ISSUE SIXTEEN JULY 2012
HARDCORE 2012 – THE GHOST INSIDE – ROSETTA – HOUSE VS HURRICANE – ANTAGONIST A.D. PHANTOMS – THE BRODERICK – WHILE SHE SLEEPS – LIFE & LIMB – CIVIL WAR – PARKWAY DRIVE
ISSUE SIXTEEN Home Is For The Heartless: Parkway Drive … p.9 Quickfire: Life & Limb … p.11 House Vs Hurricane … p.12 Phantoms … p.14 The Ghost Inside … p.16 Hardcore 2012 Wrap Up … p.21 Antagonist A.D. … p.28 Rosetta … p.32 The Broderick … p.36 Introducing Halfcut: While She Sleeps … p.39 Quickfire: Civil War … p.41 New Music … p.42 Things We’re Looking Forward To … p.46
Editor-In-Chief: Sarah Petchell Music Editor: Oliver Cation All layouts by Cooper Brownlee and Sarah Petchell Words: Sarah Petchell, Oliver Cation, Jem Siow, Jessie Stringer, Camilo Zannoni Photos: Simon Atkinson, Lachlan Hicks, Ben Clement, Jordan Compte Cover Image: Miles Away at Hardcore 2012 by Simon Atkinson This Page: Boris at The Metro Theatre, March 2012 by Simon Atkinson
www.noheroesmag.com
EDitorS LETTER PHOTO: BEN CLEMENT
If you follow us on any one of our media outlets, then you know that one of my favourite things to do is complain about how things are going wrong or how much I hate this magazine. About 98% of the time, I’m just being a sook and sucking it up. But with this issue there were about eight different points in time where I sat down to write a resignation letter, realised that it would be a resignation letter to myself, and that is personal defeat. That’s not acceptable.
way there. Once you set yourself that goal to get shit done, get out there and do it!
So why am I even writing about this? It’s because I had a conversation with someone at Hardcore 2012 (they will remain nameless) who constantly inspires me with what they do and how hard they work to achieve their goals. To them, failure is unacceptable, and I would like to live my life that way as well. I think I have lived my life that way, in my own twisted, bizarre and masochistic way (seven years of university anyone?).
Which brings us to Issue 16. The cover is a live photo of Miles Away at Hardcore 2012. Nowhere else in the Hardcore Calendar is DIY fully embodied than at the annual HC festival. From there we move to the hardest working Kiwis with Antagonist A.D., California’s The Ghost Inside, metal act Rosetta, House Vs Hurricane, The Broderick, Phantoms, Life & Limb and Civil War.
And that’s the point. It’s easy to have an idea, but the hardest part is to follow through and act on it. But once you get over that initial hurdle, you’re most of the
I’m fortunate enough with No Heroes to have surrounded myself with people who think and act this way, from long-time photo contributor Ben Clement with his thriving photography business to Music Editor Oliver Cation, who runs a label and tours some of the biggest international bands in hardcore.
All that and our usual reviews and a massive wrap up from HC weekend inside the virtual pages. Until next issue, Sarah x
The views and opinions expressed in No Heroes Magazine are not particularly those held by the publishers. All content is copyright to No Heroes Magazine 2012. For information regarding content, advertising or general comments, please email: info@noheroesmag.com
Parkway drive
It seems like, for Parkway Drive, the past couple of years have basically consisted of one culture shock after another, and in their second DVD Home Is For The Heartless, the band have manage to capture that with a sensitivity, humour and general kind-heartedness that surprisingly doesn’t smack of condescension. But I think the most appealing part of the DVD for me stems from the fact that I’ve seen Parkway Drive play in youth centres and sold out arenas here in Australia, and are now playing all over the world, wherever they can. And throughout it all, they’ve just stayed the same five dudes from Byron Bay that fucking love what they do, and will do anything to keep doing it. The DVD starts with the news that guitarist Luke ‘Pig’ Kilpatrick has broken his ankle and, oh no, all their touring plans are in danger. Not so, as Pig hops in a wheelchair and shenanigans ensue across Australia, Russia and Europe (especially at a festival in Germany). It’s not until the band leave Europe and literally walk across the border into Mexico that the DVD gets really interesting. Here the giant European festivals are left behind, where drumkits are fixed using Styrofoam plates and the band have to play on the floor of
clubs where they aren’t even sure if the PA works. It’s where the band aren’t sure if they’re going to have “two bemo drivers and a Bali dog” or 800 kids. It’s also once they hit Asia where the entertaining quotes start kicking in. Take their Bali experience for example: it definitely looks like there are more Australians in the 800+ crowd than Indonesians, which prompts one of the guys to remark, “It was like all the boys got out of the surf, sunk two or 10 Bintangs, finished their Southern Cross tattoos and headed out to the show.” I don’t even want to say that it’s another part of the world, because what the DVD exposes is a whole other world to the spoiled and privileged hardcore scene that we’re all used to experiencing on a weekly basis. The promoters in Guatemala and India declare that Parkway Drive are the biggest band that have ever come to the country (and that all the presale tickets to that show are sold out). There are people in Mexico City selling unauthorised Parkway merch (which I strongly suspect would be to feed their families for a week or a month).
visiting. Places like Costa Rica or Majorca. Then on the other side of the coin, some of the most depressingly violent and povertystricken places like Calcutta and Guatemala (the part of the film that stuck with me the most is where they discuss how the price of the Calcutta show had to go up – the prices they talk is a mindfuck). So what the DVD becomes is a profile of heavy music fans from all over the world – where soccer chants and Parkway riffs meet in Argentina; a kid travels 12 hours through Brazil to attend a show in Sao Paolo; to kids moshing in the middle of the stage in Calcutta. The other half of it is a travelogue of the places the band travelled to. In that respect, this is a beautifully filmed documentary with some amazing cinematography that really captures the all the facets of every place depicted, both good and bad. The result is a captivating, entertaining and eyeopening watch, whether you’re a fan of Parkway Drive or not and I strongly recommend checking it out.
Then in the midst of it all, Parkway visit some of the most beautiful places in the world that are places most people wouldn’t know exist let alone dream of
HOME IS FOR THE HEARTLESS Out now through Resist Records
LIFE & LIMB
WORDS: SARAH PETCHELL
Who are Life & Limb and how do you describe the music you play? We are a band who really likes playing with Hoodlum Shouts. We look forward to the day when we can look at their tour dates and know where we have to play next. But seriously, we’re a punk band from Canberra. We’ve been playing for a couple of years, and we just released our second EP. We love playing music with and for our friends and frenemies. How did you guys get together in the first place? I (James) needed to form a new band as part of my 2010 honours year project in Visual Communication at UTS. It ended up being a research project into rituals of music consumption, part of which was the recording and release of our first EP Four Islands. It started out with Christo, our original guitarist, and I working on a bunch of songs together. We had played together here and there for years, and even though I lived in Sydney and he lived in Canberra at the time playing with him was the logical choice, as his style was so unique and his playing was so good. After getting some material together we started rehearsing and writing more with Simon Murphy and Mathew Abbott. Ever since my time with Murph in A Stab In The Dark I had always wanted to play with him again and I’m excited by every opportunity that we get to work on things together. He’s a powerhouse. None of us had ever been in a band with Mathew Abbott before but I had always been a fan of his bass playing in Brisk, I have always been a fan of Brisk! Anyway, Christo decided to leave the band pretty early on which is when Rohan took up the reigns. That transition all happened right before we set out to play some shows in celebration of the launch of the 10inch. Rohan has been an awesome
bandmate, I can’t really recall what it was like working without him in the band. The members of Life & Limb have a huge amount of experience in bands between you all. How has your experience in previous bands informed how you’ve approached Life & Limb? I think in approaching some of the banalities of band life, like carting around gear, organising practices and dealing with people, we draw on our experiences, which makes things a lot easier. My feeling is that I’ve made a mountain of mistakes in all the weird bands I have played in before which means I don’t have to make those same mistakes again. I make plenty of new mistakes though. From what kind of places are Life & Limb drawing their influences? The four of us have pretty varying tastes and we like to work a pretty wide variety of influences into the music. I think we are a essentially punk band in influence and approach though that is probably where the similarities end. On our last EP we took inspiration from Philip K. Dick and Ridley Scott as well as a slew of different media that inspired us as kids … stuff like Duke Nukem and other stupid crap. The whole thing is a metaphor for ‘ongoing global urbanisation’… The confetti and hands on the cover is an inside joke. I think we all like DEVO, Black Sabbath is crucial to life, I love old school punk and stuff – X, Voidoids, The Replacements, Fear, PiL, Oi! bands and stuff. Rohan ist krieg – he likes metal, Murph loves Radio Birdman and tons of old Australian punk and hardcore, Mathew likes psychedelic bands and drone music. Really though, I know it is old news but the instrumental songs on Breach’s Kollapse, I give them
five and a half stars. I like Gallucci a lot right now. Lastly, we all LOVE Hoodlum Shouts. Cult of Luna’s Somewhere Along The Highway is a masterpiece. You’ve released a 10-inch and a 7-inch through your own GutFeeling Records. How much easier is it to self-release rather than rely on a label? I would have to ask the other guys and get back to you. I don’t think I have ever had anything released on someone else’s label properly, and if I have it has been so easy I haven’t noticed. Doing things yourself is hard work but at the end of the day you get to decide how you want to present your music, your artwork, how much you can produce and to where it goes – the freedom is great. You also pay for everything, which is less great. Releasing vinyl is expensive, just don’t do it. Gallucci put their last album out on USB, think about doing that instead. The most recent release is the Two Hands EP. How does it differ from the first release? What can I say, different lead guitarists play on each release. We have also adapted considerably as a band as it has been about a year since releasing our first EP. As opposed to waiting and writing more material or even looking to write an album we decided to try to record and release soon after launching the first EP. I think what the 7-inch represents is a sort of intermediate stage between the first EP and the music we’ve written more recently. It can be hard to see the forest from the trees, but I did find it surprising that people felt the 7-inch was so drastically different from the 10-inch. Though clearly it is a deviation from the sound on our first record I still feel that it is definitively ‘Life & Limb’ … whatever that means.
