Hardcore Knockout - Old School To New School

Here's the selection of couple new hardcore tunes from bands that have released recently or are about to release in the near future new albums or EPs. I've tried to keep it diverse so there's a new tracks from youth crew warriors by the name of The Defense as well aspunk influenced tunes from Boston's own Refuse Resist. The heavier and tougher side of hardcore is represented by Show Of Force who are sure to make some noise with their debut EP. Also, we got Last Round and everyone into blast beats and pig squils will sure like them.

The Defense

Let's start with this good old youth crew style. The Defense from Barcelona is one of the best that Europe got to offer if you miss those days when bands like Youth Of Today or Ten Yard Fight were rocking the scene. Not to mention one of the coolest band's description I've read in a long time: "Maybe we are not the best musicians ever, but we are really good facing and overcoming hard times...". Brilliant. The Statement track is taken from the just released 7" ep of the same title, while Dust is taken from Common Sense ep.

The Defense - Statement:


The Defense - Dust:

Refuse Resist

Let's stick with the old school sound as we present the newest track from Boston based Refuse Resist. I won't exaggerate if I said this band brings everything what's cool about hardcore - straight forward music and down to earth lyrics everyone can relate. The oi! influences in their music are obvious and that's where they score with me. The band is about to release the new album on Thorp Records and here's what Shawn Refuse, the band’s vocalist, got to say about it: "We are very excited about the new release. It's called Socialized because it's obvious that social networks are taking over our lives and becoming the drug of choice for people everywhere, myself included. While we wouldn't exist without them – we found each other on MySpace – they really do take up too much time in our lives. What ever happened to going out to shows, hanging out and meeting people for real?"

Refuse Resist - Middle America

Show Of Force


Show Of Force from Netherlands are about the heavier side of hardcore. While still maintaining the old school vibe, they're not afraid to add some metal elements to their sound. The vocals are mean and tough and the overall delivery is strong and aggressive. The band has just released the self titled EP on Real Recognizes Real Records and it's been getting pretty good reviews so don't sleep on it.

Show Of Force - Easy Target

Show Of Force - Self Defense

Last Round


Last Round from Belgium are all about that death core sound. Expect everything from blast beats to heavy breakdowns, from growls to pig squels. This is pretty decent stuff if you're into that type of music. This is their newest tracks and it's called Abandon All Hope.

Last Round - Abandon All Hope

New pics from Gore77 Graphics

Gore77 have posted couple of new pics on their myspace profile. This time it's all black and white but luckily they still stick to the horror and gore themes in their work. They're really good at giving these images that creepy look making you think of that sleazy old gore movie you've seen when you were a kid. If you're in a band, run a label or are a musician and are looking for a good, high quality design, check out their myspace profile and maybe you will dig their style.

Check out some more of their work:

xRepresentx - The New Inquisition

If you have a band with a name like that and the title on the cover says The New Inquisition you should basically know what to expect. XRepresentX is a type of band totally devoted to their clean and sober lifestyle and determined to get their message across.

Since the first notes on this album xRepresentx gets down to business with their no bullshit, no gimmicks brand of hardcore. Their style is straight-up raw ranging from aggressive fast parts to mid-paced grooves. Most of the beats on this album are very danceable and are sure to stir up some frantic pit action. The compositions in themselves aren't that complex but they maintain a good balance of fury, authenticity and testosterone. When it gets down to it, I don’t have anything against the bands when they use the same formula as long as they use it to create good music. I’m just letting you know xRepresentx are not the ones to experiment with the hardcore sound. It’s all about the feeling baby and you just cannot fake it. Luckily, these dudes sound pretty serious and devoted to their cause. So even if the album does no way sound original, they do have some good ideas. The band likes to throw in some metal influences now and then but you also get songs like Edgebreak, Facebreak, where pure old school grooves are dolled out with up-tempo beat and gang vocals. The production is way better than on the past material with thicker sound and a bit more punch.

The vocals itself are a take-no-shit type, spitting out straightforward lyrics filled with confidence, straight edge pride and despise for the moral degradation of today’s world. Lyricalwise, this is pretty aggressive stuff. Say what you want about the band but they aren’t shy about their beliefs and values and at least they got balls to take a stand for it.

