NO HEROES – ISSUE EIGHTEEN

ISSUE 18 // october 2012

ISSUE

18

8

Things We’re Hyped On

11

Bands You’ve Never Heard Of

13

R.I.P. Hydra Head

14

Quickfire: Lincoln Le Fevre

15

10 Things I’ve Learned: from being a Music Publicist

16 SXWZD 18

Title Fight

22

Musicians Speak Out

24

Defeater

28

Converge

35

Poison City Weekender 2012

42

Jonah Matranga

46

The Swellers

48

Notmeat Is Not Murder

49

Quickfire: Perspectives

50

New Music

54

Cornerstones: Hydra Head Records

Editor-In-Chief: Sarah Petchell Music Editor: Oliver Cation Art Direction: Natalie Lau Words: Sarah Petchell, Oliver Cation, Jessie Stringer, Raj Wakeling, Craigos, Brendan O’Keeffe, Wade Doom, Ryan Sim, Josh Howes Photos: Alex Meagher, Simon Atkinson, Amber Murley Cover Image: Converge by Alex Meagher Opposite: Will Wagner (The Smith Street Band) and Dave Drayton (Milhouse); last day of the Poison City Weekender 2012. Photo by Simon Atkinson. www.noheroesmag.com

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

EDITOR’S LETTER

Photo: Amber Murley

Every few years there will be a year of music releases that restores my faith in the music that I love and that I’ve dedicated a lot of time, emotion and energy into. 2012 is shaping up to be one of those years. Some incredible albums have been released both at home and abroad, and the year isn’t even finished yet. So for this issues editor’s letter, I’m going to take you through some of my favourite songs of 2012 so far...

1. Cereal – Milhouse: As you will read later in this issue, this Sydney trio were one of the standot acts of Poison City Weekender. This track is the first from their second 7-inch Thrillhouse and it’s everything we love about Milhouse: not entirely serious, stupidly catchy and incredibly posi.

2. Guns, Germs And Steel – Hoodlum Shouts: Hoodlums are a favourite with us at No Heroes and this track (taken from their debut album, Young Man Old Man) is a rollicking good-time.

That guitar riff; that chorus; and then that ending that has you roaring the lyrics along with Sam Leyshon. It’s very Australian and very good.

Make sure you look out for these guys on ‘Best Of 2012’ lists later this year.

3. All We Love We Leave Behind – Converge: This is the title track from Converge’s most recent effort (I’m calling album of the year right now) and it is an oppressive, ominous and downright ridiculously splendid representation of what this album is. The intro builds into one of the fastest guitar riffs I’ve ever heard Kurt Ballou play and

it culminates in a chorus where Jacob Bannon screams his voice hoarse. But the star of this track is the onslaught of Nate Newton’s bass and Ben Koller’s thunderous drumming.

4. Leathers – Deftones: If this is what we can expect from Deftones on Koi No Yokan, then count this album as one of my most-anticipated of 2012. ‘Leathers’ is a punishing song. The verse is ridiculously heavy before it breaks down and Deftones do what they do best: perfectly assimilate beautiful melodies into the heaviness that precedes it. This is a band that has kept their trademark sound and improved on it. This is a grown up song from a band that has grown up.

5. Thirty Three – The Ghost Inside: This isn’t one of the most well-known songs on the metalcore act’s new album, Get What You Give, but after a few listens it was the song that really struck a chord with me. It isn’t because the music is especially good or because it’s particularly different from the rest of their repertoire. My love for this song is entirely because of the lyrics, “Truth is I’ve taken a step back, I’ve taken some time to think; I just gotta express myself with this pen and ink because I’ve got something left to say, this means all the world to me, these words never let me down.”

Until next issue... “When this records comes to an end, I’ll listen all over again”.

Sarah x

things we’re hyped on ATLAS ALBUM RELEASE AND TOUR If Parkway Drive have already achieved world domination, then with Atlas it’s time for the band to spread their wings and take things in a new direction. Not a drastically new direction, but if the first single ‘Dark Days’ is anything to go by, then this is a band set on pushing their musical boundaries and drawing from a wider pool of influences than they have previously. Perhaps

more momentously, Atlas is also poised to be the band’s first number one album, a title that has eluded the band until now. With the album set to hit shelves October 26, only time can tell. In the meantime, pick up your tickets to the Atlas Australian Tour, where Parkway will be teaming up with I Killed The Prom Queen, Northlane and Survival at some of the biggest venues in Australia.

KOI NO YOKAN

HIT LIST VINYL REISSUE

‘MAKE IT A DECADE’

Southern California’s Deftones are back with album number seven, Koi No Yokan. Judging from ‘Leathers’, the first song to be released from the album, this album will be on par with everything else that they have done. In one word, brilliant. The band worked again with Nick Raskulinecz (producer on Diamond Eyes) and considering that this was a band that used to be lumped in with Korn and Limp Bizkit, they have become one of the most innovative heavy bands of the 21st Century (White Pony is still one of my all-time favourite records). The album drops November 9 through Warner, but stay tuned in the meantime for the first official single, ‘Tempest’ which is expected to drop October 9.

Hit List were a band that hit the Melbourne hardcore scene with all guns blazing.

Their style of tough, straightforward hardcore saw them bring the scene back to the style of hardcore of days of old. Their songwriting and live performances earned them a reputation that saw them tour with the likes of Blood Duster, Mindsnare, Most Precious Blood and Terror. Then it was over. Fast forward to 2012 and the band are back playing shows and for the first time, their self-titled LP is getting the vinyl treatment thanks to Midnight Funeral records.

You can pre-order the album now or catch them at the Reverence Hotel in Melbourne on November 10 with Vigilante, Iron Mind and Outright.

2012 marks Miles Away’s 10th year as a band. Three fulllength albums and a whole bunch of international touring are under their belts, so this is definitely a year to celebrate, and November/December is definitely the time to celebrate.

Hence the ‘Make It A Decade’ tour, where Miles Away will team up with the USA’s Cruel Hand (back in Australia for the third time) and fellow Perth band The Others for a tour spanning the majority of the country. The culmination of this tour is the Make It Count festival in Melbourne, which brings together some of Melbourne’s best hardcore talent in a festival that sold out almost straight away. Tickets are on sale now for all the other shows.

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SHAI-HULUD NEW ALBUM

VIOLENTLY HAPPY RECORDS

THE RISE OF THE VEGAN BAKE SALE

In keeping with their selfconfessed “it-takes-theseguys-forever-to-release-analbum motif” it looks like Shai Hulud are just about ready to release a new album (through Metal Blade in 2013, according to a statement by guitarist, Matt Fox). But here is the exciting part. The album was produced

by New Found Glory’s Chad Gilbert, and for those that don’t know, Gilbert was the band’s former singer. But the surprises don’t stop there, as Gilbert also returned to the band temporarily to do vocal duties on the record. That’s right, for the first time in the band’s history, Shai Hulud will have the same vocalist for two full lengths. To be clear, Gilbert is not rejoining the band, but stay tuned for more album release details.

Based on that logo you could be mistaken for thinking that Violently Happy Records were some sort of dance label. Perhaps unfortunately, it’s not. Instead it is the new imprint owned by New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert in partnership with Bridge Nine Records. Said Gilbert of the new venture, “I am proud to announce that I have started an imprint label through Bridge Nine called Violently Happy Records and my first release is The Best Ways to Disappear EP by Candy Hearts!” The EP is set for release November 6, and I recommend checking out Candy Hearts if you’re a fan of 90’s tinged, female-fronted punk rock. Makes me think of the 10 Things I Hate About You soundtrack… but definitely in a good way.

In a recent trend, two of my favourite things are combining: hardcore music and baked goods. Starting out in Melbourne with a group named Bake Down The Walls and expanding into Sydney with Bake Flag, the vegan bake stall is popping up at hardcore shows everywhere and we’re pretty happy with this. Not only do you get tasty treats to snack on during shows, but these groups are also raising money for a range of causes from women’s shelters to animal refuges. For example, at the Poison City Weekender, Bake Down The Walls raised $1100 to go to Women’s Domestic Violence Crisis Service and Edgar’s Mission animal sanctuary. As I understand it, the vegan bake stall is popping up in other states as well.

“HOME IS WHERE THE ARTY IS” The loss of the Arthouse Hotel was a blow to the Melbourne live music scene.

Now, after approximately two years of gathering stories and photographs about the beloved venue, a photo book is being launched to commemorate all the shows people from around Australia (not just Melbournians) attended there. Hardcover and in full-colour, Home Is Where The Arty Is is up for pre-order

now (at http://thearthousebook. bigcartel.com) and will be officially launched with an exhibition and acoustic show at the Lithanian Club in North Melbourne on November 23.

The launch event, including the exhibition, will feature acoustic performances by Darren Gibson and Brent with more TBA. For those that can’t make the show, the exhibition will be open during the day on Saturday 24 November as well.

9

NEW ALBUM OUT NOW

convergecult.com epitaph.com facebook.com/converge

bands you’ve never heard of EL ALAMEIN Website: http://el-alamein.bandcamp.com/ Label: Unsigned

This Brisbane quartet were recommended to be on the basis that a) not enough people know about them; and b) that they’re Wil Wagner’s (of The Smith Street Band) new favourite band. One listen to their Bandcamp and it’s easy to see why. Their brand of abrasive punk, with harsh vocals juxtaposed against technical and melodic guitar lines, sees them join contemporaries like Nuclear Summer, while the lyrical earnestness sets them apart. The EP you need to check out is called New Patterns, and is available through their Bandcamp. Sarah Petchell HARBOURER Website: http:// http://harbourer.bandcamp.com/ Label: Unsigned

Sydney/Wollongong act Harbourer are quickly making a name for themselves with their early-2000s influenced melodic punk with just a hint of pop-punk (see ‘Rain’). It’s a sound that sets them in the same category as bands like The Swellers or Title Fight, but there is something a little more mature and a little less angsty (in a good way) than these comparisons would suggests. The songwriting is clever, using 90s influences subtly, as in the distortion laden ending to ‘Imaginary Lines’. Stay tuned for a three-track EP due to drop any second now. Sarah Petchell REINCARNATION Website: http://www.reincarnation.bandcamp.com/ Label: Unsigned

Melbourne’s Reincarnation is blending traditional hardcore riffs with groove-laden vocals. You know the Cro-Mags, right? And of course you like them, so naturally you’ll like Reincarnation as that is almost exactly who they sound like. And this imitation is a good thing, as this Melbourne quintet is presenting to a new generation of hardcore fans a style forgotten in the modern world of breakdowns and hard riffs. Having launched a three song demo and playing any show they can get their construction gloves on, no doubt you’ll be hearing a great deal more of Reincarnation soon. Oliver Cation STARVATION Website: http://themostlethaldose.blogspot.com.au/ Label: Life.Lair.Regret Records/Lethal Dose Records

Hailing from the city of churches, serial killers and a criminally under-rated do-it-yourfucking-self punk/hardcore scene, Adelaide’s Starvation play fast, pissed off 90s-esque vegan hardcore in the vein of Chokehold and Left For Dead. Their demo tape put out through Lethal Dose records provides five songs of pure, unadulterated conviction. They have a split 7-inch due out October with Perth’s Negative Reinforcement through Life.

Lair.Regret Records. Here’s hoping there are enough vegan bake sales held to get them the fuck out of South Australia soon. Josh Howes WHITEWALLS Website: http://whitexwallsx.bandcamp.com/ Label: Poison City Records

White Walls describe themselves as “loud music from the ‘burbs of Melbourne” but what they actually are is one of the most exciting bands to hit the Poison City roster since Hoodlum Shouts. A standout at this year’s Weekender, this young trio are peddling loud, fuzz laden music that would do any Sonic Youth fan proud. There are intelligent melodies hidden behind the fuzz and distortion, but the star here really is the sheer noise a trio can create, which is best appreciated in the live setting. With two EPs under their belts, a full-length is due out November 9 through Poison City. Sarah Petchell WOLFxDOWN Website: http://wolfxdown.bandcamp.com/ Label: Life.Lair.Regret Records (AUS), Catalyst Records (US)

Standing for animal liberation, veganism and hardcore rejuvenation in their native Germany, WolfxDown aren’t doing things by halves. They are blazing a name for themselves by delivering heavy, aggressive female-fronted hardcore, reminiscent of bands like Most Precious Blood. WolfxDown have just dropped a blistering new 7-inch called Renegades through new label Life.Lair.Regret Records (check that out too), which is four tracks of pure vitriol that should see their stocks rise both in Europe and internationally. Oliver Cation 11

r.i.P. HYDRA HEAD This isn’t something you could do with Hydra Head because their Botch records were always out of print.