House Vs Hurricane
WORDS: SARAH PETCHELL
Even though Melbourne’s House Vs Hurricane have been around for a fair while now, the band they are in 2012 bears little more than a passing resemblance to the band whose debut EP I remember first hearing way back in 2008. Indeed, between then and now the band have undergone a couple of key member changes and released a debut album that they have quite vocally admitted they were not at all happy with. In 2012, what you have is a band that is older and wiser. With a
bit more experience under their belts, the band are set to release their second album Crooked Teeth and embark on their biggest headlining tour of Australia to date. The question is, will this album and tour prove wrong the naysayers that had previously written off HVH? I dare say so… Just a few short weeks prior to the release of Crooked Teeth, No Heroes caught up with guitarist Chris Shaw, and talked to him about how different recording album number two was, and how the band now enjoy a reinvigorated spirit as they are finally the band that they want to be. You obviously recorded the al-
bum in the US, as you did with the first album. How was this experience different from the first time around? “It was the complete opposite. The first time we recorded it was stressful as we were under massive pressure and under prepared. This time we went over and had a blast.” It’s been mentioned a few times that recording the first album was a massive learning curve for you guys. How did you apply what you learned the first time around to recording this time around? “Well, when we recorded Perspectives we were underprepared, we didn’t know the songs
He was a lot of fun and an incredibly positive personality to have around.” Last time I spoke to you guys, I talked to Ryan about how bummed out he was about the first album and the way it turned out. Is the feeling completely different this time around? Hopefully it’s more positive… “Again it’s the complete opposite, as we’re all beyond stoked with how it has turned out. It’s the first time in the band where everyone has loved the music as a whole, and I think a lot of it had to do with the way we approached the writing style. There was definitely a lot more communication going on.” Does it feel like a second chance or a rebirth in a way? “Definitely. We’ve refined our sound to something we all enjoy a lot more, and our new frontman is full of energy and positivity. The five of us are closer than we’ve ever been. “Plus, the immense support UNFD have given us for this album is beyond amazing. It’s definitely the second chance that no one ever gets, and we were lucky enough to get it.” properly and we had done no pre-production demos. “With Crooked Teeth we spent a lot of time at my home studio recording the songs, discussing them, practising them, and then applying changes to new demos. “When we went over we had everything down, and had more songs than we needed so we were able to pick and choose. We had all also agreed on the direction of the album, and egos were left at the door. Everything we did was for the greater good of the songs as opposed to fuelling egos.” What was it like working with Machine? “It was the most amazing experience ever. The guy is insane, but a great teacher, inspirer and role model. He taught us all a lot about music, music production, and even his philosophy on life.
Going into writing and recording, what kind of goals did you have in mind for the album? Do you feel like you’ve achieved them? “We spoke a lot about the direction, and then as I wrote the songs, I just took in a lot of feedback from the band. We just found a sound that everyone loved. “We also focused on writing great songs, as opposed to a tonne of good riffs jammed into one song, as everything was about the bigger picture. Regardless of whether the album does well or not, we’re all proud of what we achieved.” Is there anything that you’re especially proud of when it comes to Crooked Teeth? “The energy of it. This album has so much more energy than our older material, and I love that. Even in slower songs and sections it still has a sense of ur-
gency.” Your shows at Loudfest a month or so ago were your first live shows with new vocalist Dan. How did they go? “We had a few gear problems, but other than that they went really well. Dan was a maniac on stage and it really gave the band an energy and intensity that we haven’t had in a live setting for a long time.” How was the response to the new material and the new vocalist at the show? “Yeah, it was great! Everyone seemed to dig the new tracks, and the crowds loved Dan.” Has it got you amped to play on the Crooked Teeth tour? “I’m ridiculously amped! Those three shows were our first shows with Dan, and the first live shows we have played since December 2011, so it has been a long time. We’re all itching to get out on tour and play as many shows as we can.” The tour is quite extensive. Are you hitting any places that you haven’t yet before? “We’re going to Bunbury in WA, and we’ve never been there. There are also a few venues we haven’t played before. Other than that we’ve been everywhere at one point in time. “We are going back to places like Tasmania that we’ve only been once before though, so that’s pretty cool. I’m looking forward to freezing my ass off in that cold city [Hobart] again.” I’ve heard the new material be compared to ETID and Underoath. Are they comparisons that you’re happy with? “They’re both bands that we’ve been listening to for years, so there’s no problems there.” So what’s next for HVH? Album gets released, you go on tour, and then what? “Retire in our mansions and snort coke every day!”
Crooked Teeth is out now through UNFD.
WORDS: OLIVER CATION – LIVE PHOTO: JORDAN COMPTE
PHANTOMS HAVE KEPT THEMSELVES IN THE SPOTLIGHT IN RECENT YEARS BY DELIVERING A STRING OF SOLID RELEASES (INCLUDING THE BRILLIANT AS ABOVE SO BELOW BACK IN 2010), TOURING FREQUENTLY AND HAVING THE PERFECT KNACK FOR KNOWING WHAT IS FUNNY TO PUT ON A SHIRT. THIS JULY WILL SEE THE RELEASE OF A NEW 7-INCH AND ANOTHER TOUR, THIS TIME CO-HEADLINING WITH THE BRUTAL HARM’S WAY FROM CHICAGO IN THE US OF A. WE GOT A BIT OF INFORMATION OUT OF VOCALIST CAED FRANCIS TO SEE WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING WITHIN THE CAMP OF THE SYDNEY-BASED BAND SINCE IN THE LEAD-UP TO THE RELEASE OF THE S.O.S. (SHORT FOR “SAVE OUR SOULS”) 7-INCH. Phantoms is about to embark on a co-headline tour with (legitimately) notorious US band Harms Way. What are your thoughts on the tour? “Why are they notorious? Did I miss something? But yeah, Isolation was one of my favourite records last year, and our bassist Mike is a Harms Way fanboy, so he has been siked for months.” Harm’s Way are a very different band than Phantoms, have you thought about hitting the gym to prepare for the tour? “I bench more than James [Pliggue, vocalist for Harm’s Way] anyway. But not really. I’ve been trying to do some cardio ever since Adrian Kelly [Phantoms guitarist] beat me in a footrace in St Kilda earlier this year. Man, that sucked!” You are dropping a new 7-inch for the tour as well. Since As Above So Below, what has changed in the band in the way you write and look at your music? “The process was a little bit harder for the 7-inch. Life got in the way, and we hardly found time between touring and work to write a 7-inch that we all liked. We are no longer trying to sound like other bands either. We are happy sounding like Phantoms, and we just want to build on that.” S.O.S. contains more thrash elements than AASB, so what influenced the musical content? Too much Sepultura? “There is no such thing as too much Sepultura. Seriously though, not much has changed with musical content. We are all still listening to the same old stuff, but we are just taking different aspects of that all into what we do and trying not to follow the same formula in every song. That being said, bands like Pantera, Life Of Agony, Madball, Crown Of Thornz
and Hatebreed are all constant influences on us.”
in the lead up to writing the new full-length.”
Your lyrics are always quite personal, so where does Save Our Souls come from lyrically? “It’s a 7-inch about how weak humans are becoming. People are following one another blindly and would step on their mothers for a chance at success. There is a real world outside of the internet, you know.”
Phantoms will be playing the traditional pre-Hardcore Hot Damn alongside Relentless and others. What makes Hardcore weekend special for you? “Hardcore weekend is where I have met people who have become some of my best friends. It always pulls some of the older heads out of the woodwork too so it’s just a great chance to catch up with crew.”
You rereleased AASB on 12 inch earlier in the year, the new release is also going to be vinyl. What do you think about its resurgence as a medium, especially in hardcore? “I honestly don’t really collect records. I have a few but I definitely wouldn’t call it a collection. I think it’s cool though. CD as a format kind of sucks. Bring back mini disc!” You re-recorded S.O.S. in May from after having originally recorded it back in January. Were you unhappy with the songs or did you just see room for changes? “The recording quality was the issue. You could literally hear people getting text messages and rats crawling around microphones. I shit you not.” In the relatively short tenure of the band, you have released an album, a 7-inch, a split 7-inch and two demos as well as toured extensively with bands like Cruel Hand, Deez Nuts, Miles Away, Trapped Under Ice. Is it a conscious effort to be so active? “We have been trying to lay off playing shows this year, but we can’t say no to playing with bands we love and getting to visit mates in different states. It has been nearly two years since our last record so it will be good to get some momentum with this new release
Because you play so much and get to see so many bands, to you who are the next generation of bands people need to keep an eye on? “Outlines are the best band in that genre in Australia at the moment. I think they will take over from Break Even. Endless heights doing their thang and Legions are riff-tastic. Also check Blind Sight from the Central Coast and Stone Cold, which features members of Phantoms, Relentless, Civil War and Legions. Highways too! That band is real cool.” In your wildest dreams, who would you most like to tour with? “The B Sharps, hologram 2pac, the Up In Smoke tour, and Sunk Loto.” You continue to entertain audiences with your merch designs Is there a limit on how far you would go? What are the requirements for something to be made? “I’m just surprised we haven’t been sued yet! At the end of the day, we don’t take ourselves and the band super seriously. We like to have fun on and off the stage, so that’s why we do stupid as hell merch designs!” S.O.S. will be released August 10 through Broken Hive Records. Catch Phantoms on tour with Harm’s Way this July/August.
