Soulcraft #3 by Worlds Appreciated Kitsch Records

3 6

ta ble of con ten ts

008 // Intro / Credits 010 // Combust 016 // Choice To Make 024 // Mutually Assured Destruction 028 // One Step Closer 032 // Change 038 // Chain Reaction 044 // Cauldron Of Burgers 052 // Reality Filter 062 // Never Ending Game 066 // Mindforce 072 // Slam Jameson 074 // One King Down 078 // Rampage! 082 // RGB Designs 086 // Icepick 090 // World Be Free 096 // New Morality Zine 104 // Axe To Grind Podcast 108 // Delta Kapa 114 // Promise Kept Digital 116 // Crossword

INTRO Volos, Gr, January 18, 2021 - currently listening to ‘Cheer’ by Drug Church

On the other hand, if all goes well, by the time this gets to the pressing plant I will have delivered / presented my master dissertation on ‘music movement of hardcore in Greece, etc.’, for which I’m pretty excited. I intend to release it in a small book or sth later in 2021, let’s see how it goes!

issues in almost 6 months?! That’s insane! But guess what… Soulcraft is back with its 3rd issue, and if this is not already a banger, there’s thoughts of transforming this fanzine in a biannual publication! Dunno if this will ever happen or if it takes 3 more years for issue 4, but I can assure you that I’ll try my best! At the Outro of the previous issue I wrote ‘let’s hope Soulcraft 3 will be released before my 40th birthday, that means before December 2022’ and I’m still 38 and it’s out baby! I made it! Soooooo, not much happened from summer 2020 and on. I worked at a shitty, underpaid, job (in a courier service, delivering parcels) for 3-4 months, tried to move to Athens with my girlfriend Lina, stayed there till lockdown no.2 (which was in early November), got back to Volos, my hometown, one day before everything was closed once again, and I’m here since then. Worked a distance job which was pretty cool and paid well for a month or so and… that’s all.

In other news, yeap, I’m still stuck in this shithole called Greece, trying to figure out what to do with my life and when I finally get that goddamn decision to move out of here to a more prosperous country and eventually settle there. Let’s see if issue no.4 will find me out of here… One thing’s for sure, times are hard and we have to take crucial decisions. To be honest, I hate living here and even though I get by financially (hustling a lot!) and I am trying to be as creative as I can, I really can’t get used to the mentality of this country, its government and first and foremost its people. Greece is a beautiful country, that’s all, no more, fullstop.

No tours, no shows, no travels. Life sucks!

Anyway, talking about creativity, not to forget to

mention that 2020 was definitely a productive year for me, even if it sounds totally weird. Soulcraft 2 got out, started working on Soulcraft 3, and, last but not least, formed a new project / band, with some old and new friends (active in our local hardcore / crust / metal scene), called Ghetto Gospel (check us out at IG, bandcamp, FB, Spotify, etc.), that released a 9-song EP in early 2021. Got our name from the infamous 2Pac song, you fancy?! Besides that, my label, World’s Appreciated Kitsch Records, released 4 new records in 2020, the brand new 7”s by Barcelona’s Bait and north Greece’s Kemerov, the New Wave of Hardcore compilation tape (featuring the crème de la crème of today’s hardcore scene, sold out 100 copies in the blink of an eye) and the Yachtclubbaz tape (Nick and Jay of Mindforce delivering top notch instrumental hip hop for Polo RL lovers, check this out nowww!). And there’s plan for more stuff in 2021. Can’t stop, won’t stop motherfuckers! You can always follow my social media and get updates.

scratch the surface and explore the depths of the scene, you’ll find diamonds!!! So, enough with me babbling… There’s no interlude or even outro this time. ‘Nough said! Let the bands and the artists do the talk. This time, I included some of my favorite bands & people of the worldwide scene and I gave even more space to people that don’t necessarily play in bands but are very active in other sections like graphic designing, zines, graffiti, comics, photography, etc. After all, hardcore is a big big scene where everyone plays its part and all parts are equal and of great importance for the thriving of the movement! I wanna thank everyone that got involved (it exceeded my expectations this time; from all the people I asked to participate only 2-3 bands never replied, never mind, no hard feelings) and passionately supported SOULCRAFT. Ultragrim did again his amazing job, taking care of the looks of this zine, while Mick Lambrou from Melbourne, Australia, designed the great cover!

One thing that made me super excited the last bunch of months is the regeneration of hardcore zines, there’s tons of new hardcore zines from all over the world and 90% of them is quality stuff! Do me a favor and start more zines, especially right now, with the absence of shows, zines are vital for the preservation of the scene. Make sure to also check my sweet girlfriend’s, Lina, Self Love zine; it’s not hardcore / punk but it’s a must read, trust me! (selflovefanzine. bigcartel.com)

Tons of thanks and hugs to EVERYONE that bought Soulcraft 2 and the remaining copies of the now sold out issue 1. The response was overwhelming and a great push for me to keep on doing this. Hugs to all the distributors, the labels that placed ads and every single one that helped in any way; you know who you are!

Moreover, TONS of good stuff (full lengths, EPs, singles, demos) were released in 2020; check out Pain Of Truth, Mindforce, Pillars Of Ivory, Chain Reaction, Leper, Age Of Apocalypse, Gag, Gulch, Dropdead, Big Cheese, Higher Power, Change, Xibalba, Drain, End It, Life Force, Be Well, World Be Free, Speed, Crush The Demoniac, Combust, Mutually Assured Destruction, Smash, Intimidation, Earth To Heaven, Mil Spec, Ecostrike, Manu Armata, Fuse, Nekra, Choice To Make, Three Knee Deep, Rain Of Salvation, Rated X, Heavy Discipline, Against All Odds (my locals!), the One Scene Unity comp… The list is neverending! What a great time for hardcore music! The scene is still US-dominated, but there’s also many great bands and individuals doing a superb job in the other continents, too. Try to

Treat yourselves in the best way, love each other and try not to overthink everything, especially the shitty stuff. Peace homies! Yours truly, Apostolos Mokas Artwork: Ultragrim | ultragrim.tumblr.com Cover: Mick Lambrou | instagram.com/micklambrou Contact: soulcraftfanzine@gmail.com Store: soulcraftfanzine.bigcartel.com Online: issuu.com/keepitreal Thank you.

Hey Andrew! I hope you are doing great and surviving the 2nd / 3rd or whatever wave of the pandemic! How’s life in NY and how is your personal life / work affected by all this?

’ve been following Combust since the demo that Straight & Alert from France put out almost 3 years ago. 2019’s ‘The Void’ made such an impact in the worldwide hardcore scene that cannot go unnoticed. Combust recently unleashed a superb 2 song single (soon on tape via the Spanish label Tambores De Guerra) covering The Templars and Fear! I grabbed the chance to talk to the Andrew Vacante, their singer, who is also active in bands like Reaction & Don’t Trust A Soul, about his Italian origins, NYHC, hip hop and his new fanzine called Core Clientele! Pictures by Carl Gunhouse, James Scott and Billy Egan.

Life is weird, I gotta say. New York is still kinda shut down. Gyms, restaurants, bars, etc. Low IQ individuals trying to fight it. The usual. My job is pretty much the same so I can’t complain on that end. My personal life, however is suffering because this is easily the longest I’ve ever gone without playing / going to a show in my whole life. It’s ruined so many plans for my bands but has helped me deal with shit not going according to plan. But I just wanna play a show. I miss it so much.

www.instagram.com/combustnyhc www.facebook.com/CombustNYHC

Italian roots, born and raised in New York; not unusual in the NYHC history! Which part

of Italy are your origins from and do you visit the country often?

Fear and The Templars are just personal favorites and it’s rare nowadays to see HC bands give a nod to important punk bands. Currently no plans for those tracks to be going on a 7” but ya never know I guess.

My heritage traces back to Naples and Calabria. I actually have a great great uncle or grandfather that has an area named after him in Rome called “Via Pasquale Baffi”. They beheaded him in the center square. Ha. I have yet to visit Italy. I was supposed to this summer but covid unfortunately put an end to that.

2020 also marked the release of your new song ‘Missing piece’ and Combust signing to Reaper Records. So do we expect a full album in 2021? How did you come to the deal with such a big label as Reaper?

Combust managed to close this shitty year in the best way! Your 2-song cover single made lots of people’s day when it was released a couple of weeks ago! Why did you choose to cover Fear & The Templars specifically? I know that Tambores De Guerra from Spain is taking care of a tape release of the single. Is it going to be released on a 7”, too?

We actually didn’t sign with Reaper, we just ended up doing a comp with them which was cool. Shout out Kitzel. We’re currently working on an LP as we speak and are incredibly excited. I was firstly introduced to your music when Alexis from Straight & Alert Records, based

in France, released your demo tape back in 2018. I really missed that late 80s / early 90s NYHC vibe, so as you can imagine I was super stoked to listen to that tape and also the 12” ‘The Void’ the year after. How big of a Killing Time and The Icemen fan are you? What are your favorite records of that NYHC era?

Thank you for the kind words bro. Killing Time is my favorite NYHC band. ‘Brightside’ just encapsulates New York City in my opinion. Like you listen to that record and hear the city. No one will ever come close to recreating it. I’d say Dynamo is a close second for my favorite. The Icemen is a classic band but I prefer Dynamo. Another band that just can’t be imitated. 89 era

the best era for the genre since the 90s. What do you think about this?

of NYHC is untouchable tho man. ‘Best Wishes’, ‘Bringin’ it Down’, ‘Blood Sweat And No Tears’. Endless classics.

Shout out to my Italian polo brother Jay. I’m definitely excited about where NYHC is right now I just wish there were more bands especially coming out of the city for sure. But the bond between the current NY bands is strong and I’m

This issue also feature an interview with Mindforce and I talked with Jay about the new wave of NYHC dominating the scene the last years. In my opinion, this is definitely

grateful for that. Shout out Mindforce, Regulate, Rule Them All, The Fight, King Nine...

down a solid group of people willing to put the work in. I’m glad I got 2 people in my corner who are invested and are my friends. It’s called Core Clientele. We sold out of the first issue pretty quickly and the response was sick. We’re already working on the second issue right now and it’s just another cool way to be creative in a time where artists are struggling, especially musicians.

What happened to the Don’t Trust A Soul project? Give us some info about this, by the way! Should we expect a new release or was it an one-off thing? Damn bro ask Jay! Hahaha. That man is so busy with a million projects. We talk about ideas for another release but we’ll see if it happens. I’d love to do another release. DTAS is a fun little band that just combines HC, hip hop and mafia movies. Basically me and Jay in music form.

What’s the dream line up for a Combust show when all this is over? Of all the shows / tours you’ve done, which one stands out the most? What was the weirdest thing that happened to you while on tour?

You are also involved in the straight edge band Reaction! How important is straight edge for you and how relevant is it today?

Dream line up (in no particular order): Killing Time Dynamo Countdown Big Cheese Combust

Straight edge has been a part of my life for so long...my whole life basically and It’s just really who I am. It will always be relevant especially with all the bullshit drug culture that media and certain music promotes. I’ll be straight edge till I’m dead.

I’ll probably look at this and change my mind about it and name 40 other bands I wanted to put down but this just came to my head first haha! Damn. ‘The Void’ record release show was awesome and so was the Blind Justice release show. Too many to choose from honestly. Playing the main stage at the old Ritz was also a dream come true. Weirdest thing that’s ever happened on a tour... this was with my old band. We played some random spot in Gainesville, Florida, for context. After the show we needed a place to stay and these kids offered and then proceeded to take us “mudding” which is basically just driving big trucks through swamps , then tattooed the worst tattoo of all time on our drummer in this disgusting basement with no light while feeding certain members pot brownies and then the next day took us to shoot guns in the middle of nowhere...very interesting to say the least.

Lots of bands mix hardcore with other genres (besides metal) nowadays, be it indie, hip hop or oi! It seems that hardcore is now more open-minded than ever. Is the Templars cover a tribute to that oi! / hardcore scene? Do you follow street punk / oi!? And what about hip hop? It seems that you are a big fan, too. What other music do you enjoy? I definitely have always been a huge punk and oi! fan. But aside from that, metal and hardcore, hip hop is my other passion. I’m just incredibly inspired and excited about the current state of underground hip hop. It’s so good. Insane amounts of good music these past few years. If you’re into HC and not connected with hip hop, you are weird. I enjoy basically everything. I’m a huge Billy Joel fan, I love doo wop, rat pack stuff. Literally anything.

That’s all I guess! Spread out a positive message for 2021!

2020 was undoubtedly the comeback year of hardcore zines. The quarantine sprung creativity to hardcore kids searching for outlets during the absence of shows. You also started a new zine, tell us some more!

Let’s all try to make it through this new year of existing problems. Hopefully shows come back soon. In the meantime, let’s keep up the music and art so it feels almost the same. Thank you for this interview it was great. Combust / Downfall / Core Clientele 2021. NYHC.

Yea, I’ve been wanting to do a zine for as far back as I could remember but never locked

Hey Caleb! Thanks again for being part of the zine; in the last issue you took care of the amazing cover, in this issue let’s talk about Choice To Make! Who’s in the band? When and where did you form CTM?

aleb is one of the nicest dudes I’ve met in the hardcore scene the last years! Besides playing for Choice To Make and Worn, or filling in for One Step Closer, he does the zine Saturday Kids and draws amazingly for tons of, scene or not related, projects. Take a look at the cover of the previous issue of this zine and you get Caleb’s awesome design in all its glory! He has also contributed with a drawing to my streetwear brand Good Vibes; soon to be released on a shirt or long-sleeve, keep an eye on it (@goodvibesonlystrtwr)! I sent those questions by email to Caleb on 30th December and he replied half a day later, on new year’s eve! Play the ‘Vicious Existence’ EP on your Spotify or whatever service you prefer (on your turntable ideally!) and enjoy this in-depth interview!

