World Be Free

World 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.

Pictures by Atiba Jefferson & Todd Pollock

worldbefreehc.com www.instagram.com/worldbefreehc

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.?

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

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.

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.

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

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

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!

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?

I am definitely hopeful, but I understand only 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.

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?

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.

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?

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 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…

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 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.

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

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?! 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.

Thanks for your time, last words are yours!

Of course! Hardcore Lives! Thanks for the interview and thanks for the support!