The Ghost Inside WORDS: SARAH PETCHELL
I can’t remember who it was, but back in the days of a MySpace waning in popularity, a little band called I Killed The Prom Queen were about to head out on the road for an as yet unannounced “farewell” tour. I have a sneaking suspicion that it was Michael Crafter who first posted a link to this unknown band from Orange County called The Ghost Inside. From there, as they say, history was made as their debut album Fury & The Fallen Ones was one of the most popular hardcore albums that year. In fact, this Australian popularity the Californian band have enjoyed is partially due to some very smart touring decisions by the band. The band went on to support IKTPQ on their aforementioned “farewell” tour and backed
that up with a tour supporting the massive Parkway Drive in support of their second album Returners. Unfortunately, one thing The Ghost Inside have yet to do is a solo tour of Australia themselves. But perhaps the path they lay touring in support of The Amity Affliction off the back of their third album – the brilliant Get What You Give – will see them finally get this wish. Vocalist Jonathan Vigil was recently in the country for personal reasons, and while he was here, right before the band were about to embark on a complete run on the Vans Warped Tour, No Heroes managed to catch him for an interview about Get What You Give and the possibility of that ever elusive, Australian headlining tour.
“We just signed to Epitaph Records, recorded a new album and have been touring,” says Vigil of the 18 months between chats for the two of us. “This last month has been the first month that we’ve had off in a very long time. It was kind of to regroup at the end of the Returners record cycle and now we’re just ready to move forward with the new record and go full force with that.” When you get to the end of a record cycle and you have have that little bit of time off does it feel like you’re starting fresh? “Absolutely! I mean, we never really had that with Returners because as soon as we put out Fury & The Fallen Ones, we were on tour non-stop. So this is the first time that we’ve had as a band to regroup and do a whole new
“Brett has been nothing but great and some of the best current bands are on Epitaph – Alkaline Trio, Parkway Drive, Bring Me The Horizon. They’re bands that are all killing it and we’re so stoked to be a part of that family.” We’ve talked about the roster, but what else about Epitaph makes them the label for The Ghost Inside? “I just feel like, Brett being a musician himself, he knows the industry and he knows both sides of it. Yeah he knows the business side of running a label, but being in Bad Religion he knows what it’s like to be in a band, to tour and everything else on that side. “Also, they’re real, real involved. We’ve talked to friends that are on other labels and it seems like Epitaph just care more. Like, Brett will just text me out of the blue to see how I am, and it’s like dude, I’m texting Brett from Epitaph/Bad Religion. What the hell? “They’re just a famiy oriented label. You see it when you walk in there: everyone works for them but they’re so happy to be there. It’s not like they’re just doing it because that’s what you do when you finish college, and that’s cool.”
launch for the new record. Plus having it come out on Epitaph, so that people in a lot more places can get it easily now, it’s like a rebirth for our band.” Speaking of the deal with Epitaph, how did that come about and how stoked are you on the whole deal? “Dude, the first album I ever bought was The Offspring’s Smash, you know. That was on Epitaph. To be on that label is literally a dream come true. “I was telling Dave [Australian rep for Epitaph] that if you gave us a recording contract from every single record label in the world and asked me to pick one, I would pick Epitaph. So just the fact that they were even interested in us is mindblowing.
Another big change between the albums was Casey leaving and Andrew joining the band. What did Andrew bring to the writing process for Get What You Give that was a bit different to what Casey had brought in the past? “Andrew used to play in For The Fallen Dreams and he was a big writing member of that band. In our band, Aaron writes the majority of the music, all the guitars, and he and Casey worked well when they wrote together, but Casey was always just drums. “Andrew, being a songwriter, knows how to write for guitar and drums, so those two working together was just awesome. A lot of people that like our band, like For The Fallen Dreams as well and that’s because of Andrew. So to have him with us is great because he brings an awesome vibe. He’s a great dude, really funny and, as far as musically, he’s one of the best out there so we’re so stoked that he’s a part of it.”
Obviously Get What You Give is out now, so how excited are you to unleash it on the world? “I’m so proud! I’m so happy. For Fury & The Fallen Ones, we didn’t really have any expectations because we didn’t really have a sound and we didn’t really know what we were doing. We pulled from other bands, bringing in elements of Bury Your Dead, Comeback Kid and Misery Signals – we made all that into that sound. “Then for Returners, that was just a better written Fury & The Fallen Ones. But for Get What You Give, I feel like we have now actually harnessed the sound of The Ghost Inside. This is what our band sounds like. We have the aggressive edge. We took the heaviness and amplified it. We took the fast parts and made them faster. But what we did, was we took the melodic parts and we really made them stick out. “The first song that we released, ‘Outlive’, that’s one of the heavier songs on this record, and we’ve had heavy songs on all our albums but I think people are going to be really interested to hear what the more melodic parts of the album are going to sound like. So I’m excited for different parts of the album to come out. “It’s definitely a step in the right direction for us, because it’s still The Ghost Inside but it has evolved a little bit.” It’s good that you mentioned those melodic parts, because they were what really struck me about the album. There are a lot more almost pop hooks in the album. “I think what happened is that the producer on this album was Jeremy McKinnon from A Day To Remember. We took these songs to him as this is what we have, but he’s so creative and so smart and so quick with things that he would hear a song and be able to change parts around or change the vocal patterns because he could hear the way that a part should be. That had a big influence on the final product. “The thing about the more melodic elements though, is that yeah it’s something new for our band, but it doesn’t sound forced at all. That came out naturally in the writing and it shows. A lot of
bands when they try to evolve they go too far in one direction. They either stick to what works and keep writing the same album, or they go too far in the other direction and write songs that don’t sound like. We wanted to be in the middle, where we did progress but we’re still the same band. “This element is a new sound for the band but it’s not predominant. It’s not what defines our band. The core values of our band are still the same in that we wrote an album that we would listen to if we weren’t in the band, and that the ethics behind the lyrics are all the same.” Working with Jeremy McKinnon, what did he bring to the table? “In the past it was just us. This was the first time we had an outside source, that although was familiar with the band and likes the band, was not a part of the band. Like I said, he took the parts we brought to him and amplified them. He just structured stuff better as well. “Then vocally, he pushed me to do stuff I had never done before. Like with range. I have never been real sure of my voice and now I have a little more range, where I can scream a little higher or scream a little lower, while
maintaing a midrange. And that was huge for me, vocally, being able to develop these new skills that I never thought I would have been able to do. “The past two albums, I blew out my vocals. The first album, I lost my voice. Then the second album, I lost my voice, had to break and then had to come back and sing. But for this one, I was fine the whole way through. I’ve never been able to do that before, so I’ve always struggled during recording and I’ve always dreaded it.” Would you say that the vocals are what you’re most proud of? “No, I think I’m most proud of the lyrics of the album. I think lyrically, I really had a direction in which I wanted to go and with the album I really opened it up a bit. I didn’t write so much of the same sort of style. There is still that underlying meaning of hope and the light at the end of the tunnel that has always been a big part of our lyrics, but I tackled different subjects this time around. So lyrically, some of my favourite songs are on this album” Would you say that you getting older and changing as a person is an influencing factor on the slight change in lyrics? “Absolutely. I’ve matured a lot since I’ve started being in this
band. You can only write about positivity and uplifting things so much before it kind of gets old and boring, so having that be such a big part of our band I had to find a way to get that message across but through different avenues. I think getting older and experiencing more has helped a lot. Just opening my eyes to the world and stuff that’s happening around me and to the people around me, gave me more to write about.” And that’s one of the advantages of being in a band, just that fact that touring the world you get to see so much more of it than the ordinary person would. “For us, that’s the biggest part of the band. You start out just wanting to play shows, then you want to play shows outisde of your city, and that grows. The Ghost Inside has been very fortunate in that way. “I never thought that I would ever visit Australia, let alone be here for the fourth time. It’s cool to kind of know my way around Sydney and for me that’s a huge accomplishment. I mean, my parents have never left the country and to know that I’m in a band where all I do is yell into a microphone and get to see the world, that’s insane!”
Get What You Give is out now through Epitaph. You can catch The Ghost Inside on tour with The Amity Affliction and Architects this September thanks to Destroy All LInes.
WORDS: OLIVER CATION – LIVE PHOTO: SIMON ATKINSON & LACHLAN HICKS
CEREMONY
HARDCORE 2012 SATURDAY 7 – SUNDAY 8 JULY 2012
TERROR – MINDSNARE – CEREMONY – BREAK EVEN – MILES AWAY – I EXIST EXTORTION – IRON MIND – WARBRAIN – VIGILANTE – SURVIVAL – CIVIL WAR
#HC2012
HAVING TAKEN 2011 OFF, HARDCORE RETURNED BIGGER THAN EVER IN 2012. AN EVENT WIDELY REGARDED AS THE PINNACLE OF HARDCORE MUSIC IN AUSTRALIA, ONCE AGAIN RESIST RECORDS AND TRIAL AND ERROR RECORDS TEAMED UP TO PRESENT A LINE-UP OVERFLOWING WITH THE BEST UP AND COMING, ESTABLISHED AND CLASSIC HARDCORE BANDS FROM AUSTRALIA AND OVERSEAS. As much as Hardcore is about the music, it is also about the atmosphere and the friendship, something which was strongly influenced by the venue. The new Hi-Fi Bar was previously uncharted territory for many punters attending the two day festival, its renovated structure playing host to an array of different genres in its short history but nothing quite so boisterous as this. Starting the Saturday evening off slowly was doom-laden septet I Exist. Their party piece four guitar assault never fails to amuse while their ever deepening back catalogue is full of bowel shaking riffage that keeps your head bouncing and your hand in upwards claw position. As I Exist made their way through songs about Kerry King and Unicorns the venue began to fill and the buzz of anticipation with it. Playing surprisingly early on what was a stacked line up, Break Even took to the stage next for what was to be their second last show. What started slow with I Exist quickly turned into chaos, with bodies flying everywhere as Break Even played their favourite songs from their back catalogue. The older songs such as ‘Keep Climbing’ even saw some of the older bodies moving around. The chaos would be a highlight
of the weekend, but nothing on what was to come when the all ages crowd was added to the mix the following day. Miles Away followed their Perth brethren, taking their lead and playing a retrospective of their career to this point, tracks from the original album all the way to newer album Endless Roads were played with traditional Miles Away enthusiasm. The crowd reacted in kind, crawling all over each other to reach Nick Horsnell’s outstretched microphone and the chance to sing along to their favourite lines. The international acts started with Ceremony, a band who divide opinion. Their garage grunge take on hardcore cast a veil of some calm over the evening, if only momentarily as many took the opportunity to have a breather as Ross and co writhed and threw shapes on stage, before the carnage to come. The band showcased new material off recent album Zoo, and each song was delivered with venom and melancholy, a combination a few attendees found quite challenging. Re-entering the Hi-Fi from the cold Sydney night air, I was met with the rough bellow of an audience member. “MELBOURNE” they cried, perfect I suppose. It was loud, anti-social but somehow endearing and familiar – just like Mindsnare. The kings of Australian hardcore take to the stage infrequently so their shows have become the stuff of folklore and tradition: a badge of honour for all those brave enough to enter the fray. Starting with ‘Bulldozed’, Mindsnare tore through a set of classics, each song bringing grins to the faces of the faithful up the front and educating those fresh to the game. ‘Cold’ was the highlight of a set that was perfect Mindsnare and left many done for the night. Terror are a hardcore institution, a band that is the pinnacle and definition of the genre to many.
