Witness Of Decay brings you the finest Mexican deathcore, wrapped in soaking wet bloody lyrics topped with shredful joy for everyone. Read everything about their scene, perspectives on the future and their message to the worldwide deathcore bands out there.
Describe us the Mexican scene
Our Mexican Scene is hard to explain because it’s a kind of an irregular scene. It's quite strange actually. The one day you’re playing a show in a venue for 200 people, the next day it's just your band and a couple of friends. The audio systems don't always have the best quality, but we think that the people here give everything they got on stage and that makes a good show. And the people are very friendly.
Any interesting future plans? Maybe a Euro tour?
We are planning on touring more here in Mexico. There are still a lot of places that we haven’t got the chance to play at. We also plan on shooting a video for one of our songs and we are also looking forward to going back in the studio by the end of this year to record a full length album. As for Europe, it would be a dream come true to be able to tour and play for you guys. That’s why we will keep working very hard.
What is your message to the worldwide deathcore scene?
You make some of the best music, but it's a kind of music that not everybody can understand and feel. It’s not about fashion or the new trend. It’s about passion and staying true to yourself, because eventually it all pays off. Therefore enjoy and support the shows that are made in your town, buy merch from bands, it helps a lot. And remember that all the huge bands started out playing local shows. Cheers to everyone in Europe. We have heard so many cool things about your shows and scene. And thanks to Brutality Blog for the interview.
For years I had been thinking that the good old metalcore
days have been long gone. I started to believe that this genre had been
bleeding to death in purest silence while a small part of it went its own way. A way of mutation and fragmentation that led to multiple new kinds of genres that simply could not do what
metalcore used to do to me. Apparently some musicians have just been hiding in the
rehearsal rooms for too long to surprise us with EP’s like Constants &
Variables from Sonic Skies.
Bands and how they shatter to pieces is not always a bad thing, because from those shattered parts Sonic Skies was born in 2012.
Constants And Variables
After releasing their very
first EP Icarus, the band now came up with the Constant & Variables
EP. Six songs have been taken from album preproduction's to fit into an EP and make the upcoming album more fit like a whole.
Constants & Variables creates an atmosphere of a walking
the path in the middle of hope and hopelessness. Lyrics of dying hope, returning home can
make a heart sing and your veins feel like they are going to explode. The smooth, yet very tightened riffs make you
hold your breath while waiting for the breakdowns. The artwork - a dark greyish grid with X's and O's - was dedicated to a friend that passed away recently. This EP is pretty amazing if you’re nostalgic and craving for the metalcore
that filled up Belgium’s smallest venues and basements in the early years of
2000.
Random fact:
The band’s hometown Hameln is worldfamous for its ‘Pied Piper of Hamelin’ tale.
To be continued
The second EP has just been released and Sonic Skies is already working on
preproductions for their future album coming up. Seems the guys have an endless source of inspiration that makes their story to be continued… Sooner than you
would think.
It's been a while since something has been posted on this blog. And what's coming now is quite important stuff. What happened yesterday at the redaction of Charlie Hebdo in Paris shook the world. And as a member of Reporters Without Borders, it completely struck me. Being killed because freedom of speech is not tolerated by some people is just incredible. Especially here in the West this is something that remained unimaginable until yesterday...
To all writers, cartoonists, reporters all over the world: Do not shut your mouth, do not take down your pen. Freedom of speech is something that lots of people gave their lives for in history. Make those lives count.
My arms feel as if I have been doing 3000 push-ups and my body is covered in black spots. Eyelids are heavy, my hair still looks dirty after washing it and I miss the smell of vegan dishes coming from the most awesome festival that Belgium has to offer (that’s right, a big 'fuck you' to Tomorrowland). I guess both my body and brain are suffering from the post-Ieperfest syndrome, so I took a pen and started writing. I’ll go through some highlights of the festival with you again, just to cheer everyone up who knows the feeling. Because if home really is where the heart is, then me and thousands of others lost it at Ieperfest. Grab the pieces of your broken heart together. I hand you the glue.
Ieperfest is an interesting concept, covering many facets of a subculture and creates a unique landscape for music fans. In the More Than Music Tent, the festival was literally described as a ‘temple’ by some that have been visiting the festival over decades.
Because during the times without the internet, Ieperfest was the only way to get the merch and music that you had been craving for all year. You can expand your merch- and or album collection easily at the event, just like your knowledge. As we were just walking around the merch tent and chitchatting around with people from all kinds of ages, we actually got educated about the 70’s and 80’s punkscene in Belgium. Ieperfest knows no barriers when it comes to age, gender, skin colour, height or weight. We are all hardcore kids, gathering for the party of the year. Now let’s get this party started! A glimpse of what you can see and
what you can participate in at the More Than Music Tent
Day 1 at Flanders Fields
As heavy rain was turning the festival site into a mudwrestling palace with only the women in bikini missing, the fans of Expire did not move back and kept on standing during the whole set. The band played a faster and shorter set with less of the blabla stuff going on on stage, so the fans could look for shelter afterwards.
From US hardcore to US punkrock. Total Chaos started a hell of a party in the marquee where you could get your hair and nasty socks dried. Old skool pogo time modus was on, mohawks a must and those who didn't join could not even bite the dust. I SWEAR TO GOD THERE WAS MUD EVERYWHERE.
After some vegan snacks we saw Backtrack pushing it to the limit on the main stage and Dead Kennedys are soon to be renamed into Almost Dead Kennedys. Jello Biafra made Ieperfest chew on anti capitalist statements last year, Dead Kennedys without him is just not the same. Biafra's replacement Jeff had been tackling too much bottles before going on stage and his incoherent speeches did not enlighten one single soul watching the band. The only thing that seemed to matter was 'California Über Alles'
Happy surprise of the day was Ringworm, a US metalcore band that planned to play just three shows in Europe this year. I remember loving this band as a teenager and Ringworm even sounded better live than they ever did on my iPod.
The Belgian punks from Sunpower made the newest Trench stage turn into the Party Tent, even though they had to deal with power problems. The drummer however, kept on entertaining the fans by drumming some Iron Maiden inspired songs until the technicians figured out what went wrong.
It is undeniable that Dog Eat Dog was something most (wiggy) Ieperlovers looked forward to. Plastic saxes were passed to some diehard fans and the whole crowd was singing, yelling, stagediving, crowdsurfing and enjoying the live eargasms.
Anyone wanting some speakers being thrown at them could check out Blind To Faith. Also people were just throwing themselves after that epic speaker moment. That was just sick.