Quick story time: when they announced the re-issue of We Are The Romans as a 2 x LP package, I set my alarm for 3am and woke up to buy them. It sold out in about 30 minutes. You couldn’t pick up that copy of Old Man Gloom’s Christmas because, hey, that was out of print too.

This isn’t always the label’s fault, as the band don’t always want to repress (as was the case with the Pro Team 7-inch I put out earlier this year), but if it’s a new record, usually you can talk a band into keeping it in print. But by not repressing, it means that you had to resort to eBay and pay the exorbitant prices for the records you wanted. As a result, a lot of people end up no longer shopping with them.

Words: Craigos

IT IS ALWAYS A SAD TIME WHEN A LABEL FOLDS. I have actually ruined two labels before, with only one release from my band In Name And Blood. But this time around, the closure is especially biting, as it is a label that has released so many influential records for me – Aaron Turner’s Hydra Head Records.

The other argument was against Hydra Head’s prices.

For an American buyer used to paying $10-12 for an LP, paying $35 is over the top. On the other hand, to an Australian buyer, paying that kind of price wasn’t such a big deal (at least until shipping was calculated). Again, this means that people will stop shopping with them, especially with less popular releases, because they either couldn’t afford it or simply didn’t want to pay what they see to be an expensive price.

When I started Midnight Funeral Music, I did so based on the influence of labels I had worked with in the past, but more so because of labels like Magic Bullet and Hydra Head. The care and attention to detail that went into the releases they put out inspired me to screen print records covers, use colours of vinyl as part of the package and pushed me to do things my way (with the band’s vision taken into consideration, of course).

This is something I have learned personally over time.

Pumping hundreds of dollars into great packaging for a mediocre release isn’t going to translate into sales, because not everyone wants a two LP, onesided etched package in foil stamped gatefold top on covers for two five minute “songs” from some band with just a demo tape under their belts and three shows to their names. The maths just doesn’t work.

For those not in the know, the label started in 1993 as a distro and became a label in 1995 with their first release, the Long Lost Human 7-inch by Vent. Since then, Hydra Head has released landmark records by bands like Botch, Cave In, Old Man Gloom, Isis, Boris, These Arms Are Snakes, Coalesce, Converge, Piebald, Sunn O))) and Neurosis, to name a few.

What it all comes down to is that a label that has been putting out awesome music since 1995 is now winding down operations, and hopefully all the bands will find new homes. While you still can, check out some of the stellar releases from Hydra Head and keep an eye out from some more reissues they have coming out to help cover the costs and debt the label amassed over the last 17 years.

Since the announcement, there has been a lot of talk about how a label that released great music, by great bands, and in such amazing packages wasn’t able to stay afloat. While there are many theories the one I align with most, is the fact that the label didn’t keep their most sought after releases in print.

If you take a look at a label such as No Idea, they keep their most popular titles in print, for example Reinventing Axl Rose by Against Me, Hot Water Music’s back catalogue, etc. This means that if anyone ever wants a copy they can either hit their local independent record shop or visit the webstore, pick up the latest colour of HMW’s Caution, and maybe another record or two to make the postage worthwhile.

Aaron Turner has said these will include lots of cool and free stuff, discounted bundles and a bunch of other wackiness. As a record collector, I will be keeping my eyes on the label’s social media outlets and making sure I pick up what I can to help them out.

HYDRA HEAD IS DEAD, LONG LIVE HYDRA HEAD. 13

quickfire:

LINCOLN LE FEVRE

To start with, who is Lincoln Le Fevre, and what kind of music do you play?

I’m a full nerd from Hobart that plays in bands (Fell to Erin, Ride the Tiger) and produces records (The Scandal, Luca Brasi, Jamie Hay). I beat the shit out of an acoustic guitar and yell stories over the top.

What’s your first music-related memory?

My Dad. Listening to his mixtapes in the car with the Everly Bros and the Big Bopper or singing into his old reel-to-reel machine when I was a kid. He taught me to play guitar by jamming on old Shadows songs.

How does living in Tasmania influence your songwriting?

I guess anyone who comes from a smaller town or city has this kind of love/hate relationship with it, and a lot of this album is sparked from the friction that it creates. It’s a beautiful place to live, which lends itself to some nice imagery, but there’s a lot of resentment at the bullshit that goes on.

Are there any necessary conditions for a Lincoln Le Fevre song to come about?

Not really. I don’t tend to write much when I’m working on other people’s records, but when I get some downtime I tend to write music all the time. I’m way too self-critical though, which is part of the reason that it took me four years to write a follow-up album.

You recently signed with Poison City Records.

Why was that the best label for you?

Andrew runs an amazing label. He’s been really supportive of what I’m doing from the outset, and I’m stoked to be associated with him and all the bands that he supports. So there was never a question of wanting to shop the album around and go somewhere else. I’d sooner burn my guitar than work with a label that didn’t give a shit about what I did.

You recently played at Poison City Weekender.

What were your highlights from the weekend?

At one point, the whole front bar at the Reverence was singing along at full voice to Blueline Medic’s ‘Making the Nouveau Riche’ as it played over the jukebox, and I thought that the night couldn’t possibly get any better. But then Jamie Hay joined The Smith Street Band on stage for a live rendition of the same song after what was already a ball-breakingly good set, and I could’ve cried with happy.

Your new album Resonation is about to drop. What is your favourite thing about it?

I have to say that I’m really happy with the artwork.

Liam White originally took this photo at my house when I was working on the Jamie Hay album, and I asked if I could use the concept for the album sleeve, and he was very obliging. I know it’s a threadbare phrase, but I reckon this is the best collection of songs I’ve ever released. The highpoint for me though is absolutely Adrian Lombardi’s pedal steel on ‘Driftwood.’

Were you expecting the response that you got when you played on the Sunday?

I had no idea how it would be received. I knew that there’d be a few mates and hometown pals chucking a listen, but the crowd was amazing. Some of the new songs have got a shitload of verbage going on, but there were sections of the audience that were already singing along. There were some ripper heckles in there as well, and it doesn’t feel like a Lincoln le Fevre show without a well-timed call from an audient.

Did you do anything different in terms of writing or recording for this album that you maybe hadn’t done when recording previously?

The first album was also completely self-produced in my studio at home, so it was a bit of a departure for me to work with a producer. I had it in my mind from the start that I wanted to produce a more acoustic album that was closer sonically to the kinds of shows I do when I play solo. Even though the songs evolved with a band and are much more energetic than the previous album, it’s still retained that acoustic kind of heart.

So what’s next for Lincoln Le Fevre? The album comes out and then what?

The release date for Resonation is set for October 12, and there’s a tour following that with Jamie Hay and our respective bands throughout October and November, plus a few little ideas we’re working on for early next year.

14

10 things i’ve learned...

By Rebecca Reato Feed and water your artists – I’ve never worked in childcare but I’d imagine the similarities between looking after children and looking after touring artists are numerous. If you don’t want to deal with grumpy artists, give them food and give them water. This is perhaps the number one rule when conducting onground interviews, especially if the artist is mid-tour.

Phone interviews have a 50% success rate, at best – Even the most meticulous publicist cannot guarantee the success of a phone interview schedule. You are relying on conferencing companies, journos and the artists themselves to do what they are supposed to do at the exact time they are supposed to do it, and for some reason the stars rarely align.

Fear the Tour Manager – You may imagine that being a tour manager is one of the best jobs in the world, but more often than not they are the hardest working, and most underappreciated member of the touring party. They are the first ones up and the last ones to bed, and they’re lucky if they get to see more than the underbelly of the venue and their hotel room.

They are tired and busy, and if you dare get in their way, you’d better have a good reason.

Be careful about saving artist contact details – When setting up phone interviews with artists, it’s sometimes necessary to call, text or email them directly. It’s important to make sure these details are not mixed up with your general contacts, or else you run the risk of accidently asking if Lenny Kravitz wants to move into your sharehouse or texting Craig Finn from The Hold Steady about mushroom risotto.

Has happened.

Don’t forget to go record shopping – It’s easy to get caught up in the piles and piles of free CDs that come your way as a part of the job. It is important not to forget the joy of flicking through the racks of your local record store. You never know what little treasure you’ll find.

Respect the parking attendant – Being a music publicist means regular meetings with media all over the city. If you want to avoid extortionate city parking costs, make friends with the person in charge of staff/ visitor parking. Learn their names, bring them coffee, ask after their wives. They hold the power.

Always keep a Sharpie in your bag – Sharpies are one of our most frequently used tools of the trade.

Music publicists will usually have 1 x black sharpie, and 1 x silver sharpie on their person at all times. If you get busted without one, you fail at publicity.

Don’t try to tell bloggers what to do - They’re bloggers, man. The minute you tell a blogger what they should be listening to is the exact minute they henceforth disregard anything you say.

Don’t hassle editors on deadline – The quickest way to be blacklisted by a magazine or newspaper editor is to bother them during ‘deadline’. They often don’t tell you when exactly deadline is, so a good publicist needs to use a combination of experience and super-powers to navigate the gauntlet of the deadline and avoid the blacklist.

Canadians are the best people – Is that racist? I’m sure there are exceptions, but in my experience, Canadian bands not only produce some of the best music in the world but they are also really excellent people. If you’ve ever had anything to do with Alexisonfire or Cancer Bats, there’s your case in point.

15

no place in hardcore and hardcore venues but so far we haven’t not played a show because we couldn’t fit both kits (touch wood).”

First up, is it SXWZD or Sexwizard?

“This band has had so many different names in it’s entire lifetime I’m seriously not even sure these days. I like SXWZD because even random normies are able to read between the lines and figure it out.”

Your second album, Grey Matter/White Matter is about to come out. In what ways is it different to the first record?

“It’s far more experimental than the first album particularly in terms of drums, vocals and general songwriting. If you dug what we did the first time round there is still a bit of that going on but rest assured they are very different albums.“

Considering the bands SXWZD has descended from, does the “supergroup” tag ever get annoying?

“Believe me if you have ever been to a SXWZD live set the term “super-group” would not be an appropriate description of this band. Even though we have all been in other bands, it really doesn’t make any impact on SXWZD as far as writing and performance is concerned. We are really just a dysfunctional band made up of six ridiculous egos.”

You’re releasing it through Clarity Records. Why the change from Trial & Error?

What makes Clarity the label for SXWZD? “Basically it comes down to Footy being an exceptional friend to us all. Don’t get me wrong, Nigel and Trial & Error were great and it really was good of him to put us out in the first place. As for Footy and Clarity it’s local and we love the guy. Why wouldn’t we put the album out with him?”

You’ve stuck out having two drummers for two albums now. Is it as much of a logistical nightmare as it sounds like it should be?

“On the first album we only recorded the one drummer. This process was really easy. We adapted the songs on SXWZD for two drummers which was the just two drums playing the same thing. When we wrote for the new album we wanted the drums to start doing different and more interesting things which worked as a whole drum sound. Live it has

Do you think being from Adelaide has much of an influence on the music you write or the subject matter you talk about?

“Only that in the way the weed is cheaper here. I love Adelaide and I think I always will but it has nothing to do with my subject

16

SXWZD Words: Sarah Petchell

matter or influence on the way we write. This band would still be full of fuck-ups in any state of territory. “

the song writing and seeing what hardcore will allow us to get away with. We don’t need to play the Entertainment Center or anything.”

What are the best and worst things about hardcore in Adelaide at the moment?

“I have no idea! I’m a dad these days. I guess the best thing that could happen for me is if The Wiggles played a show with us at the Cranker. It would be killing two birds…. believe me!”

Your last tour was with Extortion and I Exist back in 2010. How much of a priority is touring for you guys?

“Pretty low quite honestly. We love the opportunity to tour when we can and it’s great to see that people in other states dig what we are doing, but again we’re very lazy and unmotivated when it comes to playing shows and touring. It’s not because we don’t love or enjoy it but just because we are all busy people in our own ways.”

It seems now that you’ve got members in a few different cities in Australia. How does that make the writing process for SXWZD work?