Thanks for asking me to take part again! I love the zine and I’m excited for everything you have going on! The current Choice To Make lineup is myself, Nate Preschutti (from Strength for a Reason), TK (from United Youth and Life of Reilly), Ryan Savitski (from One Step Closer), and Tommy Norton (also from One Step Closer). We formed back in the summer of 2018. Nate had mentioned the idea of starting a mid to late 80’s era NYHC style band with some friends before and then finally at a Power Trip show in Philly that May, he came up to me and asked if I would be down to do it, he mentioned Ryan and TK were down so I said sure! Nate and his buddy Adam ( the OG drummer of the band) had a demo worth of music written already so at first, it was the rest of us learning the songs and putting our own little personal inflections on them. We played our first show in August of

Pictures by James Scott, Kathy G. & Spencer Chamberlain www.instagram.com/choicetomake www.instagram.com/saturdaykids_zine www.instagram.com/kalu__one

2018 in Scranton PA (a city 20 minutes outside of Wilkes Barre). As time went on we started to grow into our style and eventually found a permanent drummer with Tommy (Adam had real life adult stuff to tend to so he couldn’t really keep up with the touring we wanted to do after releasing some music).

without them there would be a lot of learning and earning I’d have yet to do. But, with all that being said, it was incredibly rewarding to finally have joined a band that had some notoriety and respect outside of the Wilkes Barre area. When the demo came out, people were pretty hyped on it which got me excited at first, but the demo was all Nate and Adam’s work (writing and recording) so I looked forward to being able to contribute more. After the demo came out and we played a couple shows, Nate came to us with the two promo songs written, so the lineup at the time (the current lineup except with our brother Jonah on drums) recorded them at Botti’s (singer of Blind Justice) house, and the tape came out thanks to Streets Of Hate. After that, Tommy joined the band, I helped write a compilation song that eventually came out on

You are a relatively new band but you have managed to draw the scene’s attention since day 1 and especially with the release of ‘Vicious existence’ in early 2020. How do you feel about this? It’s pretty surreal to be honest. Before Choice To Make, I was in a string of HC bands that pretty much flew under the scene’s radar. All of those bands are equally important to me, and

entered a new phase in the hardcore scene with the online world penetrating the real one. What’s your prediction for the future of hardcore?

the One Scene Unity comp, and then finally the 5 of us got together to write Vicious Existence. VE is the most collaborative work we’ve put out yet. We all had a hand in creating it and honestly, I love that record, so the fact that people fuck with it as much as they do makes me feel insanely proud of what me and the homies have created.

Honestly I feel like that’s been a part of the hardcore tradition for a while now haha. It seems like it’s a natural biproduct of the same group of kids starting like a thousand different bands. Kids in the scene hear that 5 kids from all of their favorite bands just started a new thing that sounds like blah blah blah and they’re already sold on the idea hahaha. But, I will

By the way, it seems that nowadays is super easy to spread the word and establish a name without having to release countless records and do hundreds of shows. And I’m pretty sure that with the pandemic we have

admit that it’s become even more of an anomaly in the world of music in recent years. It seems like now, some bands can blow up in the scene, without the kids in them even having paid their dues (maybe I’m just being a little jealous). In the end, a band can’t survive on hype alone, so I feel like if a band does blow up solely based on internet hype, that band will be a quick burn and people will move onto the next thing just like with every other trend. I’ve been going to hardcore shows for about 10 years now, so the internet has been a big part of the scene as long as I’ve been around, and even before that I know message boards and Myspace were a huge part of people connecting outside of shows and sharing info about shows and new bands and stuff like that. So with all that being said, I don’t think it’s a completely negative thing, but I respect the shit out of the homies that had to call someone’s landline to set up a show or go to an issue of “book your own fuckin’ life” to set up a tour or even had to send a handwritten letter overseas to get an interview from some dude in a band haha. As, for the future of hardcore, I have no fucking clue haha all I know is that it’s a young person’s scene. Kids grow up and either drop out, become irrelevant, or become mentors to the next generation of show goers / band members, then those kids grow up and the vicious cycle goes round and round.

Rule Them All, “Demo ’08” by Backtrack, and “The Extermination Vol.1 Comp”. I also love the Candy demo, TUI demo, Higher Power LP, Blind Justice LP, anything by Mizery, and the Hands of God LP. I am always into reading and trying to interpret bands’ lyrics. Which topics do you cover with Choice To Make? To be honest, that’s more of a Nate question haha, he’s the poet of the band. I can seriously relate to a lot of the stuff he writes about though, and I’m personally a big fan of his lyricism. I’m sure they all have a deeper personal meaning to him, but I portray a lot of the lyrics as an acknowledgment of the unforgiving cycle of life and the lack of time we have on this earth. Especially in the song June, it expresses the idea that life is too short to waste a single moment so take advantage of every experience before it’s too late. Death is a seriously intimidating aspect of our existence, and instead of just playing like it won’t happen to all of us, let’s live every day knowing that the next day isn’t always promised, and that we all have the same fate. Aside from that, Fifty Nine is about 59 priests in Pennsylvania that were convicted of pedophilia a few years back, it had a strong impact on a lot of communities around us and showed how disgusting an abuse of power can really be especially in the realm of religion. Other than that, I would definitely ask Nate for a more in depth explanation of his lyrics, cause he has some really cool, genuine shit to say!

‘Vicious Existence’ was released via Flatspot Records, a label that is well known for releasing the crème de la crème of the last decade’s hardcore bands like Backtrack, Trapped Under Ice, Mizery, etc. I feel that Choice To Make belongs to the second wave of Flatspot’s catalogue along with Hangman, End It, Kharma and the likes. How did the collaboration occur? What’s your top 3 of Flatspot Records releases?

2020 marked the mass return of hardcore bands to politics! Black Lives Matter spark the flame and lots of bands did great things trying to support the movement by raising money or physically supporting the demonstrations. How important are politics for you and the band?

So, after we released the promo tape on Streets of Hate, Ricky from FS hit up Jonah who was our drummer at the time and relayed an offer to put out a 7” for us on the label. We got 2 other offers but Flatspot seemed like the best way to go! It was crazy to think that a label responsible for some of the best HC releases of the past 20 years wanted to put out our music! They were super cool to work with and they repped the shit out of VE which felt great. As far as top 3 releases I’d have to say other than Vicious Existence haha, “Dreams about…” by

I think politics have always had a part in hardcore music. Although, I think lately it’s been near impossible to ignore the horrible things going on in our country that have just been slowly building up to their current state right under most of our noses. Given the administration of the past 4 years, a lot of ideologies we had all hoped were dead and in the past came back to rear their ugly heads, although horrendous shit has been pretty much happening in America

forever (indigenous decolonization in the United States, oil pipelines poisoning communities water sources throughout the country, the ongoing drug war, and the list goes on and on). In my opinion, the past 4 years have been rough to say the least, but a lot of that shit was always there, it just needed to be smoked out so that it could be in the light enough for us to take another swing at the corruption and out right racism going on in our nation. I’ve always loved the giving spirit the hardcore community has had when it comes to supporting causes we believe in, and if anything all the fucked up stuff going on lately has perpetuated that giving spirit. Hopefully when shows start happening again, we’ll see more benefit gigs and stuff like that. Politics has always been pretty important to me, and it’s definitely a large aspect of the band. Choice to Make was able to raise money throughout the pandemic to support protesters that had been incarcerated as well as a few other causes, and honestly I don’t think that that’s out of character for us at all. Nate’s lyrics definitely take a look at some political and social corruption going in the world around us and none of us are ignorant to what’s happening in our country. Punk has always just been a genuine form of social commentary whether it’s political or personal, a lot like how hip-hop and rap are forms of social commentary just from a different perspective in most cases.

Bad Seed, Tigers Jaw, Dead End Path, The Menzingers, Disengage, etc.) and huge bands from all over the country were coming to play this tiny room connected to a strip mall across the street from a trailer park haha. After that venue closed the scene started to hit a decline although it was never completely diminished. Lately though, some notoriety is starting to come back to the NEPA music scene and we once again have a community run venue. I have some sincere hope in our areas in the years to come, I just hope more kids take the initiative to start bands, I don’t give a shit if there are hardcore bands, metal bands, ska bands, or even fucking jazz bands lol I just wanna see some new shit popping off in our area. You draw amazingly. Is this job paying your bills? Who influenced your drawing and what are your favorite hardcore graphic designers of the last decade? All-time best hardcore cover? Thanks! That means so much to me! It’s easy to get a little insecure about how people perceive your art when it’s out in the world haha. It definitely doesn’t pay my bills completely but it helps! I would love to get to a point though where it could be my primary source of income. I’ve had a lot of influences over the years, the first time though that I can really remember being blown away by an artist was seeing Jim Phillips artwork on a Santa Cruz board. His work was one of my first glimpses into my own personal taste of art. Before that, my mom and her dad were both artists and got me into drawing and painting, they were major influences at first, but the second I got a look at Jim Phillips work, it was like a whole new world opened up to me. Beyond that, the work of Shawn Kerri and Ray Pettibon really caught my attention (notice a pattern of artists from the So Cal punk and skate scene from the 70s / 80s, haha). I also, loved walking the train tracks by my childhood home when I was younger and even now to look at the graffiti that rolls through our area from all over the country. Hardcore specific artists that are my current favorite though, are definitely Chris Wilson and Peter Maria, I would say a strong majority of album covers and logos coming out of the scene right now are created by one of those two guys and their work is incredible! I also love artists like Shane Moran, JP Flexner, Dan Nelson, Dan Santoro, Chun Guo, John

There’s probably something in the water in Pennsylvania and especially in the Wilkes Barre area. So many good bands coming out of there! Give us a small scene report! You also play in Worn and moreover you fill in for One Step Closer! Yeah, it’s a pretty crazy thing, for such small towns, Wilkes-Barre and Scranton have pumped out so many good bands! It’s probably just a mix of causes between the two town being equidistant to Philly and New York city, along with the communities being very supportive of art and music, and honestly just a new form of local tradition. Our area as had such a rich history in hardcore and alternative music, it’d take hours to go over all of it haha. Currently the scene is definitely on an upswing I’d say our last major peak was back in the early 2010s when this local community run venue Redwood existed. At that time, some of our area’s most important bands were in their prime (Title Fight,

Slaby, Josh Stephens, Elijah Funk, and Shane Coslett. Graffiti is a big part of my life, as well, and some favorites would be SoCool, BEGR, Pear, Gasm, all of top dogs crew, and a big shout-out to Shit Heads Crew! There’s definitely more but that would be way too long of a list and I didn’t even mention any favorite photographers haha (there’s a lot). Finally, as far as all-time best hardcore cover, I’d have to say… “Bullet E.P.” by The Misfits. The Misfits are definitely not my favorite punk band by far, but if one could say anything about them it’d be that they have their aesthetic down! I remember as a little kid, my sister was friends with all the older punk kids in the neighborhood and the one day when her friend came over wearing a shirt with that album cover on it, I was in awe of it! It’s so bold, graphic, and aesthetically pleasing, all together a legendary piece of hardcore artwork, and looking at it, to this day, still gives me chills in the best way possible.

new zine. They all said yes, and the rest just fell into place. I wasn’t making any money at the time, but I also wasn’t spending any so it just made sense to donate the money to one of the many causes that were in strong need of support at the time. My goals are pretty much to keep growing the zine, and to just not let that shit burnout. I wanna make that zine look as amazing as possible and keep people’s interest! I work really hard on that shit and people have been incredibly supportive, Keeps my mind out of the depressive gutter sometimes too which is nice haha. I think it’s sick that the zine scene has blown up the way it has and I think it’s due to the fact that there’s a shit ton of humans with the same exact story as mine lol. I hope it keeps up even after people go back to touring, and attending / playing shows. What are the future plans for CTM, Worn and all the projects you are involved in? Will we meet in Europe in 2021?!

You have recently started a zine called Saturday’s Kids. Why did you choose this name and what’s your goal with SK? I wrote somewhere else in this zine that I’m super excited that the quarantine regenerated the zine scene. Hardcore zines are blooming right now!

Choice To Make is in a very interesting predicament. We released our EP about 2 months before everything shut down, and we didn’t even get to have a fucking record release show haha. So, with that being said, we’re hopefully gonna have that show as it was originally planned, and make up for lost time in the sense of touring and playing shows on that record, and when the time is right hopefully work on an LP but all of that is as certain as the pandemic ending is. Worn just recorded a full length back in October and we’re all currently taking a much needed break from practicing / writing haha, but we’ll be releasing that in the spring on From Within Records and will hopefully tour on that record when shows start happening again. Dude, I seriously hope so.

The name comes from this band called The Trouble, they’re a legendary punk band from Boston. I did one zine before I started SK back when I was in high school. After I did that zine, I knew I wanted to do more, but I never had enough free time to make it happen. In the time between making that first zine (around 2013 maybe?) and this past April, I had played around with the idea a bunch, I thought of doing a skateboarding based zine, a photo zine, a zine that was all illustrations, but the only thing that stayed consistent was the thought that Saturday Kids would be a great name for whatever it would end up being haha. This past April I was fresh off of the Turnstile tour in Europe that ended abruptly due to the pandemic, I was out of work indefinitely, and I was bored out of my fucking mind haha so I thought what better time than then to start Saturday Kids. I hit up my newly made friend from that tour Jeff, my buddy Jay (who at the time I was helping out with art for his new project Pillars of Ivory), and hometown hero / artist John Slaby asking if they would be interested in doing interviews for my

Thanks for your time! Keep working on great things! Last words are yours! Thanks for asking for my time haha and same to you! Last words would be… If you haven’t purchased Vicious Existence yet, then what the fuck are you waiting for?! Keep your eyes peeled for the new Worn record “Human Work”, in my totally biased opinion, it kicks ass. Check out Saturday Kids Zine if you haven’t yet and I’m writing this on New Year’s Eve, so FUCK 2020, let’s have nothing but good vibes for the upcoming year.

Hey Ace! Welcome on board! What’s the story behind M.A.D.?

.A.D. struck a chord to me immediately the first time I listened to the opener of their 2019 EP. I remember trying desperately to get more details for this band but there was no social media accounts, so the only info I could get was from the Edgewood Records website!

So, in the middle of 2019 my previous band Break Away had been broken up for a few months and I got the itch to do another band but I wanted it to be completely different than what I had done previously. I got in touch with people I found equally as talented as they were available and asked them if they wanted to do a band that sounded like Only Living Witness, Corrosion of Conformity and Sam Black Church. We’ve evolved in sound since last year, but that was the mission statement. I wanted to explore some darker themes than I had previously, as well. I think so far away, from the state of the world, things have panned out well.

So, their take on crossover / metal / hardcore / doom is amazing. Only Living Witness, Leeway, Life Of Agony, Corrosion Of Conformity, Black Sabbath, you name it! The band has recently signed to Triple B Records, so expect a bigger hype coming soon! They deserve it, though! M.A.D. was the first interview I did for this zine and I am really proud to have em on board! Talked with Ace, who used to play in the straight edge hardcore band Break Away, about M.A.D., Break Away, crossover, his podcast Forum Of Passion and his love for 90s hardcore / metal.

Who’s playing in the band? What happened to the Break Away vibes? M.A.D. is in a totally different mood, more of a thrashy / crossover hardcore mayhem than the straight edge hardcore vibes that BA was. It’s been 2 years since the demise of Break Away, by the way…

Pictures by @nickcapturesva mutuallyassureddestructionusa.bandcamp.com www.patreon.com/Forumofpassion

see a revival with bands like you, Age Of Apocalypse and the likes happening the last years. What’s your opinion on this?

I love doing Break Away. I love straight edge hardcore and I’m glad I got to do that for so long, but we had been a band for 8 / 9 years and after a bunch of shows in America, a couple tours in Europe, 2 LPs, and a bunch of festival appearances, the natural end had come upon us. M.A.D. is comprised of Eric from Break Away, Tyler who was previously in a band called Holy Land, Groater who is in Bracewar, and was previously in Down To Nothing and Fire & Ice, and lastly JD who used to fill in for Break Away and Naysayer, as well as playing in a band called Lost Souls, which would later evolve into the band Candy.