Headliner of the day No Warning was *££*%Ù@€ôô}—*€ôÙ@≠÷µô}øÇÇ¡«¶{no text available}. Just watch this.
Day two at Flanders Fields:
We managed to get awake without the usual overdose of caffeine, because Curse Of Millhaven delivered us some early get-the-fuck-up death core that made us shiver to the bone. Thanks for that. Those guys make me feel proud to have Belgian roots. In September they play the release show for their EP, in Ieper of course.
Authority Zero has been around since the beginning of the 90's and turned the marquee into heaven for punkrockers and the hardcore kids. Worthy warm up for Real McKenzies that were scheduled later on the day. There was dancing, pogo, dancing, pogo, singalongs and funny drunk people bothering other funny drunk people.
American hardcore band Turnstile played their first show in Belgium at the legendary Ieperfest. The guys received an incredible response that even the band didn't expect in the first place. Headwalkers and ballcrushers represent! Keep your eyes peeled for more videos on Youtube, because they are worth watching, even if you have no idea about what or who Turnstile is.
The most brutal band from NY named Suffocation is another pearl hidden in the middle of a hardcore piled line-up. These death metal bandmembers started jamming before most readers here (I am guilty myself) were even born. Still, their deathmetal sounds timeless and therefore was amazing. They only scheduled a handful of concerts in Europe, Ieper was one of their last stops before starting the American tour.
And of course there was Deez Nuts... Because the question here is which festivals they don't play. This band was officially on my list of worst live acts, but Deez Nuts did the best performance that I ever witnessed in both Germany and Belgium. Frontman JJ Peters did not screw up this time, he might have even been the most sober partystarting bastard of the festival. See what I did there?
Open up the pogo and bring on the bagpipe! The one and only Canadian Real McKenzies were a real magnet for all punks and punk rockers. Traditional Scottish music gets punked and mohawked. The voluntary lifted up kilt and the hairy ass were for free.
Gorilla Biscuits went something like this. Keep an eye on that vocalistic narcism thing going on there.
Day three at Flanders Fields: The final resistance
Caffeine and early morning Israel hardcore smashed into you face by Kids Insane to wake and shake up Ieperfest. From the whispers into your ears ‘til a stagediving frontman to get those poles in the marquee moving. After playing Groezrock earlier this year and Aalst earlier this month, they ended their tour together with Bane at Ieperfest.
There were some problems again with the power just when No Zodiac was feeding the beatdownkids, which made the set a bit shorter than expected. No Zodiac hasn’t played much shows in Belgium yet, so their crew was happily welcoming them to the main stage at Ieperfest. Fatalism in order to replace peace was promoted by songs as 'Population Control' and 'Drowning'.
Last show of the tour from Bane. It is better to glimpse at this video than to read what we would write on it, as we simply could not find the words. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAjGXmVDqm8
H20 means party time for everyone, including the little kids. Some kiddies went crowdsurfing and carried around as if they were pieces of gold, because those moments are something to remember for everyone. Because it proves that there are no age limits for punkrock and we are all equal. As always, H2O likes to keep their 'What Happened' for the very end. But even if they would turn their set the other way around, it wouldn't change a thing about the atmosphere they breathe over their fans.
Maroon played one of their very last shows and the vibe in the marquee was just moving everyone. And when the poles were going from left to right, I wasn’t sure if it was the storm outside or Maroon’s incredible awesome metal causing this. The old skool moshing was completely in again and crowdkilling was a no go. Long live German metal!
The beautifully headlining Heaven Shall Burn did not promote their new album, but instead played numerous of old songs. The frontman Marcus also won the official Brutality Blog award for being the most funny German. He seems to carry this very down to earth attitude, so much that it even looks like an old friend making fun of you when you dare to stand in front of the stage without moving and having your arms crossed. ANYWAY: official Brutality Blog award for most brutal vocals together with a heart soaked by sweetness goes out to HSB. Why? Because this guy came to check on everyone that got stuck into a ‘pile’ of people right in front of the stage. No further songs were played until he was sure that everyone was on his or her feet again and was alright. Skullbreaking song ‘Black Tears’ was the absolute breaking point where everyone lost their minds, glasses, masks, beanies and shoes. If I'm right, someone captured that on camera, so you could just keep on refreshing Youtube until it's uploaded. Somewhere. On the interwebz.
All glued up
Now that we have our hearts fixed, let’s look forward to the first names of Ieper Winter Fest 2015 and of course to Ieperfest Summer edition 2015.
Make hardcore music, not war
Exactly one hundred years ago Flanders Fields were shaking heavily. Blood got spilled and lives were lost. This might sound like old crap that is rusting away in school books, but these things are still going on today in other countries and we should not forget about that.
A little P.S. shout-out: Vort'n Vis needs you!
For those who really care about the scene: The H8000 venue Vort’n Vis (roots of Ieperfest) is being rebuild after it needed serious renovation. They are still raising money, because no money means no future for Vort’n Vis.
Anyone that could miss some euros (because every tiny bits help) and wants to support the very roots of both the H8000 scene and Ieperfest, can donate in order to help rebuild the venue. Check out their website to follow the rebuilding of the venue! =)
For those who missed out on the free show at café Oep'n Ander in Aalst, here is a video that we shot yesterday. The band is playing Ieperfest this Sunday, see you at the front rows!
Kids Insane on FB: https://www.facebook.com/kidsinsane?fref=ts
No it’s not your favourite Family Guy episode. It’s the intro of the very first four-songs-counting Chikatilo EP, named Mistake Of Nature. Note that it is a DIY creation, so thumbs up for that!
I could write a book on this EP, but to keep things short it could be described as: Breakdown… Madness… Breakdown… Breakdown and another slice of madness x 4. The band describes itself as ‘Slam’. I probably missed out on something going on these days, because I don’t even have a clue what the hell that is. Maybe I’ll know after getting slammed in the face during one of their shows. Or maybe I just gave up on playing Pokémon too early to get the meaning of ‘slam’. However this one thing is sure: The Chikatilo EP is food for the beatdownkids that have been hungry for a while.
These Belgians had their first success already in Japan, now we will wait see and see how things turn out for them in Belgium and the rest of Europe. In September their UK tour kicks off, festivals like the UK Ballerfest are on their tour checklist.
Even though there is a big crisis going on in this sickminded world, remember that there is still Chikatilo. Enjoy!
Chikatilo on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChikatiloSlam?fref=ts
What is Ieperfest? Who is Ieperfest? Why the hack should I go to Ieperfest? All these and more existential questions will be answered in this article. Read more to find your way in festival life.
