but in Overlord I sometimes experiment with the lyrics and more specifically with the point of view and address some issues that aren’t necessarily mine. It’s not all too artistic but for instance I wrote a lyric about the mind of serial killer, which was damn fun to do and a lyric that can also be a metaphor for other issues but a lyric that doesn’t mean I wrestle with same thoughts?

You guys have been here for some time now, I wonder how do you feel about the hardcore scene in Europe nowadays?

Overlord: When you’ve been around as long as we are you notice (big cliché coming up) things go in cycles. We had amazing times with local European bands drawing tons of people to shows and shit going through the roof but right now, for instance in Belgium, less people are involved in the scene, there are not that many shows and only big festival-shows (like the Persistance-tour) or really big bands like Terror, Madball or Hatebreed draw a big crowd. It’s not something to worry about. Young kids will always be attracted to hardcore cause face it, not everyone can relate to the world portrayed in popsongs or R&B or whatever. People are looking for stuff that says something about their live and hardcore will always be there for kids looking for an alternative, an outlet, a positive way to channel anger and frustration about stuff. Hardcore and punk will always bounce back.

The lamest thing about hardcore nowadays is…

Maybe it’s more superficial than it used to be. Kids nowadays don’t have to put in the effort to learn about hardcore and his history. It’s like you can become a hardcore-kid overnight. It’s all there on youtube, the internet.. Maybe that’s the reason why most of them don’t stick around for more than a few years. Maybe they get more easily bored, loose interest because they’re not really touched by the essence of what hardcore means…But then again, this could also be the talk of a jaded old bore so maybe all of this is just plain BS?

What are some European hardcore bands you would recommend?

Overlord: In our region (Antwerp) there are still a bunch of cool bands in all areas of hardcore: Your Highness (think High On Fire), Johnny Unstoppable and Pushed Too Far (both mosh/tuffguy), Bear (mathcore), …Other Belgian young guns like Poison my Blood (metalcore), Hessian (a bit like old Rise and Fall but with a twist), Black Haven (clevo meets sludgy metal), Violent City (NYHC), Get Wise (old school), Generation84 (melodic HC), Golden Bullet (Length Of Time, Congress), Midnight Souls (on Reflections),Trail Of Hope (old school).. Other cool and promising bands: All for nothing, Blood Trial, By My Hand, we all love State of Mind (underrated!), No Turning back (best european hardcoreband), Deal With It, For The glory, of course The Setup and Born From Pain ... Luckily there’s still a lot going on in Europe and luckily all sorts of bands..

What’s your opinion on the new Madball and Terror albums?

Dries: I totally love KOTF! I think it’s a brilliant record. Unlike a lot of people I know I also loved The Damned, The Shamed and I think KOTF is the ultimate mix between that album and the older stuff. It’s one big rush of adrenaline, energy and power but with enough influences to keep it edgy and interesting. The embodiment of the true hardcore-spirit. Like most of us I totally love Madball but I’m just plain honest with you: I don’t listen that often to the more recent albums. Not because those aren’t good or even great albums but it’s a curse for an iconic band like Madball: you get to know them with the classics and you seem to stick to those because they represent a certain era in your life, a certain feeling you associate with those records and unfortunately the new records never seem to grasp that same feeling. But nevertheless, I’ll be checking out the new record anyway.

Hardest hardcore band ever?

Hatebreed (especially end 90’s early 2K) and the usual suspects Cro Mags, Madball. Today Terror.

What can we expect from you guys in the future?

We’re finishing our first 7”/MCD as we speak so expect that one to drop pretty soon. We will keep on playing shows whenever we can and we’ll be writing new stuff. But knowing the agenda of all members we will never be the most productive band on the planet. Our main goal remains: kicking it hard on stage, having a great time doing so and enjoying hardcore to the fullest.

