JONATHAN BUSKE

Not only is he a legend of NYHC but Jonathan Buske is a great person to talk with. Hard-working, always on the spot, a hell of a graphic designer and an amazing musician. His CV includes performing and recording for bands like Another Victim, Terror, The Promise, Maximum Penalty, Manipulate, etc., in no chronological order. He is also responsible for some incredible graphic work for Terror, Sick Of It All, Vans and Jedi Mind Tricks, among others. Since 2018, he is taking care of An Attitude Exhumed, a fanzine that celebrates hardcore, punk, metal, and underground culture.

He also runs an incredible online archive website, dedicated to the Syracuse scene. You can’t imagine how happy I was when he ordered Soulcraft & Still Life zines. To be honest, I couldn’t think of a better interviewee for this issue. Go check his work, but first read what he has to say!

Graphics provided by Jonathan Buske.

www.instagram.com/anattitudeexhumed buske.bandcamp.com

Hello Jonathan! Would you like to introduce yourself to the Soulcraft readers?!

Hey, what’s up? Thanks for reaching out, and for reading. My name is Jonathan Buske, or just Buske. Born in 1976. Son, brother, father, friend, husband, graphic designer, bass player.

You are born and raised in New York, right? Do you still live there?

I was born and raised in Auburn, NY, a small city about a half an hour outside of Syracuse, NY. Moved to and lived in Syracuse from 19992003. Spent a year in Philly before meeting my wife which led me to Queens, NY from 20032009, and we’ve been on Long Island since 2009. So yeah, currently still in New York after a lot of bouncing around for several years there.

At what age did you get into hardcore and how did you stick with it?!

I got into Hardcore heavily around the late-80s into the early-90s. Was into a lot of Thrash, Death, and Heavy Metal before that but with my interest in skateboarding got a subscription to Thrasher Magazine around 1988 which opened a floodgate of new Hardcore, Punk, and Crossover soundtracks, as well as the skateboard videos which soon flooded the culture, too. I think I stuck with it because it was/ is an organic interest. No one had to convince me of any of this underground culture, it automatically just made sense to me, then as a kid and now as an adult. What some of the kids and people around me thought was cool just didn’t seem cool to me, and as I’ve grown older, none of those sentiments have necessarily waned. I think I’ve grown to become more accepting and tolerant of popular conceptions and mainstream culture, however, I always look to the underground to connect and find inspiration and motivation.

You have an incredible resume, having played in bands varying from Terror to Rag Men and from The Promise to Manipulate. Could you write down all the bands you have been involved in one way or another?!

Thank you, I’ve been lucky. Another Victim was the first notable band I played in, followed by Santa Sangre, then The Promise and Rag Men at the same time, followed by Terror, Maximum Penalty, and Manipulate. I also played in a band called Unholy (with JD from Another Victim, Santa Sangre, and The Promise) for a little bit, and did some fill-in stints with Final Word from Canada and Blacklisted at one time. Also once learned a bunch of songs in the parking lot at a Posi Numbers Fest to fill in for Stand Accused from Boston, and was blessed when I got to fill in for Hoya once at a Madball show here in Long Island. Again, fortunate, and lucky.

Another Victim was your first band, a project that made a big success in the late 90s. You even released a split with Shai Hulud. What memories do you have from that period?

Another Victim was an amazing learning experience and a time of flowing creativity. A lot of youthful energy with passion, vision, and drive. I was a fan of the band before joining, having heard the demo and then seeing them live, so I was especially stoked when I eventually joined and now was able to be a part of it all.

The demo was as solid as you could get in terms of a new breed of Syracuse Hardcore, so they came out of the gate swinging right away. They recorded a bunch of songs that would become the “A Portrayal Of Vengeance” EP after Jamey Jasta from Hatebreed heard them and released them on his newly launched Stillborn Records label, which is when I joined the band, in late 1997. He hooked us up with a ton of great opportunities right off the bat, including a run with Pushbutton Warfare and shows with Death Threat, Biohazard, Entombed, and Hatebreed. We then released the “Apocalypse Now” EP on Equal Vision Records in 1998, the Shai Hulud split on Trustkill, and self-released the final 3 songs, “For The Liars And Cheaters”, in 2000. For the short amount of time we were around, we did a couple of great tours with One King Down, Turmoil, Brother’s Keeper, Earth Crisis, VOD, Fury Of Five, were given a ton of opportunities, and had a great support system of labels through it all. Like many bands just starting, I think Another Victim suffered from an unstable line-up which ultimately led to the band’s premature demise.

Santa Sangre was next, then The Promise and then Terror, right? How much time did you spend in Terror? How do you feel now when after all these years Terror not only still play but they are considered one of the best, if not the best, hardcore bands of the last 2 decades? Do you miss playing with them?

Correct. Santa Sangre was very brief in 2000, only about a year and a half or so, then The Promise started up and became the priority in 2001 until 2005 when we broke up and I then joined Terror from 2005-2008. Of course I miss playing in Terror, they truly are the best Hardcore band of the past 2 decades and I was blessed to be a part of that journey at one time.

However, they remain some of my closest and dearest friends to this day, and recently did a couple of tours filling in on bass with them— so even though I’m not in the band, I’m never very far.

What was next? Do I forget anything? Oh Maximum Penalty!

Yeah, MP! After Terror, I got a “real job” as a graphic designer at a big merchandise company called Bravado and planned on trying to shift mental gears away from a band/music/touring mindset and more into an art/design/career mindset until I went and saw an MP and Killing Time show in 2009. They had just recorded the incredible “Life And Times” LP and needed a bass player, so I jumped at the opportunity being a longtime fan and joined Maximum Penalty in 2009.

Are you still active in any bands? Is Manipulate over?

Currently not active in any bands for the first time since 1997. Maximum Penalty is sidelined without a local drummer, and Manipulate is no longer a priority. I wouldn’t say Manipulate is over, as we’ve never agreed to disband or break up— we’ve just let sleeping dogs lay, I suppose. Have talked with some people about starting something new. Nothing has come to fruition with any of that just yet, but it will.

Of all the time spent on the road, what was your favorite period, and with which band? Do you regret anything?

Each one was great in and of itself, as each one was a learning experience and building block. Plenty of regrets because of hindsight, but I’m grateful and fortunate for each opportunity given to me through them. That being said, Terror was the highlight of them all for me though, as it gave me the chance to travel the world and fulfill several dreams and personal wants and needs. It’s where the years of work in all the “failed” bands prior felt like they were starting to pay off in so many ways.

You have an incredible archive focused on Syracuse hardcore. Tell us more about it! There is a big history of hardcore in the city. How did you experience the early 90s? I guess you were too young to attend any shows in the 80s…

Thanks! Yeah, Syracuse has a really cool history of music before the Hardcore scene it’s most notably known for. There were a bunch of great punk/hardcore bands in the early / late 80s— The Catatonics, Milton’s Disciples, Shit For Brains, and 1Death2 to name a few, but as you said, I was too young to experience that era and by the time I got into the Syracuse scene in the early 90s, these bands/people were pretty much gone— so we built our own scene which became the 90s Syracuse Hardcore scene many people came to know.

You even run a label and recently re-issued Santa Sangre’s ‘Feast For The New Gods’ cassette. Do you plan in releasing more forgotten gems or even re-press out-of-print Syracuse hardcore records?