“Not really hard at all because it’s only a few of us that really write the main structures of the songs. We just get everyone to add upon those structures and that’s how it works for us.”

What’s next once the album comes out?

Any touring plans?

“We are touring the entire east coast which will be great. We are keen to see what people make of the new album however we are really happy with the way it turned out.“

Does this account for why it took a year to finish the album?

“No that was just pure laziness, lack of motivation and overall shitness on all our parts.

We don’t do much for a “super-group”.

Grey Matter/White Matter is available for pre-order now through Clarity Records.

Is there anything that you feel you still would like to achieve with the band?

“Just pushing things as far as we can with

17

Title Fight

Words: Jessie Stringer

It seems that in the last 12 months there has been a new sound in heavy, alternative music and with it Title Fight have become the band on everyone’s lips and blogs. This hardworking, young band from Kingston, Pennsylvania have been around since 2003 but it was with their 2012 debut full-length Shed that they began to turn heads. With their second full-length, Floral Green, having just hit stores, No Heroes found out what guitarist Shane Moran had to say bout the new album, new sound and that first tour of Australia.

You recently played on Warped Tour and then moved onto This Is Hardcore. What was it like playing with such a different variety of bands, from Yellowcard and Taking Back Sunday to straight up hardcore bands?

“On Warped Tour we got to play with a lot of bands who were popular when we were growing up. Taking Back Sunday, for instance, were all over MTV when we were in middle school and high school so it was really cool to see that stuff and be on the same festival as those kinds of bands. I think the contrast from that world into This Is Hardcore was that we were playing with people that were actually our heroes, but weren’t completely mainstream.”

So what have you guys been up to lately?

“Lately we’ve just been hanging out, getting prepared for a couple of tours coming up. But we’ve also had a lot of time home to enjoy the summer so we’ve been camping,hiking, playing sports, movies, stuff like that. It’s pretty easy going.”

Floral Green is your second full-length and it’s definitely a step away from fast hardcore to more melody and cleaner vocals. Was this a direction you were 18

formative years in our lives and the band is our main focus.

intentionally heading in or was it just how things played out?

“It’s kind of just what came out. I don’t know if that was a product of our subconscious telling us that we need to move away from what we were used to, but it was sort of just what happened. There were a few fast songs written for the record but we decided it would make a bigger statement if we made more of a departure and shows people that it was more of an evolution. It opened a few more doors to put our necks out on the line a little and see what was out there instead of just sticking to what we knew would be successful.”

“I think that it reflects, in a way, a version of our lives. We’re starting to lose friends that we’ve had through our childhood and losing family members. All different kinds of things are happening that are impacting us more in our lives than anything ever has because we have more of a grasp on what the world is really all about. As for a ‘grown up record’, I think just because we’re relatively young and growing up on the road as we are, that shows.”

There seems to be a strong 90s influence to your sound, so are there any particular groups you found affected your direction on this record?

“I’m constantly trying to find new music that I’m not familiar with just to find new things, and a band I thought to be a really big influence were a band that was around in the 90s called Swervedriver (from the UK).

It’s not exactly the sound, but more the vibe they put off with their music. They’re labelled as shoe-gaze but they’re more alt-rock with noisy undertones. Their sound is really rich and textural but still aggressive and abrasive, and that was something that I tried to continue into our songs. We want these songs to be really aggressive and hard-hitting but also more layered and textured with attention to small details.”

You also decided to stay with Will Yip for the production of the album, so was this a decision you made after the release of Shed as a relationship to continue into the future, or did it only come up when you started to think about the new album?

“I think it was in everybody’s mind just after Shed. He didn’t produce it but he did have a very strong impact on it as an engineer and we could see his passion for our band and our music. At the end of the day, that was the most important factor in deciding who would produce our next album because we wanted someone that was really going to care for the record and do whatever they can to invest their whole life into it, despite how much money they were making off it.

“It was something that popped up here and there, and for a second it was going to go one way or the other. At the end of the day, Will was always a constant force. He was like, ‘I wanna do it. I don’t care how much money you pay me, I’m here for you guys,’ and it was the best decision I feel we could have made.”

You recently released videos for ‘Head In The Ceiling Fan’ and ‘Secret Society’, which were co-directed between you guys and Hannah Roman. They also continue that 90s feel, at least before the latter turns bat shit crazy. Who came up with the ideas?

“I hate being that person, but I guess it was my idea. Everybody was trying to come up with concepts because we had to make one in a pinch and something just struck me one day. I just thought it would be kind of weird, but if we did it right we could also make it sort of light-hearted and bad, B-Grade horror style.

Lyrically too, Floral Green seems more mature. Would you say you’re growing up or has life as a touring band just put a different perspective on things?

“Just by virtue of the nature of things, everyone is constantly growing up, so I think it’s not something we try to capture. We are in our early-20s though, and these are very

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“Ned and I were talking about it and said it would be cool if we made it like the movie Super 8 where little kids make it and that would give it a kind of charm. Hannah helped out a lot with directing it and getting everything together, and we got it done in four days. That really surprised me because it was such a farfetched idea but everyone just worked so hard to pull it together. It’s shocking, but that’s what we wanted.”

Title Fight are easily on of the most recognisable bands in the scene when it comes to merch, with the limited run of backpacks and cameras. Is the visual aspect and this extra angle of your band as important to you as the performance side?

“It’s not as important as the music itself but when it comes down to us trying to make this our career it’s an extension of our art that stretches across every aspect of our band from merch to music videos. We want to create art, in every sense of the word, that represents our band to the purest degree.

coming out to the shows. We were not expecting that whatsoever. Normally when we go to a country for the first time, we have to build way up to that kind of bigger venue with kids coming out. Right off the bat, it was crazy.

“I was weirded out by the level of intense professionalism: the barriers, huge security guards and all that stuff. It freaked us out and that’s something we’re going to try and address next time we come out and make sure it’s not an issue. It didn’t ruin the show but it could have been a lot more accommodating to people seeing us for the first time.”

“A lot of bands get lazy as they gain momentum and popularity but it’s really important to us to release stuff that represents something that we really care about. I want people to know that we have a hand in everything across the board and that if it’s not one of us doing it it’s one of our friends.

And finally, here’s the inevitable: are there any plans for Australia in the future?

“I’ve heard talks about us coming back during your summer. I don’t know any details for sure but it would be really cool to come back. It was one of our favourite tours, so we’ll be back next year.”

“It’s important to keep that insular world because that’s what sets us apart from a lot of other bands and makes us special.

It’s cool to get your friend to draw a t-shirt design instead of some random person, we help each other. You’ve got to hang on to that sort of stuff or you lose a very specific appeal.”

Floral Green is out now through SideOneDummy/Shock.

You visited Australia last year with Touche Amore. Was the response what you expected?

“It was by far the most curious tour we’ve ever done. We were really taken care of with production and that was awesome, and then on top of that there were hundreds of kids

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MUSICIANS SPEAK OUT Words: Ryan Sim

One of the major stumbling blocks is how to actually have the conversation. Brandon wasn’t wrong, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t sound like an asshole. Many of the responses to his opinions were reactionary because it’s hard for music fans not to take these kinds of statements personally. Moreover, it shatters the image that fans hang onto, of musicians as artists who don’t care about money. But artists are people.

I don’t even know what Napster looked like.

I was online in 2000, but didn’t yet understand the concept of downloading music. I was still buying CDs at Sanity, with money I had earned pushing trolleys at BiLo. Twelve years on, and I count as one of the offenders Lars Ulrich originally had his sights set on when he brought the issues surrounding file sharing, or illegal downloading, into our greater consciousness. Twelve years on, and it seems like we’re no closer to a consensus on how to address those issues.

This week, The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato also broached the subject on his blog.

‘Hey I took this pair of shoes for free but it’s cool ‘cause I bought a coat right?’

Do whatever you want… but the root is the music. That’s the most important… not a shirt. They are separate. We’re not forcing anyone to buy our music or our shirts. If you want one, that’s separate from the other.

Nobody’s doing us a favor by buying our shirt after they took our album… Ethically, taking it for free is always wrong….even if you’re massive… but when you’re not a household Walmart name… it hurts particularly more because every album is a greater sized fraction of the total. If people want “alternative” art, or smaller scenes, genres, or bands to be able to exist at a professional level of quality, they should treat… intellectual property with the same respect as tangible property.”

Century Media and Nuclear Blast have both filed lawsuits this year, targeting file sharers.

Norma Jean vocalist Corey Brandon infamously spoke out on the subject via Twitter earlier this year, stating; “Anyone that has ever downloaded a NJ record. You owe me money. I hope you had enough money today to buy your family groceries.

“It’s ok if you steal from me. Anything else I can do for free for you? Spoiled brats! It’s about time someone got pissed about this!”

I see no point in rehashing the well-documented arguments about failed business models and copyright laws. The fact is, illegal downloads probably have a greater impact on independent labels, and artists, operating in the world of punk, hardcore, and metal.

Audiences are smaller to begin with, they’re younger and more tech-savvy.

Puciato went on to advocate digital releases – as being both a cheaper and more convenient way for fans to support artists than buying physical releases. He stated that there is no

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crux of the issue) costs money to produce music, and for bands to tour. The current situation seems to disallow for bands to foster a career out of making music. But what about simply sustaining output? valid reason for bankrupting niche scenes anymore, because the cost of music is so low anyway. In subsequent tweets, he suggested that if people can’t afford to buy music, that’s tough, because it’s legally and ethically wrong, and it’s “the way the world works.” He also advocated for Spotify as a solution to the issue.

I’m in a band, and I’m involved in various other creative pursuits as well. I have no desire to make a career out music, because, no matter what your job is, it is still just your job.

I never want to feel like I have to write a song because I need a paycheck. I want to have to write songs because it’s good for my soul.

However, I do want the opportunity to put records out, and to tour, and play music to different people for as long as my hands work.

This links back to Puciato’s argument – it isn’t about racking up sales to purchase a new jet plane. At this level, it is simply about fostering scenes, and allowing bands the opportunity, financially, to make a second album, and to tour.

Lawsuits won’t solve anything. Nuclear Blast filed theirs on behalf of All Shall Perish, and the band requested it be voluntarily withdrawn. This is just conjecture, but I imagine they did that because it’s fucking embarrassing. Century Media are targeting sharers of Lacuna Coil’s latest album. This will serve to alienate fans of that band, and maybe of the label. It’s a vicious cycle.

As offputting as the music industry is, I also believe that there is a fundamental problem that has come with the accessibility of technology. Music is something that we should value, especially in a sub-culture like hardcore, which is so much about going out and connecting with both people and music. Why don’t we want to spend our money on music that evokes something in us? Is it not worth anything to us anymore? I think this is as important as being vocal about shit that sucks.

The shit that sucks (and there is so much of it) should motivate us to place stock in the good shit.

Small labels like No Sleep, Run For Cover, and Deathwish Inc. have tried to address the ‘I just want to hear it before I buy it’ argument, by releasing free streams of new albums, either in part or whole, and embracing the digital release, available to customers at a fraction of the cost of an LP or CD. Labels like these are also making excellent use of Spotify as a business tool.

Many unsigned bands use Bandcamp to make their music available for free, in response to the culture of file sharing, and a dwindling market. Unfortunately, there seems to be an expectation that independent bands ‘should’ do this. I’m not sure what this is based in, because while recording costs are now lower than ever, it still (and this is the

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defeater

Words: Sarah Petchell

next creative outpouring from this band. In the weeks preceding the tour, we spoke to guitarist Jake Woodruff about where exactly the band is at in 2012.

There are a few bands every generation that are able to strike a chord with the kids of that era. Defeater is definitely one of those bands. Their brand of intelligent, melodic hardcore sets them apart from their contemporaries. They use the past as a means of exploring issues in the present, in a way that very few bands are able.

This interview was a weird experience in a way: Jake was sitting in an airport with vocalist Derek Archambault waiting for a plane that would take them to Texas for their next show. At some points there were pauses, where it felt like Derek had been listening in on the interview and was filling in answers that Jake couldn’t quite answer on his own. It’s the first time I had ever experienced this during and interview, and it felt a little unnerving.