Check out band's Myspace

Eulogy Recordings signs Loyal To The Grave

Hardcore is a worldwide movement so it's always good to see that US labels are reaching out to the bands in different parts of the world. This time we have Eulogy signing the well known Japan act, Loyal To The Grave. Here's official press release: Eulogy as always recognized and appreciated the importance of the worldwide underground music scene. Today we are very excited to announce the signing of Loyal To The Grave to the Eulogy family. Eulogy will be releasing their new album sometime next year worldwide. This is a huge step for both the band and the label. Loyal To The Grave will help the Eulogy brand grow in Japan. Eulogy will help bring worldwide attention to one of the finest bands to ever come from Japan.
Loyal To The Grave formed in 1998. They released their debut mini album "North Truth" on Devil's Head Records (U.S.) and a split ep with The Acacia Strain. They soon released their first full length "Abstract Sensations" and an ep titled "Indistinct" on Imperium Recordings (Japan). The band has toured consistently in Japan sharing the stage on occasion with Hatebreed, Terror, Converge and many more.
Their latest album "Still Climbin' Still Believin'" is one of the most important albums released in the history of Japanese hardcore. This album combined a perfect blend of many different types of metal and hardcore. This album received a worldwide release with the help of Surprise Attack Records (U.S.), Skull and Bone Records (AUS) and Towhall Records (Korea). They also releasd a 2 way split on Seventh Dagger Records (U.S.) with Winds of PLague and XAFBX.
Loyal To The Grave will visit the U.S. this winter as part of the December Decimation Festival. Their new album will be released on Eulogy Recordings mid 2011 supported by worldwide touring.

By My Hands

By My Hands has been steadily making a name for themselves in the scene both on local and international level. With couple of succesful tours and releases behind their belt, things can only get better as the new album, Growing Older, Getting Colder, is a major step forward in terms of writing heavy and catchy songs that makes you wanna kill everybody in the pit. Read the interview, buy new album, buy creatine, go to their show!

By My Hands has been steadily making a name for themselves in the scene both on local and international level. With couple of succesful tours and releases behind their belt, things can only get better as the new album, Growing Older, Getting Colder, is a major step forward in terms of writing heavy and catchy songs that makes you wanna kill everybody in the pit. Read the interview, buy new album, buy creatine, go to their show!

There is a few year gap in between each of your albums. What’s been happening with By My Hands since the "Another Lesson Learned" came out?

CHRIS: Another Lesson Learned came out 2005, so quite a lot of shit has happened since then!
First thing we did since that release was tour with CDC and In Blood We Trust in the UK, then we release a 8 track split cd (4 from each band) with CDC on the now defunct Zone 6 Records. After this we toured east coast, central and southern USA with Leavenworth. That was one of the best times of our lives - we got to play with some many cool bands, cool shows, and hang with really cool people. We even played Dypshorias reunion show, and How It Ends last ever show, so that was extra special.
After this all we have been doing was writing new songs, and playing shows. We toured the UK a couple times over with Palehorse and xRepresentx too. That's about it!

Can you give us a little background on the new album? How do you think it compares to your previous record?

CHRIS: I think it sounds totally different from the split, and definately completely different from Another Lesson Learned, but still ultimately sounds like By My Hands. Of course, we think it is more mature and greater than anything we've released before, but bands always say that, otherwise, what'd be the point in writing new shit?
The metal influences definately don't shine through as much as they did in 'A.L.L' but, instead these sound more hardcore, more groovy, if that makes sense. There's definately more groove to this record. I think if you listened to all 3 records starting for the earliest to the newest you can definately hear the progression happening.

Is there anything different on this album that people might not expect to hear?

CHRIS: There's some sweet samples, a solo, some guest appearances, and a whole lot of heavy hardcore. I think more of our hardcore influnces shine through than the metal ones here, but it still definately sounds like BMH. Hopefully it has something that everyone can get down to or relate to.

How did you decide on the title, “Growing Older, Getting Colder”?

CHRIS: It's a lyric from the song 'Real' that appears on the album.
It just seemed perfect fit for the album name, given the lyrical content, and more importantly how we all feel/felt as a band during the writing and recording of the cd. It's been over 4 years since our last release, , we were having a lot of problems with recording the cd at the time, the hardcore scene was changing, the political climate was changing, our personal lifes were changing, the world was changing. The title means is exactly what it says, and a fair representation of how we feel as a band. You are supposed to mellow out as you get older, but we certainly dont feel that way, let's say.