The Santa Sangre cassette release on An Attitude Exhumed came as a spur-of-themoment thing as we were reissuing the vinyl through Closed Casket Activities, but I would love to grow to include more audio output as well, and your suggestion is exactly what I was thinking. We’ll see.

You are working as a graphic designer. Did you start by designing hardcore records and logos? Once again your resume is impressive, having designed posters for Agnostic Front and even that Vans limited edition shoes for Sick Of It All! Where do you draw inspiration from and who are your favorite hardcore artists?

Thank you, again. Yeah, I started like most kids, probably… drawing band logos on your school books, sneakers, pants, etc. which then led to an affinity for graffiti, tagging, and hand styles. Fumbled my way through helping do some fanzine layouts early on, followed by a few years of doing actual graffiti until focusing on learning the computer and teaching myself all of these different design programs. Did a bunch of flyers and work for a local tattoo shop that helped me cut my teeth until tackling the original version of the Santa Sangre, “Feast For The New Gods” layout in 2001 as my first official design project. As far as inspiration, shout out to PK, Grez, Ian Adams, True Hand Society, Jeremy Dean, Winston Smith, and anything cut and paste and xeroxed with very little thought process. Some other names to note; Simon Tripcony / @onetricpony, True Colors Creative Group / @truecolorsusa, Edgar Regalado / @ edgarzilla, Matt Worthey / @wortheydesign.

You released an amazing fanzine dedicated to Earth Crisis called ‘Smash Or Be Smashed’. How important is Earth Crisis for you? Are you vegan and / or straight edge? What’s your favorite EC record? Any other fanzine on the works?

Earth Crisis are dear friends and a very important band for me on many levels. To preface this, I am no longer Straight Edge or Vegan, but feel that that should have no bearing on one’s opinion of the band. ExC is responsible for teaching not only me, but an entire generation of kids about compassionate and thoughtful living choices, respectful tolerance, and most importantly self-worth and self-preservation. Those are core values I learned a lot about life through, carried with me into adulthood, and are also instilled within my children. “Forged in the flames of chaos, hammered by trials to tempered steel”. That shit is poetic to me.

Currently working on another issue of An Attitude Exhumed print zine and have a few other print projects started that need some more work and devotion, but yes… more fanzines in the works.

Having spent so much time in hardcore, how do you feel about today’s scene? How relevant to modern society is hardcore nowadays?

I think it’s incredible to see how far the Hardcore scene has grown, and on a global level. I understand the word and the bands sometimes associated with it vary based on who you ask nowadays, but there are a ton of new bands I love that are keeping to the more traditional and metallic style of Hardcore I’ve grown to favor over the years. Shout out to Never Ending Game, Pain Of Truth, Combust, Gridiron, Downfall, New World Man, Mongrel,

Deal With God, Live It Down, Berthold City, Echo Chamber, and Killing Pace— all great new bands. As much as it’s grown and changed over the years, I think there will always be an organic network creating something original in the underground (that may eventually seep out into the mainstream), but that’s where a lot of the relevance is found— in the youth movement or people in the trenches creating it. As more of an elder in the Hardcore community now, I see (and respect) the vitality in the energy of youth that the Punk and Hardcore scene thrives on and how much ability it has to change, grow, and enrich people’s lives— musically, socially, and artistically.

Top-5 Syracuse hardcore records please! Earth Crisis, “Firestorm” demo Godbelow, “Painted Images…” Blood Runs Black, Demo 1994 Framework, “Justice Coming” The Catatonics, “Tied Down” www.instagram.com/malignantmhc

Thanks so much! Keep on doing great stuff!

Thank you! Appreciate the interest and time checking it out. You can also see my design stuff at buskedesign.com and @buskedesign on Instagram, and An Attitude Exhumed online at anattitudeexhumed.wordpress.com and @anattitudeexhumed on Instagram.

Also check out An Attitude Exhumed on Spotify for a bunch of different style playlists updated daily and weekly.

Ialways like to include at least one Greek band in this zine, trying to represent my country’s hardcore/punk scene. This time I reached out to Malignant, one of the most hard-working local bands right now. Those youngsters have managed to release a great record and even play lots of shows abroad in 2022. To be fair, I did not expect such long and deep answers but at the end I really love how this interview turned out to be; definitely the best interview ever featured in this zine, hands down. Shout-out to Malignant for all the effort! The stage is theirs!

Photos provided by the band.

You just got back (September 2022) from your first European tour! Tell our readers everything we need to know! Best place to play? Best band to play with? Most beautiful city? Best food?

There’s so much to say honestly, the tour was unbelievable and so much better than expected. Good turnouts, lots of moshers and great hosts/ promoters. The best and most underrated place to play is surely Arras, close to Lille in France (places like Zurich and Lyon also deserve more love, those scenes are awesome). The show there was packed and everyone went completely crazy for our set even though it was a Tuesday, great folks from all over nearby towns/cities, too.

We had the pleasure to play a ton of dates with Times of Desperation and xUntold Sufferingx and they both absolutely ripped it apart every night, it was also beautiful to see them grow as live bands during the tour. We had the pleasure of playing with tons of amazing bands, like the fantastic Path of Resurgence and Sorcerer. Some other examples are Calcine, Sentience, Woodwork, Iron Deficiency, Affliction AD, and the best surprise was Divine Sentence who we fucking LOVE and can’t wait to cross paths with again.

You are all very young (with an average age of 20 if I’m not wrong), one of the youngest hardcore bands to tour out of Greece! How did you manage to organise everything yourselves and how proud do you feel of what you have accomplished?

Yes, most of us are 20. Honestly, it was a lot of very hard, stressful and tiring work. There were many setbacks and trying to organise a DIY tour with the current economic and pandemic crisis was difficult. We are one of the dozens other hardcore acts trying to tour after 2 years of cancelled plans, most venues have closed, many promoters stopped booking and the rest are overbooked from years ago, so for a young act out of Greece to find the shows we needed was sometimes tricky.

Somehow though we managed to put together a 10-day tour with 9 shows (which is around or most than what most bigger underground hardcore acts with a booking agent manage to get in Europe in 2022), with a very good routing plan (we mostly had 2-4 hour drives), good guarantees and great turnouts and we are extremely proud of all of that. At times it felt very difficult to keep pushing for it because of the issues we had (cancelled flights, cancelled driver, cancelled gear, lost gear, etc.) but getting to actually play the shows (and to see so many people come through and have fun at every date) was a very empowering feeling and made all the stress and work worth it so much. So yes, we feel proud of this tour and we honestly did not want it to end at all, we felt like we could have kept going very easily, we had found a good rhythm on tour and without neglecting ourselves.

When did you start the band by the way? Who’s in Malignant and what do you do besides the band? Do you play in any other bands or are you involved in your local scene any other way?

The band started in mid-2018, when we were 16 years old and played our first couple of shows late December of that year.

Mario (guitarist): I also play bass in RECLAIM (hardcore band with members of Iron Deficiency, Dodge This!, Changes, etc.) and I study biodiversity and ecology in the university of Lyon, alongside working part-time as a children’s English teacher. I am preparing some other music projects and I want to get more involved with organising shows here in Lyon, like I did back in Athens by putting up some house shows. Lastly, I would love to start a DIY label to press some tapes and CDs for friends’ bands, this has been an idea in Malignant for a while, our first release is also a “MLGNT” label release despite that entity not existing just yet haha.