The culmination of this was with the release of most recent album Empty Days And Sleepless Nights. Released back in 2011 it has been a while since we have seen new material from this highly accomplished band, but having just toured Australia the band are as solid as ever and we cannot wait for the

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touring Australia forever, like upwards of 10 years now. They knew all the cool places to take us. It felt like before every show we were jumping off some cliffs into water, or they were taking us to some skatepark or national forest area. It was pretty awesome.”

The last time you guys were out here was April 2011. What has been going on for Defeater between then and now?

“We’ve pretty much just been out on the road with a few breaks here and there. As soon as we got back from Australia we went out for three weeks in the US with La Dispute, and then we did a full U.S. tour with Bane and Miles Away. That was awesome because we got to tour Australia with Miles Away and it was cool to reciprocate and tour the States with them.

Going from the Sydney shows, the audiences basically went off when Defeater played. Is it mindblowing to be that far from home and have that reaction?

“Yeah it was totally crazy. Especially in Perth, which is about as far away from Boston as you can get and to have great shows there.

Probably one of the craziest shows we have ever played was actually in Brisbane, and then Sydney and Melbourne were all amazing. It was so great.”

“Before that, we did some European festivals and then we went back to the UK with Every Time I Die and Trash Talk in December. We only had a couple of months home to work and stuff from January to March, before we went out with Touche Amore, Birds In A Row and Code Orange Kids, and then went to Europe with Former Thieves and Code Orange Kids. And we kind of just got back from that.”

Empty Days And Sleepless Nights was released last year. Have you hit the end of the cycle for that record and are you working on any new material?

“This next Australian tour will actually be the last tour we’re touring on Empty Days And Sleepless Nights, so when we get home I think we’re going to take a month or a month and a half to kind of chill out, relax, work on some other projects and then in the late fall we’re going to start writing for the next record.”

That UK tour with Every Time I Die and Trash Talk seems like a weird combination of bands to play together. Are those more diverse lineups more interesting for you to play?

“Yeah, that tour was our first tour in that world. I mean, Every Time I Die are quite a lot bigger than us, so there were things like a barrier every night. But it was cool. We just looked at it as a new experience and a chance to try something different. It was a lot of fun.

“It was especially great to be out with a band like Every Time I Die, who we’ve all respected for years. Then you throw Trash Talk into the mix, and it was just a really fun time.”

You might not have an answer yet, but the story that has flowed across all three of your records, can you see that continuing onto album number three?

“The next album will be related to the storyline that the previous three records have been following. I can’t say how exactly yet, but it will continue the storyline and expand on it, taking it in a different direction.”

That Australian tour was your first time out here. How was that tour for you?

“That tour was so much fun! That was in many ways, I think, the most fun tour that we’ve ever done because the whole experience was fantastic. Not only were the shows real good, but it was rad to hang out with Miles Away – a band who has been

Musically, those last four tracks on Empty Days And Sleepless Nights, would you guys like to take the idea of those acoustic tracks further?

“Yes and no. We did those tracks because when we write a record we first decide what aspect of the story that we want to tell, which direction we want to focus on and how the

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under the umbrella of Defeater whether that will happen again, but we’ll just see.”

I read an interview where Derek described Defeater as pretty much a part-time thing.

Is that the case, or is the extent of the touring you’re doing making it more full-time?

“It’s weird because it’s kind of both. It also depends on how you look at it. It feels fulltime in that it definitely takes up a lot of time and energy. But even though we’re away from home a lot, we do manage to keep other musical projects and jobs going at home too. It’s not like everyone in the band only focuses on Defeater. We all work. A few of us have other bands.”

How do you balance those priorities?

How do you decide what happens at what particular time?

“It’s definitely tricky, especially with the amount of time that we’ve been away from home in the last year. But we all make it work. There are certain things with Defeater that you just can’t move and you have to automatically build around. Because we all have other things going on besides the band, we all have to agree on the way it works like for these few months we’re going to knock out a few tours. Then, when we all get home, we have to have a couple of months to regroup and work on other stuff.

“All the other projects are a little more flexible in terms of time. That makes it easier to work them around Defeater.”

kind of episodes of the story are going to work out. When were talking about the style and feel of the album, we felt that that kind of style would…”

What exactly is “The Wave”?

“Oh God!”

[At this point Jake excuses himself for a minute or so and I can hear him talking to who I presume to be Derek about “that song” and “acoustic”. Jake apologises and returns to his train of thought.]

Derek mentioned it in an interview last year…

“It’s a joke, or was a joke, a few years ago.

I think the first time that I heard about it was on a tour we did just after we got back from South By Southwest. Mike was mentioning it as a joke to Matt from Make Do And Mend, which was a band that he was in for a couple of years too. And then the next thing I knew, it was originally supposed to be this group

“Yeah, we decided that an acoustic backdrop would work better for that part of the storyline and we continued that idea in Derek’s solo project and I play in an indie band called Dreamtigers. I don’t know if

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of like 10 or 15 bands that were loosely affiliated across all different genres. Then someone decided it was only Defeater, Make Do And Men, Touche Amore, Pianos Become The Teeth and La Dispute.

call it a day. They were just going to tour for fun. So the fact that it kept going has been pretty awesome. We’re all really stoked on it. We’re all really thankful that we’ve been able to travel to a bunch of places that we didn’t know that we would ever get to see with some of our best friends. And then meet bunch of amazing people on top of that. It’s been really rad.”

“So I don’t really know who came up with it or how it happened, but it happened!”

Did you ever expect Defeater to be as big as what it has become?

“No, not at all. I’m not an original member, but I’ve heard Derek and Jay talk about when Derek came down to sing on what became Travels. Originally it was going to just be do a fun record, tour once and then

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CONVERGE Words: Oliver Cation Live Photos: Alex Meagher

Converge started out in 1990 in Massachusetts and has shaped the evolution of metalcore and extreme alternative music with their last seven albums, the stand outs being the highly celebrated Jane Doe (2001) and You Fail Me (2004). They have defined their own sound and influenced the sound of so many others, but on their eighth album, the soon to be released All We Love We Leave Behind, they take a slightly different approach than with previous albums No Heroes (2006) and Axe To Fall (2009).

Talking to a man like Kurt Ballou is intimidating. He has a reputation for being a hard task-master, driving the best out of any band he works with. He also has clear visions about his music and why he does what he does. I had a chat with him as he was finishing up at God City Studios for the day with an unknown band. He is friendlier than I expected and very open about the inner workings of his band, a band that needs no introduction to any reader of No Heroes, but I’ll give them one anyway.

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With AWLWLB, Kurt believes they have captured the true essence of what Converge is as a band. There are only the four musicians and what they can create with their own instruments. No guests played on the record, there is no digital manipulation or dubs, so everything heard is what is played.

“I think you are right though that it’s a much more traditional album and it’s very close to how the band feels and sounds live opposed to the last record” says Kurt, going on to explain that AWLWLB is closer in feel to You Fail Me in that it is a whole album of music rather than a collection of songs as he felt Axe To Fall was.

don’t want to be that band that plays songs from when they were young that don’t mean anything and they just keep regurgitating them all their life, I want to push forward and keep creative.”

Though the creative process of the band has evolved over the years, Converge’s line-up has been solid since 1999 when drummer Ben Koller and bass player Nate Newton joined Ballou (guitar) and Jacob Bannon (vocals) to form a uni that only strengthens over time. Where once Ballou created everything, the control freak in him has retreated as he has been surrounded by like-minded musicians. Nate is involved in other projects such as Doomriders and now contributes greatly in the initial development of songs while Ben is wholly responsible for the drum assault on offer.

In what may seem an obvious point, Kurt notes that AWLWLB is his favourite album to date. “Our newest record is always the one that feels most representative of who we are at the time.” He says, “It’s always the stuff we feel best playing live and after recording the record I feel it’s our most complex work so far.” This is reflective of where Converge are as a band. They are past the point of having to record to progress, comfortable in their own skin and able to present themselves in their entirety on the release.

“Ben’s role now is more playing over what I write and his interpretation of that. His direction with the drums then influences me how I keep going with the song. I try to keep a very connected feel to the band, how we develop songs and the next step we take.” Ballou suggests that while they all have defined roles, they attempt to operate in a different way to other bands. “We are creating a backdrop to the lyrics and want everything to complement each other. So many other bands just write riffs and parts and they aren’t arranged in any logical order; it’s just a chronology and it makes no sense.

We try and work together to get the best end result.”

When asked how he felt about older albums in comparison he suggested that his age and mental state meant that playing songs he wrote when he was 22 felt like playing covers. “The most recent record is always the one I am going to feel most connected to because it is the one that is closest to who I am as a person right now in time. I

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All We Love We Leave Behind is a personal album for the band: it is an exploration of everything they have sacrificed to continue playing in a band and it is Bannon’s rawest, most emotive vocal performance. His characteristic squawk gives way in songs to reveal spoken passages and cleaner vocals, moments of clarity, which are more crushing and suffocating than ever. “I always push to try and get more clarity out of Jake. A lot of the time he has an incomprehensible voice,” says Ballou, “I guess we are always trying to progress stuff and this album has definitely got a lot of people talking about that.” Kurt goes on to suggest that the ongoing training and fighting Bannon participates in with Mixed Martial Arts has helped his vocal dexterity, range and endurance and that while there isn’t a specific push away from the traditional harsh songs of the past, he does like a catchy song.

When asked about handing over the reigns to another producer Kurt is decisive but modest in his answer, “Probably not, because nobody else is going to care about this band as much as me. I’m the only person who perhaps knows as much and cares as much about the artistic direction of the band. You want to record with someone who cares about the band and nobody is going to care as much as someone who is in the band.”

Once again the engineering of Converge’s masterpiece was handled by Ballou himself.

“There are definitely other engineers out there who are better than me and could do

Ballou works out of God City Studios in Salem, Massachusetts and has produced seminal works for artists like Blacklisted, Champion, The Hope Conspiracy, High On Fire, Coliseum, Modern Life Is War, Have Heart and dozens of others. His sound is iconic and while distinctive, can be rarely criticised of repetition. He however does not claim superiority over his contemporaries.

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a better job than I could with a Converge album, but they aren’t going to care about the project as much as I do and a lot is going to be lost in translation, he says. “From my own perspective as an engineer, I would love to work with somebody else, some big shot guy who I could work under and learn from to help my own abilities but it’s just not practical. I developed my own style because I worked so much by myself and didn’t have a chance to learn from others.” The style that Ballou created shines through on what is Converge’s most open yet dense record to date.

Converge are a band who is yet to write a failure of a record and AWLWLB continues that standard, something Ballou says he felt little pressure about. “We have honed our skills over time. We are better at our instruments, and we are better at playing together and knowing our limitations,” he says. “It’s harder to not repeat yourself, to keep creating music that can fit within the overall sound of a Converge record.” He explains that many artists look to diversify their sound by making it more complex, adding parts, instruments and intricacy.

“Over time the way to diversify and advance has to become more complex, but the real skill is in doing something fresh and original that is simple. I used to fall into the trap of making things more complicated, but now with songs like ‘Coral Blue’ it’s about keeping it simple.”

The track ‘Coral Blue’ to which Ballou alludes is a five-minute, doom-laden, slow jam of a song. It is reminiscent of older songs such as the darkly melodic ‘Grim Heart/Black Rose’ on No Heroes or ‘Hell To Pay’ on Jane Doe. Its use of talking and cleaner vocals, along with the sparse soundscapes and choral delivery of the song title, make it something unlike any other Converge song, a true indication of Ballou’s usage of simplicity to ensure diversity.

Converge aren’t a band to let the pressure of audiences affect their creative process.

Leaving three years between each album

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release, Ballou is steadfast in his suggestion that they will never become a career band.

“There are other bands out there in the genre that are career bands. Their lives are playing in their bands and they need a new album every 18 months so they can maintain their touring cycle. We generally tour off and on for a year, then we take some time away from each other before we start writing and after a year or two we will look at recording again.

We are all busy with other stuff and we are about creating when it feels natural and essential to us.”

celebrated grind bands in history.

“The Drop Dead split came about because I was recording their new album. Converge and Drop Dead started around the same time and I have recorded a lot of the Drop Dead back catalogue. We were thinking about doing some 20th Anniversary shows and I suggested we finish off some old demo sessions I had from them for the shows. It was just something we did with our friends.”