This is overall another solid release from these guys and a record that most fans of their previous album will enjoy. They haven't made any radical changes to their music, but it all sounds more balanced and mature compared to the debut material.


Author: Dloogi

Label: 7th Dagger
Year: 2009

xRepresentx at Myspace

New t-shirt from xQuicksilverx

Electronic/breakcore/noise/whatever act xQuicksilverx got new tees with a strong straight edge flavor to it. I seriously can't get into their music but the tee looks pretty fine if you like to represent the movement when hitting the dancefloor.

[Un]titled hardcore photography book - an interview with Roman Laris

Here's the interview with Roman Laris and Patrycja Gagan who are one of the photographers behind the upcoming [Un]titled book. The album focuses on diy hardcore/punk photography and will be limited to 500 copies only. It should be available this winter. I really like the idea so I thought it's only right to ask the author few questions to give us some more info about the project and the basics of photographing hardcore shows in general.

Could you please tell us something about the Untitled project and how did it come about? What do you hope this book achieves?

Roman Laris: [un]titled european hardcore/punk photographers is a book of 6 diy photographers who are sharing same passion for hardcore photography. The idea came from me a year ago after I released my first paper photo book Black Sheep. I know Jan, Patrycja and Sheep from London hardcore shows, Marian is a friend of my Slovakian friends and Monika is a friend of Patrycja, and I know all of them are talking wicked pictures so I asked them if they would be happy to work together in one project, completely DIY it means that the book is paid by us, put together by us and its gonna be promoted and sell by us. There are no other parties involved apart of Shaun Ponton who helped us to designed the book and Adam Bobro who arranged the printing and professional advise.
I dont know what I want to achieve? Probably self promotion, promoting DIY ideas and letting people know that they dont need to have big names and labels behind them to achieve something. I love to keep things in my own hands and I love sharing it with others and I believe that whatever you do, you should share it with others, thats the only way to progress and go forward. On the end of the day I hope more young and diy amateur photographers will be inspired and start releasing their work or start to cooperate and talk.



Could you tell us who is involved in the making of the book and how do you think their style of photography differs? What type of themes should we expect from the book – is it focusing on gigs and bands pictures or did you also tried to portray other areas of the scene?

Roman Laris: You have to buy the book and see on your own eyes how different we are. Some of us are using digital cameras some of us analog, some of us are focusing on sing alongs, potraits or moshing parts, some on details or emotions...its all there and I love it! We are all different persons with different techniques of shooting. Jan is more into analog and old fashion cameras, Patrycja and Monika are more rockumentary orientated in this book, Sheep is a crazy man, in a good meaning of that word, and his photos are full of energy and driving force, Marian likes using fisheye lense capturing the sing alongs, and I love capturing energy of the gig, faces and emotions. This book is going to have it all under one roof! Promise!

Patrycja Gagan: Each of us have created a space for a so called short-photo-project, which I believe, defines individual style and presents the field of ones interests. “The scene” is a complex theme, so is capturing it. Therefore, [un]titled presents not only live shoots but everything which emerges from it. Each photographer’s section differs though. Roman Laris photography is all about being a part of the entire experience and his images are emotion orientated. I’ve seen him moshing and shooting at the same time, believe me. Monika’s section is a photodocumentary material presenting a Polish band called The Black Tapes. You’ll find images from shows, studio and backstage in her section. Marian Magdolen is a fish-eye-action man capturing gigs in, let me use this term here, “modern live shooting”. Sheep. When it comes to Sheep I’d love to mention that he’s been working on his individual photobook and I said to him “Look man, save your work for the book and try to came up with a short-photo-project which you could do for [un]titled without borrowing images from your main project”. We sat down in his room, started to browse images and I’ve noticed that he has got a massive collection of moshing people’s portraits. And I went like: “This is it”. Let’s look at it from the opposite perspective. Shows are not only what we see but also what bands see, how the crowd responds to their music and how the energy transforms. I’m calling Sheep’s section “Faces Of Mosh” and you better check it out, maybe you’ll find yourself on one of those images. My section is a tribute to a band called Sunrise. I’ve always wanted to give them something back since they gave so much to me. I own tons of Sunrise photos from shows, tours, studios, practice room, promo shoots, hang-outs etc. I have never managed to compile it into a separate project and I thought that [un]titled gives me enough space to finally present Sunrise’ images and let them know they were my family. Jan Urant is a photographic dino working with analogue cameras, which I adore in photographic context. He created a portrait vs. live shoot project with Down To Nothing and Have Heart in my opinion being his highlights. Jan is the last photographer, closing [un]titled with the sublime Dead Swans image, which I personally consider as the strongest hc photo of this decade.