Paris (drummer): For the past couple of years, I’ve been playing drums in Never-Trust (we have a new record coming out soon). I also play guitar in Detestment, drums in Snap and I’ve been writing lots of stuff for another project which will hopefully be announced soon. Besides that, I just finished studying Audio Production at SAE in Athens and I would love to work with local hardcore bands in the near future.

Michalis (bassist): Besides Malignant I also play bass in Detestment and Kiss Me Cleopatra. I’m also really involved with dubstep/bass music, I have a solo project called Vrodex which I’m producing my own songs and DJing in a few clubs. I just finished my studies in Music Technology and the plan right now is to try and live my dreams.

Giorgos (guitarist): I’m also playing guitar in Never-Trust, Detestment and Snap. I’m very excited about all these bands and I can’t wait to release some new music with them! Also, I really want to start a brutal death metal project with Mario and Michalis. We have some riffs in the works but it’s going very slow because we all lack free time. Lastly, I’ve been studying Graphic Design for the past 2 years and it’s going great so far, I love it.

Aimilios (vocalist): Other than the band, I am studying in the university for a French literature degree in Thessaloniki and I have started pursuing a career in cooking which is going great at the moment. I am also the bassist in Snap with Paris and Giorgos, and there have been some talks with some friends about starting a screamo band soon, I hope.

Athens used to have a great hardcore scene in the early 90s, circulating around the squat and anti-authoritarian movement, but as of lately there is not a big hardcore scene, especially representing the style of music you are playing. What influenced you to form Malignant? Any local bands that motivated you or were you mainly inspired by the US scene?

What influenced us was, as you described, the lack of the styles of hardcore we preferred in our local scene, except from a couple of mostly inactive beatdown/heavy hardcore bands in the North (shout-out Overpain, Swarm of Rats, etc.), but that wasn’t what we wanted to do exactly.

We wanted to start a band built around the radical and political values found in hardcore and especially in the 90s/early 00s scenes, and the 90s metallic hardcore/metalcore boom, and beatdown acts have also influenced us for sure. We grew up really admiring the bands from the US and Europe that were resurrecting the 90s metallic hardcore / early 00s metalcore sounds we loved and mixing it with some newer influences, because we are very fond of that era and sound of hardcore that we never experienced first-hand. With time, we started bringing more influences into what we wanted this band to be, the beatdown side faded a bit and the euro-core/edge metal/90s metallic hardcore side grew bigger in us, as well as the incorporation of everything from sludgier sounds, to melodic riffing (in the styles of Prayer for Cleansing, Undying, etc.) to myspace grind stuff. We all grew up with all of these different parts of hardcore, punk, metalcore and metal, so it’s only natural that we want to mix things more.

There were some locals that motivated us, mainly by inspiring us as live acts (Kalpa) or by showing us heavier hardcore sounds can work in our scene (Kin Corruption), but this band exists in part because of the void of our style of hardcore in the Greek scene.

You play a mix of 90s European metallic hardcore with lots of modern touches. Kickback meets Judiciary?! Dunno! What’s your take on it?

That’s a specific combination that we haven’t heard before haha but it’s not wrong, we love both bands and are influenced by them, especially Kickback at times. We’ll elaborate further on what we answered before, since you’re indulging us.

The 90s US metallic hardcore and the European edge metal / xvx metalcore scene between ‘95 and ‘03, and especially the H8000 scene are our main influences. There’s just so many amazing and differing sounds that came out of hardcore in the mid/late 90s metallic hardcore and consequent early 00s metalcore waves, and the last 7-8 years of bands building on that, that there’s so much to inspire you. Specifically, some of the bands that influence us the most are

All Out War, Reprisal, Sentence, Morning Again, Harm’s Way, One King Down, Year of The Knife, xRepentancex, Hatebreed, Arkangel, Kickback, Rain of Salvation, Foundation, Undying, Point Of No Return, Simulakra, etc. Furthermore, we grew up with a lot of the weirdness of myspace grind and metalcore and a lot of sludge and extreme metal, so we try to bring some of that into our sound sometimes, in our efforts to create a sound that is both interesting, more ours and coherent. We hope that with everything new we put out, our different influences will show even better.

Your first LP ‘With daggers between our teeth’ was released a year ago. What’s the feedback till now? Give us more info on the record!

Firstly, we wrote this as an EP, but it was too long so we see it more as a mini-album (in true 90s spirit haha); but given that anything past 18 minutes in hardcore can be seen as an LP, we purposefully never really called it anything but a “record”, so that everyone can decide what it feels like to them. Some interviewers call it an EP and others an LP, which is kinda cool to be honest, because we see that people do perceive it differently.

The feedback has been honestly amazing. There are so many incredible and unique but underrated bands coming out of the Greek hardcore/punk scene, because it’s so difficult to break into the broader scene, since the Balkans (and especially Greece) are never in the spotlight of the scene, which is too US-centric (understandably) or at best pays attention to UKHC and some Western European hardcore acts. With all that in mind, we didn’t know what to expect but we definitely wanted to push this record to gain some traction in the underground, and honestly it has gone much better than what we expected. It’s crazy to still see 450+ people listening to us on Spotify monthly, or to see so many people come out to our shows across the continent, or have bookers contact us for shows in the UK or US, or to see our records sell out in legendary Japanese hardcore record stores, or have interviews like this.

I can’t think of many acts coming out of south/ east Europe that manage to get attention like this so fast, simply because most people don’t care or don’t even know there’s hardcore in these areas; we are very grateful for it and we think others deserve it more than us, but we have worked hard to achieve this relative relevance in the hardcore underground. We just hoped a couple hundred people would listen to us and we could play some shows across our area, but seeing thousands of people listening to our record and hundreds buying it is crazy to us. We hope this all doesn’t sound like bragging, but looking back to the last 9 months, it is very difficult to take all this in, it feels very unreal, and we are so thankful to every person that has checked out “WDBOT”, shared it, sent it to a friend, talked about it or bought a copy. It has been a surreal experience so far and we absolutely want to keep pushing it further, so thank you, everyone, and thank YOU for giving us a platform.

A super generic question that I haven’t asked for ages, but what hardcore means to you? Why did you choose this path?

Hardcore is so much more than just a music genre. The music is extremely important obviously, but usually it is a means to an end: the words being spoken and the bonds being formed are so valuable. Hardcore is a home and it is also a vessel. This scene can truly be such a warm and beautiful community, it can be a shelter, a place of acceptance and camaraderie and a force to bring about change in a very troubled world. As with everything else that exists within a faulty society, it can very often be a microcosm of those same issues, but we believe there’s so much effort to fight against that (be it sexism, racism, homophobia, egos, etc.). It is our best tool of inner expression and also the best platform to speak upon open minds and act to bring meaningful change within our communities. There is so much collective power because it’s mostly a horizontal structure, where we all need to take part in to push towards any common goal. As well as being a space to feel heard, to create meaningful relationships, to express and shed in a healthy manner all the weight of negativity that we all carry in us daily, alongside familiar faces that also need the same physical and emotional release.

To us, hardcore, is a rare place of liberation, both for the individual, and for the collective. And that is why we chose this path, because it’s a place where emotion and will to act are at the forefront. It’s a place where you feel right and you feel heard and you feel powerful and not lost, alone, helpless and incapable of participating towards bringing change in your life or in your community, like this world often makes us believe.