Age of Apocalypse feels like a kindred spirit in what they are doing and what we are doing. I think if doing a crossover style is done well (and I believe we count as such as we have been referred to as ‘crossover doom’), it’s peak aggressive music. Lots of the time though bands attempting this come off as somewhat trite, so if people want to attempt this style, I recommend making it your own and different. You also did a short-lived band called Neuromancer. Spill the beans!

I do not want to exaggerate but ‘Fever dream’ is one of my favorite records of 2020, definitely top notch aggressive music. How was the procedure of composing and recording it? And how did the cooperation with Edgewood Records happen? It’s not a common thing for hardcore bands to release 10”s nowadays, why didn’t you do a 12” instead?

Neuromancer did a demo in 2018 and we only played 3 shows. I wanted to approach a band with a different visual than most hardcore bands. The idea was to do a band that sounded like Integrity mixed with Japanese d-beat and have the presentation be that of old video games. It might have been a little too heady of a project for the dudes I was attempting it with, but it still comes up every so often which is cool. I really liked doing it honestly. If anyone wants to find it, it’s only on YouTube.

Edgewood is our team and to an extent the main group of friends around M.A.D. I had always wanted to do a record with them because Craig and Scott (Edgewood CEOs) are old and great friends of mine (Craig was in Break Away at one point in time). It was as simple as just asking. We wrote 6 songs that clocked in too long for a 7’, but not long enough for an LP, so we thought a 10” would be interesting and different. We always want to be both those things in regards to anything M.A.D. does. I really appreciate that you like the record so much, we are all very proud of it.

How’s the scene in Richmond, Virginia these days? There’s a big part of hardcore history coming from your area, with bands varying from Four Walls Falling to Down To Nothing. What’s your top current bands and also your all time favs? I love Richmond hardcore, it is firmly imprinted on my soul and it has shaped me as a person. I mean that. My current favorite bands from here are Destruct, Enforced, Downfall, and Division of Mind. There’s so many I could list, but those are my current favorites.

I can state Leeway, Life Of Agony, Only Living Witness, early 90s Cro-Mags and lots of groovy thrash metal as your influences. Am I right?

You also do a podcast called Forum Of Passion. When did you start this project and what’s the main goal you want to achieve with FOP? There’s lots of hardcore podcasts poppin’ up lately, how important is this new means of representing hardcore, especially now that there’s not any shows around?

Those influences are definitely in there. Some Black Sabbath, Corrosion of Conformity, War Hungry, and a bunch of others as well. Recently I’ve been listing to a lot of Acid Bath and want to incorporate that going forward. That period (90s) was super interesting concerning the extreme music movement with a lot of cross-overs and the worlds of metal and hardcore colliding. I can

I want to catalog and capture the stories of people that are playing what I believe a strong roll in shaping the current landscape of

hardcore, punk, and metal. I approached this wanting to do an almost “Inside the Actor’s Studio” vibe, but instead of actors, focus on people in the scene. I think podcasts right now are great because they provide a way to keep people engaged with our world while everything else is on hold.

How hard is for hardcore to stay present and relevant with no shows / tours, without that mutual communication that used to happen back when everything was kinda normal? Can the scene preserve itself? What’s your take on live stream shows? Have you watched any so far?

How has your life been affected by the pandemic? What’s your daily job? Is that affected, too? Do you see any light in the dark?

M.A.D. actually did a livestream as a “record release” show for Fever Dream since we had to cancel ours. I think if it’s all you can do and you’re honest with yourself about the fact that it will work for your band, why not try it out? I think we all just have to try. Be it putting out zines, podcasts, releasing music, livestreams; there are options, you just have to have patience and try your best to create in a world that is currently captured in stone.

I changed jobs this year actually, but it was not because of the pandemic. I had worked in various positions at the UPS Freight headquarters for the last 9 years and just got kind of over it. Now I am in sales for a roofing company. I’m lucky in the fact that professionally I have not been impacted. I have hope, I think once a vaccine is widespread we will be on our way towards inching back towards normalcy.

Thank you very much, stay safe and keep creating great music! Last words are yours! Be excellent to one another.

Hey! Welcome to Soulcraft zine, how are you doing? How’s the situation in the US right now? Still in quarantine? How do you cope with all this?!

ried to interview OSC for the previous issue but it never happened. Sent them a couple of DMs / e-mails with no luck. But… since OSC is for sure one of my favorite new hardcore bands in the world, I thought of giving it another try. This time it was much easier to arrange the intie, but it took a shitload of time for the band to reply! Finally, G (their guitar player, also in Anxious, Last Straw and Dying Tradition zine) got in touch with me and answered some (and unfortunately not all, as he skipped a couple or more) of the questions. Read what he has to say about OSC, Joe Biden and Connecticut Hardcore. Look out for the first OSC full length ‘This place we know’, which will probably be out by the time you are reading this!

Yo what’s up! I’m good man. I’m just hanging out in Connecticut. We’re still in quarantine- I imagine we will continue to be for a long time. It’s funny life doesn’t really feel like “coping” at this point, it just feels like life. I think everyone’s doing things to fill their time though. OSC has been super busy writing our new LP so that’s keeping everyone pretty occupied. I’m in school and working now too which also takes up most of my personal time.

Pictures by Spencer Chamberlain & Todd Pollock.

Who’s in One Step Closer? Give us a short bio of the band and each member’s weirdest obsession!

www.instagram.com/onestepcloserwb

OSC is a 5 man operation from Wilkes-Barre,

about Connecticut Hardcore past and present so I guess that could qualify as my obsession?

Pennsylvania. We have Ryan on vocals, Ross Boss on the guitar, BT on the bass, Tommy on the skins, and yours truly on the other guitar. The band is a straight edge band, started in early 2016. I wasn’t an original member, I was fortunate enough to be asked to join in the summer of 2018. Hmm obsessions? That’s tough haha. Ryan collects vintage Star Wars action figures which is pretty cool. Ross makes clothing which is SO dope, he handles all the merchandise for OSC. BT wants to be a dentist so he’s constantly studying in preparation for dental school. If you ever see him you should pick his brain about that stuff, it’s interesting. Tommy sells clothes on Ebay which sounds really fun but super hard. I do a monthly zine

Triple B keeps releasing top notch modern hardcore and OSC have established a position in the label’s roster since 2019. How did this happen? Are you satisfied with the feedback you get or do you aim to something bigger? OSC recorded ‘From me to you’ the summer of 2018 and was unsure of who was going to release it. There were a few ideas and labels being spit balled - but we really wanted the record to come out on BBB. I think our friend Ned made the connection with Sam BBB and

break of the pandemic; Berlin, early March 2020. I bet you miss shows a lot. What do you plan for the future? To join tour combos, do a headline full length release tour?! How was the Knuckle Puck tour, by the way? Any cool stories from touring?

him and Ryan shared a couple emails in the fall of 2018. Sam BBB originally was pushing for cutting 2 songs and releasing it as a 7” but we opted to release it as a 1-sided 12”. I think everyone in OSC would agree that the feedback / response OSC gets is so flattering and awesome. I am super thankful to get to be a part of it.

It’s definitely hard to make plans with the current state of things. It’s hard to know what the next month will look like let alone the next 6. I can say with 100 percent certainty however that the minute that OSC can tour again, we will. We had a ton of touring planned for last year and this year and we just plan on picking up exactly where we left off. That KP tour was awesome! I didn’t hop on until Anxious joined the tour about halfway through because I was still in school but that tour was loads of fun. Those guys are really sweet and super fun to hang with.

New album, the debut full length, coming in spring 2021 (hopefully this zine will be out before the release of it!). The Soulcraft readers need info and spicy details! Our new record, “This Place you Know”, will be released on Triple-B records in Spring of 2021! I’m super excited for it to be out there. The guys worked so incredibly hard on it and I think people are really going to be into it. I think it definitely explores the more emo side of OSC in a way we haven’t done before. It definitely is a big step up and forward for OSC. More info soon!

Almost all OSC members play in other bands, too? Last Straw, Wild Red, Anxious… Which other ones? You seem to be full of energy and creativity! How do you manage to be involved in so much stuff while having to deal with every day’s hustle? How old are

You used to play lots of shows. I was in one of the last shows you played before the

you and what do you do for a living?

antagonistic rhetoric that pervades a lot of American politics right now. There is a definite “us vs them” mentality that has been adopted and I think that this is not particularly productive when trying to meet the needs of a nation. His speech made after winning the US election seemed to hint that he feels similarly and is seeking unity. I’m not sure what I would change if I was president for one week. Creating and destroying national policies usually take years so I’m not sure what I would be able to get done in a week haha. In an ideal world - I would raise the legal drinking and smoking age and I would reduce the penalty for non-violent drug offenders.

Yeah almost everyone in OSC plays in other bands! I sing in both Anxious and Last Straw. Ryan does a bunch of bands: he plays guitar in Anxious, Choice To Make, Last Straw, and plays drums sometimes in Wild Red. Ross plays guitar in another WBHC band called Worn and was also in a band called Acupuncture for a minute. Tommy and Ryan are working on a new band right now too. FFO: Bad Seed, Foundation, Hatebreed. It can be pretty demanding to be involved in so many projects. Both OSC and Anxious are practically full time bands so it can get pretty hard to do everything and keep everyone happy. I just try to do my best and be as realistic and optimistic as possible.

That’s all, thanks a lot! Shout-outs, fuckoffs, last words, all yours!

Joe Biden is officially the new president of the United States of America. What do you expect from him? What would you change in the country if you were the president for a week or so?!

Thank you so much for having me. I’m sorry this took forever to get to you. OSC has a new LP coming out in 2021, please listen to it. I’m from the great state of Connecticut so I would like to shout out Connecticut Hardcore. Listen to Fastbreak, Cornerstone, and Break Faith. Shout out Wilkes-Barre hardcore. Listen to Frostbite.

Yessir he is. Hm. That’s a tough question. I do hope that he avoids the polarizing and

Hey Aram! Thanks for your time! Congrats for ‘Closer still’, definitely one of my favourite hardcore albums of double twenty.

hange is the new band by Aram Arslanian (of React! Records, Champion, Betrayed, The First Step, and tons of others, fame), that recently released their debut full length ‘Closer still’. Aram is one of the key figures of the hardcore scene since the early 00s and I was more than happy to sit down (metaphorically, unfortunately) and talk with him about Change, straight edge, his involvement in React! Records and today’s scene. He was super nice to do so, while facing a serious family problem, and I really appreciate that. Wish him all the best, too. ‘Closer still’ is one of the most important records of the last years, so you better do not sleep on it!

Thank you! I’m psyched that you like it and I appreciate the interview. Who’s in Change? How did you decide to play youth crew hardcore in the era of the return of chugga, crossover and 90s NY hardcore? There’s only a handful of bands still playing old school / youth crew these days… On the record, Change is me on vocals, Dave on guitar, Carl on bass and Alex on drums. Live the band is Chris and Mike on guitars, Matt on bass and Jeff on drums. Throughout the bands I’ve been in I’ve always wanted to do a classic sounding Straight Edge band that pulled from

Pictures by Anna Swiechowska. changehardcore.bandcamp.com www.instagram.com/changehardcore

my favs like Youth of Today, BOLD, Sportswear, Uniform Choice, INSTED, Turning Point and Gorilla Biscuits, while also adding in elements of Embrace, Verbal Assault and 7 Seconds. I like all kinds of HC (and music) but the bands above represent the kind I’m the most drawn to playing. After The First Step spilt I started writing some songs that were intended to be my next thing, but it wasn’t a consistent effort since I was focused on my career at the time. So, I just wrote whenever I had the time and slowly built up this set of songs over the years. Eventually I recorded them with the guys I mentioned earlier,

but then things got really dark for me for a few years and the songs ended up sitting unused. You’ve been a prolific figure in the post-2000 hardcore scene. Having played in bands like Champion & Betrayed and running React! Records for years, how did you decide to get back on the map and form a new band? I’d been totally obsessed with HC from the age of 15 and put most of my energy into bands and the label until around 2011. At that time, I started to focus more on my career and didn’t

have as much free time. I was still playing in bands like Keep It Clear and Union of Faith, but both were very low-key so I could keep creative and involved in the scene while also building up my career. Like I mentioned earlier, I eventually hit on some hard times and had to focus on getting through them, and at that point music totally dropped off. I hit a real bottom in my life and started working with a therapist to process what was happening. Playing in a band was the last thing on my mind, but I had mentioned to my therapist offhand I had a bunch of songs with no lyrics or vocals. He was the person who suggested I go back and finish them and encouraged me to treat the record as a therapeutic exercise, so I started writing. At first the songs were super self-indulgent and a complete mess. I hadn’t written lyrics in years and I was basically just writing out raw emotion on paper. I cringe when I think back to those first attempts, but it was definitely something I needed to get out. After a while I got back my focus and was able to get ideas on paper that I felt represented what I was feeling in the right way. When I started tracking the record, I was anxious about it, but it ended up being very healthy for me. Those recordings are someone working through a lot of personal stuff. I’m not a natural singer so I had to work at it, push myself and leave it all on the field. I didn’t have plans to release the LP at all, the band didn’t even have a name. Finishing it started to represent closing a chapter of my life, and I didn’t have any ideas for when I got to the end. So, when it was finished, I was a little like, “Huh, what do I do with this thing?” I sent it out to some friends and got a lot of support, and it was really the people in my circle that convinced me to put it out, especially Gabi, Allan, Chris, Robert, Evan and Espen. REACT! and Refuse were immediately down to release it, and once I knew it was coming out, I asked my friends to be in the band and the rest is history.

used alcohol to deal with the consequences of that. By my early 20’s I’d developed a drinking problem and had all the issues that go along. I knew I needed to quit, and sxe seemed like the right commitment to make. After being sober for a while I started to find my voice, my people and my vision for how I wanted to live my life. There’s no way that would have happened at that age without sxe. I’m not sure if it saved my life, but it definitely gave me a new lease on it. It’s definitely been very positive for my daily job and relationships. At this point it’s not something I go out of my way to talk about, but I’m certainly comfortable with the label. In regard to today’s sxe scene, it’s great! I like a lot of current sxe bands, especially Odd Man Out, Inclination and One Step Closer. Change is not the typical youth crew hardcore band; all the ‘clichés’ may be present, but you dare to expand your music boundaries a lot, you even have a dub / reggae part in the record. What influenced you while writing ‘Closer still’? Thanks for saying that! I drew from a lot of different sources for this record and tried to weave that into the writing. I was pulling inspiration from metal, thrash, reggae, R ‘n’ B and 80s pop music and focusing on how the bass and drums move together. I wanted each part of the record to have something to say lyrically and musically, and I put effort into pushing my comfort level. I would never have done this in earlier bands, and I guess the thing that made this record different was a lack of fear. I’ve been a part of a lot of records over the years, some are good, and some aren’t. I’ve gotten comfortable with both the good and crappy stuff I’ve recorded on so I’m not too worried if something I do at this point is embraced and I definitely didn’t write this record for a scene or an audience. Instead, I just wanted to write something that was I personally into and that I would listen to. However, I’m also very appreciative that people seem to be into it. It’s cool to write something for yourself, but it rocks when people actually like it!