Ieperfest is THE event in the H8000 scene attracting hardcore fans from all over Europe and way beyond. It is a tasty vegan hardcore festival organized by Genet Records and Vort’n Vis, lending their Flanders Fields stages to the most awesome metal- and hardcore bands from all over the world. Why you should come to Ieper from the 8th until the 10th of August? One: because it’s Ieperfest. Two: Heaven Shall Burn is headlining! Three: the food is just awesome. For those convinced already, tickets can be purchased here: http://www.ieperfest.com/2014/tickets
Ieperfest isn’t just about music, it’s also about education, participation and also a bit about veganism. Actually a lot about veganism. Vegans are showing up at the festival, just for the delicious burgers, icecream, coffee and stew. Yes, vegan stew. Ieperfest wants to put emphasis on environment, animals and health by keeping the festival vegan ever since it ever started for the first time.
The line-up highlights
On Friday
Ramallah just got back from the Land of Not, straight into Flanders Fields. They describe themselves as hardcore/metal, but if you know that they are from the Bridge Nine family, you should be able to know what they sound like… Pretty awesome. Expect their new album somewhere this year.
Expire signed with Bridge Nine Records and proudly presented their newest album ‘Pretty Low’ to the world earlier this year. In February Expire made a stop in Belgium for a clubshow in Antwerp. Now they are coming back to Europe to stagebreak some festivals AND are dragged into the Ieperfest line-up to give you some white trash hardcore that kicks ass.
Total Chaos choose a bandname to describe themselves to the core. Totally chaotic. Throwing with eggs during the set is allowed, since those punks probably need it to keep up their soaked in sweat mohawks. Just be careful you don’t hit any vegans. At least throw eggs that are from chickens in your garden, not the industrialized supermarket ones. Also use eggs that have expired already and cannot be eaten anymore, to keep your action ecologicaly sustainable. That should do the trick and you don’t get yourself into trouble.
Surge of Fury is the Belgian band of the day that has been around since the 90s and have steady and proud signed with Rucktion records. Suit up for a boogiedownbreakdown.
Dead Kennedys are the godfathers of the hardcore punk scene that grew out to what it looks like today. Anyone calling him- or herself a hardcore kid should at least attend this set while being at Ieperfest on Friday. Note that they play very early, so don’t miss them!
On Saturday
Suffocation is extreme metal and purest brutality that has been around for over 20 years. On Saturday they do a pitstop at Ieperfest to blow your ears into pieces of shit.
Morning Again is crazy 90s shit that is coming to Ieperfest again. Morning Again is very pleased to be on stage again at Flanders Fields. In May, they announced this on their Facebookpage: “Regarding Ieperfest: We're going to ask that nobody sings along when we play, please. No running around or "dancing" either. This is serious shit. And wear ties.” Just so you know what it up.
Turnstile are very young American boys that bring the old skool vibe hardcore back on stage. Stagediving is allowed and might even be obligatory.
Kids Insane. Not sure if they play on Saturday, but they were announced to play Ieperfest! These guys from Israel bring very strong live performances in a pure way, think of acts like Have Heart.
Real MCKenzies. No explanation needed to tell the world who these old fucks are, because who doesn’t know them is simply not from this world. And I guess aliens are not reading this blog. Soooo, a little summit: Folk orchestras and happy dancing (no hardcore dancing on this, sorry guys) while the Real MCKenzies do their thing at Ieperfest.
On Sunday
Strife is a very strong live band, pushing fans to the limits during their shows. It’s so to say impossible to just stand and watch and not go nuts when seeing the band performing. Why? Here is a little anekdote: Last year at Groezrock, there was a pool of blood with the microphone dropped into it that was left after the band left the stage. Prepare and bring bandages to throw on stage. Or to use them yourself.
Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat. SAY WHAT? Don’t worry, the bandname can be squeezed into the most incognito abbreviation ever for people who don’t feel comfortable pronouncing it in public. The Belgian KTAOABC brings back the ’80s phsychedelic wave sounds. Definitely an outstanding act at the Ieper Hardcore Fest that you shouldn’t miss out on.
Subzero is old skool new York hardcore, standing strong ever since the 80s. A set to attend in case you want to dig into hardcore history and know what Ieperfest actually is all about.
Boysetsfire: after dissapearing for a while, their comeback has striker the scene even harder than they ever did before.
Heaven Shall Burn is the one and only Heaven Shall Burn. With a very long list of albums on their name, their newest 'Veto' is another blast. Prepare for an awesome performance, maybe even with some real fire in there. Definetely a worthy headliner forIeper Hardcore Fest.
Ieperfest official website: http://www.ieperfest.com/2014/
When we arrived at the – at least for us - unknown location, a really welcoming venue awaited us and a nice-smelling hotpot scent flew through the room in our nose. Everything was super tidy, the price for a drink was good, a nice backstage area with a football table was around as well and even the toilets were clean. The room for the show itself had professional equipment and the stage wasn’t as small as expected. About 200 people fit in it here and the venue was close to reaching its full capacity at the end of the evening.
The show started with Pitwater Youth Hostel from Wülfrath, who play music similar to Parkway Drive, Breakdown of Sanity and co. They showed us live that this was pretty accurate, so we got fast guitar riffs and brutal vocals to hear - sometimes accompanied by clean vocals which still have a lot of room to improve. The Breakdowns didn’t really sound too generic and the boys had fun playing their music, which transferred to the crowd.
Further on, Last Word Said went on stage. You quickly could tell that this was all about a concept. Deathcore inspired music, paired with the outfits you would expect. The sound was well mixed and they definitely weren’t beginners, which was proven by their performance. More people went into the pit from song to song. But unfortunately it sounded like I’ve already heard their songs a thousand times before from other bands. Don’t get me wrong, they sounded pretty okay, but I wish more young bands would experiment and try out new things!
And The Sky Is Grey was up next and offered a fresh, experimental sound from the beginning until the end. ATSIG had a wide variety of songs which always had something catchy. While covering genres like screamo, hardcore and punk, it just didn’t become boring. Their mix of surprisingly well sung clean vocals and screams was harmonious. Stage performance was the keyword here – the band almost went more nuts than the crowd did. Great show!
Last but not least the headliner and organizers of the evening had to play, Resist of Agony. The crowd, and obviously the band as well, were super stoked. Music genre: mosh it! Deep growls and brutal riffs set a heavy line for every song. This lead through the whole show, more and more people couldn’t resist shaking a leg or swinging an arm. Between the heavy songs with a lot of messages, slow passages brought off a bridge to the next song, and gave us some time to breathe. It was clearly necessary because the music really had everyone caught on fire.