Some of you are straight edge, too. How did you discover the movement and what is your perspective towards straight edge? Do you link it to politics? Athens (and Greece in general) is not that famous for its straight edge scene. On the contrary, I’d say that alcohol and drugs are widespread among the local punk scene. Did you want to make a difference and abstain from all this or was it just a choice for you?

Mario: I think Minor Threat is what introduced me to the concept of straight edge when I was in elementary school, and then a billion others followed. I claimed edge when I was still very young, after seeing many others around me (and myself, as young teens tend to start drinking early on in Greece at least) how shit, stupid and pointless getting drunk is.

Your questions are very interesting and multifaceted, so I apologise for the long reply. It’s difficult to answer shortly, because it draws on many different aspects (personal and societal) and subjects so I will do my best to be concise and not over-analyse.

Drug abuse is a big problem in Athens, that is vastly and purposefully undiscussed and overlooked, and that has always shocked me. The fact that the scene in Greece too has a big, undiscussed issue in its relationship to substance abuse, definitely played a role in my decision. I didn’t find it (and still don’t) at all coherent with the values we preach as a scene and with the political changes we are supposed to seek to bring. I definitely wanted to abstain from all of that and make my difference. I am very happy that my choices played a small part in other youngsters in the scene to claim edge too, without me pressuring them or anything. I don’t like that side of being straight edge. I’m not gonna say “fuck you for drinking or doing drugs”, I want to be compassionate, understanding and accepting of each person’s struggles or choices. When friends have told me it was helpful and encouraging to see me being unapologetic about being straight edge and not give a shit about people making fun of me for not drinking and proving them I can enjoy myself without all that, and encouraging others’ struggles towards sobriety, I know that I’m doing my part in being the change I want to see around me.

So, being straight edge is a choice I took firstly for myself, secondly for those around me, and thirdly for my community. It started as something rooted in my need to feel healthy, in control of my life and my choices. PMA is obviously one of the goals of being straight edge, and it’s a tool towards being healthier both mentally and physically. I want to push myself to fight against my internal struggles (especially my mental health) and everyday life without unhealthy crutches and to hold myself accountable for my growth and efforts to be the best version of myself. It’s definitely part of a bigger outlook on life and my personal goals.

With time and nuance I clearly understood the political link there can be to being straight edge, especially thanks to many bands’ lyrics or various books on the connections between sobriety, hardcore punk and anarchist/radical politics. Growing up I educated myself (and continue to do so) on the strong historical and current connections between drug addiction, drug markets, alcohol consumption, poverty and the state, capitalism, authority and the various weaponizations of the previously mentioned to keep any revolutionary elements, any divergent elements, or any sectors of society under further oppression and control, and as an excuse for brutal and continuous crackdowns. It’s a weapon against the poor to keep them in poverty because the system feeds off of that. Or of course the link between big pharma and the opioid epidemic. It’s yet another tragic result of unrelentless capitalist greed. Drug and alcohol abuse are clearly connected to a classist societal structure and it’s in the state’s best interest to keep a big majority of the lower classes

“sedated” with substances. Exacerbated by the extremely problematic trivialisation of alcohol, cigarettes and certain drugs for young adults/ teens or as coping mechanisms, it’s clearly a weapon used against our own best interests.

I want my mind to be clear and conscious. I see the strength in self-control and the results that staying level-headed bring. I see it in my political activity, I see it in my health and my everyday life and I am sure I will need it in the future, especially if we want to be realistic about bringing any sort of radical changes to this world - I feel that we need to be ready to do so without being dragged behind by substance addictions and similar distractions that only hurt us and those around us. My conviction only grows stronger with time, the more I see the more certain I am of my commitment. Some folks take any statements on being straight edge as if it’s attacking them, so I’ll be clear: If someone else wants to live differently, that is fine by me, as long as they don’t harm others. Live and let live, as we say.

Paris: I was in High School when I discovered the straight edge movement. At the time I wanted to dive deeper into Hardcore and its history and soon enough I came across the straight edge movement, the band that got me interested on it was Youth of Today. Eventually I claimed edge in the Summer of 2018. My perspective on straight edge is simple and it has been the same since the day I claimed. It’s not a trend or something to make me feel special, it’s a choice to be free from the influence of alcohol, drugs etc. and all the bullshit that follows it. acted, I made a choice. The choice was for me, I simply didn’t want to be part of that anymore, I wanted to have fun without all the nonsense and I wanted to be able to control my actions at all times. Finally, as mentioned by Mario, people often get offended by us just mentioning that we are straight edge; I got that at school back when I claimed edge and I still get that now. I’m not being preachy, you can do whatever you want, just don’t hurt anyone in the process.

The connection between straight edge and politics had not crossed my mind earlier to be honest. Nevertheless, I believe the two matters are connected but I do not have anything else to add to the matter (Mario has covered me on this one).

When someone talks about the Greek scene the thought of straight edge bands or people does not even come to mind. It only takes a quick look at a local show to understand the influence of alcohol and drugs in the scene. At shows half of the fun for most people is getting wasted and throwing beer cans on stage. Also, in my opinion the consumption of drugs and alcohol is so widespread within the Greek scene that you could be frowned upon for choosing not to partake in such activities.

Of course, this extends to more than the scene. The preferred way of having fun for most people is by consuming alcohol and/or drugs and sadly teens are being dragged into this more and more each day especially because of the influence of the trap scene. Through that constant exposure, drug and alcohol consumption is regarded as mandatory for being seen as “cool” and “acceptable”, especially for younger generations. People also tend to lose control over their actions when drinking/doing drugs and as a result they can hurt themselves or, even worse, their friends, family or anyone around them.

The political situation in Greece has been in a downward spiral the last 10 years at least. Do you think that hardcore can provide an alternative or is it out of reality to talk about a hardcore scene when lots of people can’t even have the basics? Is hardcore for the privileged ones?

Being barely out of our teens, we’ve lived most of our life within the current depressing disaster that is the political situation in Greece. So we’ve only seen hardcore within this framework, and we don’t think it is unrealistic to see the hardcore scene as a tool for revolt and change. Quite the contrary. It definitely plays its small part. Any niche that can galvanise people to work together towards common goals with the sheer passion and conviction that the hardcore scene does, is important. The fact that most people in hardcore have some level of political activity and hold radical ideals speaks for that. Growing up in this scene we’ve seen so many events organised to raise awareness around certain political issues, to raise funds for political prisoners, migrants, squats, political struggles and initiatives, etc., that we’ve seen first-hand how hardcore/punk can be a positive tool in a problematic, bleeding society, and we have been influenced greatly by that as a band and as individuals.

So after I got a taste of all that and after I saw how people under the influence around me

It can be something more for the privileged ones when it’s allowed to function within those limits. A good example is shows with a fixed price entrance and shows with a donation: both are absolutely valid for their own reasons, but only one allows for complete inclusivity regardless of socioeconomic status. But that again, is influenced by how much free time one has, and when most people work multiple jobs to make ends meet, it’s clearly easier for those with more time on their hands to get involved. But despite that, the scene in Greece is vastly from the working class, in our opinion. It really depends on how someone goes about it, and especially in Greece, it’s mostly been a horizontal, from the bottom-up logic, mainly due to the massive influence of the much bigger DIY/anarchist punk scene. There’s many folks, students like us or workers, who bust their ass off and somehow still find the time to be completely devoted to this scene, and that’s rare.