Similarly with Napalm Death, Kurt explains that they aren’t the sort of band you can say no to. The split gave them the opportunity to reveal a new song from the AWLWLB sessions (‘No Light Escapes’ which has been added as an additional track to some of the limited release versions) as well as recording a cover of Entombed’s classic ‘Wolverine Blues’, something Ballou says came about because they had played it live and, with tongue in cheek says, “It’s great to educate people about one of the bands we rip off heaps.”

That said, the band has an amazing back catalogue of releases between full-length albums. Eight full length albums, over half a dozen 7-inches and five split 7-inches and this doesn’t begin to account for the rereleases, compilations, demos and singles that have haunted Converge collectors for two decades. More recently the band released separate splits with Drop Dead and Napalm Death, two of the most iconic and

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Never a band to ever to do things by half, Converge’s dedication to their music is reflected in their physical product and presentation. The cover of AWLWLB is in stark contrast to previous albums. The formed pattern of the moon cycle (the moon in this case being the Converge logo) is controlled and sombre, a reflection of the interior, but something that Ballou doesn’t think is too dissimilar to previous Bannon work. “The album cover doesn’t have that same anthology of previous releases but reminds me of You Fail Me. Once you get inside it is more like the older stuff.”

boundaries. Their focus is truly on music.

Music which they use as catharsis and expression. Music which they set rigourous standards upon. Music which isn’t forced or essential, but is natural and an exploration of themselves. By no means are they are a perfect band – they are as polarising as they are prolific – but there are few who know the band and don’t have a modicum of respect for their craft.

All We Love We Leave Behind is another classic album in a career of raising the bar. It is likely to see the band go out on the road, tour for a year, release a 7-inch or two, have some time apart and then naturally come back together and start writing the next album in a few years time. Until then, we have some vinyl, music and a book to keep us busy while we patiently wait.

With a legion of fans and a back-catalogue to rival the Beatles, why would Converge break up? “When it’s not fun anymore. When somebody dies. We mostly just want to keep doing it until we have no more inspiration. I hope we never get to be the band that has to tour and has to see it like a job. We are so excited to be releasing new material and keep being a band.” And can we expect to see Converge down under soon? Yes, but Kurt will only say that its next year and nothing is 100%. Well played.

All We Love We Leave Behind is out October 12 through Epitaph Records.

From my discussion with Kurt Ballou I gained a greater understanding of why Converge has been able to survive as long as they have and how they continue to push

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Words: Sarah Petchell – Photos: Simon Atkinson

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I had high expectations for my first Poison City Weekender, and the weekend definitely delivered on all those expectations. But I think the main thing I didn’t expect was how overwhelmingly social a tone the weekend took. It made the weekend fun, so that in between sipping sodas, eating vegan treats and watching some of the best live performances of the year there were jokes, conversations and hilarity aplenty.

the label, these guys weren’t taking things too seriously (and I suppose with Jay Whalley from Frenzal Rhomb at the helm of this project, that’s understandable). Somewhat shambolic, it was still an endearing set and a stark contrast to what came before and after.

Between The Devil And The Deep played next, and having seen this band a few times now, it was the excellently frenetic live performance that I’ve come to expect from these Sydney-siders.

However, there was a blanket of sadness over the whole performance that served to heighten the set rather than dampen it. I later found out from the band’s bass player, that this was actually their final show, a fact the band had kept quiet but definitely accounted for the slightly strange vibe.

Officially, the Weekender kicked off on the Friday night at The Tote with recent Poison City signing, White Walls. Unfortunately, I was running late and only got there in time for the last song and a half, but what I saw blew my mind. This was impressive shoe-gaze, straight out of the book of early Sonic Youth. There was something so profoundly 90s about them, in a good way, that caused my photographer to declare that if they had a strobe going through the last three minutes of the last song, they would be his new favourite band.

Unfortunately, my stomach demanded that I miss Grim Fandango in favour of vegan pastries. A huge mention needs to go out to Jelena from Bake Down The Walls, who raised well over $1000 for their chosen charities that weekend.

Following White Walls’ set, people were definitely talking about the young band, so it was a little ironic when dad punk band Chinese Burns Unit took to the stage. Another recent signing to

Now things were about to take a turn towards the stoner side of things as Canberra’s I Exist took

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to the stage. This was the band’s last show as a seven-piece (with Kelly moving to the UK) so all the stops were pulled out to make this show as antic-filled as possible, while remaining the tight unit that these guys are renowned for being.

Hawaiian shirts, a sailor hat doing the round of the band members, Aaron’s facial expressions…

One thing was apparent, however: I Exist need some new material stat! It’s to their detriment yet, as there were still plenty of fans here (including this writer) but I think it’s something their fans are going to start expecting in the next few months. In this particular instance, this fact was masked by the set ending with a fantastic cover of Turbonegro’s ‘I Got Erection’ where they were joined onstage by former Marathon vocalist Nick Lucas.

The length of the evening was starting to wear thin, especially after I Exist’s performance (which for me wouldn’t be topped until the Sunday), so while Luca Brasi took to the stage a packed crowd stood to watch the Tassie punkrockers do their thing. I stood at the back and watched the vibe build as so many stagedives launched off the stage. Again, as it had been for the majority of the night, the vibe was incredibly fun.

Last up were Extortion, with their short, sharp, blast of power violence the perfect ending to an almost perfect evening. These guys were at their fast, frenetic and violent best, however the late finish worked a little to their detriment as most people were too tired or too drunk by this time, so the energy and atmosphere that had permeated The Tote earlier in the night had waned a little.

Saturday night at the Corner, Toy Boats kicked things off and in a surprising turn of events, Hugo is now performing his project as a fourpiece full band. The songs translated well into the full-band setting, giving them a whole new vibe and meaning that certainly won them new fans. At the beginning of the set, the audience was called closer, a command followed by the relatively large (for an opening act) crowd that was watching. In the new setting, Hugo’s vocals sound a little like Robert Smith from The Cure, but either way he managed to hold the attention of the crowd throughout his entire half-hour set.

that they are actually one of the best bands in Australia right now). Not only are these guys incredible musicians, but there is something about their intrinsic Australian-ness that makes them completely appealing. This was something apparent in the rapt faces of the crowd during their entire set. After all, there aren’t many bands that could make an entire crowd pay attention to a slow dirge about an NRL player. But on the other side of things, during the “woah-oh” bridge of ‘Guns, Germs And Steel’, the singalongs by the entire crowd filled the entire room.

Hoodlum Shouts were up next, and without a doubt this band were one of the best bands of the entire weekend (irrespective of the fact

Restorations were a band that people had been talking about, because of their appearances supporting The Smith Street Band around the

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of material from both albums, it was definitely the anthemic songs from their first album United By Fate that saw the best reaction from the audience. The interludes and instrumental passages, while impressive, were a long way from the energy of A Death In The Family’s set, and saw quite a few people leave long before the night wrapped up. That being said, the majority did stay and when tracks like ‘Used For Glue’ were played, energy levels revived as the fans sang along.

By Sunday, the lack of motivation (which ended being the onset of the dreaded Poison City Flu) set in. For me, after four days in a row, sleeping in and chilling in bed seemed the best option, at least until I actually got down to the Reverence, about midway through Let Me Down, Jungleman’s set. But the evening really kicked off when Milhouse hit the stage to play all their greatest hits and to promptly blow the entire packed room away. By the time their half-hour allotment was over, they were the frontrunner for the set of the weekend. The posi vibe oozed off the stage, and nowhere was it more evident than during ‘Holiday’ where the audience was singing “we need a long holiday” at the top of their lungs, while Wil Wagner sung along louder than everyone, having joined the band on stage. It was simply an entire set of fun banter, not entirely serious songs and an audience (including myself) that lapped up every minute. The best part was the absolute bewilderment with which Milhouse realised that Melbourne fucking loves them.

country in the week prior to the Weekender and also their performance at the Pre-Kender party.

The audience who had been at there on the Thursday knew what to expect and the result was a packed room. The three-guitar onslaught, with an energetic stage presence, ushered in Restorations’ set of “punk for older dudes”. The three guitars definitely created individual layers of melody however, at first, you had to strain to discern them. However, once you decipher the layers of sound, the multiple musical reference points come through, making for a truly unique live experience. This was definitely more than your typical punk rock show.

The night took an emotional turn as one of Melbourne’s best-loved band said farewell to their fans. A Death In The Family ripped through a set that spanned their entire career. They played with a type of abandon that is reserved only for occasions like this and the audience responded in kind. Lyrics were sung back at the band, fists were in the air, heads nodding, tapping toes and the sporadic crowd-surf.

While emotional, this was not a sad event. The atmosphere was electric with the camaraderie of the common love of music bringing people together. The highlight of the set was definitely the appearance of the band’s first guitarist, Sarah Hardiman. Judging from the number of camera phones that were pulled out, this appearance came as somewhat of a surprise. She sand and playing during the second last song and remained on stage as part of the celebration that was A Death In The Family’s final song ever.

The change from Milhouse to Lincoln Le Fevre, saw a slight change in tempo, however it was clear from the very beginning of his set that this guy was a crowd favourite (despite being from Tasmania, as he pointed out himself so selfdeprecatingly). I mean, there was crowdsurfing, which was a little odd given the style of music and the layout of the front room, but this guy was is seriously great. There was something really endearing about his total Australian-ness, and the way he combined that with country and some interesting musical elements (pedal steel and blues harp make a great combo, by the way), have me excited to check out his new album.

Following on from the farewell set of one of Melbourne’s favourite bands was always going to be a tall order, however Rival Schools rose to the challenge with everything that should be expected of a band with that kind of punk rock pedigree. While the set was an enjoyable mix

Back in the back room, Adelaide’s Paper Arms (while not the most technical band of the weekend) had an energy coming directly from the stage that made it really difficult to not enjoy

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this set. It was great to hear a combination of new and old material, as it has been a couple of years since their debut was released. It was also super refreshing to see a band that loves being on stage so obviously as Paper Arms do, especially judging from the onstage moves of the band’s lead guitarist.

set with the audience and the band feeding off one another. It has been a really long time since I’ve seen anything like it, and it’s a testament to just how big and important this band is going to become when you can’t hear them over the sound of the crowd singing along. One of their songs has the lyrics, “I’m gonna make you so proud of me” repeated throughout it. I hope that whoever that song is aimed at is proud of everything these young Melbournites have achieved in the last two or so years.

Knowing what was to come, I skipped out on Jamie Hay and Jen Buxton performing together in favour of food and some socialising, because the final act of the entire weekend were The Smith Street Band. These guys were undoubtedly the heroes of the weekend. It was phenomenal seeing them play to a hometown crowd that was going absolutely mental for them.

Every lyric was sung back at them at the top of voices, with all the appropriate hand claps and fist pumps in their right places. There was so much dancing, stage diving and crowd surfing that there was not a still body in the room.

Highlights included Tom Busby from Luca Brasi doing a shoey at the end of the song ‘Tom Busby’; the number of shirts that were thrown at the stage as those down the front got sweaty; when someone ripped Wil’s tshirt pretty much off his body; Jamie Hay and Dave Drayton (Milhouse) joining them for a cover of Blueline Medic’s ‘Making The Nouveau Riche’; and stagedive bedlam during the last song. It literally was the perfect end to an incredible weekend. See you all there next year.

This energy was kept up throughout the whole

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Words: Sarah Petchell

Seeing him again only last month reminded me of all this. And being there with someone who was experiencing the Jonah Matranga live experience for the very first time (like I had back in 2006) made that moment even more special.

Jonah Matranga toured Australia for the first time in 2006. His set was a range of songs from across his numerous projects: Far, New End Original, onelinedrawing and even some newer stuff that he was releasing under his own name. That night at the Annandale showed me how honest and simple, yet so emotionally complex music could be. He showed me that a guy with some simple beats from an iPod, an acoustic guitar and a pure voice could transcend the banality of what a lot of music has become.

This was reaffirmed a few days later at an astouding house show in some random person’s lounge room.

It is all of these reasons why No Heroes caught up with Jonah to talk about his music-making process, where he has come from, where he is going and how in the hell he keeps track of all the musical pies he currently has his hands in. “Life is great, it’s really good,” Jonah responds to the simple question of how are you.

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You just finished up a big European tour, didn’t you?

“Yeah, and it was a really, really fun tour.

There were lots of sweet little adventures.

Like on my birthday I played in Livorno, Italy the night before where it officially turned into my birthday. That was at this fun, beachside place. So I woke up on my birthday, went swimming in the ocean and drove to Misano, on another coast of Italy and played a toga party, which was totally surreal.