Is straight edge still an important movement for you? How did it help to shape your own life? Did it affect your daily job and relationships? How do you see today’s straight edge scene?

What about the lyrics of the record? What issues do they cover? And why did you choose single-word titles for all songs?

Straight Edge is very important to me. I can comfortably say that the idea and the community definitely set me on a better path in life. I grew up in an unstable environment and

I’d like the lyrics to speak for themselves. I

worked hard on them and tried to say a lot with a little – the economy of expression. I also tried to write them on two levels: a more general HC level that has one meaning, and a deeper personal level that has another. Both meanings are valid, it’s just that one is very much about me trying to work through my own stuff. Anyone who knows me knows what each song is about on that more personal level, and beyond that I like to leave them open to the interpretation of others. I picked single-word titles because I was doing a lot of reflection on my life and how I move through this world, and the starkness of single-word titles seemed to fit with that.

I stepped out at the right time for me, but I’ve actually been involved a bit in the past year and that will likely continue. Evan and I are looking at releasing more records together on the label and have a few projects we’re working on now, so that’s something that I’m excited about. I guess that kind of answers your question about starting a label, since I’m back involved in one again. But yes, I would definitely start a label again from the ground up if I was younger and I encourage more people to do it. Running a label is a lot of fun, you’ll likely lose money and get a little jaded, but overall, you’ll have a great experience. The only real con I can think of about running a HC business is if you’re trying to make a living off of it. Once your art becomes your living, making decisions based on getting income can impact how you follow your passion. Both are essential, but only one makes us happy and it’s very difficult to balance the two.

The last song of the record, which is actually a spoken word outro, deals with the topic of Life & Death. What’s your take on the subject? Do you believe in life after death? And do you follow any established religion or religious movement?

How do you see today’s hardcore scene? Any favourite bands? Which was the best show you attended in 2020? What do you miss the most when it comes to shows?

I don’t believe in life after death, which is exactly why I wrote those lyrics. I don’t follow any religion, and I don’t look down on anyone who does. My take is that we live in a world that’s always focused on the next horizon, the next thing and even the next life. That kind of thinking can cause you to miss out on the now. For me, the finality of death, and that there’s nothing after that, is the best reminder to live now.

The current HC scene is great from my perspective. I’m not as deep into it as I was when I was younger, so I can only speak to what I know and it’s awesome. My favourite bands now are Odd Man Out, Punitive Damage, Chain Whip, Scowl, Pillars of Ivory, Berthold City, One Step Closer, Inclination, Line of Sight, Praise, Life Force, Sunstroke, End of Dayz, Chain Reaction, Death Threat, Smash, Speedway, Perfect World, Outright, By All Means, With x War, Weight, Dying for It, Scowl, Retaliate, Spirit Crusher, Appraise, Dregs, Rejection Pact, Chopping Block and Mindforce. The best show I attended in 2020 was definitely Can’t Keep Us Down fest in Barcelona. Seriously the best vibe of any fest I’ve ever attended! What I miss most is seeing a band get up on stage and tell us what time it is. All respect to the bands that are out there finishing the masterpieces of 2021 and I can’t wait to hear some new music and see you play.

‘Closer still’ was released in US by React! Records and in EU by Refuse Records. How did you decide to co-operate with these 2 labels? You used to run React! till 2013, do you feel nostalgic of that era? Would you start a record label now if you were young? What are the pros and cons of running a hardcore business? Both Evan and Robert are good friends, and it was an easy decision to work with them. The reason for both is that I wanted to capture the same feel as the pairing of Revelation and We Bite back in the late 80’s. I liked that the YOT and GB records had these different layouts and colours on the European label, it made them such awesome versions to hunt down. I wanted to create that same vibe and hopefully we pulled it off.

Thanks for the interview! Let’s hope we’ll see Change in Europe in 2021, fingers crossed!

I loved running REACT! and I definitely have a lot of great memories of that time in my life.

Thank you again! Check out the new By All Means songs they just put out because they rip!

Hey Bjorn! Hope life is treating you well! How do you deal with the age of quarantine in Belgium?

years ago, in February 2010, I booked Rise & Fall in Athens, Greece; undoubtedly one of the coolest shows that I’ve ever booked, with the band being on the peak of their career, 3 local bands that kicked ass (Endsight, I Want You Dead & Ruined Families) and AN Club being on fire on a Sunday night. After ups and downs, new bands forming and quitting etc., most of the R&F members are still involved in the scene, and 2 of them play in the brand new Belgian band called Chain Reaction, along with ex-Spirit Of Youth, Congress & Kingpin members! These old heads managed to release a 12” that drew the attention of the worldwide hardcore scene in the end of 2020. I had a nice talk with Bjorn about Chain Reaction, the Zotte Sfeer scene of the mid 00s and Belgian (not French!) fries. Sit comfortably and read!

I’m good my man. Hope you are too. Dealin’ with it the best I can, I guess. Basically working a lot, trying to get outside often enough to run, hike or grab a coffee somewhere. I try not to get caught up in the constant stream of information and the constant what ifs. Taking it day by day and hoping everyone keeps their head up until we get out of this mess. Chain Reaction is a kinda new band but you all are old heads being active in tons of other bands / cool stuff in the past? Who’s in the band? Give us a short CV of each member! It’s true that all of us have been around for a while now, so that means we’ve all done a bunch of bands too. I’m not going to bore you with every little detail and I honestly always try to keep the ex-members thing low key anyway, but here’s some insight. So, we’ve got Murph on drums. He used to sing in Spirit Of Youth in the

Pictures by Kevin Vankeirsbilck (@kevienpictures) www.instagram.com/chainreactionbelgium chainreactionbelgium.bandcamp.com

late 90s, then went on to drum in Kingpin and Rise And Fall, amongst other bands. Sim plays guitar, he played bass in Spirit Of Youth and then guitar in Kingpin. He was also in Voices At The Front, a rather obscure straight edge band from the mid-90s that put out an awesome demo. Clovis plays bass, he was in Kingpin and also played in Congress where he replaced the

original bass player UxJ and stuck with the band until the end. I sing and I used to be in Rise And Fall. 2020 was the year of the release of ‘Figurehead’. Many scenesters included your record in their top 10 / 20 of hardcore releases of all year! How do you feel

about this? Are you satisfied with the final outcome? How did the collaboration with Atomic Action Records happen, besides working with Control Records, too?

involved too this time to broaden our reach. I had worked with Atomic Action before when I was in the short-lived White Jazz, through which I met Brian and we stayed in touch ever since. I wasn’t sure if Chain Reaction would be his thing, but he was down right away. Dude’s a lifer and a legend, so to have him involved means a lot to me.

I’m still very happy with how the record came out. I think it looks and sounds awesome. Obviously, it’s been great seeing “Figurehead” pop up in people’s Best Of 2020 lists, it’s a super rewarding feeling, especially for a small band like ours. When we got the final mix, we knew we had something really good in our hands, but you never know how the response will be or if people will pick up on it or not. We’ve been working with Control since day one – which was the demo – but we wanted to get a US label

It’s been a while since a European hardcore band drew attention from overseas and Chain Reaction did so. What’s your opinion about this? Overhyping US bands was always (or at least it is so the last 2 decades) a thing in hardcore, but I believe that there’s a lack of really good hardcore bands coming

out of EU lately. Do you also share this feeling?

kind of weird to be throwing stones. Then again, when things get really good here, we’ve had bands and scenes that make waves worldwide. It’s not a constant thing, but not that rare either. You bet that the mid-80s UK scene (Heresy, Ripcord, Napalm Death etc.) made an impact over there, as did the mid-90s H8000 scene in Belgium (Congress, Liar, Blindfold, etc.) and the Swedish scene from that same era (Refused, Abhinanda, Shield etc.). Later on, of course the Belgian / Dutch Zotte Sfeer bands (Dead Stop, Justice, Restless Youth) had that same effect and for the last 7-8 years or so it’s been the NWOBHC scene that started with Violent Reaction and brought us Big Cheese, Arm’s Race, Stages In Faith, etc. So, I do think Europe

This topic is as old as hardcore itself and I always try to be approach it in a nuanced way. Thing is, hardcore as we know it is an American phenomenon through and through, even though European and especially English bands were crucial in its evolution. That being said, the US is such a huge country, with so many thriving scenes in different cities and areas, so many bands all over the place, so it’s kind of logical that they don’t look across the ocean to get their fix. On the other hand, Europe (and the same goes for Japan and Australia to a big extent) has always been very US focused too, so it’s

allowed us to further work on the dynamics of our songs and spice ‘em up here and there. I’m glad to hear you dig those songs!

has often had its glorious moments too, but it ain’t easy to get the attention of Americans, even though touring there does help a lot, as most of the aforementioned bands will confirm (whether they’ve been there or not).

After playing with bands like Rise & Fall, touring the world and almost fulfilling every hardcore musician’s dream, what’s still motivating you to do a band, play shows and tour again? Isn’t hardcore a teenager’s thing?! Are you that weird guy that is over 25 and still care about hardcore?!

So, almost a year after the split 7” with Spark, you unleashed ‘Figurehead’. How did you come with a 6-song 12” EP instead of a full-length record? Did you prefer to choose 6 banger songs instead of risking to include fillers? To be honest, most new full-length records bore me after a while…

I just love it, so it would be weird turn my back on the scene I grew up in and that shaped me. I think that goes for the rest of the band too. We still love writing music and being involved. I think the two crucial elements here are the fact that this band allows us to still be creative and have a good time while doing so, plus it also enables us to be active participants in hardcore 2021, right next to younger and older or bigger bands. I definitely agree that youthful rage and energy are a huge part of what makes hardcore such a great thing, and I’m confident that we still have enough of that and enough good riffs

Well, you probably answered your own question there. I don’t think any band willingly records filler songs, but it’s just a fact that harder, aggressive hardcore works best in smaller doses. For a band in our style and of our size, I think the EP is the best format. I don’t think we’ll ever do a full-length actually. We kind of wrote the split 7” songs (“Who’s The Fool” & “End On End”) in between the writing we did for “Figurehead”, because the idea for the split came unexpectedly, but it worked out well. It

How’s the scene in Belgium nowadays? The glorious days of H8000 and, later, the Justice, Dead Stop, Powered Records, Rise & Fall etc. era seem to be over or am I wrong? What about the new generation? Any standout bands / labels we should check out?

and ideas to earn our little spot in today’s scene. Definitely not here to be that jaded old weirdo, but to give it the best we got, together with people of different generations. Do you still care about straight edge and vegetarianism / veganism? It seems that the latter is getting more and more popular while straight edge is kinda dying or at least there’s not many outspoken bands / persons nowadays and usually whoever is edge is for himself, period.

Those days are over for sure. Scenes like that evolved organically, usually inspired by a couple of great bands and other factors like time and place. I would say that the closing of the legendary Lintfabriek venue marked the end of the Zotte Sfeer era (that you’d associate with Dead Stop, Justice, Restless Youth, Powered, Complete Control etc.), since then we definitely have had some really good bands, but things haven’t evolved into a bigger wave so far. Personally, I love Mindwar and I think they can be the band to light the fuse again. They’ve been a band for 5 years now, keep getting better and they always bring it live. Some of their shows already get quite wild. Their singer Anthony does guest vocals on “Certain Death” by the way. Other than that, in the heavy department, we’re all still waiting for that Redemption Denied LP. Not sure if Absolve is still a band at this point. If you like your hardcore raw and dirty, Belgium’s the spot. Reproach is still active and still kicks ass, then of course there’s Blind To Faith who got out a rippin’ new album last year, plus newer bands like Raw Peace (with Reproach, Blind To Faith & Rise And Fall members), Haemers, Instructor, Permanent Debt, Hetze and I’m probably forgetting some.

I’ve been straight edge for a quite a while now, but it’s something I usually keep to myself. It’s become so ingrained in me that I don’t even think about it that much. Plus, I’ll honestly say that a lot of overtly straight edge bands are just super cringey to me. But I care for sure and think it’s important that the straight edge idea is passed on to younger generations. Some of the other dudes in the band are vegetarians and – even if I’m not – it’s plain to see that in the grand scheme of things that is the more important issue. I can see there’s a big 90s hardcore revival, both musically and aesthetically. What do you think about this? Top 3 hardcore albums of the 90s? Top 3 shirt designs?! I was asked a similar question in another interview recently and as you’ll know, this is type of question that makes one’s brain melt. Let me cheat a little and give you a US and a Euro top 3 when it comes to actual albums (not 7”s or demos):

A silly question. What’s the story between France stealing the trademark of your fries? I must admit that Belgian fries are way better than the French ones.

90s US: 1. Quicksand – “Slip” 2. Integrity – “For Those Who Fear Tomorrow” 3. Madball – “Set It Off”

Fools weren’t satisfied with their wine and cheese, so they tried to claim our fries. No one with a brain believes that shit though.

90s Europe: 1. Blindfold – “Asteroid 164” 2. Congress – “Blackened Persistence” 3. Abhinanda – “Senseless”

That’s all I guess. Any plans for the future? Last words are yours!

Shirt designs? You’re a wild man. The Burn long-sleeve with the TV for sure, the Quicksand “Slip” promo shirt with the divers (someone get me that one!) and the black Merauder shirt with the weird ninja skull they have. You know what I mean.

Thanks a lot for having us! Shout out to the labels that helped us get “Figurehead” out there; Control, Atomic Action & Life.Lair.Regret – you all rule. Hit us up if you want to see us play your city. Take care out there everyone. Peace.

CAULDRON OF BURGERS

y name is Jon Gusman and I am a Visual Artist, Cartoonist and Musician, based in Long Island, NY. Though I am a part of many bands (The Fight, Pillars Of Ivory), I am mostly known for fronting the band Rule Them All and running a one-man media operation called Cauldron Of Burgers. Cauldron Of Burgers is an outlet for all of my cartoon and visual art work. I got my start drawing cartoon characters on school work and folders as a child but wouldn’t start taking illustration seriously as a life path until early 2016. I draw influence from Mike Mignola, Moebius, Stan Sakai, Mike Judge, Joan Miro, and Genndy Tartokovsky

just to name a few. Cauldron Of Burgers now takes on many forms including an independent publishing imprint and a podcast. At the end of 2020, I also completed a BFA degree in Visual Arts. Currently, I illustrate The Inmate (a weekly comic strip written by Patrick Kindlon of Drug Church / Self Defense Family) and in 2021, I plan to release 6 comic books and 4 zines. Subscribe to my newsletter and be on the lookout for all of it. www.cauldronofburgers.com /www.instagram.com/cauldronofburgers

REALITY FILTER

y name is Spencer Chamberlain, and I work as a photographer in Rochester, NY, USA.

these uniquely beautiful, intense moments of controlled chaos - I’m always working preserve that in my photos.