What are your lyrics about?

We write about whatever is happening around us that we see as important or impactful (positively or negatively) on our lives. On the Promo we dealt with police brutality, rampant and always unchecked in Greece (and beyond), and animal cruelty/ecological destruction in the name of profit.

Lyrically, “WDBOT” deals with the harsh realities of anguish and pain in a decaying, latecapitalist world especially in an economically and politically shattered, corrupt country. The aspects explored are on the one hand on a personal level with themes varying from the crushing mental struggles with anxiety and depression, to the empowerment of overcoming said issues. On the other hand, the main themes take a step back to talk about the blatantly tragic issues facing our societies and ecosystems, crushed, scorched and oppressed in the name of the economic gain of the few, and how it is our turn to show compassion, solidarity and humanity to one another, in order to inspire and bring about change.

Overall, the goal is firstly to creatively express in a liberating, cathartic and emphatic way everything that we feel around us, as part of a youth disgusted by the system imposed on us all and the way it affects us and our planet, a youth that naturally wants to change that, and secondly, and ideally, to light the sparks to continue the personal or socio-political struggles and fight back against a world clearly at war against human and non-human life.

I know that you follow the contemporary hardcore scene on a daily basis. What are your favourite bands and records of 2022?

It’s a good moment for the scene, there’s great bands in different niches of hardcore/ heavy music all across the globe. So let’s give a huge-ass list of some bands that are killing it this year. Obviously, we still haven’t heard everything coming out and there’s much more to come after September. These are just some of our favourites so far. Firstly, all the homies that released some incredible things: Path of Resurgence, Times of Desperation, xUntold Sufferingx, Escalate, Expectations, Iron Deficiency, Sorcerer, Moral Law, Calcine, Caged, fragmentsofaprayer and Chronoboros.

Regarding LPs, some of our favourites so far have been: Simulakra (NO. 1 BABY), Vein, Soul Glo (strictly god tier), Mindforce, Terror, Malevolence, Gridiron, 156/Silence, Piri Reis, FFAA, foxtails, Yearning, Anxious, Candy, Temple Guard, Deep x Cut, Gates to Hell, Orthodox, Lifesick, Age of Apocalypse, Greyhaven, Tribal Gaze, Rolo Tomassi, Excide, Wormrot, Downfall, Raw Brigade, Warfare, The Callous Daoboys, Port Noir, Kendrick Lamar and Rancore.

Lastly, for demos/EPs/others some of our favourites so far are: Foreign Hands, Contention, World of Pleasure, Cauldron, SPEED, Mortality Rate, Inclination, Envision, End It, Weapon X, Whispers, Abrasion, Broken Vow, No Cure, Rough Ground, xDeliverancex, Twist of Cain, Kublai Khan, A Knife In The Dark, Terminal Nation/Kruelty split, GEL, Invoke, End of One, Carbonite, Naedr and A Mourning Star.

We definitely want to tour more, we have some plans (UK, central/eastern Europe) we have to work on, but for now we just really want to put out some new music. We have written a lot since we finished with “WDBOT”, and haven’t had any time to record any of it, so that’s the priority. We want to put out some splits or smaller EPs (friends/good bands get at us). We really want to manage to work with some bigger DIY hardcore labels we respect a ton that for one reason or the other (heavy schedule, being a young band from an obscure scene, we suck haha, etc.) couldn’t work on us on “WDBOT”.

Please hit us up if you want to book us anywhere so we can talk about it, we want to take every opportunity thrown at us if possible, right now, nothing felt better than touring.

Lastly, we ask that people pay some attention to everything going on in Greece, the political situation is terrifying and has been for a long time, but seeing the state’s unrelenting authoritarian fascism grow these last few years, to crush any radical movements (especially the students’ movement) has been depressing and enraging for us all.

The same can be said for so many areas around the world, and it’s scary, but it’s up to all of us, especially the youth, to stay informed and work together across borders for our common goals towards human liberation and the protection of nature. We live in extremely crucial times, and if we don’t change this world drastically, WE will be the species going in the shitter.

What’s next for Malignant? Do you aim to conquer the hardcore world?! Last words are yours!

Thank you so much for giving us a platform to ramble on and including us in your always fantastic zine, we appreciate what you do for the scene in general so much.

MALIGNANT IS YOUR ENEMY - SOLIDARITY IS OUR WEAPON.

Mastermind is one of those newcoming bands that drew my attention from the first note of the first demo back in 2018. NYHC with lots of crossover vibes and a Black Sabbath influence; what else could you ask for? I had the chance to watch the band live a couple of times and I can definitely assure you that they deliver! Had a talk with Jon (their singer, also in Antagonizm – check their new album, it rocks hard!) about the band’s new album (out on Quality Control), UKHC and their tour with Combust, among other topics. Enjoy!

Photos provided by the band.

www.instagram.com/mastermind_ldn

Yo! What’s up? Mourning for the Queen?! In other news, how was the Static Shock weekend (took place in mid-September 2022)?

Hello! Mmmmm I’ll take the bank holiday, let’s just say that. Yeah it was great! Don’t think I partied as hard as many people I know but I had fun. Not sure my opinions on the Garage as a venue or their security staff but apart from that it was great. Few personal favourites; WARTHOG, ANNIHALTED, VERZET AND SUBDUED

What’s the master mind behind Mastermind?! Who’s in the band, how old are you and what football team do you support?! Tell me everything our readers need to know! When did you form and did you play in other bands before or do play in now? bands who can do it well. Call me cocksure or whatever you want but I’d say there’s a handful of bands in America/UK that have done the NYHC thing with success. Us being one of them. As to why I play that style… Probably just my heavy metal upbringing and appreciation for groove. Besides, NYHC, I feel lots of thrash metal and even some Black Sabbath riffs! Am I right?! Metal was always present in the hardcore scene but I think that lately there’s an 80s crossover revival, which I definitely approve! For me, crossover at that time was just a precursor for that last boom of late 80s NYHC bands. So, Crumbsuckers, Agnostic Front and Nuclear Assault they really don’t differ much from Killing Time and Judge. Sabbath is one of my all-time favourites, so yeah for sure.

So Mastermind is Jon Osborne (me), Sean Cooper, Rory Oneil, Thad Anderson King and Karim Newble. I pretty much write all the music and lyrics apart from drums and the odd part. Our ages range, I’m almost 30, Sean’s 28 and the rest of the boys are between 22 and 25. Haha think me and Sean are the only avid football fans, me being a Fulham lifer and Sean chose to be a United fan around the age of 5 or 6 if I remember correctly. So other bands is a long list, but here’s some of the bands the members are involved in; Imposter, Lawful killing, Island of love, Antagonizm, Sterile and Layback.

UKHC is on a rampage! Lots of great bands and records and most importantly an amazing camaraderie. I had the chance to live in London for a couple of months last year and I was very impressed of how diverse is the scene and how big is the sense of unity that you can feel it in the air. What do you think about this?

Yeah it’s on a tear for sure. The bands are fuckin quality and there’s a shit ton of young people playing in new bands. I can’t speak for every individual pocket of the scene but the parts I’m involved in are on a high right now.

Mastermind is definitely one of the most NYHC bands not coming from NY the last years! Your modern take on Breakdown, Underdog, Cro-Mags or Rest In Pieces is sooo good! Which bands have influenced your music (I will ask you later about your favorite NYHC records, haha) and why did you choose to play this specific style?