“That show finished at 1 in the morning, so then I took a shower and drove from two in the morning until 1 in the afternoon to Frankfurt, Germany where I dropped off my rental car. So it was quite a couple of days. It was mental, but my favourite kind of mental.”

“There were a couple of extra special things about Australia, one of which was that with the internet, I’m in touch with so many people but you rarely ever see their faces, so it was really nice to meet some people personally that I’ve been in touch with over the internet for a lot of years. And the people are just incredibly sweet. I felt very welcomed.”

So my first real question is that you’re a Red Sox fan right?

“Yeah, I grew up in Boston so I’m a huge Red Sox fan. It’s in the blood. Of course this season has been terrible, and the end of last season was a nightmare, but I have to say having grown up being so tortured by them, it made me write a song about this that you can find on YouTube. I never released it on a record, but just made it one day. It’s called ‘Two Zero Zero Four’ and the chorus goes, ‘The highest of highs, the lowest of lows, I wouldn’t have it any other way, but two zero zero four makes it all okay’.

One of the things that you’re know for is always keeping busy. What are you working on at the moment?

“It’s totally insane, and this year the workload is at an all-time high. Asides from the solo record which I’m working on right now, the project that I’m the most excited about is that there’s this guy named Ian Love (from Rival Schools) who I’m writing some songs with. I don’t know exactly what where going to do with them, but just making them is very, very fun. He’s a brilliant musician and a great guy.

And then the tunes, they’re rocking. That is really exciting and fun for me.

“So that’s my take on the Sox. After that, and obviously in 2007 was the cherry on top, but they’re going to have shitty seasons, and be the ridiculous, crazy, heart-breaking Red Sox, but I love them for it no matter what.”

The first time you were in Australia was back in 2006. What was that experience like for you?

“It was wonderful. For me, just the fact that I get to sing my songs and go to this place several thousand miles from my home, and sing and be in people’s houses, that really is something that still has never gotten old for me. I’m still so blown away that I get to have those experiences. In that respect, every trip is magic.

“There’s also J. Robbins (of Jawbox and every other band in the world) he’s got some tunes that I’ll be doing some singing on. So those are the two central things, but then a lot of people ask me to do guest vocals.

I’m really enjoying this new age of hip hop because there’s a lot of room for guest singers who can come in on one track and

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do their thing. I’m really busy with and having a whole lot of fun lending my ideas and vocals to those sorts of songs.”

Was is it about collaboration that you enjoy so much? You don’t just do it with musicians, but also with your fans too.

“Yeah, that’s true and a good point. So what I think I like about collaboration is the unknown. I have no control over what someone else is going to do. I have no idea what they’re going to do, and I think I like that element of surprise. I’m letting that person in as a different part of my brain, and I of theirs, like a different idea would have come out of me.

Your project with Ian, does it have a name yet?

“I just sent him a tentative idea that it would be called ‘Ian And Jonah Love Music’.

That’s my best concept and I sort of liked it because the way I had it laid out on the record cover, ‘Ian And Jonah’ could be the name of the project and then ‘Love Music’ is the name of the album, or it could be all together. That’s the only thing that has come to me, and Ian hasn’t written back, so he probably hates the idea.”

“I think it’s that basic element of the surprise of that conversation. It’s interesting to me. It’s odd because I’ve never really thought about it that much, but I think that’s what it is.”

How do you prioritise all the things that you work on? Does any one project have to take precedence over another?

“I’m a pretty passion-driven person. It’s honestly what’s calling to me at any point in time. I mean, if I have an agreement with someone that I need to finish something by a certain time, then of course I will. But beyond that I really do just leave it until I hear something that I want to do, so I just ask people to be patient.”

Are you still going ahead with your plans to re-release Visitor this year for it’s 10th anniversary?

“Yeah, I made a really cool, acoustic version of Visitor. I’m not sure yet if I’m going to distribute it in any sort of traditional way. At the moment, I’ve got it on the website and one guy already has done an incredible remix of the first track on it. I’m hoping other people will do the same; take the tracks and

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do their own thing with them. For me it was just an amazing process to strip the songs down to just a guitar and a voice.”

Is it at all strange revisiting those older songs in a setting where you’re not just playing them live?

“The meanings of the songs change all the time. I’ll be singing a song for like the 200th time and all of a sudden, because of the point I’m at in my life or a story someone’s told me about their life, the song is entirely different to what it was in the first place. I’m very humbled by that, actually, because it’s like I didn’t even know what I was writing about in the first place. But I love that the meanings change all the time.”

Your most recent release is You’re All These Things And Then You’re None.

What exactly is the concept behind the process of it, because I was a little hazy when I was reading about it?

“Honestly, it was pretty much people sent me songs and yeah I reworked them, and it happened in all sorts of ways. I just really liked the idea of hearing people’s ideas and then adding mine to them. There was no specific way that it worked, but it worked.”

When it comes to touring, what’s your philosophy? You seem to prefer to stay at people’s houses rather than at hotels.

“I do, yeah. It’s funny because I like having time to myself – it’s not like I need the company – but I would much rather be in a home on a lot of levels. I really love the idea of being a troubadour as well; just going around the world with this instrument and being really old fashioned about this thing that I do. I trade it for food, basically, and it’s pretty wonderful. So being with someone in their home just feels right in line with that.”

the year. I’m going to finish my solo record, which should be out next spring but I want to write and record it this year.

“But I’ll head home and finish a few other projects too. When I get home and I get some time to myself, a lot can happen very, very quickly so I think it’s going to be a really wonderfully busy end to the year.”

If you want to find out more about Jonah and his projects, go to www.jonahmatranga.com

After this Australian tour, what’s lined up for you for the rest of the year?

“Australia will be my last major tour. I’ve got a couple of other shows yet to happen, but honestly I’m going to finish the stuff with Ian for sure. I’m very excited about that and it will probably come out before the end of

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Words: Sarah Petchell

The last time The Swellers were here was as a part of the Counter Revolution festival. For a band with the type of output that they have – their blue-collar punk rock – it perhaps wasn’t the best format for the band’s first jaunt of Australia and perhaps not the best option for them to show off their new record Good For Me. But now the band are heading back to Australia, this time to play for their own fans and they couldn’t be happier. No Heroes talked to Nick Diener about what has been happening in The Swellers camp and what it’s like to have your own brother in a band with you.

same as ours, but it just takes a lot more of them to buy anything in Australia (for an American).”

In what ways are you expecting these club shows to be different?

“It’ll be a good gauge of who cares about The Swellers. Instead of trying to win people over, we’ll be playing to our people. The people who already get it. It’ll be much more intimate, we’ll play for much longer, and that’s the kind of show we enjoy most.”

You’ve basically been doing The Swellers since you were teenagers, how has being a part of this band changed you?

“It’s honestly all I know. Throughout my teenage years, it was mostly just a fun, cool thing that set me apart from my friends and gave me something to do on the weekends. Now, it’s my job, my career, and my life. I would feel very strange if I was at home for a long period of time. I’m always writing music. I’m a lot more well-rounded and well-traveled. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

The last time that you were out here was as a part of the Counter Revolution festival. What were your impressions of Australia that first time around?

“It’s an amazing place. It feels like home but it definitely has its qualities that set it apart. There’s a lot of cool animals, cool architecture and sights to see. It’s a place we want to keep coming back to visit. The only thing that freaked us out is how expensive everything is! The dollar is worth the

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Could you see yourselves doing anything else? Like what do you think you would have ended up doing?

“I’d be a recording engineer, and way better at it than I am now! That, or working with animals/ animal rights in some shape or form. There’s a lot that needs to be done in this world and I have the drive and fire to change things.”

You’ve got a new record coming out in October. Can you tell us a bit about it?

“It’s five songs and it’s called Running Out Of Places To Go. We wrote them all fairly quickly and organically, with no pressure or deadlines.

I’m very happy with how everything turned out and our fans/friends will know exactly what we’re singing about.”

How does the fact that half the band are brothers affect the dynamic of the band?

Does it make things harder or easier?

“It has made it much easier to stay a band. It also makes songwriting a lot more efficient.

We are like-minded and have the same goals.

Without my brother in the band, I’m not sure we’d still be here, as we’ve had other members come and go.”

I read that the songs on it are probably some of your favourite you’ve ever written. Is that accurate?

“Very. It’s very refreshing and it will be a lot of fun to play these live.”

Releasing this record on your own, after being in the band together for 10 years, does this feel like a new chapter for The Swellers?

“It does feel that way. Let’s hope it’s going to garner us some attention. There’s nothing I hate more than being stagnant and “more of the same”. So far, it seems like things are changing for the best!”

I read an interview where you talked about the “break up” prank that Jonathan engineered.

Just how effective was it in getting a bit more promotion for The Swellers?

“I’m not completely sure I know what this is, but maybe it’s when he prolonged this lingering idea that a fake side-project of mine was going to take over and stop the Swellers? Not sure it helped really do anything but get our fans really upset for 24 hours. But it was funny to see people freak out and jump to conclusions.”

In a whole heap of interviews you describe yourselves as just goofy kids who’ve gone from playing hometown shows to touring internationally. Do you still see yourselves in this way?

“Yes. That couldn’t be more accurate. We’re the same people, we just get more and more opportunities to play all over the world as we keep writing jams. It’s surreal!”

You guys left Fueled By Ramen to branch out and do things on your own. What was behind that decision?

“We wanted more freedom. We wanted to record however we wanted, wherever we wanted, and put out the kinds of releases we wanted. We were told “no” so many times in the last three years that we figured this was the best way to get out that frustration and do exactly what we want to do.”

What’s next for The Swellers? What happens for you guys after the Australian tour?

“After Australia, we get back to the states for two more weeks of touring, and then we’re home for the holidays. Probably going to hit up UK/Europe early next year, and will be working on a new full-length maybe! Who knows? The future is wide open.”

Is it a relief that you’re doing everything pretty much on your own again? Is it a bit scary?

“It’s both, for sure. Very relieving and feels amazing. We’re proud of this new EP coming out.

But it’s scary because it’s all on us!”

Running Out Of Places To Go will be out through Shock this October.

You can catch The Swellers on tour mid-October all around the country thanks to Destroy All Lines.

You released the Vehicle City Blues EP through SideOneDummy. Is there the potential for more of a long-term relationship there?

“Maybe! They’ve been awesome to us and there’s no saying which label we’ll eventually sign to, but we love everyone there.”

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NOTMEAT IS NOT MURDER

Words: Raj Wakeling

takeaway options, a polenta sausage sandwich with mushrooms and vegan mustard.

It’s got a great consistency, not too crumbly or rubbery, and the tomato and basil are combined nicely with the polenta to give it a boost in the flavour stakes. The mushrooms are fresh and juicy and the mustard’s got a familiar zing. Make no mistake, it’s definitely nothing like biting into a juicy pork snag, but it’s got a different kind of deliciousness all of its own.

Also on the takeaway menu are vegan mince pies in mushroom gravy pepper sauce, but these were already sold out when I dropped in. Such has been the response for Suzy’s first permanent retail outlet. It’s a heart-warming response to a business venture that is part shopping experience, part social statement.

As awareness continues to grow about the unsafe, unethical, and unsustainable practices of modern factory farms, vegan and vegetarian lifestyles are appealing to a wider range of people. And while more of us are contemplating the switch, most converts will tell you the hardest part is getting started.

“On the one hand, food is my passion and I just love to share that with people. But the vego lifestyle is also something I believe wholeheartedly in. The buzz is really encouraging.”

Enter Spoon’s Vegetarian Butcher, a progressive new food store located in Enmore in Sydney’s west.

As the name suggests, Spoon’s produces an array of sausages, schnitzels, burger patties and other dinnertime staples that are guaranteed to be cruelty free. Their ‘fake meats’ are hand made using organic soy, flour, and polenta as base ingredients.

The implications of the success of Spoon’s are exciting. The popularity has already outstripped what you might expect from the average boutique food shop. Aside from the novelty of its name, presentation, and product, the business is tapping into the one quality that appeals to most consumers over all others – convenience.

It all began with a weekend market stall. Drawing in curious shoppers with the smell of her sizzling snags, co-owner Suzy Spoon built up a dedicated base of customers who needed something more substantial and, well, ‘meaty’, to satisfy their hunger. She was regularly selling out, and knew the next step was to open up a shop.