Scott Vogel wasted no time in whipping the energy levels back up, tired bones reignited with energy as Terror gave a masterclass in unity and ethics through brutality. Their most recent album, Keepers Of The Faith was so well received that many of those songs seemed to have achieved more classic status than earlier material. As each song was played, the audience progressively got more and more into it, with each speech delivered by Vogel like a gospel to the masses, bringing everyone in the room together as one. Terror crushed the headline spot, and that was just day one. The drunken partying and crowd surfing of Saturday turned into the hangover and bruises of Sunday, the earlier 2pm start seeing many sprawled around the Entertainment Quarter precinct. Sydney young guns Civil War started the proceedings with their riff heavy hardcore, with those that were wise enough to get some sleep the night before getting involved from the get go. Survival came next in what was to be the breakout performance of the weekend. The band is comprised of a few seasoned members and some youngsters, but this Byron Bay/Brisbane juggernaught was nothing but a high precision weapon. Their heavy hardcore rhythms awoke the Hi-Fi Bar audience from its siesta, igniting the pit and impressing all who stood before them. Expect to see a lot more of this band as they look to release their debut later in the year. Sydney once again had time to shine with veterans Vigilante. Their more traditional take on hardcore punk went down a treat as variety proved to be the spice of life. Warbrain followed them for a set of hard grooves which saw the dancefloor exploding to songs from the bands Paranoia 7-inch. Those who had followed the band from Melbourne especially delighted in seeing their hometown band deliver the goods.
MILES AWAY
I EXIST
BREAK EVEN
IRON MIND
CEREMONY
Terror’s tour partners Iron Mind were up next. A band that many are keeping an eye on, their reputation as being one of the tightest and most energetic bands in the country was proven to be true. Tracks from their debut album, Hell Split Wide Open were received with the appropriate amount of crowd participation, the dancefloor becoming a warzone as vocalist Sam Octigan bounced and prowled the stage above. In years to come, Iron Mind will headline Hardcore, I promise. A break from the heavier side of things saw Extortion take to the stage. Speed and dirt mixed as trash cans were thrown and blast beats were drilled into the audience. A blinding pace was set early on, Extortion delivering what seemed like 100 songs in the space of only 20 minutes. The sloppiness of previous performances was gone here, the band a tight machine perfectly grinding out their distinctively macabre songs. As we headed to the end of a long weekend, Miles Away picked up the energy levels. This time playing below Break Even, the band played a set catering more to the all ages crowd, limiting the classics in favour of newer material. This definitely was a decision that proved successful as the audience once again clambered all over each other and sung along as one heaving mass. The weekend however belonged to Break Even. A fairytale story of triumph in the face of tragedy, the band took to the stage for one last show. The end of an emotional rollercoaster for many, a tribute to former band member Rowan Willoughby, from the very first note the crowd gave everything they had left. Each word was screamed back at vocalist Mark Bawden as he commanded the stage a final time. Once again playing songs stretching the entire back catalogue of the band, it was songs from the heart-achingly beautiful The Bright Side which elicited the
#HC2012
biggest responses. ‘November 18th’ was spine tingling and emotionally draining, many people around the venue breaking down in tears and crying out to the song in memory of Rowan. The band was drawn back on stage for an encore of ‘Troublemaker’ but their work was done, Break Even will be remembered fondly by all. Trying to follow such a performance would be hard for any band and Ceremony faced an uphill battle from the start. Their melancholy fell dead on my ears, the exhaustion of the day sending many for a break before bringing it home with Terror once more. While Terror delivered the same barnstorming performance as the night before (with a few select setlist changes) the audience was finished, a loyal segment of the crowd giving it everything they had left, but most happy to sit back and soak in a final drop of Hardcore for 2012. For an event that brings together thousands of people from all over the country to watch such aggressive music, the fact that there were no fights, very little lewd behaviour and a strong sense of community and belonging is remarkable. Hardcore 2012 was as much about that community and what we share as it was about the music and no doubt, 2013 will see it back and strong as ever.
#HC2012
#1
#2
#3
#6 #4
#7
#8
#5
#1: Vigilante – Simon Atkinson; #2: Iron Mind – Simon Atkinson; #3 Miles Away – Lachlan Hicks; #4: Ceremony – Simon Atkinson; #5: Ceremony – Lachlan Hicks; #6 Break Even – Lachlan Hicks; #7: Break Even – Simon Atkinson; #8: Terror – Simon Atkinson. Lachlan Hicks shot 18+, Sat 7 July – Simon Atkinson shot AA, Sun 8 July.
ANTAGONIST A.D. WORDS: SARAH PETCHELL – ALL PHOTOS: BEN CLEMENT
You want to talk about a hardworking band? Let’s stop for a second and talk about Auckland’s Antagonist A.D. This hardcore quintet have been around since 2005, and in that time they have established themselves at the forefront of the NZHC scene. Throw into that equation a dedicated fanbase they have built up across the Tasman and three excellent albums, and this is a band that should be proud of themselves! Now let’s focus on Antagonist A.D. in 2012. The band are mere days away from releasing their third album, Nothing From No One, and in our opinion it is the best work the band have ever produced. The album is a tribute to 90’s vegan, straight edge metalcore and considering that the band cite influences the likes of Arkangel and Earth Crisis, this should be no surprise. So we had a chat to vocalist Sam Crocker about where Nothing From No One sits in the band’s discography, how much they love Australia and which are the best vegan eateries to hit up when on tour.
ing. But it’s also awesome to see how many kids jumped on and downloaded it straight away as well.”
If it helps at all, the tracks that stand out for me are ‘Show Some Heart II’ and ‘Epsom’. “That’s exactly what I’m saying! We weren’t planning on putting either of those songs into our setlist until much later. Especially the song ‘Epsom’.” How was the recording process different this time around from when you recorded We Are The Dead? “When we did We Are The Dead it was not a lot of fun. It was really stressful and there were a lot of dramas because of the people around us at the time. There was just a lot of stress, miscommunication and a lot of deadlines and pressure. But this time we thought fuck it. We’re going to take our time and take ages writing to make sure that we’re happy with it and that we get to work with who we want to work with.
The album is officially out next week, but it has been up on iTunes for a week or so I believe? “Yeah it went up around July 6 and no one knew. I found out when some kid messaged me about a week ago, and I wanted people to hear it so I posted about it. Then it got taken down yesterday, but it’s out again next week.”
“So we went to a small beachtown to record and just chill out, I mean we got to play with this awesome dog everyday. We got Ben [Clement] over to film stuff and we just heaps of fun. It made the hugest difference.The recording process was definitely better too. They did the drums all in one go, but then they sat down and did the guitars song by song. It was kind of weird but it meant that we could focus on one song before moving onto the next, last minute tweaking aside.”
Did you get much of a reaction so far? “That’s the coolest thing about it going out early! We’re getting feedback about the songs already and that’s great because we’re trying to put setlists together at the moment. We don’t know what these songs are going to be like live. I mean, there are songs that we write and we like it, and we enjoy it when we play it, but you play it live and it makes people leave the room. So it’s cool to know what songs people are lik-
I was told that you lost your voice doing the vocals for this album. How infuriating was that for you? “Basically how I lost it was that I wanted to do some sweet singing on this album, but the only problem is that I can’t sing at all. I have the worst singing voice in the world, and I didn’t think it was that bad until I heard it back recorded. So we were trying to make it work and during the first song my voice was strong, but through some vocal coaching
from the band and that stupid singing part that wasn’t even really a singing part! It was supposed to be a short H2O thrownback thing in the middle. It wasn’t cleans, it was hardcore singing.
“So it became this horrible joke because it was really stressful. I couldn’t talk for fucking ages and I had to drink some horrible drinks.” You are heading back to Australia for the millionth time, so what keeps you guys bringing back here? “That’s easy: amazing shows, amazing food and amazing friends. It’s honestly paradise and I don’t know why I haven’t moved over already. The last time we were there at Easter, it felt like it was the first time we were over there. We just have so much more fun as a band now. We just feel reinvigorated.” What are some of your favourite vegan places to eat at while you’re over here? “Funky Pies in Bondi, is probably one of my favourites by far. Everyone says Green Palace in Newtown, but I think it’s overrated. Funky Pies blows my mind!” You’re a pretty busy person outside of the band with fulltime work and kickboxing. How do you prioritise and fit everything in? “My life sucks. Today I got up at 7am to get to work. I took an early lunchbreak to do some interviews, then went back to work and ate sushi at my desk. After work I went to pick up some posters for a tour I’m doing next week with Terror before heading to the Muay Thai gym, and now I’m taking these last calls before I head home to write running sheets for the tour before playing Minecraft for a couple of hours before bed. “But I don’t prioritise. I just try and fit everything and do it all as quickly as possible.” Nothing From No One is out this week through Mediaskare/Shock. You can catch Antagonist A.D. on tour this August with Shinto Katana and Lionheart.