You have progressed a lot since the ‘Bad reaction’ EP and the promo 2020. I can say that now you have undoubtedly found your sound. What happened in between? Where did you record and how did you shape your style?

It’s just cramming all my favourite bands into a ball and trying to pull out something original. We recorded at Fuzzbrain studios, shout out to Ben Spence.

Who’s to credit for the brilliant cover of ‘The Masters orders’? What did you want to represent with the cover’s scenery?

Eye Dust (ed. Eye Dust is responsible for this issue’s cover, too). Check his Instagram it’s pretty insane! We could have went with a way more traditional hardcore cover but I think we just decided to do something a bit silly. The cover was inspired by Terminator, War of the Worlds.

Yeah, I mean I don’t think there is that many

What topics do you cover lyrically? How important are the lyrics on hardcore?

Anything that gets to me. Racism, sexism, mental health problems. On the new record there’s two songs that have more of a metal style in which I’m just writing fiction rather than about social issues.

You recently toured Europe with one of the best bands coming out of NY’s contemporary scene, Combust. It was your first tour outside the UK? How was it? Any incidents you want to tell us about? What was your favorite city and favorite city to be? Do Combust sound as good as they sound on the record? Did they make you Polo RL fans, as well?

Yeah first time in Europe. We got through the whole thing without any real issues which was a miracle. Fuck! We went to a lot of cool places. Vienna was cool, they looked after us really well there. Paris and Switzerland were both really beautiful. Combust are real pros at what they do. No ifs or buts. Definitely not. Andrew showed up one day in a multi coloured polo shirt and short combo and all I’m saying is I’m glad I was wearing sun glasses. That shit to me is really fuckin funny but respect. I’Il stick to buying second hand dickies and bootlegs.

What’s on your schedule concerning shows & touring? Hitting the States maybe? What’s your dream band to tour with?

Dizort or Firewalker, I’d love to hit the states with Pest control, some UK east coast invasion perhaps.

Top5 NYHC records released between 1985 and 1990?!

Scowl is one of the best bands to come out of hardcore/punk the last few years. Their shows are so intense and full of energy; I had the chance to watch their set at Outbreak fest last summer and I can assure you that bands like Scowl are rare. I originally reached out to them in the summer of 2021 (like with some other bands in this issue) but this is a totally up to date interview, conducted with Malachi (Scowl’s guitarist). We talk about the band’s history, their shows with Limp Bizkit, their influences and the contemporary Cali hardcore scene. Watch out for Scowl if you are looking for the next big thing in our scene. By the way, I really love that more and more women are getting involved in bands, and Scowl is a great example of this. Shout-out to Gel, Crucial Thought, Punitive Damage, Spaced, Year of the Knife, Firewalker, Slon, etc. etc. and never forget that ‘female fronted is not a genre’. www.instagram.com/scowl40831 was one of the most fun sets we’ve ever played. I wish I could relive that moment over and over.

Photos by Rebecca Lader.

Hey hey! Please introduce the band to our readers! How did you choose the name Scowl and what do you want to represent with this?

Hi, I’m Malachi and I play guitar in Scowl and we are from Santa Cruz/San Jose. I’m not sure if the name was meant to represent anything, my Grandma always said I had a scowl and Kat has pretty wild scowl when she sings so I thought it would be a cool name. I think over time it has taken on many meanings though.

How do you feel about today’s scene? Everyone’s thirsty, everyone’s touring; it seems that the pandemic after all regenerated the movement! What’s your opinion about this?

I think it’s so awesome and I love seeing all the new bands. I love seeing everyone out on the road.

You tour relentlessly, playing with bands varying from Drug Church to Limp Bizkit! Of course, I want to know more about the latter! Any cheesy moments? How did it feel to play with such a big non-hardcore band? By the way, you did a European tour in the summer of 2022 (was great to see you at the Outbreak fest), any stand-out moments or differences you spot comparing the EU/UK tour with the USA ones?

Touring with Limp Bizkit was great. They are all really nice people and have their ear to the ground. They pay attention to newer bands and they treated us very kindly. I don’t think there were any cheesy moments, just really fun and memorable ones that I’m very grateful for.

In 2021, 2 years after ‘Reality after reality…’, you delivered an amazing record called ‘How flowers grow’. Want to give us some more info about it? How was the song writing and the record processes? Was it easy to write and compose amidst the pandemic?

The record came about because of having down time in the pandemic. I was laid off so I just sat on the couch and wrote music and we ended up with “How Flowers Grow”. It all came together pretty quickly and it was really fun to do. I think it helped us take our mind off the pandemic. That time in my life was pretty depressing so I wanted to do something positive.

Scowl is getting bigger and bigger; besides the aforementioned big tours, you also have featured covers in magazines, interviews in the mainstream media, etc. Hard work definitely paid. And I have to say that you seem super down to earth despite all this success. What’s your take on this?

We really are just very happy to be playing shows. We always just wanted to play straightforward hardcore/punk and over time some of our other influences have trickled in musically. We haven’t really changed who we are because we got into this for the love of it. I’m really happy to be able to tour and I think if you let ego come up then it’s not fun anymore. I think if anyone in our band got a big ego we would make fun of them because that’s not what we are about. When we are home we go to shows here and help book them. It’s just about being part of the community and having fun as cheesy as that could sound to some.

Touring Europe was awesome. I think the main difference for us was that finding ice was a lot harder. I really like iced coffee. Outbreak fest

What are your influences music wise? You play pretty straight forward hardcore/punk but I can definitely see some influences from contemporary hardcore bands from Cali. What bands did influence you to form Scowl?

All of the bands around us influenced us in some way or another. The bands that influenced Scowl sonically were like Negative Approach, Rival Mob, Sheer Terror and a lot of 80s hardcore. All of our friends playing in bands here helped by just getting us inspired. I saw them playing shows and touring and we all wanted to do the same. I think we all have our own style and take on things musically. hardcore’s agenda?

There’s a big hardcore scene in Santa Cruz lately including bands like you, Gulch (R.I.P.), Drain, etc. How’s your perspective of the scene? What do you love and what would you change?

I love the scene here and I think it’s amazing.

I think the only thing I’d change is that I want more bands to start from here and get out there on the road.

We had a lot of protests here and the cops were beating people in San Jose and shooting them with rubber bullets. People were driving into protestors and really fucking them up. It was a chaotic time and I think that people should continue to protest and not let the topic ever fade. A lot of work still needs to be done surrounding police brutality and its blatant racism. Hardcore has always had politics involved and I believe that it should always address social issues, political issues, and strive to educate people in a positive way. I learned a lot from hardcore lyrics that helped me grow in a very positive way. I don’t think that should ever stop.

Kat is singing for Scowl. I hate the term ‘female fronted’ but it still exists and I definitely believe that this should change asap. In your eyes, is hardcore still a macho, male-driven scene? What should we do to improve and get a more open-minded and inclusive scene?

The majority of the hardcore scene participated in the Black Lives Matter movement 2 years ago, with most bands releasing benefit merchandise, supporting the demonstrations or just spreading the news. How was the situation in your area? Are you happy that politics are back to passion just another kind of job then the magic is gone. What do you think about this?