Before COVID, I’d spend as much time as I possibly could shooting hardcore shows anywhere I could travel to. Whether a five minute walk from my home, a six hour drive, or international flight, allowing myself to miss out on a show always feels like a missed opportunity to capture something important to me. Photography has been a longtime passion of mine, but photographing music, specifically hardcore, is unlike anything else in that it has such a natural, immediate emotion that is easily communicated through images, and a type of connection, intensity, and intimacy between the bands and the crowd that it creates

The marriage between photography and hardcore music is something that’s allowed me to merge two of my lifelong passions, but more importantly, it’s been a catalyst for forming friendships and sharing experiences with some truly incredible people over the years, and as much as I miss the excitement of documenting hardcore shows and watching my favorite bands play, I’m even more excited to be able to experience it all with friends again. Comprehensive galleries of my work can be seen at www.spencerchamberlain.net. You can also find me on Instagram @reality_filter.

Hey guys! Thanks for being a part of Soulcraft 3! How are you dealing with the lockdown? Who’s in NEG, when did you start the band and what was the driving force behind it?

etroit’s NEG released their debut LP ‘Just another day’ in 2019 and quickly established a name for themselves reviving the 90s NYHC sound the best way. Drawing influences from Crown Of Thornz, Biohazard and Cold As Life, while throwing in some funk / rap tunes, NEG represent an style that is still one of my favorites after all those years. I hardly ever listened to a band delivering so good the Biohazard vibe, after Cold World. Watch out for new music coming from them soon! And do yourself a favor and buy / listen to ‘Just another day’ if you haven’t done so.

Whaddup. Dealing with it head on.. gonna come out of this shit fatter and more depressed than ever… should make for better music from us. NEG is Mikey on vox, Derrick on drums, Fat Bill and metal mike on guitars, Denny on bass. ‘Just another day’ is one of my favorite records of the last 5 years or so. It’s been almost 1,5 years since it was released. How’s the feedback till now? To me it seems that this record is gonna be a classic NYHC after years pass by. Do you plan on releasing new music soon?

Pictures by Danielle Parsons and Gabe The Pigeon. www.instagram.com/neg_hc

drummers, no doubt. That’s all on him and he brings his flavor into the songs. He listens to a bunch of different stuff and admires a lot of great drummers of all genres and stays pulling new shit out of his bag. The purpose of the band was to just do whatever we want so that’s what comes out… it’s all organic.

Thanks for checking it out. I think it’s been mostly pretty good. We only played a handful a shows since it came out and then the lockdown shit happened so it didn’t really feel like we got a chance to play those songs too much. I hope people haven’t forgotten about us when shows come back. Yeah we’re gonna record some stuff in the next couple months but might be awhile until it comes out.

I also feel a Biohazard, early Madball and Cro-Mags vibe floating around. What are your top bands from the 90s era of hardcore?

One thing I definitely enjoy in ‘Just another day’ is the no fills / no frills brutal yet groovy hardcore tunes mixed with some funk and rap touches every here and there. What influenced your style? Was it on purpose to play such a kind of hardcore or it occurred while jamming riffs?

Yeah we love all the classic NYHC. Lotta Bio influence in our sound. I think the 90s era of hardcore is our biggest influence so there’s too many bands to name… but to name a few - Cold As Life, Next Step Up, Crown of Thornz, Bulldoze, Earthmover, One Second Thought, Second to None, Krutch, etc.

Our drummer Derrick is one of the best hardcore

Detroit) and hardcore happening in sunny and wealthy areas.

Lyric-wise, you have some super negative but on the other hand some ultra-positive moments. What emotions do you like to express through your lyrics? How important are lyrics to NEG and to hardcore in general? Any standout lyrics of your favourite bands that come to your mind instantly?

If we were from anywhere else the band wouldn’t sound the way it does. That’s facts. Detroit is everything to the band… from the legacy of bands that came before us, to the hard times most of us grew up around, to the brutal cold winters and endless cloudy days… it all reflects in the music.

Cold As Life, Negative Approach, Crown Of Thornz... all have a big impact on the way the lyrics are written but we try and do things our own way too. Always try to keep the lyrics pretty simple and straightforward from the heart to the notepad. Whatever is being felt in the moment is what’s captured... can be depression, death, anxiety, or complete hate for the world. I don’t feel like I got anything to prove, so my lyrics reflect that.

You all played in a few noteworthy bands in the past. Give us some info about them. How do you see today’s hardcore scene? What would you keep and what will you get rid of?! Some of us have played in Freedom, Detain, True Love, Breaking Wheel, Spiked Collar, Gridiron, Death Rate, etc. But NEG has become the main focus for us all. One of the last shows we played was FYA fest in Florida and at that fest it seemed like newer bands had the most people watching and dancing... I think that’s

You come from Detroit, MI. How much has the city’s identity influenced your music? I definitely see a big difference between hardcore that takes place in an urban, gnarly and ‘hard’ environment (no offense for

cool to see younger bands stealing the show. I’d get rid of all the shit talkers and leaches who stick around in the scene complaining about everything while having nothing positive to contribute.

BLM hit the US in the last past months. What do you think on the whole situation? Hardcore took a stand and I’m pretty happy about this. Enough with the non-political, ‘care only about the looks’ hardcore.

No shows for almost a year now… I guess it’s pretty obvious that we all miss live shows… Wanna share with us some of your favorite pro-Covid 19 shows / tours? What’s your opinion about live streaming, which seem to be our new reality, at least for a while?

We all have seen innocent people of color get murdered by police time and time again here in the US. HC and Punk been singing about hating cops since the beginning so it was good to see a lot of bands and people practicing what we preach. It’s far from over but I hope the HC community can keep helping the movement.

We’ve done a bunch of shows with the band Division of Mind. I love those guys like brothers and miss playing with them most. All the USA fests always been good to us. United Blood, FYA, Sound and Fury. We played a show with Incendiary, Mindforce, YOTK, Payback and Carried by Six in Philly last winter that was bugged out. I think you can watch it on YouTube. Live streaming shows ain’t for us… respect to the bands who it works for but we’re gonna keep it old skool.

What’s that game that never ends? The cycle of violence on earth. Last words are yours! Tons of thanks! Thanks for supporting hardcore. Check out a new band some of the NEG guys are playing in called Gridiron. New NEG in 2021 hope to play a show too... peace.

Hey Jay! How’s life / pandemic treating you?

indforce is definitely one of the stand out bands in the hardcore scene the last years. Their recent 12” EP (which will be around 1 year old the time you are reading this) ‘Swingin’ swords, choppin’ lords’ is without doubt one of the best hardcore records of 2020, breathing a fresh air by adjusting in the perfect way crossover-ish / early Metallica vibes. I got in touch via e-mail with their singer Jay, who is involved in tons of others hardcore bands nowadays (Pillars Of Ivory, Out For Justice, Colossus, to name a few) and also delivers amazing hip hop with Yachtclubbaz (tape available through our label!), and talked briefly about Mindforce, the new NYHC scene and his obsession for Polo streetwear. Enjoy and listen to Mindforce!

Spending lots of time with family, making music.... but not playing shows obviously. So for Mindforce it all started in 2016? What was the driving force behind creating a band playing this specific style of hardcore? Did you all play in other bands before Mindforce? We wanted to start a band that had a NYHC / crossover sound. We were in a band called Living Laser before Mindforce. There was a dormant period of NYHC in the early 00s but it seems that the last decade more and more great bands come from the area, regenerating the scene! What was the crucial point for this renaissance?

Pictures found in the web (by Vicky Carrature, Spencer Chamberlain & Angela Owens).

I think the key to New York popping right now is because of all the friends that support each other from Long Island, Brooklyn and the rest of The City, and the Hudson Valley. All those

www.instagram.com/mindforceny

overwhelming. How do you feel about this?

scenes support each other and come together as one when shows were happening.

Very thankful and appreciative. Cannot wait to play these songs live one day.

You come from Hudson Valley, Upstate New York. Is there a different scene there? Any standout bands our readers should check?

The Mindforce sound is definitely distinct, with the sharp edge early Metallica – influenced guitars, the super tight rhythm section and your way of singing that brings in mind Leeway I may say. I know it’s a super typical question but what are your main influences?

Yea, we are our own scene alongside scenes in New York and Long Island. Age of Apocalypse is my favorite band in the HV right now. 2020 was a super productive year for you, releasing the ‘Swingin’ swords…’ 12” in February, and the single ‘Reign of Terror’ in late October. The feedback you get is

As a band were mostly influenced by NYHC, thrash, death metal, metal... Leeway, Cro-

info about this! What’s the connection between the subcultures and what’s the best hip hop release of 2020 in your opinion?

Mags, Slayer, Death, Bolt Thrower, Icemen, All Out War, Merauder, etc. It seems that metal has totally dominated hardcore, haha! What do you think about this? What’s your favorite era of metal? Any guilty pleasures when it comes to metal bands / records? I love 90s death metal. No guilty pleasures, just pleasures... I love Ozzy and Van Halen!

Hardcore and hip hop have always been connected through graffiti, especially in New York. YC came about as both Nick and I love hip hop and became very influenced in the current underground renaissance in rap. I was making beats for my group Pillars Of Ivory and wanted to do more with Nick.

Besides hardcore and metal, you love hip hop! You and Nick of Mindforce have a project called Yachtclubbaz. Give us some

Another thing I’ve noticed is that you are a big Polo Ralph Lauren fan. Polo lovers has been a thing in the graffiti / hardcore / hip

hop circles for years. There was crews and gangs stealing Polo stuff from stores, too. How do you explain such a strong following of our community to a street brand so expensive and with origins that are not that related to our culture?

hardcore shows. We admired the writers and bands in the city. Back to hardcore! You have collaborated with half a dozen of hardcore labels, varying from Streets Of Hate to Trip Machine Laboratories, but you have established a great collaboration with Triple B Records since the release of ‘Excalibur’ in 2018. How did this happen? Do you aim to move to an even bigger label? All big metal labels keep an eye on hardcore the last years!

Copping second hand Lo and heisting Polo from stores is a subculture that comes from the streets and so do hardcore and hip hop, only makes sense they all collide. I came up in the Hudson Valley with guys who wrote graffiti and stole Polo and Tommy and stage dove at

Sam just asked us if we wanted to work together! No, we don’t have any aspirations to be with another label at all - BBB is our home.

a lot of soccer, the English Premier League specifically... even though I wish there were more US players I understand why the leagues are European centric. That’s where that sport is from and has thrived. It’s the same with HC and the US.

Some scenesters from my side of the world think that hardcore is very US oriented and the US bands (especially the Triple B roster) get all the hype nowadays? What do you think about this? Do you follow any other scenes besides the USHC?

Thank you very much Jay! Looking forward to mosh on Mindforce as soon as all this craziness ends!

I check out bands from all over the world! As far as HC being US band oriented - I watch

Thank you very much for the interview!

SLAM JAMESON ART

y name is Sam and I’ve been making these collages since late 2017! I can’t think of a ton of specific examples, but I always remember being fascinated by collage art growing up. I thought it was an awesome way to take the feeling of multiple scenes and merge them into one.

I mainly shoot bands out here in California and I’m now living back down the South Bay of LA! Some of my personal favorite sets collages I’ve made have been of Drain, Turnstile (photos by Octavio Orduno), Fury and Hands of God (photos by Gabe Becerra). This Mindforce x Soulcraft exclusive collage was made from original pics that were taken at Sound and Fury 2019 in Los Angeles!

Hardcore shows were always something that I felt was tough to express in just one picture. I started making these collages of my work to make something crazy and unique, that hopefully helps people remember a show in more ways than just a singular photo can.

www.instagram.com/slamjameson biglink.to/slamjameson310

10 Q&A WITH ONE KING DOWN

Top 3 of OKD euro shows

ne King Down is not only one of my favorite 90s hardcore bands, but also some of the best guys in the scene ever, hands down. I had the chance to tour manage them in their EU / UK tour in 2019 and I can 100% say that it was definitely my best tour ever. I am in touch regularly with Bill Scoville (guitarist) since then and we were talking of doing a feature in the last issue of the zine, that actually never happened. So, I thought it was a good idea to send him a Q&A session to forward to the guys and make this feature a little bit more interesting and, why not, funny. So, here you are, 10 questions that OKD members answer in one breath!

- January 2 1998 - Leipzig, Germany (with Ten Yard Fight, One King Down and Hands Tied). Our first show ever on European soil and it was a fucking ripper. - April 27 2019 - London, England (Backtrack, One King Down, King Nine, Life Betrays Us and Candy) Just an amazing show. Great bands up and down the bill. It was 2019 and it felt like 1997 again. - January 17 1998 - As, Belgium (with Commin’ Correct, One King Down, Hands Tied, Ten Yard Fight, Krutch, Spirit of Youth, Driven, Eyeball and Distract). What a day, look at that line up!

Photos by Danielle Dombrowski.

Honorable mention:

www.instagram.com/onekingdown www.facebook.com/onekingdown.official

- February 09 2001 - Venue unknown in Katowice, Poland - Everything about this show terrified us: The drive, the neighborhood, the venue. But people absolutely lost their minds while we played. After the last song someone yelled, “Play more or die!” So, we kept playing.

Tough one! There are so many great demos from the 90s. - New York City - Merauder 1993 Demo - New York State - Snapcase ‘Break The Silence’ Demo Honorable Mention:

Top 3 of OKD US shows

- Stigmata 1990 Demo

- September 10 1999 - Albany, NY - A completely insane and, most likely, very illegal amount of people crammed into one small, sweaty space.

Favorite Cro-Mags year

- January 1 1997 - Syracuse, NY - The Path Of Resistance’s first show - Being able to play in Syracuse on New Year’s Day was an honor. Being able to play The Path’s first show in Syracuse on New Year’s Day took it to another level.

This has always been an area of intense debate within the band. Some say 1986 when the band was all of the people that made it a powerhouse. Others lean more toward 1989. You really can’t go wrong with either.

- July 28 2018 - Philadelphia, PA - This Is Hardcore - To be able to play those songs again after 17 years was a day we will never forget.

Best 25 Ta Life song I’ve always been a Short Fuse kind of guy. But Keepin’ It Real is a top contender. Any song you can play twice in the same set immediately vaults it into legend status.

Honorable mention: - February 7 1998 - Northampton, MA – Vision Of Disorder, OKD, Crown Of Thornz, Milhouse

Name 3 bands that were named after an Earth Crisis song

- This one was WILD! We always loved playing with VOD.

Are there 3 bands who got their name from Earth Crisis songs? Born From Pain? Is Ecostrike Earth Crisis inspired? You got me…no idea!

