All Out War

All Out War’s ‘For those who were crucified’ (released in 1998) was one of the records that opened a new window in the extreme music world back in the days and led me to discover heavy, metallic hardcore. AOW is definitely one of my fav bands of all time, so it was more than a pleasure for me to talk to the vocalist, and driving force of the band, Mike Score about their latest album ‘Crawl among the filth’, the new world order and his job as a teacher.

Interview conducted in mid April 2020. Pictures provided by Danelle Dombrowski.

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Hey Mike! Thanks for accepting this interview. What’s going on in NY these days? Are you in quarantine?

Thank you for your interest in doing an interview with All Out war. It is much appreciated. Right now, everything with the exception of essential businesses are closed and we are living a very secluded existence. I’m working from home and spending time with my family. Life is unreal at the moment.

So, a critical question! AOW started back in 1991 or 1993? I’ve heard 2 different opinions, so I guess it’s time to clear this out!

All Out War actually started rehearsing in the fall of 1990, but our first show was in the fall / early winter of 1991. AOW grew out of former members of a band called A.W.O.L. and Chris Bozeth, original member of Merauder. 1993 is when we really started to play a lot of shows outside our home area. By 1993 we were playing out as much as possible and when we really started traveling all over to play shows. At the time, and even now, it was very difficult for us to find like minded and like sounding bands to play shows with. We did manage to find some life long friends during that time period though.

There was a lot of turmoil throughout the 3 decades of your career, line up & record label changes, breaking ups and reunions. But after all, AOW keep going on after all these years with you as the only original member. How hard was / is to maintain the band and what’s the driving force behind it?

All Out War has had its ups and downs with many line up changes all the way up to 2013. Erik and I have been constant since 1992, but the current line up first started playing together in 1998. Between now and then different people have come and gone, but the 98 line up got back together in its entirety in 2013. Since then we have released two full lengths and one EP. It’s the most consistent and productive All Out War has ever been musically. The driving force behind this band has always been the passion for the music. We don’t care what outsiders think, don’t care about scene politics, and do what we want. We have always been outsiders and we will continue to be. We like it that way.

Do you want to shed some light to your breaking up in 2004? The band announced that you were unable to continue and that’s why they stop. What happened back then?

Life happened. There was a time when things built up around me and I needed to step away and people needed to step away from me. I’m happy we worked out our differences and moved on. I’m very happy with the current state of things with All Out War.

Let’s get to the present… You released ‘Crawl Among the Filth’ in 2019, a record that, in my humble opinion, revives the vibes of ‘For those who where crucified’, one of my favorite metallic hardcore records of all time. Do you agree? Give us some info for your latest opus.

Thank you for the kind words on ‘For Those Who Were Crucified’. It was a great time in the history of the band. Crawl Among the Filth was actually our attempt to move away from FTWWC. I guess it’s hard to move away from who you are, but we did try to add some different influences. We were going for a much rawer sound on CATF and wanted to push things in an even more metal direction. Andy and I have been listening to a lot of black metal and grind over the past few years and that influenced the writing on the new record. We are currently working on a new record and hope to incorporate those elements much more on this time around.

Lyric-wise, what did influence you this time? Can we translate the filth as the world we live in?

The current state of politics, organized religion, and the hypocrisy that is humanity has been a constant influence on me lyrically. As I watch the stupidity of humanity spiral out of control, and somehow reach new heights with social media, my lyrical influences continue to grow at an alarming rate. I used to think apathy, while quietly embracing ignorance, was humanity’s biggest problem, now I think people pretending to care while constantly parroting ignorance is the true danger.

Your day-time job is a teacher. How difficult is to educate children today, living in a sea of madness curated by social media & TV news? How do you manage to fit your schedule between teaching and playing with AOW? Is it a huge mood change for you every time you leave school for a rehearsal or a show?

my job at all. As an educator, the most important aspect of the job is to provide students with critical thinking skills so they have the ability to translate and process information to develop their own world view. It is very difficult to balance teaching, family life, and band responsibilities. That is the main reason AOW doesn’t play out that often. In the future All Out War will play out even less. We won’t break up or stop writing music, just play less live shows.

Hardcore was always pro (self-) education, showing the right path, etc. Did music affect your job decision? By the way, what principles of hardcore would you choose to teach your students?

I have always been interested in history, socioeconomics, and human culture. Those interests have contributed to both my love of hardcore and career choice. The work ethic of being in a DIY scene is something all people could use. I think hardcore has always had its share of hypocrisy when it comes to what / who is accepted and not accepted, but at its roots and in its purest form hardcore ethics are a beautiful thing. Forging your own path, creating something out of nothing, and working towards a common goal are all things that make you a better person.

AOW had a strong tour schedule including a tour with Ringworm and returning to Europe in late June. The Ringworm shows already got cancelled, let’s see how it goes with the rest… This pandemic is already affecting the world and consequently the music scene. Any predictions for the future?

I, unfortunately , have no predictions at this point. I’m wondering what will be considered “normal” when this is all over. Pandemics throughout history have been the catalyst for many cultural changes. Will this cause a major shift? It’s not out of the realm of possibilities. When this is all over, we could be looking at a brand new world.

Besides that, governments are passing laws for mass control, gathering restrictions and tons of prohibitions. We already live in the society of surveillance but the new laws are getting out of hand. Big Brother is a joke compared to what we have to cope with. Guy Debord’s ‘Society of the spectacle’ is more present than ever. What’s your opinion on this? The new laws are here to stay.

Once laws are in place they seldom go away easily. I think Covid 19 could easily pave the way for more restrictions to personal freedoms. Governments have consistently used public safety as a vehicle to over extend their reach. The flock is easily startled and once fear sets in the need for security leads to blind support for the ruling class.

Do you follow today’s hardcore / metal scene? What are your favorite bands currently? How do you define the term metalcore? For me, it’s bands like you, Integrity, the H8000 scene and the likes, but for the mainstream media is something completely different.

I follow the new metal bands much more closely than hardcore. Gatecreeper, Wake, Devil Master, Fuming Mouth, Xibalba, and Funeral Chic are among my favorite bands currently. I know these bands aren’t necessarily new, but they are new enough for me. At this point I don’t even know what metalcore is or is not. By the late 90s, I really thought it became such a bullshit term. Metalcore to me is Leeway, Carnivore, Crumbsuckers and bands like that. I’ve always considered All Out War a metal band with friends in the hardcore scene. Musically, we were never really influenced by any hardcore bands. Our association with Victory Records sort of lumped bands like AOW and Ringworm into a scene we were never really a part of or accepted in. We’ve played our fair share of shows in both the metal and hardcore genres. The shows I enjoyed playing the most were shows with Disassociate, Starkweather, Crisis, Darkside, Confusion, Candiria and similar bands. We were all bands without a home and so were the people who came to those shows. Ugly music for ugly people... no boundaries and everybody who was a fan of aggressive music were accepted and welcomed.

Thanks for the interview, stay safe and hopefully see you in Europe anytime soon! Last words are yours!

Stay safe and healthy. Thanks again for the interview.