I can’t imagine what femme people go through in bands because I’m not one and am just a dude playing guitar. What I see femme people go through in hardcore is pretty disgraceful to what I always thought hardcore was about. There is so much bullshit that goes on that’s just blatant misogyny. The comparison of all bands with femme members is a major one and people trying to put bands with femme members in a genre or box is just narrow minded. Hardcore and punk was about the music and supposed to be inclusive of everyone unless you’re a racist, or a bigot of some sort. The insults and weird bro mentality that people have online behind anonymous accounts could go away and that’d be a nice start to changing things for the better. Maybe people listening to the music and not trying to compare every femme person they see in bands would be a step in the right direction.

A lot of people need to look inside themselves and ask why they are so hateful for no reason towards others.

What do you do outside of Scowl? How do you pay the bills? Any hobbies? Have you ever thought of doing the band fulltime? Some people think that if you do your

I used to run a few homeless shelters in Santa Cruz and since we started touring a lot I don’t do that anymore. Right now we all do part time work in-between tours because we are touring so much. I don’t think if this became a fulltime thing that it would take away the magic. I think it would just inspire me to do more and I’d have all the time I’d want for it. I really enjoy playing shows and music, it’s the only time I feel normal.

Favorite hardcore lyrics ever?!

“We’ll shout it strong, shout it loud We are the ugly and proud And if you don’t like what we say Then you pay us no mind and stop wasting my time

And like it or not we are here to stay”

Sheer Terror

Prove me wrong but I think that Speed is one of those newcomer bands that could be a major player in tomorrow’s scene. Blending heavy hardcore with urban countercultures and delivering quality music along with great graphics and visuals, the Sydney based combo has managed to establish a big fanbase all over the world. Their set in the latest Sound & Fury was fire, go to youtube and watch it if you haven’t already! I had an all- around and nice conversation with the brothers, Jem and Aaron, and of course I asked them about the famous photo with Shaquille O’ Neal, haha! Speed’s last record is out via Flatspot Record and it’s already in my top-20 for 2022! www.instagram.com/gangcalledspeed

Promo picture provided by the band. Live pictures by Aidan Griffith.

Speed! What a gig in Sound & Fury?! That was ground-breaking for your band! Do you want to elaborate on this?

Jem - It was the most surreal, mind-blowing experience of our lives. The thought of playing shows in USA was a dream in itself so to be invited to play this was almost unbelievable. I don’t think any of us realised the magnitude of the show and how we would be received there. We just feel so privileged to represent Australian HC on that stage.

Who’s in Speed? You are based in Sydney, right? When did the band start and why did you choose to form another hardcore band?!

Aaron - Speed is based out of Sydney, Australia and is comprised of 5 members - Vocalist Jem, Guitarists Dennis and Josh, Bass player Aaron and Kane on drums. Speed was a band that started with a number of different goals - during a time where our scene was at a lull, one of the primary goals was to be another band on the bill and to grow the Sydney (and Australian) hardcore scene that we know and love.

You managed not only to overcome Australia’s super strict lockdown but to rise even stronger after this. Was the lockdown a great opportunity to work on band issues and deliver the best outcome?

Jem - I think COVID was the best thing to happen to Australian hardcore. I mean, globally hardcore is having a renaissance right now so I feel there was a similar thing happening worldwide. I think the absence of shows threw the rulebook out the window and forced us (Speed) to think outside the box. On a broader scale, I feel this period made people reflect on the outlets and circles that are most important to them. It seems like hardcore has been emboldened through this.

Australia has a vast music scene, from AC/ DC to Parkway Drive. What did you listen to as a teenager? How did you get in touch with the hardcore movement? First show and first record you bought?

Jem - We all mostly grew up on Australian hardcore. The first show I ever went to was to see Parkway Drive in 2006. The show had Stronghold, Jungle Fever and Her Nightmare and was my first time experiencing real hardcore. It obviously changed my life!! I think a lot of people from my generation found hardcore cus, at least in Australia, it was more broadly connected with heavy music in general back then. First CD I ever bought was the Wheatus single ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ when I was like… 8 years old?

Speed is far more than just a hardcore band. You intent to represent the city and its countercultures. This is present in your videos, too. Can you please give us some more info about this? How’s the underground scene in Sydney?

Jem - Sydney is a big city with a lot of talent that’s often unrecognised on a global scale. Especially for hardcore, it’s never really been a place recognised in that way. So it was intentional for us to put on for the city we are from, that we love (and hate), and that we’ve lived all our lives. It represents our friends and family; the values these stand to embody our pride in this place. It’s definitely an exciting time to be involved in the community here, I think there’s a shared sense of enthusiasm and excitement amongst multiple subcultures cus we all feel the rise of a new, more united generation. Sydney shit is bands like J.O.Y and Primitive Blast, rappers like Bayang (The Bushranger) and 1300, brands like 108 Warehouse and Killjoy.

Aaron, you run a streetwear called Del Saato.

You are also the artistic mind behind this and responsible for Speed’s merch designs. Do you want to follow a specific stylistic pattern? How important is it for you?

Aaron - Starting Speed, despite being a hardcore band, we didn’t want the band to be just that. In doing this project we wanted to show our members’ individual interests, style and character - all the shit we think is cool and fresh - as well as to use it as an opportunity to work with friends and people whose work we admire. Whilst I am primarily driving the merch aspects, as most things with the band, it is still a communal effort with ideas thrown between the multiple members and we work with a number of great, local and international, artists to create the product and aesthetic that we want. We’re quite deliberate with what we do, whilst this is the same for our merch, there isn’t a specific stylistic pattern that we followwe’re just making things that we think is fresh and make sense for the aesthetic and sound of Speed. This is incredibly important for us; for me, Speed is an extension of Saato and in that is another avenue to be exploring my creative endeavors. On top of this, it’s another means for expression for the band as a whole - we’re a very visual band with a lot to say, having fresh merch which shows our outside influences, is just another way we hope to reach other people who fuck with what we’re doing.

2022 is the year of Speed. As I mentioned in the first question, I definitely believe that the Sound & Fury performance has opened many doors for your band. Have you ever thought that one day you’ll play in the States with thousands of people going crazy?

Jem - Absolutely not. As I said, it was completely mind-blowing and we’re still processing it all months later.

What’s the story behind the picture with Shaquille O’ Neal?!

Aaron - Some crazy shit… it’s a funny story but in short - a clip of us playing at Sound and Fury went viral, Shaq commented on it. This got some eyes and we were hit up to see him at a meet and greet whilst he was here in Sydney recently - the timing of it all was crazy and very funny to say the least.

Lately, your shows in Australia are sponsored by Vans. Is this a steady collaboration? You were also featured in Rolling Stone magazine. What’s your opinion on major brands and media ‘infiltrating’ the scene? Should ‘hardcore stay out of big business’ or it should get integrated in the music industry and try to change everything from the inside?

Jem - Everyone wants a piece now. Everyone loves hardcore now. And fuckin’ oath they should. All we care about is hardcore growing and all our friends eating as they deserve. If a big brand makes sense culturally and wants to support that vision, send me an email.

Your latest album ‘Gang called speed’ is inspired by your heritage and culture. Give us some more info about this!

Jem - The ‘Gang Called Speed’ EP embodies who we are as people and what we stand for as a band. It’s about championing who you are in this world and not looking back. We feel fortunate to confidently express ourselves this way… maybe that can help empower someone else who hears this.