At this point I want to thank all of the bands and Jugendhaus West for a fantastic evening!
RESIST OF AGONY
(https://www.facebook.com/pages/Resist-Of-Agony/368961379796929?fref=ts)
AND THE SKY IS GREY
(https://www.facebook.com/Andtheskyisgrey?fref=ts)
It was the last day of the Wolf x Down /Benchpress euro-tour. There was no pre-sale which made many people nervous, so around 80-100 people were already infront of the venue when I got there. When the doors opened, people rushed in and the really small venue, made for about 150 people, had some problems selling tickets.
After 1 ½ hours of waiting, Giver, from Paderborn/Cologne, finally started playing. Only a few seemed to know them, just like me. But with the first groovy riffs, the crowd got into dancing. Because of the super small room, and being longer than wider, there was barely any space to move. Nevertheless, this didn’t stop anyone at this evening. Giver only played around 5 songs if I remember correctly, each song different in its own style. The third song had a great rhythm guitar that made me fall in love with them – I was able just to close my eyes and really feel their music. Ending with their song “Vibes”, the members dropped their instruments and went into the crowd, shouting “Life means more when we're together. Choking on our pride, we stay forever” along, which was intense and made it a great closing for their small, but pretty cool set.
Next up, Benchpress went on stage. It was their first time playing in the “Ruhrpott”-Area and no one really knew what to expect, except for some heavy hardcore. After playing the first riffs of “Hellbound”, the crowd went totally nuts. Some word-perfect people were around and sing-alongs took their places, just like a tremendous amount of stagedives. With the singer’s shirt getting more bloody from song to song, the set went super wild - even though no one got intentionally hurt. A rare case in this area. Larissa WxD took part in two songs and created an odd but beautiful symmetry.
After Benchpress heated up the crowd (literally, it felt like 40°C in there now), it was time for the long awaited Wolf x Down. With old and new songs, no wishes were unfulfilled. An unbelievable atmosphere was around with everyone singing along and dancing in their own way. Even more people stage dived, causing havoc and fun at the same time. At some points, Larissa made wolf howls that lead to side-to-sides and fired up the last non-moving people. Several different singers from other bands took over the microphone at the feature parts so the songs had a really dynamic effect. A perfect stage presence.
If you weren’t there, you missed one of the best live shows you could imagine. It had everything for a perfect evening with your buddies, having non-violent fun and just being a wonderful hardcore show as it’s supposed to be. You must check all the bands out and give them a try live.
When saying 'Death Before Dishonor' you immediately breathe out the words 'Boston scene' at the same time. Vocalist Bryan tells us about the last Europe tour with the band and takes you back to his hometown and memories of his first hardcore show. Not convinced yet? Bryan also tells us about the new album coming up soon and it's going to be rad... RAD... RAD, I TELL YOU! Enjoy reading.
Bryan, how was the last EU tour?
Just great. We played some festivals an some small shows. All in all it was good because sometimes it is difficult since there are so many bands over here. But it has been awesome.
You like coming to Europe?
I love it. I feel that European bands are a lot more loyal. Sounds kind of like an assthing to say, but there is a difference between touring through the States and touring through Europe. It seems like people here appreciate it more. We try to come twice and sometimes thrice a year, but it is not always easy.
Boston is your hometown. Was it important for you to have that background to be where you are today?
If it wasn't for the Boston scene I wouldn't be here. Boston is a great city with a great scene and I don't disrespect it. The thing is I have been a part of the scene for so long and you see so many people come and go. which is obviously the same in any kind of scene, not just with hardcore people.
Actually Boston has a nice scene; I've been going to shows there since 1994 so I have seen so many angles of it. The worst thing about the it is that Boston is a big hardcore city, but there are not a lot of venues to do shows. That means a lot of shows are happening outside of the city and that affects the Boston scene a lot in a bad way just because of the lack of proper venues. It's easier to put money into a disco venue than into a hardcore venue.
You were saying your first hardcore show was in 1994. Which band did you see?
I went to see Biohazard. At that time I had some metal records and next to that I also had some Agnostic Front, Madball and Biohazard records. So I went to the Biohazard show and the fact that the band was hanging out with the crowd amazed me, it was more intimate and people were going crazy. It was so different from a real metal show.
You are taking care of Death Before Dishonor’s vocals. What was it that made the microphone get your attention?
Honestly... I couldn't play an instrument (laughing). I tried to play drums once... It took me a while to work on it all and to figure out how to sing. I just wanted to be part of a hardcore band, whatever it was. For me it was something I thought was cool. Before Death Before Dishonor I have been in other bands doing vocals and after that I quit singing for years.
To me, at the very beginning it wasn't about spreading a particular message, it was about being involved and being inspired by everyday life to help people take things a bit more easy. I would have done anything for being in a band (smiling). Originally, if I could have played an instrument I would have played an instrument.
The last full album was released four years ago already. Any plans for a new album soon?
Yes! We have a bunch of stuff written that will finally be recorded in November. It will be out in probably like... February or March and will be out on Bridge Nine Records. We have been touring and had some line-up changes. Our original guitar player doesn't tour so much because he is married to Candace from Walls Of Jericho and they have a kid, then touring becomes hard. When you tour time flies by and before you know it has been four years since you brought out a new record.
What can we expect from the new album?
It will be in the same line as before, it is not going to be a lot different. Of course we grow a bit, because we are in a band for so long. The record will have hardcore in it, a little bit of metal and a little bit of punk. Some songs will sound like the old Death Before Dishonor, others will sound more new. Expect a bit of everything on the new album, that is something I like. We are thinking about maybe naming it Always On The Outside or On The Outside, but that isn't sure yet. We are still kicking around a bit.
Tell us about the scene and its changes.
The internet did it all. I can’t say if the internet is a positive or a negative thing for the scene. It simply is what it is and you shouldn't forget that every good thing brings also bad things with it.
On the one hand, it's a good impact: it is great because more people can get access to all music and bands that are around, but it has also negative side effects. Nowadays anyone can start a band. Back in the days it was much harder to start a band and spread your music. You had to bring out demos and send them to venues or record shops. Then the venues would put you on the Monday night show for example. If you played the show well, you could do a better show on a Wednesday for example with maybe a bigger band. We started touring when the internet already popped up, so for us it wasn't that hard. But for the bands back in the days it was different. Just imagine touring without internet of cell phones.