In my opinion, one of the strongest points of the new album are the lyrics, with themes ranging from personal to socio-political issues. Care to tell us what inspired you when writing some of this stuff?

CHRIS: Thanks man, that mean's a lot.

As you said, a bunch of different issues are covered from song to song, and I tried to be as honest as I could about my feelings when I was writing, whether they were viewed as cliched topics or not. I really wanted to make my feelings clear to anyone who heard or read these words, I wanted the conviction to literally drip from the page. I didn't want to pull any punches, and I think I did that the best I could.

'The Hate', was inspired by a great dislike, shall we say, for organised religion. We live in a city, and indeed a country with a deep seeded religious divide and in-built intolerance. Vulernable people live, fight and die by this fear-obsessed fairytale right wing fascist-fed bullshit every other day all over the world, and I guess it's made me more than a little intolerant of it.
The song 'Trapped' touches on this vaguely but overall is more of a song about our city, the class war, and the state it's in right now.

'Worlds Apart' is more like a bit of a political statement on war than anything else. As you know, we regretably come from a country which hearlds an army that has been party to more than a few illegal occupations of other countries, especially in recent times, with the Iraq and Afghan wars. It's hard to live here, and see people, family members, friends.....sign up to these wars to escape their own struggles, the monotany of a jobless penny-less life on an estate, so that they vindicate their lives....made to feel like they've made something of themselves due to the pressure and praise heaped on them by national news and the like.....when in reality they are sadly used as political cannon fodder in this money-hungry horseshit that's used to divide the people. This song was written at a time the Palestinian land-grab war was prominent in nthe news too (even though the struggle continues, coverage has dwindled), so I guess it's my feelings, over all, on war and occupation.

Other stuff such as 'Real' 'Dead Words (The Truth Hurts) and 'Bad Beat' are more of the personal nature about feelings, opinions, and thoughts on events in and around life, and to be honest, I think I've rambled on enough about this subject...but if anyone is interested enough to want to know about the lyrics of the album, then I'd welcome any questions. Get at us via myspace/facebook or email; deadweightbookingATgooglemailDOTcom.



How did you hook up with Marked For Death records?

CHRIS: Well, Manuel at MFD emailed us, literally about 8 months before the album dropped, as he knew we were writing and looking for label.
From day one he was really into the music, our style, and our message as a band. He kept in touch with ideas he had for us, emailed constantly to check on us, and generally seemed really interested. We definately wanted a label behind us who shared our values and the same passion for our music as we do, so the rest is history.
Support a real label.
http://markedfordeathrecords.bigcartel.com/

SEAN: Yeah for sure, we've had a lot of good feeback from up and down the UK and Europe so far over the years, being from Glasgow hasnt been as much of a disadvantage as it may seem. In this day and age, location is becoming less and less important for bands. Aslong as your cd is floating about on the internet, people will hear it regardless of where your from, if they can get it for free they will probably listen to it, even if they've never really heard of you.
For us, we've always had good ties with bands in London and for a while it was a place that we had a lot of friends, and a fairly good following. Some of our first releases were on a London-based label, so our records were readily available. This was beneficial for us when bringing out a new record, because a lot of the older heads were famiilar with our earlier stuff, it meant that there was no hesitation for hardcore kids down that way to check out the new shit, and in turn, put us on shows down there. Something which can be hard for bands who are trying to book their own shows.

And how do you feel about the way UK hardcore has recently been represented overall? How do you feel about the bands that are currently active in the UK scene?