In the age of the one-stop-shop, Spoon’s offers a place to begin, continue, or enhance a cruelty-free lifestyle, with enough variety and creativity to silence those who favour meat’s purported versatility and superior flavour.

“The demand was just getting too great, and we didn’t have the space to expand anymore. Here we can store lots of our popular products and work on new flavours too.”

The ‘butchery’ sits on Enmore Road, prime foodie real estate and a Mecca for ethical eaters from across the city. The name alone has sparked the interest of the area’s most discerning critics and earned the business exposure in the mainstream media.

“We do it all just like a butcher. You can get ‘mince’ for your bolognaise, or some pretend chicken pieces for your stir fry. Our message here is that vegetarian and vegan food doesn’t have to be boring, or flavourless.

There can be variety!”

Spoon’s Vegetarian Butcher is located at 175 Enmore Road, Enmore. Otherwise you can check them out on Facebook.

Putting her meat-substitutes where her mouth is, she offers up one of the shop’s popular ready-to-munch

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quickfire:

perspectives

INTERVIEW WITH guitarist, eddie deal.

So how did it all come about? What’s the basic rundown of the band history and how long have you been together?

Well a few years ago we used to all play in a pop punk/rock band called Standing Silence with a female singer because we really had no other option at the time with vocalists. Not long after The Bright Side by Break Even came out we started covering ‘October 27’. We got our friend Rob to sing it and now he is the vocalist for Perspectives. After playing this cover live for the first time we had never had so much fun playing music and neither had we seen the crowd react the way they did. Not long after, I told the guys we should start a new band with Rob, play the music we really want to play and I’m really glad we did. Our first show as Perspectives was July 1 2011 I believe.

have to play a few more to find out!

You recently released a split with White Fields from Germany. Was it you who approached them or vice versa?

Before the split, White Fields was just another band we really liked and listened to a lot. When we started looking for bands to do the split with, we didn’t think White Fields would actually ever do it but we sent them an email anyway and the vocalist, Jonas, and I really hit it off. They seemed really into it from the start and it ended up coming together quite well.

What are the elements and influences that make up Perspectives?

I think one of the most significant elements of our band is just experimentation. We make sure we don’t restrict ourselves in any of the wayw melodic hardcore songs are ‘meant’ to be written. Our biggest influences would have to be Title Fight, La Dispute, Defeater, Balance and Composure and a heap of post rock and punk music.

You are all very passionate when it comes to supporting local bands and promoters. Is this something that’s always been close to your heart?

Yeah, of course. We have all been going to local shows and playing in local bands since we started high school. That’s usually what our weekends consisted of and still do now. For both local promoters and local bands, it’s really hard to catch a break and everyone starts off as a local so it’s important to support your local scene as much as you can, even if you haven’t heard of the bands or are fan of the particular genre. It really helps to go out and support them.

You’ve only been around as a band since mid2011 yet you’ve already supported the likes of La Dispute, Basement and Transit. How does it feel to have all these opportunities so quickly?

We really could not be happier with what we have achieved so far and the support we have gotten from people. We have only just turned 18 and played with almost of our favourite bands already. It means so much to us. We have to thank Resist Records, Broken Hive Records, Destroy All Lines, our agent Dan and everyone who has supported us in anyway for these great opportunities.

What does the future hold for Perspectives?

At the moment we are writing for a new EP. We want to work on this one a lot harder; spend more time on getting a quality recording out and pushing it through as many avenues as possible. We also really want to tour some other states as soon as we can as our recent plans for Queensland fell through due to the venue crisis going on up there. An east coast tour is definitely something we are aiming to do soon, though.

Despite all this you’ve only just played your first 18+ show. Was the difference in audiences a huge one for you?

It wasn’t really that different, but I guess we will

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new music:

converge ALL WE LOVE WE LEAVE BEHIND Epitaph Records

‘Death King’ from You Fail Me. It’s slow driving start builds to a trampling crescendo, suffocating as you are enveloped in the gang vocal roar of “GLACIAL PACE”. Once suffocated, you are given no chance for air as ‘No Light Escapes’ kicks in for less than a minute of punishment.

‘Vicious Muse’ and ‘Veins And Veils’ ride out the mid-section of the album with slightly more rock injected into the archetypal Converge sound.

‘Coral Blue’ is the centrepiece of the album whether the band want it to be or not. Taking a similar speed as ‘Glacial Pace’, the dirge driven music and spoken vocals are similar to previous Converge songs, but as the gang vocal chorus overwhelms and we are met with Mexican influenced acoustic guitar, ‘Coral Blue’ takes on a life of its own. Instantly infectious, while still being entirely alienating ‘Shame In The Way’ returns the speed barrage and we are then left with the title track to bring the album home.

Converge polarise opinions, generally between, “This is the greatest thing ever” or “I don’t understand it”. All We Love We Leave Behind won’t make Converge any less polarising, but more people may end up believing this is the greatest thing ever. This is the product of a band baring their collective soul, an album stripped of the modern technological devices and gimmicks such as digital replacement of instruments and special guest vocalists, but still delivering everything you would expect from a world-class product in 2012.

‘All We Love We Leave Behind’ is a song which rips at your heart, the themes of sacrifice and loss which flood the album as focused in this track. It feels like an anthem for the touring band, a song that sums up the negatives.

All We Love We Leave Behind is a masterpiece.

More than a collection of songs, it is a cohesive album which flows and has a distinct sound while also differing constantly to keep the listener enthralled. The production is crisp but not contrived. The lyrics are emotive and the vocal delivery is clearer while retaining its abrasive bark. The music itself is complex and rewards repeat listens.

‘Aimless Arrow’ opens the album with a traditional galloping clusterfuck explosion, scattered drum blasts and siren guitar wailing provide a harrowing backdrop for Bannon’s most coherent vocal performance yet. ‘Trespasses’ and ‘Sadness Comes Home’ continue this trend through the early album while ‘Tender Abuse’ and ‘Sparrows Fall’ opt for speed and hooks, whether they are destructively heavy breakdowns or catchy pitch bends.

I awaited this album with trepidation, and while it is logical that eventually Converge will release a weak album, on AWLWLB they have continued to progress and evolve as a band, cementing their legacy and leaving fans salivating for live shows and the next album. Truly magnificent.

Oliver Cation 5/5

‘Glacial Pace’ does what the name suggests and slows the album down, almost reminiscent of 50

new music:

DEATH IS THE ONLY MORTAL – THE ACACIA STRAIN

AWAKENED – AS I LAY DYING

THE PARALLAX II – BETWEEN THE BURIED & ME

I’m sorry, but I cannot unlump The Acacia Strain and Emmure in my head (in the same way that Suicide Silence and Whitechapel become the same band).

Death Is The Only Mortal is the Massachusetts based band’s sixth album and it is better than Emmure by a solid margin. Where Emmure deal in novelty, The Acacia Strain have concentrated brutality and are serious about what they do. ‘Doomblade’ and ‘Go To Sleep’ perfectly reflect how heavy this band can be.

If you haven’t broken your bedroom furniture to sawdust by the time you get to ‘House Of Abandon’ you’re probably bored.

Downtuned everything doesn’t seem like such a novelty when The Acacia Strain do it.

If you’re going to give credit to As I Lay Dying, their longevity would definitely be it. But it could also be their downfall as on Awakened, the band’s sixth album, there isn’t anything new or exciting here. This is the AILD sound that we all know and that we’re all comfortable with. It’s consistent and it’s recognisable. For hardcore fans of the band this is a good thing, but I feel like I want something a little more, something a little surprising.

I thought with Bill Stevenson at the helm, this would be the case, but expertly executed metalcore on tracks like ‘Cauterize’ and ‘A Greater Foundation’ with some killer guitar solos on ‘Resilience’ and ‘Whispering Silence’ is what I got instead. Please mix it up a bit next time, guys.

Between The Buried & Me have always been a band that is an acquired taste, and with their newest material this is even more the case. Their Parallax series of releases (of which this is the second) sees them combine their music with an expansive lyrical sci-fi odyssey. But for me, it is the band’s reduction in the aggressive and dissonant hardcore that made tracks like ‘Mordecai’ so fantastic, in favour of a more expansive and cinematic sound that leaves me feeling a little underwhelmed.

On The Parallax II, the band have taken this a step further, moving into songwriting territory that is almost like a stream of consciousness. Well executed, yes, but at times I find myself tuning out.

Rating: 3.5/5 Oliver Cation

Rating: 3/5

Rating: 3/5

NEW VETERAN – BLACKLEVEL EMBASSY

GENOME 10-inch – COERCE

After a couple of years on the shelf, and much to this old bastard’s delight, Blacklevel Embassy have served us up a dish filled with ingredients one struggles to find in such fresh form anymore. The Melbourne trio’s aptly titled New Veteran is filled with well-seasoned AmRep and a pinch of Touch and Go, presented un-mistakenly as Australian post-hardcore. That being said, this album is far from ‘old bastard music for old bastards’. New Veteran hits its straps on tracks like ‘Tony’ and the title track when the band seem to be ignorantly playing for no-one but themselves. Get savvy and be sure to experience this live and in it’s element.

Coerce have made a career out of surprising their fans. Not a single release sounds like the one that precedes it and Genome is no exception. Sprawling is the word I would use for the four tracks that make up the record.

Three of the four tracks are over six minutes long, with the fourth almost hitting five minutes.

Diverse is another word. While opening track ‘Flinders Street’ takes a more straightforward rock approach, ‘Genome’ sounds like early Baroness, while ‘The Rocks’ sounds like a much heavier version of a Radiohead song.

This record is definitely not for everyone, but it is yet another indication of how supremely talented a band Coerce are.

Rating: 4/5

Rating: 4/5

(Rise Records)

(Battle Worldwide Recordings)

Wade Doom

(Metal Blade Records/RIOT!)

Sarah Petchell

(Capitalsounds Records)

Sarah Petchell 51

(Metal Blade Records/RIOT!)

Sarah Petchell

SUFFOCATING IN THE SWARM OF CRANES – DOWNFALL OF GAIA (Metal Blade Records/RIOT!)

With the demise of Isis, a hole was left in the post-metal genre for a band able to achieve the same desolate and crushingly heavy soundscapes, and make it sound as effortless as Isis did.

With their second album, Downfall Of Gaia have managed to almost reach this level in just under an hour. Suffocating In The.. sees the band attach a little more melody to their formula, and for the better.

It is the melody in the opening of ‘In The Rivers Bleak’ that creates the oppressive atmosphere. But it is the pacing of the songs where Downfall of Gaia really excel. On ‘Giving Their Heir To The Masses’, rather than speed up to the songs crescendo, the band approach it at almost a slow crawl.

Rating: 3.5/5 Sarah Petchell

ALLELUJAH! DON’T BEND! ASCEND – GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR (Constellation)

NO APOLOGIES – HEROES FOR HIRE

RESONATION – LINCOLN LE FEVRE

Montreal’s GY!BE have mastered repetition as an art form, understanding exactly how to build a framework, working it until fingers bleed and all are richer for the experience. Opening track and high point ‘Mladic’ is one of the finest examples of Godspeed’s method of operations; a 20-minute exercise in tactical restraint and ear-shreddingly violent volume.

Each track has an individual impact. Album closer ‘Strung Like Lights…’ brings to mind a longlost droning Kubrick soundtrack while ‘Their Helicopters’ Sing’ is like an orchestra of contorting serial killers tuning up before a final performance. Allelujah!... runs the gamut of compositional brilliance, and is well worth every second.

So here is the thing: there is absolutely nothing original about Heroes For Hire. They’re peddling pop punk that sounds almost exactly like New Found Glory, giving it a slightly Australian twist (through song titles like ‘Lords Of Blacktown’). That’s fine if that’s what you’re into, however I would prefer a little bit more of an injection of creativity. That being said, the decision to get the dude that plays in the band you sound exactly like to produce your album (Steve Klein) was possibly the best decision they could have made. No Apologies is a lot more polished than what they previously have released. The songs are tighter and catchier, with some great guitar riffs, but this is still New Found Glory v2.