ROSETTA WORDS: SARAH PETCHELL
“We’re a band made up of recalcitrant, backwards DIY nerds,” reads the biography on Rosetta’s website. But what Rosetta actually are, is one of the foremost purveyors of heavy, post-metal in recent years, with 2010’s A Determinism Of Morality, seeing the band move into slightly more melodic territory, while still remaining undoubtedly heavy. Now the Philadelphians are returning to Australia this July and August so we spoke to guitarist Matt Weed, about life inside the Rosetta machine. I read an interview online where you mentioned that you’re into a whole range of music – electronic, classical. How important is it, as a creator of music, to have diverse tastes? “That really depends on what your goals are. If your creative process
is intended to produce something that’s rigidly defined, then my thinking is that it’s not crucial. On the other hand, if you’re interested – as we are – in emergence, the sense that new things can spring up unexpectedly, then you’re going to seek out as much different inspiration as possible. “The results usually show up in improvisation. Things you didn’t know you had assimilated come back out of you in surprising ways. Nailing that new thing down into a song is a separate problem, but the genesis is often a combination of disparate sources.” I’ve heard you mention quite a few times that Philadelphia is not a great place to be a musician. What makes it so unfriendly? “Part of what’s hard is the city’s general attitude about itself, which
seems to transcend demographics and identity. The whole place has a huge inferiority complex. Nobody believes the city will ever amount to anything or do anything right, to the point where when something good happens, people are in denial about it. Everyone is pathologically attached to being the underdog. “The truth is that it’s actually a great place, a place that presents an ugly face to the world sometimes, but a beautiful and complex and fascinating place nonetheless. So sure, there are good and even great bands coming out of Philadelphia, but there is no pride or community cohesion around music, just as there is no pride or cohesion around most other things. The attitude trickles down to everyone. “To compound it, there aren’t a
lot of mid-sized music venues in Philly. A couple of the ones that we do have are great, but they have a budget to meet and don’t typically foster a lot of local upand-comers.” Are Rosetta still only a parttime band? If so, is there any point where you would consider becoming a full-time band? “It depends on what you mean. We’re part time only in the sense that we don’t rely on the band to make a living. It’s full-time in the sense that it is the biggest and most permanent commitment of time and resources that any of us have. “I think at this stage, we have made our peace with what the band is in our lives. The tradeoffs to “going big” are too great – I don’t want to play 250 shows a year, live on fast food and caffeine, and never see my wife. That’s unacceptable to me, because I know for a fact that it would strip every ounce of joy out of the music itself, along with destroying all the relationships that I care most about. “Still, I’m happy to play 80-100 shows a year, tour during the summer, and write and record while being a normal human being the rest of the time. The band has lasted a pretty long time precisely because we’ve tried to stay cognizant of our limits and boundaries. Sometimes it’s intentional, sometimes not, but I’m grateful for how things have gone for us.” You’ve written three albums now and while each sounds like Rosetta, each sound very different to one another at the same time. With that in mind, where can you see Rosetta heading next, sonically? “Louder and faster. I think we continue to emphasise the roots of our music more and more – i.e., 90s hardcore. I think it will maintain the progressive and psych sensibilities that we’ve been developing, but we have also been intentionally pushing for more aggression in the sound. “I’ve started to feel that being a very melodic space all the time, without a dissonant and grinding contrast to break it up, is tiring and starts to sound cloying or clichéd. In the same way that we love loud/soft dynamics, I hope
we can get into more textural and harmonic contrast as well.” A Determinism Of Morality was released back in 2010. Are Rosetta at the point where the cycle for that album is done and you’re writing new material? “Definitely. We’re working on a 4-song EP for Translation Loss which we hope to record by the end of the year. Each of the four songs on that EP will be really different from each other. Each will explore a different facet of the sounds and moods that we’ve played with over the last nine years. After that EP is recorded, we’ll immediately start writing our next full-length.” You’ve mentioned in other interviews that the further along you go as a band the more the music you write gets rooted in personal experience rather than abstract concepts. What do you mean by that? “My sense is that when you’re younger, you understand reality less through experience and more through creative interpretation, or fantasy if you will. You have stories that you identify with, characters, big narratives, myths, whatever. Reality is mediated by those things, and you use that language to make sense of what’s happening around you. The Galilean Satellites was very much cast in that mould. “As we’ve gotten older, there’s not as much need to have myth mediate what we make, because our own personal stories and experience have grown and our understanding has become deeper and clearer. That’s reflected in a growing directness and candour in our music that I think is healthy, and which I hope becomes more refined as we get even older.” Do the comparisons to Isis ever get old? “They were old five years ago. I definitely loved Isis when I was younger, but they’re part of a larger thing that was happening in the late 90’s and early 2000’s on Hydra Head and other labels, and it’s that larger thing that’s the true influence on us. Think of the stuff bands like Cave In, Botch, Coalesce, OMG, Isis, and Converge were doing right around 2000. “Plus, it’s not like Isis came out of nowhere. Remember when Isis
was “that Neurosis rip-off band” or “that Godflesh rip-off band”? Most people don’t remember that because most people didn’t discover Isis until 2007.” Do you prefer the creative process of writing and creating music to touring and playing live? “Not at all. Writing is miserable for us; it takes forever. Recording is also miserable, because it forces you to spend huge amounts of time thinking about your failures and deficiencies, while also spending large amounts of money. Touring is great because every day is a new start, you receive constant affirmation (well, almost), and you get to go all over the world and connect with people who like what you make. That’s almost too good to be true.” Your website has the ask function, which seems to get answered quite frequently. How important is it for Rosetta to have that openness with its fanbase? “It wasn’t something that we sat down and talked about, it just happened spontaneously, but now I suppose there’s an expectation that we’ll be very accessible. That’s fine, I don’t want anyone to have the idea that we’re geniuses or unnaturally talented or anything. We’re just people like everyone else, and hopefully having more transparency can get that across. “Do you want to do something? Don’t sit around waiting for someone to hand you a contract or pay you to do it. Just do it. I want to be encouraging to people where possible, and paradoxically, it seems like the best way to do that is to be open about your own frailty and smallness.” Do you think that the openness of the internet has kind of destroyed some of the mystique of being in a band for the fans? “If it has, I’m all for it. There is no mystique. It’s hard work for very little return, and the sooner we can get rid of the commercial hype the better. I realise people like spectacle, they like being in the presence of people who are larger than life, but it’s a sham. “I’d rather go to a show and sweat with artists who are completely committed, totally apart from
how much adulation they get… because let’s be honest, nobody makes enough money for profit to be the motivation. Everyone wants to be affirmed. Artists create personae so they can receive adoration from other people. But does a spectacular persona deserve affirmation in and of itself? I don’t think so. Good work deserves affirmation, as does integrity and honesty. “On a related note, another danger of the internet is when bands think and act like they have a mystique, but let too much hang out and you can see how average they are. They come across as feeling entitled to have an audience or to have attention paid to them, when there’s little substance to their words or work. It’s embarrassing. Better to try to keep it low-key.” A lot of genre labels have been placed on Rosetta (post-hardcore, post-rock, avant-garde, blah, blah). How do you label your band? Does the “metal for astronauts” description still apply? “Metal for astronauts is sort of an attempt at humor. I don’t feel a close connection with any particular genre label, . I want the opportunity to connect with as many different people as possible, regardless of what some music Nazi or playlist aggregator has
told them that they’re supposed to like. Maybe it’s time to change the line to “hardcore for astronauts”.”
in the music industry as a whole, there are solid, honest people out there who do excellent work.”
Do you think the fact that it’s impossible to pigeon-hole you in a particular genre makes line ups (like the Australian tour you’re about to embark on) potentially more diverse and interesting? “It helps us get on bills with a wider variety of sounds, certainly. It has been great to tour so much with City of Ships, apart from the fact that we love them as people. Contrast is always good. There’s a nice sweet spot when you play with bands that have a small amount of overlap with your audience, but are also introducing you to new people who can really get what you’re doing.”
In the way the music industry operates at the moment, what is the recipe for success as a band? Do you believe that selfsufficiency is the way to go? How much input should a label have in the way that a band operates? “My opinion around those issues has evolved over time, and is continuing to evolve, but I’m basically convinced at this point that new bands should operate as unattached as possible. Never sign anything without having a true need, and 100% trust in the person you’re contracting with. We are in a technological moment where bands don’t need labels anymore.
Rosetta seem like a pretty self-sufficient band in booking your own tours etc. How important is it for you as a band to maintain a certain sense of autonomy? “Pretty important, though more from the standpoint of protecting ourselves from the consequences of mismanagement or exploitation. That being said, we do need help, because we can’t do every single thing ourselves. We’ve been fortunate to work with some really great bookers and promoters – it’s a good reminder that while there are negative trends
“Working with music industry structures is no longer “the only way” – it’s one option among many, and it may be disappearing. You don’t need a PR guy, a manager, an A&R guy, etc. You need a car mechanic, a gear tech, a lawyer, and a graphic designer. Go directly to the people and skip the hype machine. That’s the direction I hope we can move in. Self-sufficiency means that you’re never beholden to anyone except the fans and each other. That’s a good spot to be in.”