What was the key to choose the right pics which would make it to the book?

Roman Laris: I can only talk for myself, because I have choosen mine and everybody else theirs. I did not have any key, I was simply selecting pictures I thought will represent my style and work. Because all of us are paying equal share of the book, we have chosen our own pictures, its our work and nobody else should not be telling us what to put in or not, thats the way we wanted it - total freedom of expression.

For the kids out there interested to know something more about being a hardcore photographer could you give a brief walk through your work flow? What they should keep in mind when taking pics at the show?

Roman Laris: See the term hardcore photographer is not really for me, because I am always saying I am not a photographer, I dont know shit about photography, I just set it up on the spot and then focus on shooting the right angles and scenes. Maybe its all about luck and timing, being on the right place in the right time. An a good show is a good show, if the bands and crowd is shit you probably would not capture the right energy and you will have only boring faces and bands in it...I love bands who are acting crazy, driving people nuts, where people are "losing control", but still care for each other.
You have to keep in mind moshing kids, cause you dont want your camera to be fucked up by some asshole who lost it completely. Hey kids, watch for shooters and take care of each other on the shows! Dont act like wild monkies, you can mosh and still have fun not hurting others!

Patrycja Gagan: We all have different backgrounds and different approaches to photography. Jan is studying photography at the London College of Communication, Monika studied photography in Poland and recently she came back to an art school again. Sheep studied at London College of Communication but drop it off at some stage. I'm studying portrait photography at Central Saint Martins in London. Roman and Marian are just extremely talented shooters. So, through such a reference you can easily tell [un]titled is multidimensional. In my experience of capturing live shows, I have come to realize how important it is for all, bands as well as the crowd, to be correctly attuned. Good image (when based on photographic skills) will be, therefore, the spark that emerged from such a collective experience. Personally, I love to think about photography as a process. So, it’s not only the moment you're trying to capture but also what is before and after. Before refers to photographer’s equipment and how he/she would select format of camera, lens, ISO sensitivity, camera settings to suit particular situation and by “after” I mean the whole process of editing and developing.

In general, during a session, how many pics would you say you take to find the right one?

Roman Laris: I normaly take 20 to 30 pictures for a bands set like a one film for a band, not usually more, depends on a band and their show. If there is nothing to shoot I usually take only portraits of the band members during the set. From a show I normally get from 5 to 10 worth shoots I am happy about.



What do you feel is the most challenging thing about photographing hardcore shows?

Roman Laris: Shitty color light effects fucking the white balance and stupid moshers who dont care for anybody else in the pit apart of themself.

Patrycja Gagan: Haha I love Roman’s answer to this question, especially that he’s shooter-mosher himself. I only want to mention that the hardest thing for me is compromising between being a show’s participant and show’s photographer. I’ve always found those two extremely hard to combine. Of course one can sing along and shoot at the same time, I saw that more than once and sometimes I’m doing this myself, but the question of someone's skills versus fortune is unavoidable in such situations. Hc/punk shows were and are a collective experience for me so being selective, or at least trying to be, is quite challenging.

Is there any band you would love to photograph but never had a chance to?

Roman Laris: There are bands from my hometown Bratislava or bands from Slovakia especially bands from the mid 90s, the era when I became part of our hard core scene and the energy of the mid and late 90s hard core in Slovakia were not captured properly. I was too young and broken not having enough money to buy camera, and even I had the money I was always in the pit going nuts hehe.