Influence-wise, what are the bands that have played a big part in your song-writing and lyrics?

Hatebreed, Biohazard, Madball, Trapped Under Ice.

Best bands from Sydney to look out?

Primitive Blast, J.O.Y (Jokes On You), Rapid Dye, Mood Swing

Last words are yours! Thanks so much and keep on doing great stuff!

Peace and love to the world.

Paradise’ is maybe the best hardcore 7” of 2022. It doesn’t come as a surprise that the legendary label Revelation Records chose Stockholm’s Speedway as their first European signing ever (if the UK is considered Europe, too, then Violent Reaction was the first). I mean, there’s many great bands in Europe nowadays, but Speedway is top tier (and style-wise closer to Rev). Talked to their singer Adam (also in Blood Sermon & Feels Like Heaven) about Speedway, their lyrics, the local scene, etc. It’s a rare thing to have 2 bands (the other one is Blood Sermon) from the same city featured in this zine, but that shows how good is Stockholm’s scene right now. Go read!

Photos by @alexandra.zvv, @andy_kungman and @inskramz www.instagram.com/speedwaymusic

Hey there! Thanks for taking part in the new issue of Soulcraft! How’s Stockholm?

Adam: Hey, thank you! Stockholm is great, summer just kinda ended and the cold weather is creeping up on us.

When did Speedway start and who’s in the band? How did you choose a motor racing term for a band name? Do you see any comparisons between riding a motorcycle and playing hardcore? Is it the adrenaline maybe?

Adam: Speedway started kinda for real in 2019; Jens, Emil, Anton and Gabriel started the band and wrote a few songs. I was chilling with them at a rehearsal and it sounded sick. After that they asked me to join the band, and of course I had to join! Especially when I heard the band name. I wasn’t involved in choosing the band name but a fun little side note is that my first imaginary band I started was actually called Speedway. I was like 6 years old, couldn’t play anything but we all just pretended. And Speedway was one of the few English words I knew at the time.

Stockholm, and Sweden in general, always had a strong hardcore, punk, d-beat and metal scene. These days we watch an explosion of the modern hardcore scene, too. Lots of bands including Bulls Shit, Blood Sermon and Existence playing gigs out of the country, too. You share some members with the aforementioned bands, right? Do you see that as a renaissance of the scene or just as a continuation by getting the torch from the older generation?

Adam: Yeah Speedway shares members with Blood Sermon and Existence and some other bands. My take from my perspective is that every time we do something new we want to improve. So we always try to do better and take a step forward.

Speedway is the first European bands that Revelation Records has ever signed. How do you feel about being in one of the most legendary hardcore labels of all time? How did the collaboration come into fruition? differently. Like how can you be an active band when you at the same time cannot be an active band. It was really weird. But we had some really good sessions where we wrote banger riffs and songs. But after a while when you’re always in the studio, just writing and recording, it at least kinda bored me out a bit. Cause when you write a riff you wanna try to imagine how it is playing it live, not just in the studio. And in the end it was impossible to imagine that. Hardcore is energy. So in the end it kinda took away some of my creativity. But I can say that now that I’ve been on tour again and we started playing some sick shows, the inspiration and energy is definitely back!

Adam: At first it was kinda unreal but now you’re kinda used to it, which is also a bit fucked up, haha. But it’s really cool and a big honor to be a part of Revelation!

It started with us doing our first show together with Shelter here in Stockholm. We didn’t even have any songs out at the time. But we were the opening act and Youth of Today played a show at the same venue the day before. We got in contact with Sammy Siegler who thought our set was really good. We started talking about doing a tape on Rev, which we later did. And that was how we started working together.

You recently released an EP called “Paradise”. Give us some more info on it. Where was it recorded and how was the whole process?

Adam: I think our first show with Shelter was a Wednesday or Thursday night, and the following weekend we went and recorded “Paradise” if I’m not mistaken. Cause when we realized that this whole Revelation thing actually could be for real we really wanted to level up our game and be a few steps ahead. Also our first 7” ”Speedway” was already recorded at the time, we were just waiting for the final mix I believe. Anyways, we wrote and recorded ”Paradise” at our own studio, SBU HQ. It’s crazy to think that almost 3 years has passed since the recording of ”Paradise” but I remember the whole process being really smooth, good times. I had almost forgotten, but we actually re-recorded the EP after a while. A nice little side note!

Speedway is one of the bands that were born a bit before the pandemic. But it seems that the lockdowns gave you time to compose and release great stuff amidst the whole stagnancy. Did hardcore give you an outlet to overcome all this and be creative?

To celebrate your signing to Revelation, the label released the live 5-song cassette ‘When If Not Now’, including a cover from the Swedish emo band Far Apart. Why did you choose that song? Does it mean something special to you?

Adam: That song doesn’t really mean anything special to me. To me it’s just a really good song and we thought that we could pull it off and do a good version of it.

By the way, which bands have influenced your song-writing? I was checking your Spotify list for Revelation Records and there’s a diverse range of bands, from The Hellacopters to Blink 182 and from Kiss to 86 Mentality. Pretty good taste, in my opinion!

Adam: In Sweden we didn’t really have a proper lockdown like a lot of other countries had, so we were kinda ”free”. But we couldn’t play shows which gave us a lot of time in the studio to write songs and whatever. So we had to think a bit

Adam: Hey thank you! I agree, a high quality playlist! We take inspiration from all different places and then we combine it. Personally, bands/music with a lot of energy catches my attention. To name a few from the list I would say that bands like The Hellacopters, In My Eyes and 86 Mentality have inspired me when writing riffs in Speedway. I have to add that The Hellacopters are a big influence for me when it comes to the new material we’re working on.

‘A brief second of clarity before I let it slip again I’m going through changes but I just can’t embrace them’

Your lyrics are very personal and selfreflecting. Definitely not the typical hardcore lyrics. Would you be into explaining furthermore to us? What are your favorite hardcore lyricists?

Anton: Yo! It’s funny you should say that, because I feel like the roots of what I tend to write comes from a very run-of-the-mill hardcore place. But yeah, I work pretty hard on putting my own spin on it, so I’m glad you feel that way. Even though lyrical themes vary, everything I write is personal because I want it to feel 100% authentic when I’m up there doing my thing. When it comes to favorite hardcore lyricists I always gravitate towards Orange County for some reason. Pat Dubar of Uniform Choice, Zach de la Rocha of Inside Out, and Jeremy Stith of Fury are all people whose work I admire a whole lot. Shout-out to those guys.

By the time this fanzine will be out, you will have completed your first full Euro tour. But for now, what do you expect from this? Where else have you played out of Sweden? And what are your plans for the future?

Adam: Hopefully we’ve done some good shows and played for some new people who’ve never heard of us before. Also this is my first tour which is not a summer tour. Can’t wait! A few months ago we played in Paris which was a craaazy show. Shout-out to Konstantin! We also played at a fest in Odense, Denmark not too long ago. We are working on some things for 2023. We are planning for some shows and tours, don’t know what I can say and not say.. But we’re working on a record. We have a lot of material, but we keep on writing new stuff all of the time. We just try to collect as much as possible. But when the time has finally come to do a record, the world will know.

What’s your perception of Paradise? Thanks so much for the interview.

Adam: Thank you! Shout-out to the Swedish scene right now and everyone supporting us! Paradise - A state of mind...