Never Ending Game

Detroit’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.

Pictures by Danielle Parsons and Gabe The Pigeon.

www.instagram.com/neg_hc

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?

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?

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.

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?

Our drummer Derrick is one of the best hardcore 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.

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

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.

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?

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 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 Detroit) and hardcore happening in sunny and wealthy areas.

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.

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

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.

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’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.

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.

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.

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.