The Broderick WORDS: SARAH PETCHELL
Back in 2008, Melbourne’s The Broderick released an EP that marked them as a band to watch in the realm of heavy and aggressive music. What followed was a period of quiet that lasted until the announcement came earlier this year that the band would finally be releasing their debut full-length Free To Rot, Free Of Sin. We spoke to guitarist, Marc Harpur, about the new record and what the heck took them so long! Illusion Over Despair came out in 2008 and it’s now 2012 with your debut full-length coming out. Why has it taken so long between releases? What have you guys been doing? There’s probably about a million excuses and reasons why it’s taken us so long to follow up our EP. I guess the main reason is that after releasing Illusion Over Despair we kind of lost motivation and the songs we were writing at the time were pretty average and felt forced. “We really weren’t interested in making a record with material we didn’t believe in just for the sake of touring or releasing something new. We ended up taking a break for a while which really made it worse, and everyone was doing their own thing. I ended up starting to record a lot of music from home that I was really excited about and eventually we started jamming again and then, before we knew it, we were discussing the prospect of doing a record.” How did this long process change you as people and as a band? “Personally it has given me a wake up call to how much I enjoy playing aggressive music and playing in a band with people I love. I think it also gave us time to reassess all the things that we wanted to improve to make our band better and more enjoyable.” How did you cope with the frustrations of the process taking four years? Was there ever a point where you wanted to quit? “To be honest, not very well because it was so hard to stay motivated. I think we all questioned our reasons for wanting to continue with The Broderick throughout that whole period. I don’t think it could have worked if the five of us weren’t as close as we are and
if we didn’t believe so strongly in the new songs we were writing.” Do you feel like The Broderick as a band is still relevant to the fans you had four years ago or even two years ago, or does it feel a bit like starting again? “Throughout the whole process there was a feeling shared by all of us that we were starting again. We were constantly changing the way we would do things and write songs. We all had the mentality that everything we had written up until that point was average, just to push ourselves and to get away from old habits. “We made a conscious effort to change every aspect of our band so I there is a very real chance that people who once enjoyed our music might not enjoy our new record. That being said, we all feel that this is by far the best thing we have ever done musically and that the songs on this record are by far superior then anything we have done in the past.” What are some of the aims and goals that you’re trying to achieve with this record? “Releasing Free To Rot, Free Of Sin and having as many people listen to it as possible has been the only thing we have been trying to achieve for such a long time that anything we do after that is just a bonus really. Hopefully this will just give us a platform to release more music and tour as much as we can.” Are you happy with the final result? Is there anything you’re particularly proud of with it? “There’s always going to be things that you wish you could change given the chance, but I don’t think any record can ever be 100% perfect. In saying that, I’m extremely happy and proud of what we have produced and it is by far the best thing we have ever done as a band. I am mostly proud of the songs we have written. They are much more sincere and personal than anything we have written in the past and just feels like we are finally progressing as a band.” Why the decision to release only on vinyl (with a digital download)? Do you think there is a need for CD pressing? “We didn’t really have enough money to release them on both
CD and vinyl formats and after discussions with Dead Souls it was agreed vinyl was the preferred option for us. I think there definitely is still a place for all physical releases, because no matter how much downloading and file transferring goes on people are always going to be interested in tangible copies.” One of the things you mentioned to me previously was that you were a bit paranoid about the album leaking. Why is it such a big deal for the album to leak? “Yeah, it’s like you have a vision on how you want your album to be released and viewed but leaking an album can really ruin that. Also there is a huge desire to have the people who were lovely enough to pre-order the record to receive it first and listen to it in their own time before anyone else does.” You’ve released Free To Rot, Free Of Sin through Dead Souls. What made you decide to work with Marty and the label? “It was a pretty easy decision. Marty is one of my best friends and has always supported and helped our band in anyway he could. He recorded, produced and worked with us closely on the record so when he offered for it to be a Dead Souls release it wasn’t even a decision we had to think about.” Once the album is out, what are your plans in terms of touring and getting your music out there? “There are a few things we have loosely planned at the moment but the first thing we will be doing is our release tour with some close friends of ours which is looking to happen around August/ September. Also we are lucky enough to distro some copies through a US label and we are extremely excited about that.” Lastly, what is your favourite Converge album and why? “This is a really hard question for me to answer because I love everything equally after Petitioning.... I will just take the easy option and say Jane Doe because it was made 11 years ago and is still as heavy, melodic, aggressive, groundbreaking and relevant today as it is has ever been.”
While She Sleeps WORDS: SARAH PETCHELL
Halfcut is the new heavy music imprint courtesy of Shock Records, and one of the first proverbial cabs off the ranks for the fledgling label is the debut release from British five-piece metalcore act While She Sleeps. The album is called This Is The Six and the hype surrounding the album earned the boys the title of best British Newcomer at the recent Kerrang! Awards. And now the band are heading to Australia for the very first time in support of House Vs Hurricane on their Crooked Teeth tour. In the lead up to both of these events, we spoke to vocalist Lawrence Taylor, and after a brief conversation about the medicinal properties of a nice cup of tea for curing a hangover, we got stuck into it. So While She Sleeps is keeping you busy, then? “Yeah, definitely. We’re really excited to be coming over to Australia in a couple of weeks, so that’s the thing we’re most looking forward to. But we’ve been playing a lot of festival sin the UK.” Is that something you ever expected to be able to do? Tour Australia, I mean. “No, never. I’ve been i bands since I was 16 and I’m now 26, so if you think about it like that to this point now I’ve been in a 10 year apprenticeship, just playing in bands and learning.
“When I joined While She Sleeps about three years ago I said to the guys that I wanted this to be the last band that I would be in. So I think it’s absolutely amazing now that the band has gotten to that level that it’s taking us places that we’ve never been before. It’s just a really exciting time for us.” Do you have any expectations of what the shows will be like? “A lot of people have told me that the metal and hardcore scenes over there are unreal, so I’m expecting the shows to be really good. I just hope the shows will be really energetic, so I’m really excited to play the shows with bands that we’ve heard are really good too and just hang out. Hopefully we get along with them all.” Not too many people in Australia would know who While She Sleeps are, so how did you guys get together in the first place? “We all played in local bands that played around the Sheffield area and we basically knew each other’s bands. At the time, they had a different vocalist and we would support one another’s bands, but eventually the vocalist had other commitments (like spending time with his girlfriend, studying, learning to drive) and left, so I said to them that if you ever need anyone to do vocals that I would love to do it. So they took me up on the offer.
“Like I said, I wanted this to be the last band that I was in because after doing it for 10 years and keep having to start over with new bands, it gets frustrating. But with While She Sleeps, it seems like we’ve hit a good combination between the existing bandmembers and myself on vocals – we all gelled together pretty quickly – so we’ve been playing together ever since. And I still want this to be the last band that I’m ever in.” I read that quite early on you guys made the decision to quit working and focus on the band fulltime. How easy was it to arrive at that decision? “The first day that I joined the band, we were going to play a small show in Europe. I got in the van and I said to Mat, our guitarist, that it felt like the start of something really good and how could we not give it our all. “So we came to the conclusion that if we packed everything in and gave the band our all, then that way we would have no regrets and never be let down that we should have done something else. Doing it fulltime we’ve been able to be out on the road all the time and build up our fanbase from beyond our local area. We’ve begged, borrowed and stolen to make sure that we had a mode of transport and that we could be out on the road.”
CIVIL WAR
WORDS: JEM SIOW – PHOTO: LACHLAN HICKS
So Civil War is a pretty new band on the Australian hardcore front. Give us five reasons why people should check you guys out. “I’ve always liked the raw and genuine energy of our live shows. I see a lot of bands posturing and consciously trying to act a certain way on stage and that’s not my thing at all. We try to keep everything as honest and ‘in the moment’ as we can and I feel like that sets us apart. “Other than that I’d say our songs are fast, metallic, and we try to write stuff that’s at least a little bit different to what’s going on right now. Let’s call that five.” What inspired Civil War to come to life? “Originally I was asked to play guitar in Persist. We actually wrote a little bit of material and jammed it out a couple of times but the melodic thing never felt right to me and eventually the guys let me have my way and we started writing heavy stuff.
“I’ve been a fan of 80’s metal and thrash since I was a kid and I guess the inspiration for this band was to take the aggression and ethic of that era and insert it into a hardcore sound.” Your group is definitely of some superstar quality, featur-
ing former and ex members of Persist, Corsairs and even House Vs. Hurricane. How did you all meet? “Well our guitarist Drew and I were in Corsairs together before he jumped ship to Melbourne and joined HVH and we had played a few shows with Persist and met them a couple of times. We actually didn’t know the guys that well so it came as kind of a surprise when they asked me to join the band. Drew moved back to Sydney and joined the band a little bit later.” With only a demo release you guys have taken some serious steps forward. What were your ambitions when you first started? “Yeah, we’ve been overwhelmed with the response. Originally, we just wanted to play music and create something we were proud of and see where it takes us and I think that’s still very much where we’re at.“ 2012 seems to be a big year for hardcore with international tours every month and a whole range of exciting bands sprouting from rich soil. How’s this year been for you so far? “Yeah, it’s a really great time to be into hardcore. This year we finished writing and tracking our upcoming 7-inch and I’m really excited for people to hear that.