God Loves, Man Kills vs Gravity Wins Again We are very proud of the songwriting on both recordings. GLMK displayed some pretty lengthy and elaborate compositions, whereas GWA felt a bit more up-tempo and straightforward. Obviously, two very different eras of the band on display. They’re both special for different reasons. I can’t really compare them. Apples to oranges. Bloodlust Revenge.

Best hardcore toy figure ever released (this is for Derrick – the drummer!) The Gorilla Biscuits gorilla from Super 7 is the best for me. The Agnostic Front - Eliminator figure from Super 7 is a strong second. Favorite Jerky Boys episode

Favorite current hardcore label

Another hot issue within the band. Hucklebuck “Juggy Gayles”, “Testing for Jeopardy” (Alex Trebek RIP). The matrix etching on the 20th anniversary of Bloodlust Revenge says “Nelson?” on side A and “How you doin Booster?” on side B which is from “The Need To Dance” episode. So many classics!

Flatspot Records. I like what Ricky is doing right now. Favorite NYHC demo of the 90s

Hey guys! A new Greek hardcore band at last! It was about time! Give us some info about Rampage, who’s in the band, exbands, etc.!

rampagehxc.bandcamp.com

Hi! Rampage! is an old school hardcore band based in Athens. We had our first rehearsal in January of 2020. Lazaros, the singer, has only played in one more band, Phineas Gage from Thessaloniki, like 10 years ago. Christos, the guitar player, was playing guitar in Hibernation (Χειμερία Νάρκη). Mitsos plays the bass. He was playing in Αδικαιολογήτως Απών and Unfit Earth from Volos and currently plays the bass in Cold I. Last but not least, our drummer Vangelis has played and currently plays in tons of bands such as Lifewreck, Chain Cult, Gutter, Αρχή του Τέλους, Junkheart, Feral Kids etc.

ell, as I state in the first question, it was about time for a new hardcore band in the Greek scene! Rampage! consists of some nice people that are active in one way or the other in the local DIY punk / hardcore scene for many years now. Their first demo / EP ‘Thoughts of a distorted mind’ includes 9 songs of 80s USHC the way it should be played; simple and full of energy! If you like Negative Approach, Circle Jerks and the likes, keep an eye on Rampage! That demo was a super nice surprise for me that I’m kinda fed up with the fact that almost zero new hardcore bands have been formed in Greece lately! I sent a bunch of questions to the band and they got back with some cool answers. Enjoy!

How did you decide to go against the flow and form a hardcore band? It seems that the local DIY scene circulates around post & synth punk the last years. There’s a lack of hardcore music lately! Why does this happen in your opinion?

Shit! These top records questions are always difficult! We listen to a lot of different stuff but we gonna include just the records relevant to Ramgage! music! And because there 4 of us there’s gonna be more than 5! So: Bad Brains – s/t LP, Minor Threat – Filler EP, Negative FX – s/t LP, Negative Approach – s/t EP, Circle Jerks – Group Sex LP, Infest – Slave LP, This Is Boston Not LA LP, 7 Seconds – The Crew LP, The Partisans – s/t LP, Zero Boys – Vicious Circle LP, TSOL – Dance With Me LP, Teen Idles – Minor Disturbance EP, Kuro – Who The Helpless EP, Poison Idea – Kings Of Punk LP, GBH – Leather, Bristles, Studs and Acne LP, Cryptic Slaughter – Convicted LP, Beastie Boys – Polly Wog Stew EP.

We formed a hardcore band simply because we like hardcore! It is true that there is a lot post punk going on lately... Our bassist and drummer play in post punk bands actually! For us, there is nothing wrong when a specific genre gets big for a period of time as long as you keep listening to it after it gets off trend. Otherwise, it seems you didn’t really like it, you just followed the flow and that is not very punk. Hardcore is a very broad scene (American HC, Finnish HC, Japcore, even Greece had created its own type of HC)… Taking this into account, there are still bands in Greece choosing the hardcore way. When it comes to the American hardcore, like the one we play, it looks that Greece never had a big hardcore scene but mostly some bands from time to time. Regarding the global hardcore scene, there are still a lot of people starting hardcore bands and some of them are really good.

Well, we have thought of some other bands to cover such as DYS, The Partisan and Infest… But since there are no gigs going on, we are not playing any other covers. I mean we haven’t even played the Antidote cover live yet!

You have recently released your first demo called ‘Thoughts of a distorted mind’. Tell us some more about it! What influenced you composing those songs and what issues do you deal with lyrically?

I was checking No Echo FB group the other time, someone posted the link of your demo and a huge discussion followed concerning your band name! I guess you weren’t aware of the Rhode Island based band that was pretty famous back in mid to late 2000s, releasing a single and an LP on Lockin’ Out. How did you choose this name and what does it represent?

Musically, our inspiration wan mainly the American 80s hardcore / punk scene.. Our lyrics deal with both political / social matters (cops, war, religion) and personal issues as the frustration in our lives, the hypocrisy in the scene etc. For example, the song “Thoughts of a distorted mind” describes the thoughts of a mentally ill person from start to death... I guess the attitude of the lyrics varies depending on our mood. It can be positive and it can be Negative Approach / Black Flag style... Now we are making some new songs for a split LP with our friends Blood Trace from Athens.

Actually, no we weren’t aware of the Rhode Island Rampage. Nice band by the way! But honestly, we don’t consider it such a big deal... I guess you know that apart from the band Antidote we cover in our demo, there is also the Dutch street punks Antidote. Well, both bands are great and we never thought of the fact that they have the same name as a problem!

‘This demo tape is inspired by and dedicated to the 80’s hardcore spirit’. What’s your top 5 of 80s hardcore records? USHC I guess, right? You also cover Antidote! Any other bands / songs you’d love to cover when we’ll start having shows again?!

We had thought of a lot of other names but there was always something we didn’t like and one day we just thought of Rampage! It fits our style of music nice, it sounds good and it can be pronounced by our illiterate friends!

the punk scene in Greece is more limited than the past years though... The thing is that bands in Greece tend to not exist for a long time and not release a lot of stuff before disbanding. It seems that the scene is constantly recycling itself and the people from a band which is over go on making something new. The pandemic has affected the scene as it has affected everything in the world. No gigs for now and not a single gig for Rampage! so far... But patience is virtue and we believe that the scene is gonna overcome this crisis as it has overcome other difficulties in the past.

Also, believe it or not, the fact that we have a babouine on the cover has nothing to do with the video game or the movie. We weren’t aware of these either... We just wanted something on rampage on our cover and we picked that one. We had thought of a pack of hyenas or a furious bull but eventually we picked the babouine. Let’s get back to the Greek scene. How do you see the scene nowadays? Give us some insight for the non-Greek readers of the zine! How has the pandemic affected the scene and do you think that it’s gonna overcome this huge crisis?

What are your best places for shows in Greece and what are your favorite current and old Greek hardcore bands?

Well, there is a big punk scene in Greece. A lot of bands, a lot of gigs with many people most often and a strong DIY ethic. The truth is that

Unfortunately, many squats that were throwing gigs in Greece have been shut down by the cops… Yet, there are still various places and groups of people organizing DIY shows! We can’t mention all of these but I guess the most active places in Athens are Idrima 2.14 (Ίδρυμα 214) and Ypoga K94 (Υπόγα K94), and in Thessaloniki, it’s Biologica. Apart from these there are other places, not only in the capital but also in smaller towns. Through the years, we have been to most of them and had a great time!

uprising as the state nowadays has made clear that all rebels will be prosecuted and punished to the maximum level. The police oppression and judicial arbitrariness are out of control when only few people take a stand against them. But still not everyone has submitted and there are still people and groups that are fighting against this shit and holding the hope for a better future still alive! The time will come for all of us to go on a rampage! Is music still a weapon? Does hardcore answer any questions? How relevant is the music we love nowadays? I love asking this question, by the way. Has hardcore become another subculture that the capitalistic system has manipulated?

Regarding the active hardcore bands in Greece, we would mention Lifewreck, Blood Trace, Χωρίς Οίκτο (Horis Oikto), Youthcrusher, Ξέρα (Ksera), Παροξυσμός (Paroxismos), Antimob, Chernobyl Attack, etc. From the older hardcore bands, our favorite ones are Hibernation, Ναυτία, Rajahtaa, Gutter, Cut Off, Censored Sound and Αντίδραση (Antidrasi). Apart from these, we also like other Greek bands playing punk, grind or crust but we don’t want to make a huge list!

If by music you refer to hardcore / punk, we don’t consider it as a weapon in terms of changing this society... It affects only a small percentage of the population when most people ignore its existence. What hardcore / punk answers to is our struggle to keep control of our lives with our own terms, have an ethical code in our everyday life, organize our entertainment the way we want, have an open-minded mentality and, of course, it helps us to get through all the difficult situations we often face. Surely there are benefit shows and bands that have had a big influence on people and lyrics that have inspired a lot of individuals on their fight against the system but still we don’t think that punk can disturb the fundamentals of the society because to do so, you need much more than that. We like it or not, capitalism has put its hands on every aspect of our life, even hardcore / punk... I mean, you send your stuff to a factory to print a record or you use Google to make it easier for everyone to listen to your album. You can’t avoid these... But there are bands that, in realistic terms, try to keep it as DIY and decent as possible and bands that want to go full mainstream. So, maybe it’s in every band’s hand to decide if they want to be manipulated by the capitalist system or not… Our opinion is to keep it DIY and remain as pure as you can as an individual!

We are coping with a really awful situation and Greece is definitely in deep shit; increase of unemployment rates, lots of young (and not that young) people fleein’ abroad, poverty, anxiety and depression on our daily agendas. Do you see a light in the dark? And on the contrary, there’s no big demonstrations and no upheavals against the oppressive system, only self-isolation and separatism. What the hell is going on?! Indeed, things in Greece are going from bad to worse... Financially, most people are in deep shit due to the fact that the current rightwing government has stolen millions of euros through economical scandals and also invests money mainly on police enforcement and the army rather than education or public health. On the contrary, they try to disorient people from their actual problems using as a scapegoat the anarchists, left-wings, refugees, or outside enemies as Turkey or Macedonia and boosting racism and prejudice. And it seems that it is the first time that media are helping them openly so much in spreading their propaganda! When it comes to demonstrations and generally reaction against this oppression, it is true that things are not how it used to be... It seems that many people are afraid of the consequences of

Thanks for your time! Hope to see you live sometime in 2021, fingers crossed! Thanks for the interview! And for running a hardcore fanzine in Greece! We hope to play live soon too!

RUBEN BUFFERY // RGB DESIGNS

am a graphic designer based in the north of England with a sharp eye for editorial, print and branding design involving projects varying from charity run businesses, record labels and clients across seas. My work is heavily typography led, addressing social and political issues through print and branching out into animation / digital design, to produce versatile outcomes for a distinct number of projects. I also self-publish my own zines which focus on social and political behaviors / emotions to create a new way of looking at various social issues.

scene. Music and design / art come hand in hand as it gives the artist the freedom to interpret the music visually, however they like, and create something incredibly unique without many boundaries at all. Being involved in the hardcore - punk scene is what made me want to be a graphic designer, seeing how these bands would create and live in their own personal empire of merch and zines. This is the kind of forward thinking attitude that is applied to each and every one of my projects, be it branding for an event, EP cover artwork or some merchandise.

My work is routed in the use of contemporary typography and graphic design but heavily inspired by the DIY attitude of the hardcore

www.instagram.com/_rgb_designs_ rgbdesigns.cargo.site

eceiving those Icepick ‘Goldrush’ EP copies from Not Just Words Records to distribute in Greece back in 2005 or so, was mind-blowing. That EP was definitely my hardcore cup of tea! The Dutch / Belgian scene of the times was very important for me back then and I couldn’t resist grabbing whatever release was coming out from the area. Fast forward to 2015 (or whatever the year was) and I get in touch with Alfons (the drummer) in social media concerning his fanzine Brain Waves, one of the most refreshing European hardcore zines of the era, to find out that Icepick is still alive! In early 2021 I sent out a few questions to Alfons and here you get his answers!

Hey Alfons! How are you doing? How strict is the lockdown in The Netherlands? Any predictions when we can get back to that so called normality?

Pictures by Frido Stolte and Matt Gabell

What would you keep from the whole pandemic crisis? What’s one thing that you wouldn’t like to get back when all this is over?

Yo Apostolis, I’m doing alright, thanks. Since the outbreak of this virus The Netherlands has been pretty lame on trying to control it and the numbers have been pretty bad. Today the government extended the lockdown with another month and pretty much everything will be closed until then. I think it won’t be until the end of May before everybody is vaccinated and even then it’ll probably take another year for things to go back to normal.

www.instagram.com/icepick_hc brainwavesfanzine.bigcartel.com

The reduced CO2 emissions around the globe is probably the only positive side-effect of this pandemic. I think working from home should be the new normal and it’s sad that it had to take a pandemic for people to realize it’s possible.

break ups, reunions, etc. But what hasn’t changed at all is that unique sound that draw influences from Cro-Mags, The Icemen, Killing Time and 90s NYHC. What other bands have influenced you?

How’s life in the Icepick HQs? Working on new stuff? New members? Give us some insight of what’s going on! So after our farewell in 2010 me and Martin always continued jamming together and writing new music, but it took quite a while to find the right group of people to re-form as a band. We’ve been playing a couple of shows with this new line-up before this pandemic hit and we’re working on a full-length album which we hope to record this year.

I’ve always talked about the Cro-Mags, Bad Brains, Leeway and The Icemen as being ‘The Big Four’ of hardcore. At least those are my favourite HC bands, so naturally that also influenced our sound. The music Mike Dijan wrote in the 90s was definitely an influence for our demo as well, but later on we drew more from thrash metal from the 80s. I gotta say Power Trip also inspired us a lot in, not only musically, but also to keep pushing as a band. Riley’s passing is such a big loss, we miss him dearly.

It’s been a long journey since the start of the band back in 1999. Line-up changes,

There was a weird situation with Jamey Jasta having a band called Icepick, too?

Yours was much older but Jasta kept the name. What really happened back then?

So, Brainwaves! What’s the urge behind running a zine in 2021? Do you follow the zine scene? What are some of your favorite zines of last year?

Yeah, even though we already made a name for ourselves in the European HC scene, they probably never heard of us when they put out their first song. At that point we thought it was a one song project for some compilation, so we didn’t think much of it and kept the name and released Goldrush. One year later all of a sudden they drop a full length album, which was messed up, because by that time we were already pretty well known. So I looked into claiming the rights for the name, but it was too complicated and would cost too much. When Reaper Records offered to release Goldrush, we considered changing our name, but when that didn’t happen we just kept it.

Right now I don’t have much urge to do a new Brainwaves issue, because me and my wife just released child #3. So between my family life, my work and Icepick, I’m already occupied enough for now. But who knows in the future. I’d love to interview the Bad Brains someday. I try to keep up with the zine scene though and always pick up a zine when I see one. I still have a lot to read, but some zines in enjoyed in 2020 are Rage! #1, Pressure Drop #2 and Soulcraft #2. The Dutch scene spawned super important bands for the European hardcore movement, including Backfire and No Turning Back, among others. How’s the scene currently? Who’s carrying the torch? Any stand out new bands?