SEAN: At the moment there are a lot of really good bands in the UK, and conversely, a lot of completely garbage ones. Unfortunately, as with most places, when one good band pops up, so do a million other godawful carbon copies. On a global scale, the UK is being represented fairly well I think. From being over the states recently, Ive noticed that being from the UK is almost becoming an excuse to check out a band if your American, and as a result, people just cant get enough of UK bands.. Bring Me the Horizon, Architects, Your Demise, Gallows, You Me at Six, Dead Swans amongst others are all well killing it in the states at the moment, some more than others of course, but doing good none the less. OK so they may not all be hardcore, but have been in and around the hardcore scene and its fringes here at some point, like it or not. I remember Taking Names went to the US years ago too. That was a good band. Here in the UK, there are a lot of good smaller bands who are developing their own sound and have good ethics, which is refreshing to see in hardcore. For a long times theres been too much of an emphasis on how you look or how many tattoos you've got, so its good to see what Id consider "newish" bands (like us) like Brutality Will Prevail, Broken Teeth, Basement, Deal With It, True Valiance, More Than Life, Departures, Breaking Point, Deal With It, Cold Snap, Last Witness etc just doing whatever the hell they want, playing shit they like, not caring if people like it or not, while being supported by great DIY labels such as Purgatory or Holy Roar records.



How do you feel the scene in the UK differs from mainland Europe in general?

SEAN: I think the main difference would be the divisions in genre. In the UK, there isnt much of a crossover in genres, and people generally tend to stick to one strict style or genre of hardcore. In europe theres a much better sense of unity, and people will usually turn up to shows regardless of whos playing, simply to support music in their area. Also, from a musicians point of view, European promoters usually treat bands a lot better than UK promoters. Not that UK promoters treat bands badly, but promoters on the mainland go above and beyond to make sure you are fed properly, have plenty to drink at all times and have a nice place to stay. It makes a nice change from having to go around the crowd asking people for a place to stay, you know?


“No cheesey fake "endorsements", no "paid for" fancy myspace pages, No "band management" with fax & paging numbers.” – is it something you see often in UK? Do you think that increasing popularity of hardcore draws a lot of kids who are not getting it right?

CHRIS: I think its a "problem" worldwide, not only in the UK. I hate seeing bands who have more professionally taken "photos" than shows they've played, or more merch for sale than the amount of songs that band has written, bands with management and representation that haven't played out of their home town.....you know?
I see it all the time now-a-days. To me, it's totally crazy. Live fast die fast bands. They spring from nowhere looking for a fast rise to "fame" or whatever, get none, then change their name and start again.
For me, it all stems with the internet, and how easy it is to access things, like new bands....this was a great thing for me when getting into hardcore, but it also has its bad side...it also means that you can drop a band as quickly as you picked them up, for something new because of the saturation of bands trying to rise to fast.
Everything is disposable.
For me a lot of things are lost, for example interaction with a band, communication, you get me? Most of our friends, shows, and friends have came about from talking with real people directly rather than using management to send contracts and official bullshit to promoters and bands, while hiding behind an over-produced website with no substance.
A lot of unity is lost this way. It makes things more 'plastic'. Hardcore's more than just look or a "sound". It doesnt matter how much you "sound" like a hardcore band, hardcore is a mentality, and I think kids forget that.

So, in your opinion, what are some of the most important lessons in hardcore? What kids should keep in mind?

CHRIS: haha, I hate telling people what to do like I'm some kind of expert, cause I'm not, but in my opinion the best things you can do are;
Talk to people at shows, via email, whatever...be yourselves, and try and concentrate on the music first before you do anything else. Good music and real people stand the test of time.

Before we finish, what are future plans for the band?

CHRIS: Yes! We have been a band for 7 years, and 6 of those we've been playing shows, and all we have managed in mainland in europe is one show. We need to play on the mainland as soon as possible, so hopefully we will do this before the end of 2010, or at the beginning of 2011. Manuel from Marked For Death is currently oraganising a huge show for his label in Augsburg, so we can hopefully use this as a starting point for a tour.

We are also currently finalising a tour in South Africa with a band called Conqueror (http://www.myspace.com/conquerorhc) from Jo'burg. I really can't fucking wait for that.
Other than that, we are just going to continue as normal, play as many shows as we can, tour the album, and hopefully write some new shit.

If anyone is interested in booking us at any time, just get in touch.

Any last words for the readers? Anything you want to get off your chest?

Yeah - Big up to Dloogi and Hardboiled! Thanks for the support.
Support the zines, support your scene, and support real bands.