We’ve also had some of the best live responses so far, and it’s been very cool to see kids singing along and moving.” Tell us more about this 7-inch you guys have coming up. “We recorded it earlier this year in Newcastle with Matt Taylor, who recorded our demo and I’m really happy with how it came out. The thrash influence is far more prominent and the riffs are harder and darker. I think it’s a lot more mature lyrically too. It’ll be four songs and we’re still working out label stuff and mastering right now but it should be out towards October.” What else is in store for this year, and into the next? “After we release the record, we plan to tour it nationally and hopefully jump on some international supports towards the end of the year. Following that we’ll start working on a full length and see where things take us from there.” There’s no doubt that in the coming and closing months of 2012, Civil War are one of the most exciting bands to keep both ears and a head of hair out for. Here’s hoping you guys are excited as we are. “Thanks a lot man. Shout outs to everyone who has supported us so far, it means the world.”
new music Their Legacy, Your Burden is the second EP from Sydney mosh core band Aftermath and for something self released, this is a very neat album that is well produced and flows nicely. Fans of Shinto Katana and The Acacia Strain will find a lot to love in this release, with the heavy vocals and driving riffs will giving audiences plenty to move around to. Consider this the warm up track for bedroom pre-show mosh. TLYB doesn’t push any boundaries or present anything that hasn’t already been offered up before but this fact doesn’t make it bad music, as fans of the genre will welcome it to their CD players and playlists with open arms. Aftermath are setting the foundations for a promising for a full length, so while you’re at it, check out the single ‘Inheritance’. 3/5 Jessie Stringer
Their Legacy, Your Burden – Aftermath (Self-Released)
The album name says it all. Antagonist A.D have worked hard for everything they have got, a fact which makes Nothing From No One even more of a triumph. A step up from all previous material, the album’s production is top notch. Its songs strike a balance between speed and aggression and the lyrical content once again positions Antagonist as more than just another band. ‘Show Some Heart II’ with guest vocals from Ben Coyte (DOC/In Trenches) was a pleasant and unexpected surprise, while other songs like ‘War Crimes’ and ‘Paul Allen’ were highlights of an all round solid album. My only minor qualm would be the use of the now done to death American Psycho quotes, something which is still entertaining but has lost impact with their use by multiple artists. Antagonist A.D can take their place among the elite, NFNO is about as good as metalcore gets in 2012. 4/5 Oliver Cation
Nothing From No One – Antagonist A.D. (Mediaskare/Shock)
In the lead up to the release of Baroness’ third full-length, Yellow & Green, there has been a lot of talk by the band about how “different” this album is to their previous work. So, going into listening to it for the first time, I was expecting a drastic departure from their previous sound. However, this is not actually the case. Yes, there is a slight difference to Baizley’s vocals (he now sings more than he screams) and the songwriting is a little more straight-forward, but all in all, this is definitely Baroness and the result is some of their best work to date. Gone is a lot of the bombast, and in its place is space and melody, with songs like ‘Eula’ giving the listener room to breathe. Tracks like first single ‘Take My Bones Away’ and the incredibly easy to listen to ‘March To The Sea’ are definite standouts. 4/5 Sarah Petchell
Yellow & Green – Baroness (Relapse/RIOT!)
Comet is the eighth studio album from these New Jersey veterans and it’s business as usual. This is a solid, well produced album, but not one likely to make The Bouncing Souls the new favourite band of anyone who hasn’t already given them a listen. ‘Coin Toss Girl’ is a standard pop punk song about a girl but is probably one of the album’s catchiest tracks along with ‘DFA’ These two songs are the best examples of what this album is, lyrically light hearted, positive, jumpy and fun but unfortunately nothing stands out as being partiticularly amazing. That being said, Comet is certainly worth a listen for those into pop punk or long-time fans of the band, but it is far from being anyone’s album of the year. 3/5 Jessie Stringer
Comet – The Bouncing Souls (Rise Records/Shock) A long time between drinks, speculation was that The Broderick might not have ‘it’ anymore, the ‘it’ that made Illusion Over Despair the debut EP most bands dream about. Free To Rot, Free Of Sin is painful. Suffocating, impassioned, and desperate vocals, with tense and tight guitarwork and tribal, sharp drumming. Painful in the best ways possible, an aural masterpiece. The Broderick can’t be pigeonholed into a genre, as they take influence from many different bands and lay it out in a style that can only be referred to as The Broderick. Here, they have continued the intensity of the EP into a full length album, an album that feels like a journey. Lay on your bed, put your hands by your side and listen to this album on vinyl through your best headphones. Perhaps you may see the devil. 4.5/5 Oliver Cation
Free To Rot, Free Of Sin – The Broderick (Dead Souls Records) Disclaimer: Mid way through your first listen of Rotten Thing To Say, you may feel inclined to grow a beard, join a bike gang and start a bar fight but just ride it out because you’d be missing one hell of an album if you did. This release mixes punk, hardcore and good ol’ fashioned rock and roll in perfect amounts best demonstrated by tracks such as ‘12:31’ (despite it being an instrumental) and ‘Pig City 2’. Each member has put in a solid amount of effort to produce an album that is a long way from the overly contrived efforts presented by other bands of this genre. ‘Made Out Of Apes’ should be played as loud as your speakers can handle. If the walls are shaking, you’re doing it right. 3.5/5 Jessie Stringer
Rotten Thing To Say – Burning Love (Resist Records)
new music I’m going to flat out say that Future Of The Left probably have a very limited appeal, but their brand of loud, surly and extremely sarcastic indie rock is something that definitely appeals to me. It is also these loud, surly and extremely sarcastic characteristics that give the band its crossover appeal, especially on their earlier albums. The Plot Against Common Sense, as album number three, is a slightly more polished affair (in terms of production) and as a result some of the appeal of the band is lost, which is a shame given that the songs themselves are some of the strongest that Falkous has ever written. As with previous records, the band have struck just the right balance of aggression and pop hooks, with ‘Goals In Slow Motion’ possibly being the most straight-forward thing they’ve ever written. That being said, if you want a true idea of what this band should sound like, check out Travels With Myself And Another instead. 3/5 Sarah Petchell
The Plot Against Common Sense – Future Of The Left (XL/Remote Control)
The Hives just have it. Some bands produce a career defining album and slowly fade out, others show promise and never deliver. The Hives have consistently delivered quality albums, each slightly different but all enjoyable and catchy. Over the space of the last few albums, the intensity and high voltage of their Swedish glamour rock and roll has slowed, and Lex Hives continues that trend. A greater focus on diverse song writing sees elements of country, big band and Little Richard (yeah, you’ll understand) working their way into some songs while their lo-fi fuzz swagger stays the focus. Pele Almqvist is perfect once again, his emotive screech and howl oozing with sex and style. Lex Hives will likely appeal to a wider audience, but for a band that has maintained such quality in their material, that’s never a bad thing. Awesome. 4/5 Oliver Cation
Lex Hives – The Hives (Disque Hives)
After you release an album that was widely dismissed and then lose your vocalist to a vicious hardcore band, it would be suggested that you reassess what you are doing. House Vs Hurricane did that, they got back on the horse, recruited new vocalist Dan Casey from now defunct SA god botherers Nazarite Vow, they headed back to the US to record an album which is sonically removed from all their previous efforts. The keyboards are gone, much of the melody is gone too, so this is abrasive and coarse while still filled with hooks. Not every song lands, but those that do (single ‘Blood Knuckles’ and the awfully named ‘Haters Gonna Hate’) redeem HVH for their previous errors and should mark a phoenix style rebirth and growth into a furious new beast. 3.75/5 Oliver Cation
Crooked Teeth – House Vs Hurricane (UNFD)
Idylls are another band from the thriving Brisbane experimental Monolith Records scene. Farewell All Joy fits well into the catalogue of Monolith, integrating elements of skramz and heavier hardcore punk together. Similarities can be called to bands like The Blood Brothers and The Locust, with the sheer diversity of those two bands a reflection of the depth that Idylls present. Blistering frantic speed to slower mood changing elements, Farewell All Joy is a well rounded album and one that catapults Idylls from just another band formed in 2011 to a fully fledged part of the Australian experimental music scene. Idylls’ music is challenging and interesting listening, Farewell All Joy is just the start of what looks to be a promising addition to the phenomenal Monolith family. 3/5 Oliver Cation
Farewell All Joy – Idylls (Tenzenmen/Monolith) The Locust have been blowing minds since 1994, and with Molecular Genetics… the band are giving a rare insight beyond simply the album material. This release consists of 44 tracks of hard to find and out of print material from the band’s early years. On show here is The Locust’s unique mix of grindcore speed and aggression, mathcore complexity and new-wave weirdness, all mixed into one. However, over 44 tracks of obscure material it is definitely hard to keep up the consistency. When the band are on, they are totally on, but about a third of the material on here is definitely filler. After all, this is an accumulation of all their pre-Epitaph material. While some parts are enjoyable to the casual listener, this is definitely a collection made purely for fans of the band. 3/5 Sarah Petchell
Molecular Genetics From The Gold Standards Lab – The Locust (Anti-Records) Straight up, this album is incredibly hard to fault. Everything You Ever Loved is the follow up to the band’s 2010 debut End Measured Mile and is yet another leap forward in this young band’s career. Opening track ‘Blur’ straight away sets a very intimate tone, which is continued right through the album until the very last second. This album is anything but predictable and the band try their hand at everything throughout these 11 songs. ‘St Anne’ may indeed be the best song of their career thus far with it’s perfect progression from delicate vocals to rock song and back again. If either musically or lyrically this album fails to stir anything in you, then you best check that you still have a pulse. 4.5 Jessie Stringer
Everything You Ever Loved – Make Do & Mend (Rise Records/Shock)
new music NZ alternative-rockers Old Loaves have produced a great grunge-inspired, somewhat instrumental record in Drowser. With nine-songs clocking in at an average of around four and a half minutes, it’s easy to lose oneself after a short time. I’m not saying that the songs are boring, not for a second; the guitar-driven sections that make up Drowser, mixed with the angsty vocal delivery make for a very entertaining record. However, with slow jam full-lengths like this one, it is somewhat expected that the listener can take a seat, or perhaps a lie, crack a beer and just enjoy without delving too deeply. It isn’t particularly catchy, and there may be no room for sing alongs or dancing, but it is definitely worthy of the 40 minutes you’d spend doing nothing else. 3/5 Camilo Zannoni