Besides Icepick, do you play in any other bands? Are you involved in hardcore in any other way? Between ’97-’99 I used to do a zine with my brother and a friend called Back To Back and we also booked quite some shows at different venues in our local area during that time. But after 6 issues me and my friend weren’t really into the style of the zine anymore so we stopped doing that one. I still wanted to be involved in hardcore, so I said to him let’s do a band and that’s how Icepick got started. During that same time we also had the idea of doing a different zine and that’s where Brainwaves zine originally came from. We did one interview with Mike Dijan (hence his influence on Icepick early on), which I finally put out in Brainwaves #1 in 2015. I was 16 when I started Icepick and never played in any other band. It’s kind of my child which I can’t let go. Besides the aforementioned things I’ve done some artwork for other bands and used to make flyers under the name Karma Geddon Flyers.

The scene in The Netherlands could use some new blood I think. It’s mostly people from older generations that are active in bands or go to shows. Two newer bands that are worth checking out are Hawser and Pressure Pact which both released something new in 2020. Any future plans for Icepick? Where and with which bands would you like to be your first show after all this ends? Our plan for 2021 is to finish and record the new album and hopefully play some shows again. At this point it doesn’t really matter where and with which bands we could play as longs as we finally can play again. Before the breakout we were supposed to play a fest with Terror and a lot of other bands so it would be cool to start off with that one. I was rooting for getting World Collapse on that bill too, since they have Martin from Terror on vocals now. It would be sick to

play with Blvd. of Death and Chain Reaction too, which I’m sure will happen sooner or later. And whenever the rest of our buddies in Power Trip decide to play again, we’d love to share a stage with them again.

more. I can’t wait for this pandemic to end though, so I can travel abroad again. My inlaws live in Indonesia and they haven’t met our two youngest ones yet, so we’re waiting for the moment we can go back. I’m 37 now and I run a business in travel, so also business wise I hope to see this pandemic ending soon. Between my family, travel, photography and my music, going to the gym keeps me sane.

How do you deal with everyday life? How old are you and what pays your bills? I have to admit that your photography is amazing, you seem to travel a lot, too!

That’s all! Wanna add sth? Feel free to do it! Stay safe!

Well, thanks man. Traveling and photography are two other passions of mine and I try to do it as much as I can. Obviously with the current restrictions it’s getting harder, so I’ve been exploring and appreciating my own country

Thanks for the interview! Stay healthy and safe and stay positive. Listen to Dynamo.

Hey Andrew! Thanks for your time and interest in Soulcraft! How’s life? How do you handle the whole situation with one lockdown following the other, etc.?

orld Be Free is for sure not your regular band. A line-up that includes Scott Vogel (of Terror, Buried Alive), Andrew Kline (of Strife, Berthold City), Sammy Siegler (of Judge, Youth of Today, etc.), Joe Garlipp (of Despair) and recently Alex Barreto (of Chain Of Strength) is definitely not to be overlooked! A hardcore super group or not (name it however you want), WBF delivers no fills fast and angry hardcore with lots of melodic and positive vibes. Their brand new EP ‘One time for unity’ was released by Revelation Records at the end of 2020, right on time that the world desperately needed unity, and it’s a banger! In early 2021, I got the chance to talk to Andrew Kline (the 2nd time he’s featured in this zine, after the Strife interview in issue no.1) about WBF, WAR Records and Trump getting out of the office.

Life is good, all things considered. I am doing my best to stay busy, productive, and positive. 2020 was a hard year for many, but I am thankful that my line of work is considered “essential” (real estate), so I was able to keep working throughout the year. 2020 started with a bang, and I got to play some awesome shows with Strife (The Return of The California Takeover), and a great tour with Berthold City (with Change, Punitive Damage, and Scowl) right before the world locked down. I was fortunate to stay busy with my label, WAR Records, releasing records from Terror, Reserving Dirtnaps, Ways Away and more, plus cassette releases from Exhibition, Bent Blue, Last Gasp, Ironclad and Buggy. World Be Free released a new EP at the end of the year, and I started working on new LPs for Strife and Berthold City… Overall a very productive year. Plus Trump got voted out of

Pictures by Atiba Jefferson & Todd Pollock worldbefreehc.com www.instagram.com/worldbefreehc

How did you choose Chuck Ragan (of Hot Water Music) to do guest vocals on the title song of the EP?

office, so that alone is reason to celebrate! World Be Free released ‘One time for unity’ amidst the pandemic? Do you want to make a statement with the EP title? The urge for unity in the world is more present than ever.

We knew we wanted a guest on the title track… Scott threw around a few names before we settled on Chuck. Original thoughts were Elena from Ashes as well as Garrett from Texas is The Reason. Someone brought up Chuck’s name and it seemed like a perfect fit. We all love Hot Water Music; Scott has gone on record saying they are one of his favorite bands, and Sammy even helped release “No Division” on

I think 2020 was a very divisive year. As cliché as it sounds, Unity is very important… We really wanted to spread a positive message with the new record and we thought the title was a perfect way to reflect this.

Some Records. Scott reached out to Chuck and that was that! Chuck did an amazing job and definitely elevated the track… He kind of approached it like he would a HWM song, and instead of just singing his part at the end he did doubles in the verses and choruses as well. We are really thankful that he could make this happen!

so much can be done with Biden in office. I was hoping for a more progressive president like Bernie Sanders, but I think things will be a bit better with Biden. Trump did nothing but try to make his family and friends rich and was stoking the flames of division throughout the country and even the world.

USA is still divided between Trump & nonTrump supporters. How do you feel about the new era for the United States of America with Biden leading the country? What do you expect for the future?

Back to ‘One time for unity’. What has changed since the release of ‘The Anticircle’ in 2016? Is World Be Free the same band? Can you please let us know who’s doing what in the band? Moreover, is WBF a real band or a side project for all of you?

I am definitely hopeful, but I understand only

WBF is definitely a real band… Every band I

am in operates differently, but we all put 100% of our effort into the band and the music. We unfortunately do not get to play or tour as much as I would like, but we do what we can when we can.

bass player, and he does play quite differently than Arthur. His bass playing is definitely more aggressive. At the same time, a song like “One Time For Unity” could be considered our most melodic song…

I can hear lots of more aggressiveness in the sound of ‘One time for unity’ compared to ‘The Anti-circle’. How did Alex Barreto (of Chain Of Strength; he replaced Arthur Smilios on bass) affect your song-writing?

You continue working with Revelation Records. Is this a natural choice for World Be Free? You run WAR Records, too. Why didn’t you release the record under your label’s name?

I think the songs naturally took a more aggressive turn… We were kind of trying to figure out our sound with the first album, and the new record just sounds more confident. Alex is an amazing

I think it was the right choice for the band, especially with the first LP. Sammy, Arthur, and Alex all come from the REV family tree, and I think it’s cool that WBF is a part of that history

now. Of course I would have loved to release the record on my own label, but I’m happy to work with Rev as well. You’ve been active for years in Strife and besides that you are doing Berthold City and contribute to tons of other bands like Constant Elevation, for instance. What’s the driving force of doing one more band? Don’t you ever feel your passion for hardcore fading out after achieving almost everything all these years?

I love hardcore. World Be Free allowed me to play with one of my all-time favorite drummers from some of my all-time favorite bands… That to me is just amazing, and something that I would never have thought I would do when I first got into Hardcore. Scott is one of my best friends, so playing with him is very fun as well. I think the key to longevity in hardcore, is really not making it a “Job”… When it becomes a job it is no longer fun… If you are playing music for the right reasons and not for fame or money I think your passion won’t fade away.

I love being creative, I love making music, and

Do you follow NBA? What team do you

support? Did the national basketball player World B. Free (born Lloyd Bernard Free) inspire the band’s name at all?

What’s your future plans with WAR Records, Strife, Berthold City & World Be Free?! I am already working on a few releases for 2021 including LPs from Berthold City and Fixation as well as records from Bent Blue and others. I think this will be a great year for the label. For now, all of my bands will hopefully keep creating music until we can play some shows again.

I’m a Lakers fan overall, but not a huge sports guy. The band is named after World B Free… That was Sammy’s idea, and I think it’s a super cool reference. Is hardcore going to survive the pandemic crisis?!

Thanks for your time, last words are yours!

Of course! Hardcore Lives!

Thanks for the interview and thanks for the support!

NEW MORALITY ZINE I

So first things first! Who’s the creative mind behind New Morality Zine?! Have you ever played in any band besides doing the zine & label? Please introduce yourself to the Soulcraft readers!

was introduced to Nick Acosta via his zine / label New Morality and we chit chat in social media every now and then. He was kind enough to distribute the 2nd issue of Soulcraft in the States, too. New Morality is one of the most hard-working hardcore labels right now and Nick’s dedication to the scene is undeniable. Fanzines and independent labels are vital for the hardcore scene to prosper and thrive, and I am very happy that the year 2020 turned to be the year of the the zines’ regeneration for sure. We initially had a plan to do a live chat in Instagram with Nick but it fell down due to the time difference and busy schedules, so I threw him a bunch of questions that he was easy to reply to! Check the interview out and support the zine / DIY label culture!

Hey! My name is Nick. I am the creative mind behind New Morality Zine. This is my first real big push of doing a hardcore based fanzine or label. While in college I was in a short lived straight edge band in Seattle called Living In Ruins but nothing since then! Although this zine was born out of not being able to get a band off the ground when I moved to Chicago. It feels very special to me to interview a person that is also involved in the hardcore fanzine scene. That 2020 / quarantine hardcore zine revival gave me goosebumbs of happiness! What were your favorite hardcore publications in the year that we recently said goodbye to?

Pictures provided by Nick himself. www.newmoralityzine.com www.instagram.com/newmoralityzine

Moreover, in 2020, zines took the leading role to fill the gap that the absence of shows left. How important is the zine culture for you? When and why did you decide to start New Morality and what is the name referring to?

Same! It was really cool to see some more zines pop up. I’m also a person who HATES the “one and done” type nature that can come with zines, so I am hoping more people continue what they started. The best zine to have come out during quarantine, and in the last several years honestly, is a zine called “Off the Surface” from my friend Paul. Paul’s ability to hone in his questions and leverage his personal relationships with the interviewees is the best since Anti-Matter. Those are the types of zines I tend to enjoy more - ones that go deep or are thought provoking. I always enjoy a well written interview, but I think they can become somewhat repetitive in nature and with the internet a lot of what we seek to know about a band is already out there.

Zine culture is pretty important in my opinion. One of the things that I always find fascinating about hardcore is the storytelling aspect. Hardcore is rich with stories whether it be about legendary line-ups, the making of a record, or the wild people that participate in the culture, that I think it’s cool to hear and see those perspectives passed down. I also really enjoy history, so I kind of look at hardcore through the same lens. I decided to start the zine out of the desire to find a way to engage with the scene.

I had only recently moved to Chicago, tried to start a band that didn’t end up happening and so this was the next logical step in my mind. I am a pretty busy and introverted person, so doing something on my own with my own timeline worked for me. The name and backbone of the zine came from a BURN song titled “New Morality”. The lyrics that Gavin wrote for that song always struck a chord for me and mirrored a lot of my sentiments about society and the obvious stratification within. I wanted the zine to be something that had a diversity of perspective and included content that extended beyond maybe your typical band interviews.

I appreciate the “hard-working” compliment, I hope that shows throughout the work I’ve been able to do with bands. So I appreciate that. Yah, we’re 30 something releases in and I never thought it would end up being where we are 2 years and change in. In my head I thought releasing a record was a logical extension of what I was doing with the zine. If in the content of the zine I wanted people to hear about and know about bands that I thought were awesome, how could I do that in a more direct way - well, release music. I also really looked to the zines of the past that have also made that move. But with NMZ, I want the “zine” part to still be very much incorporated with what we do. I think with a zine you can still push and support music that is not your own release. I like that freedom to continue the conversation. I didn’t want the label aspect to make NMZ just become a shopping mall for music. Which is another reason I really try to work with bands who have a lot to bring to the table and are open to doing some different things with releases or are in line with some of my personal beliefs. And I’ve been very fortunate. I think it’d be very unfair of me to pick out a release that makes me most proud, and in reality a lot of the physical products we’ve been able to make have sold relatively well. Each band I’ve gotten to work with spoke to me in terms of how I was feeling, or what I was into the moment we decided to work together. And a lot of the releases have made me super proud when I get to see how stoked the music makes other people, or which release ends up hitting with groups of people another release we had done previously didn’t. I want to work with bands who I believe are incredible and will continue to do awesome things and grow. Which has been the case with some of the bands who have moved on from NMZ to do stuff (Rule Them All and Buggin going on to work with Flatspot, Soul Blind working with Trip Machine, Life’s Question with Trip Machine and now Triple B), and them getting the chance to hit a different set of ears

Which zines influenced New Morality and the way of your writing? Cut ‘n’ paste over modern illustration or the contrary? Small run, few pages zines or magazine-alike publications? What are your preferences? My personal preferences as a zine creator is cut and paste. Not only do I not really know formatting online, but the creation of the zine is as much for me as it is for the reader. I like the catharsis of sitting, transcribing, cutting, re-cutting, fucking up layouts, pasting, etc. That time to sit with my thoughts and ideas is something I value. And it takes a lot of time, which is one of the reasons I haven’t worked on a full issue of the zine since I’ve started the label aspect of it. As far as zines that influenced the direction of the zine I drew heavily from Rumpshaker, Anti-Matter and At Both Ends. From one point and on NMZ turned into a super hard-working label with almost 30 releases in 2 years or so. What was the crucial thought that made you turn the zine into a label? Which one of your releases sold the most and makes you super proud of? Do you regret releasing any specific band (no need to mention the name ofc)?