Any last words?
Thanks for checking us out, our record will be out early 2014, put that in your agendas!
Meet Collapse Of Mind. They describe themselves as “Belgian modern melodic hardcore” and are ready to blow your mind at one of their shows. Just one year after Collapse Of Mind was founded, they proudly presented their debut EP Burner, Breaker, Killer. The release-shows are on, so we suggest you first fill your car with people and petrol and then move your asses to one of their shows.
Opener Lies To Impress starts off with a calm intro and soft sweeping vocals. The drums join in and tension is being built up until it gets to the point where you realize that Collapse Of Mind’s sound could easily remind you of band such as August Burns Red or A Day To Remember. Think of dramatic lyrical sceneries and hopes based on rhythms which are united in this EP.
Breaker, Burner, Killer consists of six songs. One of those is actually an acoustic version - which happens to be my favourite - of Breaker, the second song. Harmonicas assisting the guitar show that the band is not only breaking skulls with the harshness of their songs, but also has some hidden talents to reveal to fans and haters.
For a first EP the sound is very refined and sophisticated. Everything is perfectly measured and it is clear that a lot of effort has been put into this. The story of Collapse Of Mind has just started and we are curious how this will develop in the future.
Mind your ears, because Code Orange Kids brings you real hardcorepunk leaving their mark on it. Those young American kids from Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) tour all over Europe and the States, leaving the crowd with open mouth after their strong, heavy and short sets have ended. In this one and only interview they gave during their latest Europe tour, Code Orange Kids reveals their secrets about hair (yes, hair), tells some stuff about the new album coming up and in the end there is a hate ritual which you all could learn something from. Enjoy!
You are still pretty young. How does it feel to share the stage with all those old people?
Jami: We are now 19 and 20 and I must say we are pretty used to it. I don't think about it that much. We have also been touring with Full House and they are kind of close to our age. Actually I think it's an advantage to be so young, we have more energy.
Reba: Sometimes you point it out, but most of the times it doesn't really matter. We have more time to get better and to grow into stuff. It's a very good thing that we are young.
This is your second euro tour. You notice a difference between the first and second euro tour?
Jami: Last time we just tried to play for people who hadn't seen us before. This time there are a lot more people buying shirts and showing up at the shows because they are familiar with our music.
I think bands who tour are more popular. It really matters here in Europe. More than in the States.
Last year you were not so lucky when a lot of gear got stolen during a show. How did you manage to move on with the band after this?
Jami: We posted online what happened and suddenly we sold lots of our merch because people wanted to support us. Everybody helped us out and that was fanatastic. We didn't really ask for help or support but people just did that spontaneously. We recovered almost everything that we have lost and that is really awesome. The fact that everthing got stolen does not stop us from doing the band. I'm not going to feel bad for us for what happened. Shit happens you know.
Reba: No band started off with a lot of money. Its stupid that it happened, but at least we recovered what we lost.
When first hearing your music I didn't think you guys would still be so young.
Jami: We started the band when I was fourteen or fifteen years old and we were playing punkrock at that time. It was a natural process since we grew into this genre together.
Reba: We were good friends hanging out all the time playing punk. It clicked very well and we discovered new music together. Here we are today.
What is the first thing you will do when you get home? Imagine yourself smashing that frontdoor open. What will you do after that?
Reba: I'm just going to relax, hang out at home and work. We have been touring pretty much like non-stop, so it will be cool to have some time at home.
Jami: I will eat stuff and spend time with the dog. We won't be home for long, because soon we have a tour with Power Trip, Fucked Up and Terror? We will be on tour until January.
Is there any new album coming up?
Reba: We are still writing on it actually. And we have some demo stuff that we will record in January...? (Looks at Jami with questioning eyes).
Jami: We'll see. Honestly, I don't want to tell too much about the new album. I rather keep it a secret (laughs). One thing is certain: it will be released next year.
Where did the new inspiration come from?
Jami: There's definitely a lot of new influences that inspired us. A lot of things will change. Music will be different, lyrics will be different. I think it will be cool. We will have a lot more of influences from early 2000 and 90's hardcorepunk in our new record. That is something we like a lot and I also think not so many bands are doing this kind of stuff.
Something we noticed during your performance is that you don't communicate with the crowd
Jami: That is because there is nothing to say. I'm not going to beg people to like us or buy our merch. I will thank people at the end for watching, because I truly mean that and it means a lot to me. There are bands that talk a lot and some people are very good at talking. I even like that. But I don't want to talk, there is nothing to say for me. At the beginning I introduce the band, say where we are from and at the end we thank the crowd. People here in Europe seem to be offended by that.
Reba: We don't want to force anything. It's not that we are on stage to talk, we are there to play music.
Why are the sets so short when you play live shows?
Jami: People always ask! It's as if everybody wants long sets, but I hate that. It's not that we are a fucking metal band or something. I don't think most people want to see us play for longer than 20 minutes. When people really know songs, then we play longer. I rather leave people wanting for more, than having them thinking 'that was good, but got bored at the end'. That is something that happened a lot to me when watching bands, even with bands that did a really good job. Also, I get tired as fuck after those 20 minutes.
You never think 'we need a singer'?
Jami: No, I write the lyrics, so I don't like it to pass that to someone new. I like to share it around with everbody, but that is the big part of COK to me. If we would have a singer, we would be just like every other band. And we don't want to be like any other band, otherwise there is no point for us to exist in 2013.
There have been 30 years of hardcore, then it's hard to become an outstanding band. I think it's more creative to have several people doing the vocals.
Anything else you want to be revealed? Come on, tell us some secrets.
Jami: Our bassplayer Joe used to have blue hair, he looked like a fucking idiot. Eric used to have yellow hair with pink in the middle, as if he was a watermelon. Reba has always been ginger and I have always had brown hair.
Reba: That is a secret.
Ginger is the most beautiful haircolour in my opinion. No joke.
Reba: Thanks
Jami: I don't agree.
Reba: Well, at least I don't have disgusting facial hair.
Alien lights are ruling the cold terrace in front of Panique D'o that is filled with no people. At all. The venue was divided in a rather strange way for setting up a show and the self-destructive microphones spontaneously fell apart several times during the night. However, the lights were awesome and the bands gave this poor evening their best shot. What else do you need? Maybe a crowd. And some Belgian beers.