There is just something super endearing about Tasmania’s Lincoln Le Fevre. He’s a little bit punk, a little bit country and a whole lot of soul, as well as very Australian. Everything is a little bit rough around the edges, but therein lies the appeal. If Resonation was full of perfect production and musicianship then it would not even measure up to half the album that it is. But what is obvious is Lincoln’s skill as a story-teller, continuing the tradition of the punk rock troubadour.

These are stories about the every man, a guy talking what he knows and laying it all bare for his audience. This is a worthwhile listen for fans of honest music.

Check out the track ‘Dilettantes’ and you’ll see what I mean.

Rating: 4.5/5 Brendan O’Keeffe

Rating: 2.5/5 Sarah Petchell

Rating: 3.5/5 Sarah Petchell

INFINITY OVERHEAD – MINUS THE BEAR

FOR MY PARENTS – MONO

BITTER DRINK, BITTER MOON – MURDER BY DEATH

There comes a time when a band with a strong following does their utmost to create a “serious” record and prove that underneath there is a sophisticated collection of musicians making sophisticated music. Determined to prove they are past the absurd song titles and dalliances with poppy electronica, Minus The Bear loose a guitar driven album that never really soars as high as they intended. Infinity Overhead is still impressive; each track is complete with compelling sonic layering (‘Toska’) and catchy melody (highlight ‘Cold Company’), but what Infinity… is missing is a sense of adventure – moments of pure fun for the sake of fun have been forsaken in an attempt to establish maturity.

Mono have had a flirtation with the symphonic throughout their decade-plus career. For My Parents continues along this path with very little deviation from any of their other efforts – the loud parts are loud, the quiet parts are quiet, and the post-rockians live happily ever after. To give an overview of this album for it’s own merits – it’s good. Really good.

‘Unseen Harbor’ is a marvellous piece of music. But if there has to be a complaint; it kind of feels like an unfinished idea. Post-rock has been overcrowded for some time now; and while the songs might not be easy to write, they’re certainly easy to forget among a large pool of competitors. Mono have definitely raised the bar in the past, but not enough this time.

Murder By Death are a strange prospect for many, with their punk rock/blues/storytelling hybrid, drawing parallels to Johnny Cash and The Gaslight Anthem.

On Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon, the band have packed together their characteristic tales of life, love and loss. The sound is much fuller and rich than on previous albums, something which allows their often dated music to spring to life. Stand out tracks include ‘Hard World’, a joyful explosion, while ‘Oh To Be An Animal’ shows off their more laconic side, their ability to be powerful doing both a testament to their skills. Murder

By Death is the perfect Sunday afternoon music, or the perfect soundtrack for if you happen to be sent back to the wild, wild west.

Rating: 2.5/5 Brendan O’Keeffe

Rating: 3/5

Rating: 4/5

(Dangerbird Records)

(Halfcut/Shock)

(Temporary Residence)

Brendan O’Keeffe 52

(Poison City Records)

(Bloodshot Records)

Oliver Cation

SELF-ENTITLED – NOFX

DEDICATION – OUTRIGHT

BOOK BURNER – PIG DESTROYER

For NOFX’s first album in three years, Self-Entitled is a mix of the political and the personal backed by the usual driven, fast sound fans have come to expect from the band after almost 30 years in the punk rock business. Bitter cynicism countered with upbeat melody is something that runs strongly throughout the album. ‘72 Virgins’ opens the record with the topic of suicide bombers, and how we could simply end the war with prostitutes, and an 8-bit undertone brings some lightness to an otherwise bitter encounter with a fan in ‘Cell Out’. ‘I’ve Got One Jealous Again, Again’ is the slow and sombre exception to the rest of the tracks, but aside from that expect a short album with doses of tongue in cheek punk rock .

If you’re a fan of honest, angry hardcore with a message then this newest 7-inch from Melbourne hardcore outfit, Outright, is for you.

Four tracks, not going beyond the 11 minute mark, of straight up 90’s hardcore. It’s raw, aggressive and passionate, and the driving force of this lies with the vocals of Jelena Goluza. Taking obvious 90’s references with the music, the lyrics focus on the political and personal ideals that Goluza is peddling, apparent just from looking at the artwork (an old woman passing a Molotov cocktail to a younger girl). All together, the package is incredibly inspiring and empowering, making it no wonder that this Melbourne quintet have built quite the following over the last couple of years.

It’s been five long years since Pig Destroyer force-fed us their untouchable brand of grindcore with 2007’s Phantom Limb. Now the undisputed lords of terror are back to set their own throne ablaze with LP number four, Book Burner. No longer content with merely ‘out grinding’ the scene, Pig Destroyer favour the heavier artillery in their arsenal, thrown unapologetically among their signature rapid fire. This tactic is made clear with the statement-like opening track ‘Sis’. Starting with a textbook Blake Harrison sample and a few bars of blasting grind before guitarist, Scott Hull sends you over the handlebars and eating cement with a blindsided breakdown... and that’s just in the first 21 seconds. I’m sold!

Rating: 3.5/5 Jessie Stringer

Rating: 3.5/5 Sarah Petchell

Rating: 4.8/5 Wade Doom

GREY MATTER/WHITE MATTER – SXWZD

SPLIT – TOUCHE AMORE and THE CASKET LOTTERY

119 – TRASH TALK

Whatever you want to call them, this mostly Adelaide based band are well known for pushing the boundaries of what contemporary hardcore can be. In the case of their second album, Grey Matter/ White Matter I’m not sure how much further the band can push what they do before it stops being hardcore. And that’s ok with me. The dual drum assault, this time around, sees the drummers doing two different things rather than just playing the same drum fills, while the vocals combine screaming, singing and spoken.

Opening track ‘Freight Train’ really does hit you like the transport it’s named after, before launching into ‘Apocalypse’. But the stand out is the album’s centerpiece ‘The Outside’.

If this is any hint of what’s to come on both bands full lengths, then wow! This is energy and emotion, where even the two cover songs are made to feel brand new.

Touche Amore are now veterans when it comes to releasing splits but this isn’t one you’ll tire of quickly, ‘Whale Belly’ measures up to any previous song they’ve released and their cover of The Replacements’ ‘Unsatisfied’ while sticking close to the original, could easily be a work of their own. Not to be outdone, The Casket Lottery prove that they’ve still got it with their haunting cover of Beach House’s ‘Myth’ and their original White Lies’. Keep your eyes peeled for the full lengths to come, because this is two bands at the top of their game.

I’ll be fair and let you know that I haven’t enjoyed a whole Trash Talk release post the Plagues and Walking Disease eras. But, I still fucking LOVE those EPs and am still able to draw plenty positives from the band’s latest album, 119.

In order to do that though, skip straight to track 7, ‘Reasons’.

This is TT at their menacing best.

No grunge, no rap and no frills, just white-knuckled Californian hardcore. Keep the album running ‘cos shit only gets better as the songs feature fewer but stronger ideas, evoking singular primal responses from its listener, in a way that no other active hardcore band do. Oh yeah, Hodgy Beats and Tyler The Creator feature on one of the earlier tracks. Buy the LP, fuck the A side.

Rating: 4/5

Rating: 4/5

Rating: 3/5

(Fat Wreck Chords/Shock)

(Clarity Records)

Sarah Petchell

(Reason & Rage Records)

(No Sleep Records)

Jessie Stringer 53

(Relapse Records/RIOT!)

(Odd Future Records)

Wade Doom

cornerstones:

hydra

head records Words: Brendan O’Keeffe

On 11 September 2012, Hydra Head Records, founded in 1993 by Isis frontman Aaron Turner, made the announcement that they had reached “an imminent demise”. Turner was only a teenager at the time the label was founded, and within two years of opening its doors, Hydra Head had released recordings from such young bands as Coalesce and Converge, who would soon be making huge names for themselves. From there, they moved quickly on to metal, including bands like Cult Of Luna, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Neurosis and The Dillinger Escape Plan on their roster. Celebrating the history of a such a game-changing label, this is but a mere fragment of the classic albums gifted to us by Hydra Head over the past 17 years.

We Are The Romans – Botch (1999)

Celestial – Isis

(2001)

Seattle’s Botch released their second, and final, album in 1999 at arguably their creative peak. We Are The Romans is a mathy extravaganza. The band isn’t attempting to alienate fans through bafflingly technical musicianship, though they do retain a strong challenge to the musical establishment. Sure, there are the batshit crazy time signatures (‘Saint Matthew Returns To The Womb’ and ‘Frequency Ass Bandit’), but Botch are able to give them a necessity with the song itself. Characteristic of much of Hydra Head’s output, Botch also create space on the album for that touch of restraint, with ‘Swimming The Channel Vs Driving The Chunnel’ supplying a brilliant post-rock inhalation before the eruption of ‘C. Thomas Howell As The Soul Man’. This is an incredibly influential record.

The debut album from Isis was much more dynamic than anticipated, particularly compared to the sludgy monsters that were their first two EPs. On Celestial, Isis not only took a giant leap within their own creative output, but also pushed the boundaries of progressive post-metal beyond the mid-90’s bedrock lain by Neurosis and Tool.

Isis’ music moved at a snail’s pace, which actually accentuates its heaviness, particularly on tracks like ‘Swarm Reigns (Down)’ and ‘Collapse And Crush’. These tracks are punctuated with various ‘SGNL’ pieces, a single, unsettling sound which surprisingly give the album its incredible shape and flow. Among all this chaos, tranquility can be found: ‘C.F.T.’ is a masterpiece of isolated atmospherics. Celestial is a supremely cerebral album and an engrossing experience.

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Antenna – Cave-In

(2003)

It’s not uncommon to see Boston’s Cave-In compared to Radiohead; certainly the two bands share the same penchant for the grandiose and the cryptic. On Antenna, examples of this comparison aren’t as apparent, but they are definitely there (see the opening riff to ‘Inspire’).

Cave-In definitely developed a formula for writing riffs and vocal melodies that stick with you, (evident on tracks like ‘Rubber And Glue’), so the entire album is almost radio-friendly. Perhaps this is thanks to mega-producer Rich Costey (Franz Ferdinand, Interpol, Weezer) or possibly due to Cave-In’s skill when it comes to catchy hooks and knowing the perfect formula for song-structure. However, none of this impacts negatively – Antenna is, and always will be, a joyful and rewarding listen.

The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw – Pelican (2005)

Here Comes The Waterworks – Big Business (2007)

Meanderthal – Torche (2008)

Pelican followed closely in the footsteps of Isis, making compelling postmetal their signature. Their second album, The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw took things one step further by introducing acoustic sounds to the landscape, a move as unpredictable as it was incredible. Taking cues from acts like Slint and Mogwai, Pelican were still able to keep a ‘metal’ edge, whirling the listener down screaming tunnels of feedback into an open field of minimalist gold. The album opener, ‘Last Day Of Winter’, is a great representation of Pelican’s style, repeatedly shifting between the lulls and the cacophonies. But the centerpiece of the album is inarguably the 11-plus minute ‘Red Ran Amber’, with its ability to be at once introspective and pulverising. This was an album that boosted Pelican to the forefront of their genre.

After becoming full-time members of The Melvins in 2006, Jared Warren and Coady Willis recorded their second album as Big Business – the bass and drum monolith Here Come The Waterworks.

Unabashedly wall-to-wall Sabbath grind is the name of the game on this record, occasionally breaching into as diverse territory as ultracatchy punk (‘Grounds For Divorce’) and cinematic prog soundscapes (‘Another Beautiful Day In The Pacific Northwest’). Big Business seemed to have a game plan to be as crushingly heavy as possible while remaining accessible, and they most certainly succeeded with this record. Big Business played everything at their pace; and it’s entirely on you, as the listener, to keep up. Here Comes The Waterworks is a genuine treasure, with new rewards dished out with each spin.

Meanderthal was Torche’s second album, and on it they perfected their formula of balancing melody with crushing heaviness. The most noticeable element of this (and any other) Torche album, is how their punk rock ethic stands tall. Rarely would you find a sludge album that contains 13 songs and is less that 40 minutes long – with every one of these songs keeping you guessing to the very end. ‘Amnesian’ (the longest track on the album at six-and-a-half minutes) is a brilliant exercise in stop-start heaviness, while album opener ‘Triumph Of Venus’ is 100 seconds of guitar worshipping frenzy. None of this heaviness comes at the expense of Meanderthal’s atmospherics; the intricate layering of each song, from the bowel quaking bass to the harmonious vocals, is a genuine phenomenon that changes what heavy music can be.

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