Drowser – Old Loaves (Street Press Records) The latest release by the ever experimental Periphery is almost exactly what you’d expect from the heavily Dream Theater-influenced quintet: clocking in at 70-odd minutes, each track presents guitar-work that is just as impressive as the last (trust me when I say there are solos galore); Halpern’s syncopated beats rival even Meshuggah’s best work and Sotelo goes from angelic to brutal in seconds. It is a well-crafted metal record, producing some gut-wrenching breakdowns while still maintaining the technical and progressive edge (including the employment of orchestral arrangements that mostly work) that places Periphery firmly at the top amongst the current ‘technical metal-core’ wave. Periphery II makes others sound like watered-down pop tunes played by kittens. Keep an ear out for Petrucci on ‘Erised’ – what a beast! 2.5/5 Camilo Zannoni
Periphery II – Periphery (Roadrunner Records)
Ordinarily, the style of hardcore that Phantoms plays is not my cup of tea. However, what they manage to do, and have done with S.O.S. is create some of the heaviest and hardest hardcore elements, throw in some of the coolest metal riffs and let it rip. This is Phantoms at their best, and simultaneously their angriest as vocalist Caed Francis spits lyrics with absolute vehemence and drummer Glynn Powell hits the skins hard. I’m a huge fan of the guitar work in ‘Heavy Is The Head’ and the weird, very old country sample at the end of ‘Wake Of Vultures’. If this is the direction that Phantoms are taking, then I’m so excited to hear what a second full length is going to bring. Get ready to hit the pit swinging as any track on this 7-inch is definitely set to be an anthem. 4/5 Sarah Petchell
S.O.S. – Phantoms (Broken Hive Records)
Shinto Katana have released two full lengths already: the fondly remembered Cold Streets and the divisive We Can’t Be Saved. Redemption however makes them look like demos! Striking a balance between the brutality of WCBS and the bouncy accessibility of CS, Redemption shows a more advanced band, their use of instrumental interludes, layered guitar and rapid time changes all giving the feel of a whole album rather than a collection of songs. Heavy as ever, Shinto frontman Dave Naylor deals with personal demons and growth with his trademark growl, his vocals a constant strong point. This isn’t marketable music, but fans of downtuning, breakdowns and aggression will enjoy it and it will especially appeal to fans of Cold Streets as ‘Ghost’ and ‘Rick James’ are pure Shinto Katana, Redemption achieved. 4/5 Oliver Cation
Redemption – Shinto Katana (Skull & Bones/Shock) Turbonegro have been through their fair share of members, but replacing their frontman of nearly 15 years was always going to be touch and go. Luckily for fans this is still an album full of crudely named party rock deathpunk songs and Tony Sylvester has done well to fill the glittery boots left by Hank Von Helvete. Although not as instantly catchy as 2008’s Party Animals, songs like ‘Hello Darkness’ and ‘You Give Me Worms’ will have you nodding your head and throwing up the horns when no one is around, while ‘Shake Your Shit Machine’ will have you doing just as the song suggests. Sexual Harassment may take a few listens for some but it is the perfect soundtrack for being down for anything. 3.5/5 Jessie Stringer
Sexual Harassment –Turbonegro (Volcom Records) From the very first down-tuned bass note, Master/Slave promises to be an unforgiving plethora of grimy hardcore, and it delivers. What follows the slowed-down, heavy as all balls intro of ‘Secular Front’ is five tracks of d-beat heavy, wall-of-noise sludge that sounds too monstrous to have been produced by a threepiece. The lyrics reflect turbulent times, with Allard and Patterson screaming nothing but contempt for society and the human race over drum and bass led hardcore. Though there is nothing particularly groundbreaking or bold about this record, it never pretends to be anything more than three hardcore veterans (who are clearly disturbed by the world) having a jam (see ‘Master/Slave’). ‘Human Filth’ is a highlight, with a palm-muted intro/outro that is sure to get people swinging. Perfect for Monday mornings. 3/5 Camilo Zannoni
Master/Slave – Whips/Chains (Deathwish Inc)
THINGS WE ARE HYPED FOR...
NEW ALBUM FROM GALLOWS TO BE RELEASED ON HALFCUT
It is pretty fair to say that when Gallows announced the departure of their vocalist Frank Carter, that a lot of people were shocked, perhaps thinking that there wasn’t much of a future for the band without the very angry front man. Then there was the surprising announcement that Wade Macneil (ex-Alexisonfire) would be taking over the vocal duties, and shortly after that the band would be release an EP showcasing the new lineup for the world. Death Is Birth was met with mixed reviews, so now that the fulllength ids ready to drop courtesy of Halfcut Records, it will definitely be interesting to see what the band can do over a full album. The first track from the album – ‘Last June’ – is available as a free download through the band’s website (http:// www.gallows.co.uk) and will be out via Halfcut Records/Shock on September 14, 2012.
SUNN O))) and PELICAN TOUR SO MUCH DOOM!!! That will be the catch cry when Sunn O))) hits Australia this October, and we cannot wait. This is one tour where I do not have idea what to expect. I have been warned that I will come back from the show suffering from exploded eardrums just from the sheer volume and I think I’m ok with that, as this is a tour that I have been waiting a long time for. Promoter, Heathen Skulls, have also thrown instrumental outfit Pelican into the mix in a genius move of diversification: the two bands sound nothing alike but share a common fanbase. One is doom laden and the other is heavy, but melodic at the same time. Both are also masters of their respective crafts, so the end result is a tour that will probably go down as the tour of the year. Tickets are on sale now. Hit up the Heathen Skulls website for all the dates and ticketing information: http://heathenskulls.com/
FYF FEST 2012 RIGHT! Enough is enough and I should just pack up and move to the United States, since they seem to be getting all of the fantastic festivals that I really, REALLY want to go to. Next on the list is FYF Fest, happening in LA this September, and here are my picks from the line up, just so you get an idea of how BADLY I want to go: Aesop Rock, Against Me, American Nightmare, Baroness, Ceremony (one of my picks from Hardcore 2012), Converge, Cursive, Desaparecidos, Fucked Up, Health, Quicksand, Refused, Sleigh Bells and Turbonegro. If anyone wants to fly me to the US, I won’t say no, but in the meantime head over to the Fest website to check out more details about the event (http://fyffest.com/).
MAWDS JOINS HOPELESS...
Melbourne hardcore act Hopeless have been a little bit quiet over the past few months. Last we heard, they were heading in the studio to record the follow up to their excellent album Humans, but no one was quite prepared for the announcement that came after the band finally broke their silence. As it turns out, the band have parted ways with vocalist Brett Sutton as a result of creative differences, and in a move that surprised a lot of people announced that Mark “Mawds” Bawden of the very recently broken up Break Even would be taking his place. So what we’re looking forward to is album number two from the Melbourne quintet. An album with a new singer that could possible result in a reinvigorated band with a new energy. All in all, exciting times are afoot, so stay tuned for details regarding the album’s release later this year, and Australian dates starting with Brisbane this August.
SYDNEY’S PUNK ROCK FLEA MARKET IS BACK! AT THE SANDO THIS SEPTEMBER
SUNSHINE & TECHNOLOGY August 24, 2012 will see Melbourne’s The Smith Street Band release their second album, Sunshine And Technology. This is the highly anticipated follow up to the band’s 2011 debut No One Gets Lost Anymore, an album that we admittedly gave a fairly average review to at the time, but man has it been a grower. Just like the band, who have jumped ahead leaps and bounds in the space of a year. They have supported the likes of Frank Turner, La Dispute and Fucked Up, have toured the country multiple times, and have even earned themselves a coveted spot on the line up for the 2012 Fest in Gainesville, Florida. So what about the album? Recorded back in May at Melbourne’s Three Phase Studios, the first track was launched with aplomb on Triple J Monday 9 July. Called ‘I Want Friends’, if this is the path that the rest of the album will be taking, then we have another contender for album of 2012. Pre-orders are available now through the Poison City Records Online Store.
This is one for people in Sydney (unless you’re willing to travel). The Punk Rock Flea Market is back, this September, again at the Sandringham Hotel. If you missed out on the market earlier this year, get along to this one if you can. I managed to clean up quite nicely, grabbing a whole load of vinyl and CDs quite cheaply (including a really nice 180g version of the Rites Of Spring self-titled – yum!). It’s free, it’s on Saturday 8 September 2012 and operating between 1pm and 5pm. Then on the other side of the coin, if you’re looking to get rid of some old band merch you no longer wear, a skateboard deck you’ve been meaning to put up for years or save some space by selling some of those CDs you’ve bought, ripped to iTunes and never opened again, the day is also a great opportunity for you to snag some space for cheap and sell some of your shit! All the details are over on the website, so make sure that you hit Mel up if this is your schtik! http://punkrockfleamarket.wordpress.com/
THE 90s ARE BACK! Having been a teenager in the mid-to-late 90’s, right now I am LOVING this revival of classic Australian bands from my formative years playing some of those albums that got me in alternative music and from there into punk and hardcore. The most well-publicised of these is of course the No Touch Red tours by Melbourne’s Bodyjar. I am especially hyped for the current round of dates happening this August with For Amusement Only, Irrelevant and One Dollar Short reforming for these shows. Those shows were just the start of it, as in the last couple of weeks Regurgitator and The Living End both announced that they would be paying homage to the early parts of their discographies. In the first place, Regurgitator will be playing their classic albums Tu Plang and Unit back to back in a round of shows. THEN, less than a week later, The Living End announce a series of shows where they will be playing their seven albums, one album a night, for seven nights. The only night I care about in this particular circumstance is the night when they play the self-titled album in its entirety. What a great record!
BLACKLISTED/DEFEATER SEPT. TOUR Yes, the Defeater and Blacklisted tour is the worst kept touring secret of the year, but goddamn if it isn’t one of the most exciting! The part that I find the most entertaining about it all is how divisive the line up actually has people: most people I’ve spoken to seem to be going for either Defeater OR Blacklisted, rather than for both. But that’s ok. Defeater were last out here in 2011 with Miles Away and Fires Of Waco, while Blacklisted were here a billion years ago as a part of Hardcore 2008. Both bands will be touring around the country this September, so make sure that you’re ready for the onslaught of two of the most interesting and individual hardcore bands right now. Tickets are on sale as I type this, so make sure you head on over to the Resist Records website for all the information regarding dates, venues and ticketing.
www.noheroesmag.com