When Stubborn starts playing their show, the frontman takes an effort to drag people into the back of the venue, with as result that most (read: all) of them keep on wasting their lives on playing biljart with their fellow students. Sigh, where the fuck were all of you hardcore kids? Back to the show. The Brutality crew were the only two Belgian people to attend the most part of the performance, next to the 17 counting Hungarian tourcrew. We were thanked and blessed by the Stubborn guys. Around the end of their set, suddenly an unexpected change in line-up took place. The vocalist dropped the microphone and the guitarplayer took it over, while the singer now was creating sounds with the strings he was given.
Shellbeach brought some faceslap screamo influences and a variety of clean vocals. The guys' singalongs were assisted by the crew only. Bandmembers walk to the pooltable until the cables are pulling them backwards in another attempt to seduce students to come to the back of the venue. The evening looked more like a big hungarian jamsession, but that made it however more cosy.
The Southern Oracle played an enormously energetic show. For every move the guitarist, bassplayer or drummer did not make, the vocalist made five moves. Some parts of the show reminded us even of the excentric Belgian band Amen Ra. Rugbygame situations were happening as the vocalist rolled over the floor while singing and all of a sudden six, maybe seven other fellow Hungarians decide to crush their singing friend. Aaaaand at this point the record got broken, because we counted 6 Belgians attending the show.
All of you who didn't show up at this event: you will rot away in hell. No mercy for missing those awesome bands. Still, you should check them out. Maybe there are some spare seats upstairs.
It’s not
the first time that we mention this remarkable German metalcore band from
Lingen. Earlier those daredevils came up with this awesome videoclip for the
song ‘Bäume wachsen nur auf starken Herzen’ that was recorded in the winter of
2011, where Kalypso is performing on a -heavily cracking under their feet-
frozen lake. Because life ain’t worth shit without taking risks.
In August, Kalypso came up with a new EP ‘Gläserne Augen’. What it sounds like?
Heavier breakdowns than your poor ears could carry are blended with incredible
riffs. Riffs that even reminded me of the legendary Dragonforce metal heroes
for just a second.
For those who are familiar with the Belgian scene from around 5 years ago, think of the music you heard at metalcore shows back then. This genre sort of bled to death in Belgium, but is still growing bigger and bigger in the German scene.
Back to this awesome EP, which - although short, but very powerful - makes your heart skip a beat, just because the balance between the music and the lyrics is so great. Lyrics are
all about dreams (notice the perfectly matching riffs for 'Traumfänger'),
Weltschmerz accents and hope. A modern mixture of what romantic writers in the 18th century brought to feed our eyes and minds is here now translated into metalcore.
The ice gets broken with 'Metamorphose' as the opener of the EP, only to prepare you for the best that is yet to come. For the strongest song ‘Traumfänger’ an official lyric video was released. It masters this dreamy melody, captures you and doesn’t
let go. Prepare for what is called in German ‘Ohrwurm’ when hearing this.
Our message is the following: Close your
eyes and travel to the heaven of shred.
Kalypso's online store is also full with cool merch and nice packages, check it out or pick something up at one of their shows!
Since most of our pocket money gets spent on supporting the scene, we couldn't leave this album in a lonely state on the merch table. Do we regret buying this one? Hell no. I tell you, god is not a DJ, he is a fucking hardcore kid.
The Setup has been founded a while ago, but just like wine, some bands get better by aging. This is by far the strongest album made by the guys from Antwerp. 'This Thing Of Ours' is brought as an ode to the hardcore scene. The reactions of the people when new songs are played live, clearly show that the scene adores this band. Walls get torn down. For real. For one of their strongest songs called 'Walking Blind' even musicvideo was made where you see skaters ruling the streets.
The message The Setup tries to bring is clear: make hardcore, not war. Anger is translated into music, where irrations and maybe some bit of hatred is spilled all over the lyrics, only to let it all out and make the scene shiver when hearing new songs like 'Trapped Under The Weight' or 'Burn'.
The conclusion is simple: get your ghetto blaster out of the basement and let 'This Thing Of Ours' light up your living room.
In between some stagedives at Ieperfest last month, we were running around and bothering roadies in order to find our very soon to be interviewed chosen one. What seemed like waiting for Godot drastically changed when suddenly a guy showed up, eyes covered with sunglasses and wearing this non erasable smile on his face. ‘I just had a vegan cupcake’, he said. ‘With banana, it was so good…’.
Jona Weinhofen, rocking the guitar for IKTPQ, former member of Bring Me The Horizon and Bleeding Through. Your name is actually German sounding...
Jona: Well, i have some family that are Dutch and German speakers. But unfortunately I don't speak any of those languages.
Then let's just stick to English.
Jona: it would be a very boring interview otherwise (laughs).
The band has been out of the game for a while: In 2007 it was announced that IKTPQ would disband, in 2011 there was a comeback. Now, how does it feel to be back?
Jona: It feels nice. We've actually been easing into it. We made an announcement in 2011 that we were back together, but since then we only did two Australian and one European tour.
This summer we played two festivals and then there is the Never Say Die your planned. Up until last December I was in another band as well as some of the other guys. So it's hard to write a new album with all that going on. Right now we are all free and focused on the band. At the moment we are recording our new album in Sweden. After this show we go back to Sweden to record our new album.
You guys seem glad to be back, how do the fans react to your comeback?
Jona: it has been quite a long time since we toured full time, so we have definitely lost a bit of hype. The fact that we were in other bands helped IKTPQ in some way I think. If we would have quit and not have been doing other bands, not so many people would care about IKTPQ at this moment.
The response to our comeback has been very nice until now. The next step will be how people react to our new material. Because people easily criticize new stuff that bands come up with. I don't know if people will enjoy it or think it's different or maybe they will still see it as the same old stuff.
What do you think the new album sounds like?
Jona: It feels normal to me, just like the last album we made in 2005. We had some line-up changes, but actually it's me and our original guitarist Kevin who have always written the music. So musically not so much changed. We have a new vocalist, Jamie, who has been playing bass and guitar in bands before too. I think it sounds cool and I hope people like it. We'll see what reactions will be like.
Are you playing any new songs at Ieperfest today?
Jona: Just one. We only have one that is really ready to play. Everything else was still a mess until three or four weeks ago. Then sat down in the studio and sort it all out. We might play another new song on Never Say Die in October. Otherwise probably not until next year when the album actually comes out.
The music might not have been changed much, but there was a quite big line-up change. What did that do to the atmosphere on tour and on stage?
Jona: we're all a bit older now. The youngest of the band is 25, the oldest is 32. There was a time that we were all 19 to 22 years old, so we were partying and hanging out a lot. Now it's a bit more boring (laughs). On stage we try always to be very energetic to not look boring. Sometimes we even sacrifice sounding good by moving around a little more. We like to have fun. It's not that we're the stadium rockband. Not everything needs to be perfect.