and work with different people. And in some of those cases there is a slight bit of regret where maybe I didn’t push myself to see what they wanted to do in the future or what I could have worked with them on to continue, but at the end of the day I’m glad they kept going and doing music. And for the bands that I started working with early on (which is something I want to keep as an NMZ pillar) and get to continue to work with I have made some great relationships that extend beyond it just being a “band and label” transaction, because that is not what I’m about. I’ve been able to make some legit best friends with a lot of the people whose music I love and get to push. Even though 90s NYHC, crossover – thrash metal instilled hardcore and in general brutal hardcore is in fashion nowadays, you choose to distinguish the label and release more melodic, post-hardcore and even indie stuff. Do you care of having a specific identity for the label or you are just keen to release whatever you like? It worked out where the first two releases were very strong output of melodic hardcore and it was just the way the cards fell, but in relation to the zine I didn’t try to limit the bands I talked with (everyone from Vogel from Terror, Jonah from Far, Pete from CMO, Renee Heartfelt, Alvino from Of Feather and Bone, etc). I just use the zine and the label as an extension of music that I like (and falls within the hardcore and hardcore adjacent realm). And that has seem most releases be melodic hardcore, post-hardcore, and indie influence punk. I have always had respect for labels like Jade Tree, Dog House, Equal Vision, etc. What are your favourite hardcore labels right now? Do you think that a hardcore label can pay somebody’s bills in this era of hardcore? Do you intent to turn NMZ into a

full time job? Shoot! The label question is tough because there are a lot of them that put out some really cool different stuff. I’ll name a couple labels and releases I’ve really enjoyed: Other People Records / Modern Color “From the Leaves of Your Garden”, Head2Wall / Moonkisser “Summer’s Fleeting Majesty”, Delayed Gratification / En Love “Love Will Drown the Nest”, Convulse Records / Militarie Gun “My Life is Over”, Tiger Records / Leaving Time “Leaving Time”, DAZE / KOYO “Short Beach Sessions”. I’m sure I am forgetting some and then there are the heavy hitters who continue to do awesome stuff. I am not sure if a label could pay the bills. I don’t think any of the smaller labels would be able to by any means. There’s a lot of hidden cost in running a label. Things I’ve fucked up a good amount of times. There’s no way I’d be able to make NMZ a full time job. Would be a dream though, to be honest. Talking about full time jobs, I read the last issue of Reaction fanzine from Budapest and I learned that you are a teacher! On the last issue of Soulcraft I had an interview with Mike from All Out War and it turned out he’s a teacher, too. How difficult is for a hardcore ‘kid’ to be a teacher and educate young people? How did you decide to become a teacher? Do the hardcore values adapt to your profession? YA! I’ve been in the classroom for 12 years now. I did read that! I actually knew that about Mike. I had a conversation once with Clint from Organized Crime records and he let me know that and about a good bunch of others that are teachers. We are out there, haha! There are a couple I talk to on a regular basis (shout out Scobie and Musilli). Hmmmm, I guess one thing

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that can often be difficult about being a teacher and a hardcore kid is that I am very passionate and hardcore has equipped me with the desire to always speak my mind. That can get me in trouble often amongst my teacher peers, but with students I often have to be mindful that I am teaching students to think critically and develop their own views, not just dictate mine. In more recently years I have had to strike a balance in doing so to make sure that I can call out actions that are unjust (racism, discrimination, etc) while at the same time offering students insight into the reasoning why and having them grapple with those questions that require ethics, academic rigor and emotion. It’s a hard thing. I became a teacher because I learned early on from punk and hardcore to question everything. One of those things I began to question early

on was America’s failing education system. So going into college I knew I wanted to be a teacher and teach injustices, but it wasn’t until further learning and working in Seattle Public Schools that I witnessed first-hand how the scales were not balanced when it came to resources, teacher training, school environment, etc in communities of colors. Since then, I’ve tried to do my best to learn and grow as an educator and find ways to bring equity to my classroom space and school. It’s a constant and I really credit my hardcore values for driving me to do that. Will hardcore ever be the same after the pandemic ends? How do you see hardcore in 2021? What are your future plans concerning releasing new music?

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Really hard to say. I would love to have a crystal ball to see. My prediction is that hardcore will actually start to thrive in the more local / DIY areas of the scene. I could see small bands really starting to take charge of underground shows, venues, etc. But only time will tell. It is kinda cheesy, but my hope is that we come back acknowledging the communal aspect of hardcore that we missed and maximizing it - more shows with more people, more shared art, zines, etc. at shows. I actually also just read a funny tweet that said Fauci (the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984) said shows could return in

the fall but no more than 3 band bills. I actually would love to see that be a thing haha! As far as future plans regarding releasing music, depending on the band, we plan to move forward with releasing music. NMZ took advantage of 2020 to work with a lot of new bands deserving to be heard and the year afforded these bands some extra space they might not have had with the constant influx of music and touring like before. The obvious hope is that these bands can one day get in front of people and reach an audience that is out of the reach of social media for NMZ or the band, and that they continue to be able to have more creative output.

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Do you follow the European scene at all? What are your favourite non-US hardcore bands right now? Have you ever been to Greece? What’s the first thing that occurs your mind when you hear the word Greece?

recommendations do you have? I’ve never been to Greece but would like to go. This might be fucked up but when I hear / think of Greece I think of struggle economy and baklava. Am I totally off on those two things?!

I don’t follow the European scene a ton. I’d like to be more invested in it though, to be honest. My favorite non-US hardcore band right now might be Big Cheese. Something about that last LP, “Punishment Park”, really did it for me. I also liked that band Avow. Not sure if / how active they are but that demo was cool. Definitely showed some promise. What other

That’s all! Thanks so much! Keep being creative and giving so much to the scene! Yo, thank you! I appreciate this opportunity. I love the work you have done with the zine and its quality is so rad to see and have out there. Shout out.

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esides being the year of hardcore fanzines, double twenty was also the year that many hardcore related podcasts popped up. Axe To Grind is kinda older, I’ve heard of it since 2018 but I only paid attention a year or so ago, and since then I can’t wait for Tuesday to come to listen to the new episode! If you are into hardcore memorabilia, tons of information, year round ups, and bands playing live in the studio from time to time, ATG is for you! The episodes vary from 1,5hrs to

close to 4hrs and you can’t never get enough! All 3 guys behind ATG are involved in the scene for ages, playing in bands, booking shows or taking care of record labels! Enjoy the interview and tune in ATG podcast, by the time you read this they will have reached their 160th episode or so! Picture provided by the ATG crew. www.instagram.com/axetogrindpodcast

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Hey! Welcome to the Soulcraft zine! Hey! Thanks for having us. Which 3 lovely persons are behind Axe To Grind? Give some info for our readers! Where is the show based? How old are you, what are your daily jobs and what’s your involvement in the hardcore scene (bands, labels, etc.)? Hardcore interrogation! The three people behind Axe To Grind are Patrick, Tom, and Bob. We’ve seen our podcast become nomadic, we started recording primarily in Brooklyn, moved to Queens, and now have become fully distanced and have been recording remotely for the past year. We are collectively over 100 years old, and our daily jobs are a mish mash of the following: Senior Director, Video Game Content Creator, Adjunct Professor, Lawyer, Music Management, Writer, Father, and I think Patrick might have a secret OnlyFans account too. Involvement in the hardcore scene, outside of the podcast - Tom has been in bands for the better part of his life with Indecision and Most Precious Blood, and has recently started a new band, Colossus. Patrick is much the same, with his bands End of a Year, Self Defense Family, Drug Church and various projects that include the most recently released S.W.A.T. (Sex With a Terrorist) - low key he has also released records with his label Harm Reduction and spent some time booking shows in Albany before he relocated to the Golden State. Bob has done a bunch of smaller things around the edges, including working at Revelation Records, started Sound and Fury Festival, put out records under his label Collapse Records, and booked shows here, there, and everywhere. 3 years on air, with more than 150 shows and lots of bands performing live on Axe To

Grind! How did you decide to start a podcast and what was the need of sharing all this amazing knowledge with us? Patrick and Tom had done an episode of the Deathwish Inc podcast, Deathcast, and had a great time, with loose plans to give it a go down the line. Bob was recruited in a group chat and that was that. The need was more just a desire to talk with friends about hardcore in a way that’s honest, passionate, and as little pretentiousness as possible. Axe To Grind is definitely the nerdiest hardcore podcast in the world! Your shows can, in some occasions, last up to 4hrs, which is so incredible! If there is a hardcore history class in school, you should definitely teach it! Thank you for that - I guess we might try and reframe it as the most passionate hardcore podcast, but we’ll take whatever people want to throw at us. From the start, our intent was to do a podcast where most, if not all, episodes would be an hour to maybe an hour and a half. Pretty soon into our start we received requests for longer episodes - many from people who work odd jobs, have weird hours, and spend a lot of time by themselves for whatever reasons and they appreciated hearing our blathering as some form of entertainment. That really meant a lot to us, and those are the people we think of when we let the tape roll. On top of that, we all have a lot of fun recording so why not. What’s your top 3 of Axe To Grind shows and live sets till now? This is the “pick your favorite child” question so we can leave it there, but doing the Live on Axe To Grind sets has been super rewarding. Hopefully it’s turned some people on to bands we love that maybe they weren’t as familiar with.

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If you haven’t, check out some of the classic radio live sets that inspired us, like any of the Crucial Chaos WNYU sets, WFMU sets, or some of the random west coast stuff like the Infest Live on KXLU set. What’s the topic you want to discuss but you haven’t done it yet? Do you ever censor yourselves? Any past hardcore guilts that we should keep under the carpet? Very happy to report we have a million topics we want to talk about but haven’t gotten to yet, but to answer directly I think we are collectively excited to do a few more deep dives into classic

band discographies. Always feels rewarding and almost reminds us of forgotten great material. We have censored ourselves, but only a handful of times. Good example is during a very early on during an episode where Bob and Patrick got into a yelling argument mid episode. That got clipped. Sorry to Tom for having to deal with us as maniacs who have known each other long enough that we were able to have a full on blow out and get back to recording 5 minutes later. Hardcore guilts? Nah, we’re open books. That said, are there stories out there that are not fit for broadcast? Of course. Quite often, it’s not

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our story to tell, amplify, or embellish so we have to think about that here and there. Who designed that cool logo of the show? How important is the aesthetics in hardcore in your opinion and which era of hardcore deserves the best-looking medal? Good friend and a guest who’s joined us on the show, Jon Contino, designed the logo. He’s notable in the hardcore world for a ton of stuff, but I always think to his Incendiary “Product of New York” design first. He’s an incredibly creative dude and people should seek out his work as well as his book, Brand By Hand. Aesthetic has ALWAYS been important. We find ourselves talking about the way records look and feel more often than not. Which era gets the gold medal? Sheesh. Mileage varies. Each of us probably has a different answer for that one. Suffice it to say, we’re living in a good time for care and attention to the visuals of hardcore. We live in the age of quarantine but it seems that hardcore breathes a fresh air that can only get compared to the 90s. So many good bands and individuals taking care of zines, labels, distros and podcasts. What’s your take on this? I might push back on your analysis of the 90’s, it’s very en vogue to think of it as this golden age whereas I think it was no better or worse than the decades that preceded or followed. It all depends on where you find your specific tastes as to what era you pick as the best. That said, living in this moment is a great one. Personally I think we’re seeing creativity flourish in ways that it hadn’t for a few years, perhaps out of necessity. Our take is: seize the moment and spend time doing things you want, and don’t let anything stand in the way of you expressing yourself creatively.

What are your favorite bands and labels right now? Any underrated records / bands we should check? Let me pivot this and just say there’s a ton of smaller labels coming up (Convulse, Blind Rage, Streets of Hate, Dark Medicine, Daze, 11pm, Unlawful Entry) that people should keep their eyes on. Just did a 2020 year-end episode and all three of us really enjoyed the band Pillars of Ivory. You also did an episode on Star Wars! Did you watch the 2 seasons of The Mandalorian? Aren’t they way much better than the ‘Return of the Jedi’? Since you are cinephiles, when will you do an episode talking about all the movies that Henry Rollins has ever played in?! The Mandalorian was / is the best Star Wars live action material since the original trilogy (despite the fact that I am a sucker for Rogue One). Return of the Jedi holds a special place but maybe is a nostalgia thing. Put me in an Ewok tree house, y’know? We should do a Best of Henry Rollins episode. What’s better, Black Flag “In My Head” or his role as Spider in Johnny Mnemonic? What’s your next plans for ATG? A Rick Ta Life solo performance on the show?! Keep On Keepin’ On. Immediate plans are to do a grip of “Year in Hardcore” episodes in 2021, and maybe a couple surprises. We’ll see. No plans for Rick to perform on Axe To Grind at the time of publishing. Thanks for your time! Last words are yours! JJ or HF?! Age of Quarrel, on vinyl, at my house.

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DELTA KAPA Hello, hello Soulcrafters,

y name is Nikos and I’m writing this text from the suspiciously warm for winter Athens. Athens is where I come from and I also live / work here the last 4 years. I am a 26 years old graphic designer and visual artist / painter - you name it. From an early age I started experimenting with inks and markers and I guided myself through the graffiti culture. As the years passed by, I started taking a big influence on painting by my music taste and mainly punk rock and hardcore punk. As most of you know and feel, this is a kind of music that somehow, speaks to the heart, not only the ears. For me it is like this, a loyal friend always to get your back and gives you strength, a way to connect with other people in a magical way. Nowadays, I ‘m trying to produce images on wall, canvas, paper, printed or original that express somehow insticts that emerge from these tunes and all that they talk about.

Also here is a list with my top 10 favorite hardcore albums (one of the hardest tasks I ever had to get done) Antimob – I Cro-Mags – Age of quarrel Black Flag – My war Judge – Bringin’ it down Poison Idea – Feel the darkness Crumbsuckers – Life of dreams Cut Off – Sick of this life Injustice Squad – Those that know Destruct – Echoes of life Lifeless Dark – Who will be the victims? www.instagram.com/_delta_kapa_ www.instagram.com/brickhomestudio

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PROMISE KEPT DIGITAL M

y name is Isaac Hylton, also known as Promise Kept Digital, and I’m a graphic designer based in Orlando, FL. For a couple of years now I’ve been designing but only really for myself and for my own bands that I was playing in, but this past October I finally decided to make the leap and start putting my work out there. For as long as I can remember now Hardcore has been a huge part of my life and I was always really interested in the uniqueness of the album art, alt covers and merch spreads that would pop up around various shows and fests (some of my recent favorites being One Step Closer, Zulu, Year Of The Knife and Gulch). When I started, I really didn’t know what I was doing or if anyone would care, and I was just doing it because I loved these bands and wanted to channel that feeling into something of my own. When I had posted my OSC collage I didn’t think anything of it, but when they actually saw it and loved it

and thanked me that’s when it really set in that this is something I wanted to seriously pursue, I wanted to keep giving back and doing cool things for the people and community that have given me so much. Back then in October I had maybe 20 followers I think, and now, at the start of the new year (2021), I’ve just passed 200 and I can’t thank enough this zine and everyone else who’s supported me till now! One of the first commissions that I got was from a newer Bay Area band called Outta Pocket and I had just recently heard their demo from a podcast and I don’t know why but that was just really cool to me. We were holding off on showing this design but I think this is the perfect time to finally show it off. Big thanks to Soulcraft, Outta Pocket, One Step Closer and everyone out there making cool shit for the community. www.instagram.com/promisekept.digital

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By Stelios HC / On My Nerves fanzine

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Label/Bandmerch Screenprint -worldwide shipping-

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Soulcraft #3

Articles inside

Promise Kept Digital

Axe To Grind Podcast

New Morality Zine

World Be Free

Icepick

RGB Designs

Rampage

One King Down

Slam Jameson

Mindforce

Chain Reaction

Never Ending Game

One Step Closer

Intro / Credits

Combust

Change

Choice To Make

Mutually Assured Destruction