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oday’s hardcore scene is getting so damn great, with lots of up and coming bands working their asses to deliver good stuff to the world, that makes me feel super stoked. ‘Punishment park’, released by UK’s Big Cheese in March 2020, is ‘the shape of hardcore to come’, in my humble opinion. Razor (vocals) replied to my questions about the Leeds hardcore scene, Brexit, NYHC and the relation to the title of their new record to the ‘Punishment park’ film from 1971.
Cheese and also work part time fixing jeans for a Swedish denim company. Meg plays guitar and is in the fashion world, Louis plays guitar and plays full-time in Higher Power with our drummer Alex and Joe our bassist is an Apple Genius.
Interview conducted in late March 2020. Pictures by Alex Samayoa (no.1) and Septic Schizo (no.2).
It’s funny because everybody else except me was opposed to calling the band Big Cheese but they soon came around ha ha. I liked the idea of it being this kinda obnoxious in-yourface thing but not arrogant, you know? I don’t think we had any long term goals with the band, particularly with Higher Power taking off around that time, but I know we put a lot into making a half decent demo. I guess things panned out pretty well!
Big Cheese means an important person in the business or something. Why did you choose such a name? Was your goal to leave a big mark on the hardcore scene?
bigcheesehc.bandcamp.com www.instagram.com/unitedkingdomofbigcheese Hey Razor! What’s up mate? Please introduce yourself! Who else is Big Cheese and what do you do for a living? Do you also play in other bands or are you involved in the scene in any other way?
You come from Leeds, a city with a prolific hardcore scene through the years. Bands like Rot In Hell and lately Higher Power, Violent Reaction or The Flex come from your city. There must be something in the water
Hey Apostolis, I’m doing well. Currently isolated in my house in North West London amidst the chaos that is the Coronavirus. I sing in Big
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