Are you familiar with the concept of Ieper Hardcore Fest?
Jona: Prom Queen counts four vegans and a vegetarian, so this is quite important for us. I had been a vegetarian since I was 15 or 16 years old and a year after I turned vegan. At that age I started going to hardcore shows and met all those people that were vegetarian or vegan. The more I learned and discovered about it, the more I realized that this was something I wanted to do myself.
Now I've been vegan for 13,5 years, so I am always curious to see and hear about other vegans in other parts of the world.
You are an Australian band playing Europe. In what way does the European crowd differ from other crowds?
Jona: They give you a warm welcome. It seems people here in Europe, in most parts at least, they take music more broad. For example in Australia there would be a group of people at one show, that wouldn't go to see another band. All that is just because they want to stick to certain styles. Over here in Europe people seem to be more accepting. Here at our shows we see people going from metal to hardcore to whatever. Shows here remind me of the shows in Australia when I was younger. It used to be more diverse, the crowds. People in Australia are going a bit too cool for certain bands or styles. They seem to just stick to a couple of favourites and that is all.
You actually were in the middle of a new metalcore revolution, because you are in IKTPQ and you also have been in other bands like Bring Me The Horizon and Bleeding Through.
Jona: we were just a bunch of young guys that discovered some new bands like for example Poison The Well, Hatebreed. We liked the melody of some of the bands we heard and inspired by that we just tried something. I don't think we are doing anything new, before us there were other bands doing the same stuff in their way. We just were like 'we like this, so let's try to sound like that as well'. But I guess now it's exploded and there is a lot more bands that are into that style of music. It's pretty cool that we were one of the first bands, especially in Australia, to come up with it. Nowadays there is definitely a lot of bands that are doing it as well.
You've been on tour a lot of times. What is the craziest thing that happened so far?
Jona: One time I was in Los Angeles playing a show with Bring Me The Horizon. Right after we finished there was a shooting right outside the show, just across the road. There was lots of police, they asked us to leave our bus and we weren't allowed to get back to the crime scene for six hours. It was in the middle of the night. I don't think anybody died, but that was pretty scary. In Australia situations like that are extremely rare, especially right outside the front door. Touring can be sometimes scary. You don't know about the places you shouldn't hang out or that are controlled by gangs. Luckily never anything bad happened to us.
Talking about gangs: Are you familiar with the courage crew?
To be honest I don't know too much about them. I understand that they are straight edge group of friends. I know a couple of people that are in Courage Crew; some people of Bleeding Through were members of the crew at the time I was in the band. Also some other friends of mine are part of courage crew. They are awesome.
Good to hear something about the other side of the story. Earlier this year we interviewed someone who informed us about this gang and the fact that they beat fans and bands up.
Jona: Well I actually don't have any bad experiences with them. But I heard some upsetting stories. Actually, once in Saltlake City there was a straight edge gang during one of our shows that only came there to beat people up. That was pretty upsetting. That night five or six people ended up in hospital. That was not courage crew, I'm not even sure if it was a real gang. Fact was they were 30 people beating up others for no reason.
The front of the main stage will soon be packed with people to see you play tonight, but which bands are you going to see today?
Jona: I was just watching Length Of Time before the interview started. They played my favourite song and in the middle of it the power got off. That sucks. But Evergreen Terrace is still playing today, it's the band which we did our first US tour with. They are friends of ours already for a while now. I'm going to check out Integrity as well. When I was younger I used to listen to them.
Anything else you want to be revealed on Brutality Blog?
Jona: It's kind of rude, but our guitarist Kevin actually has a reeeaaaal big penis. But he's got a girlfriend, so hands off!
Is he going to show it off on stage?
Jona: if there is someone going naked today it will be me. The weather is great.
'You could stick that up my nose, now you have to put in your mouth'
Ieperfest oh
Ieperfest, tell me about passion, activism, spreading ideas, green policy and
all the rest.
In 1992 the
collectives of Vort’n Vis and Genet Records united to set up a first edition of
Ieperfest.
Now 21 years later, Ieperfest grew out to be an important event in the hardcore
scene on a pretty big scale. Tickets were sold until far beyond Belgian
borders.
The
festival is known for its delicious vegan food served by Ferm & Fameus, the
high standard green policy, the More Than Music (MTM) tent
where everything that goes beyond the music is discussed. From sharing
and discussing political ideas & systems, activism and animal rights.
Books to
buy going from the beloved multi skilled critic and linguist Chomsky to
politics, sociology, music and vegan cookbooks. There is a beautiful zine
collection, which is surrounded by sofas to make yourself feel like home while
expanding your brains. The (at first sight misplaced, but yet comfortable) church
chairs where you can sit during spoken word performances, watching
documentaries on a big screen or just enjoy your bio cola while chitchatting
around.
Ferm & Fameus took care of all vegan meals
Fuck hunger!
Day one: Friday 9th August
The
Homeless is a Belgian band with loads of ambition in their heads and pockets. The boys were scheduled to play the marquee
on Friday morning and were honoured to open the hardcore festival. During the
soundcheck it wasn’t sure if so many people would join The Homeless in the
marquee, but by the time the set really started, a good amount of people showed
up to support the guys for their very first Ieperfest performance.
Full of Hell, the energetic band that filled the marquee with some hardcore
punk music at noon, were on tour with Code Orange Kids. The Kids played a show
without caring about any mainstream attitudes on stage. They told us after the
show that the reason they don’t communicate to the crowd is because there is
simply nothing to add to their set. The young Americans (most of them are
younger than 20) play their show on the main stage and even prefer their set
just to be just a little bit shorter than planned to make people yearn for
more. ‘We don’t want people to beg to buy our merch and there is simply nothing
to add to our set’.
First Blood
seems to be visiting the festival every two years lately. The politically
involved band likes to fragmentize the world we live in and rethink
everything before judging or believing anything.
Frontman Carl Schwarz insists on turning off your tv and to think for yourself. And of course, to not believe the lies that are aggressively stuffed into our throats by governments and media. ‘Lies’, ‘Silence Is Betrayal’ and ‘Occupation’ are just a few songs out of their awesome setlist.
The award for most admirable person performing
this year’s edition goes out to Carl. Wisdom after wisdom rolls out of
his mouth, on stage and off stage. Also a live interview with Carl took place in the More Than Music tent that day.