Patrycja Gagan: Swedish hc scene 1992-1995 era. Sunny Day Real Estate (not
that hardcore tho).

So when the book should be available for orders?

Roman Laris: If everything goes as it should, we are going to print it in mid November and I believe in the begining of December you can buy the book through us.
The book is limited to 500 copies divided between 6 of us which give us around 80 books each. People from Poland can order it via Monika or Patrycja, folks from UK can deal with Sheep, Jan and me and folks from Austria or Slovakia can ask Marian. I belive all of us can send and sell the copies via paypal worldwide. Just drop and get in touch with us, some distributions and small diy distros will be selling it too, but at the moment I cant tell you more. Check our myspace for more coming details.

Thank you for your time. Is there anything you would like to add?

Roman Laris: Thank you for your interest and help to promote our book. Its great people are starting talking about it and getting inspired by our work! Stay true!

Check out the myspace profile of [un]titled.

Check out also:
http://www.romanlaris.com
http://www.vivideyes.blogspot.com
http://www.xerinyescomingx.com
http://www.xsheepx.com
http://www.patrycjagagan.com
http://www.janurant.com
http://www.i-seedesign.com

New eagle design from 8Control

Here's the new tee from the French moshers 8Control.It can be ordered here. While you check out their webstore for more of the cool merch from the boys, don't forget to hit their myspace profile and download for free their latest EP called "You Should Have Cared".

About the band:
"Hardcore band from Toulouse / France playing metallic and moshing hardcore . Band started in 1997 with some line-up changes.

Over the years the band has played with such acts as Madball, Walls Of Jericho, Maroon, Born From Pain, Despised Icon, Cephalic Carnage, Arkangel, Bring Me The Horizon, Misery Signals, Most Precious Blood, Cave In, Your Demise, Shattered Realm, L'Esprit Du Clan, Providence, See You Next Tuesday among many many many others !!"

Danish Tattooing by Jon Nordstrøm.

Here's the book about the history and present tattoo scene in Denmark. It have been released in the recent months so it's still pretty fresh. The time span of the book is from the 1895 to the present and the book covers variety of people and tattoo venues important to the development of the tattoo art in this country. I haven't got a chance to lay my dirty claws on it yet but I sure hope I will get to read it one day.

Here's the official press release from the publisher:

"Danish Tattooing traces the visual development from 1895 up to the present day, with the Golden Age of the 1960s particularly rich on fascinating tales from a rough scene. The book is full of anecdotes and historical photographs of larger-than-life characters and tattooing hotspots: the raw Nyhavn, where sailors and drunk Swedes got their tattoos, and the even rougher Istedgade, which developed into a new tattooing hub in the 1980s. Actually, Copenhagen was the heart and soul of tattooing in Scandinavia until the mid-seventies. The book returns to the present by portraying 14 working tattoo artists, along with their distinctive artwork. "




You can buy this book here.

Cholo Writing by Francois Chastanet

If you're into graffiti you might find this pretty interesting. Cholo Writing is a graphic book by Francois Chastanet, mostly know for his book Pixação: São Paulo Signature, which is, is his own words, 'a photographic survey in São Paulo, Brazil, documenting the relation between urban signature, body and architecture'. His second book is a journey through the world of Latino gang writings in Los Angeles called Cholo, a form of art which is said to be the oldest form of graffiti.

Editor's review of the book:

"Cholo writing is the oldest form of graffiti in the 20th century, evident in Los Angeles long before the appearance of tags and pieces in the early 1970s New York. It is a Mexican American phenomenom with a unique aesthetic based on blackletter typography, used for street bombing by the latino gangs. In the 1970s, Californian citizen Howard Gribble photographed examples of Latino gang graffiti over a wide geographic area in order to encompass a larger variety of styles, with the simultaneous idea of portraying Los Angeles. More than 30 years later, French typographer Francois Chastanet travelled to the same neighborhoods to photograph the inscriptions of today."

The book is available both in English and Swedish and can be ordered here.

Hoods - Betrayed

Common Enemy - Beer Bong