Time for some LA hardcore! Downset brought a mixture of rapcore and hardcore punk topped with political messages. They ended their performance with ‘Anger’ to keep everyone going for one last time.
The guys
from Face To Face brought us some real punkrock from back in the 90s. It was their very first Ieperfest performance last weekend, which went flawlessly.
Horse the
band certainly is one of a kind and stood their ground on Europe’s beloved
hardcore festival. All set long parodies were made on all speeches we heard
from other bands that day. No offense of course, this is Horse The Band for god's sake. To give you an idea, this is a quote: ‘We are Horse The Band, we have no
souls and we understand that vegans are ruining the earth’. Take that, vegans. Our
naïve souls still feel a bit polluted by their words, yet they made everybody
laugh their ass off during the set. Robberies took place on stage by Mr. Nathan himself. Anyone who dared to set foot on stage to go for a dive
risked to have lost a wallet, lighter, phone, sunglasses or anything else that
were taken out of pockets by the vocalist. Some of the stolen stuff ended up being thrown into the crowd. Only the
brave returned to the stage to take back what once was theirs. Insanity is the best word to
describe what happened in the marquee between 22h20 and 23h10.
"Take off those sunglasses, you fashion whore!",
says Nathan to a random victim who was crowdsurfing at that time.
Horse The Band <3
Day Two: Saturday 10th August
Lots of
South American hardcore on our plates on Saturday. Mostomalta warmed up the P.A. at the main stage with their strong Argentinian metalcore. After that, mics
were tossed to the Brazilian people from Clearview. They got their fans going
nuts with songs like ‘No Turning Back’ and ‘Payback'.
Around 3 in
the afternoon, the hardest hardcore from Antwerp was smashed into our poor
faces by The Setup. The guys just released a new album ‘This Things Of Ours’
and brought us some harsh and solid new songs to hear. The crowd seemed to
prefer old song as they were not familiar yet with newer material that was
released earlier this year.
By the time
Ninebar was ready to start playing the main stage at 1h, the best spots in
front of the stage were already taken by the London fans and crew. LBU,
bitches! This set was basically a small ode to all London bands and LBU in general.
In the big
center of photographical attention today was Death Before Dishonor. The atmosphere meter reached climax so far on
Saturday. Dust filled the air in front of the stage, so no more need for
smoking machines if you just let the crowd do their thing while hearing those
blasting songs like 'Peace And Quiet' and 'Boys In Blue'. Of course an ode to their hometown was brought by those Boston scene guys with 'Boston Belongs To Me'.
Death Before Dishonor announced that a new album will be see the light in 2014. No title has been announced so far. Bets are on (send your bet to brutalitymagazine@live.be and win an oldskool red brick with a tattooed moustache on its ass).
Around 8
Culture breaks in with their 90s hardcore. This was an exclusive show in
Europe, so it got pretty crowded on stage and in front of the stage.
The one exclusive after after another took place at Ieperfest. Cro-Mags came all the way from New York only to play the 21st
Ieperfest edition. This was
something a lot of people were looking forward to already for a while, mainly because Cro Mags were planned some editions ago but unfortunately had to cancel those shows. In a few minutes, Cro Mags would set foot on stage for the very first time in Ieper. Before the band even entered the stage, some fans were already stagediving. 'You will need therapy after you see me', yells John Joseph wearing his Sea Shepherd shirt.
Day Three: Sunday 11th August People are getting exhausted from being non-stop drunk for three
days in a row and in all confusion they crap on top of toilets or
next to them. Thanks for lining people up at the chemical toilets. If we catch you, we will TP your mother's house. I decide
to check out the other toilets where no one is standing in line. After some
investigations it seemed that whoever drops whatever organic waste here, this
is being reused to fertilize Flanders Fields. Imagine being six years old again when entering a pet shop and you walk
straight to the hamsters, mice and guinea pigs. That sweet smell of sawdust is exactly
what these toilets smell like. Heavenly, isn’t it?
As WolfxDown enters the mainstage, raindrops make place for some cosy sunshine.
It is still quite early, but whole bunch of fans showed up to see the female
fronted German hardcore band. A participating crowd supports the young Germans
heavily during the show.
In the mean time, O Inimigo is waiting in the marquee to give you some Brazil
punkrock. It is remarkable how many
Brazil bands are playing Ieperfest this year. Questions, sharing roots with O
Inimigo, has a Brazil crew in front of them when performing. It is known that
they are supported by Max Cavalera and we can only confirm that this band blows
your mind.
We lost track of time as we joined Greg
Bennick’s spoken words right after our vegan lunch. Greg spoke about random
people wanting to pinch his ass while being on tour, what straight edge meant
back in the days and the preciousness of time and how to use it fully.
After Greg’s speech, a discussion was started where everyone shared ideas mainly about
the hardcore scene and the limitation we all have regarding time. Hardcore was
seen by some as a bubble that didn’t pull in enough new people and therefore could lead
to stigmatization of our very own scene. Our brains ended up going in overdrive and Greg decided to let the spoken words melt into chitchatting around with each other about all ideas that were discussed, leaving the microphones aside.
No Turning Back had a full marquee waiting for them. The band from the
Netherlands released an outstanding new album this year and therefore invited
all people to sing with them. ‘If you know the words, grab the microphone!’.
Our objective eye captures stagedivers pulling theirselves up and jump off the
stage with high frequency. ‘Stronger’ and ‘Your Downfall’ created a nice
atmosphere of pulling microphones, pulling strings and being one big hardcore
family throwing a party together.
No time to breathe, because as No Turning Back thanks everyone for coming out,
the metalcore kings I Killed The Prom Queen are strapping on their guitars. The
band has been out of the game for quite some time and plays an exclusive show
at Ieperfest. Currently the Australian IKTPQ is recording their new album in
Sweden and they drove 14 hours to introduce their old songs and one brand new
one
to the
interested people in Ieper.
Hardcore godfathers Madball had the honour to headline the festival on Sunday.
The entire festival went nuts, on stage, off stage, everyone is jumping up and
down to ‘Set It Off’.
'From the streets... to the stage', yells Cricien.
Looking forward to 2014
Ieperfest is a festival that truly sticks to certain values that go hand in hand with hardcore. This unique event is the beating heart of the H8000 scene and is a must for every hardcore fan.
The line-up was awesome, the burgers, icecream and cupcakes were delicious, the spoken words were more than just interesting and so were the live interviews. We can't wait to sit in Flanders Fields again with all the cup holders flying over our heads while music is playing and straw is thrown into the air.
We hope you all had a blast at Ieperfest, just like we had.
