"Being vegan edge is just being myself": An interview with PURIFICATION

Purification is in my opinion one of the most important bands for the vegan straight edge movement. And why, you may ask? Well, simply because they are one of the few who can combine both the important message and the hard music to make the perfect combo. Stalwarts of a scene in which the norm is to come and go, these Italians have stayed the course and now they are here to reap the results. They have been through a lot as a band, and it is definitely nice to see them coming back with such a strong album and the same comviction in veganism and the straight edge!

p.s. Review for A Torch o Pierce the Night coming soon!

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1. Hi there and confradulations on the crushing new album! Can you tell us where "A Torch To Pierce the Night" picks up compared to last album? What is the meaning of the album title (please elaborate)?

- Thanks! Well, the new album sounds a little bit more metal than the last one and the major change has been the switch at the vocals, consequently changing the lyrics style as well. The meaning of the title is to carry a positive message in the sense that we still have to be brave and even if few we must carry the torch (our values) that enlightens todays era where you see so few of them.


2. You're a legendary band. What are the pressures of being one of the few vegan edge hc/metal bands left today? Is the message as important as it used to be or do you want to focus on the music?

- Thanks but I'd doubt very much we're legendary! There are no real pressures other than the urgency of putting out a record that has a meaning. Hence the heavy importance of the lyrics, where we try to convey a hard yet compassionate message to whoever interested.


3. The new album has a heavier Slayer influence but also many atmospheric intros and keyboard parts. Do you think metal is a good carrier? What about the hardcore aspect? Where do you feel you belong as a band?

- We've always been more on the metal edge of the core, the album is just another evolution towards that. I believe the hardcore aspect is more in the lyrics and on the message we carry rather than musically.


4. Your lyrics portray a post-apocalyptic/war imagery & notion which hide an environmental/eco message. Can you tell a little more about the lyrics and the use of metaphors in your songs?

- I can tell more about the latest ones, which are the ones I wrote. I've tried to be focused on a slightly more positive and open message but keeping the hard edge on. I want people into this music to be able to identify themselves in the lyrics and the message to be a positive change for the world we live and for the vegan edge ones to keep on going on and try to be the best example, to lead and have people be interested more into veganism rather than pushing them out. I want people to be conscious of their choices.


5. The new album contains a spoken word by all-time hardcore icon, Jon Joseph (Cro-Mags). Can you tell us how that came about? What about other scene pioneers you've met (i.e. Vegan Reich's Sean Muttaqi and Earth Crisis's Karl Buechner): who is the most influential?

- The idea just popped up as I've been following John Joseph in his vegan quests and battles for quite a long time and I thought it could fit perfectly with what we're trying to say with this album.
Hard to say the most influential, every one of them has something special in some way that is worth to get to know and that contributed to veganism.

6. Is it hard to maintain you beliefs in veganism and straight edge while growing up? Have you mellowed out or compromised in any way? Is the scene better now compared to the past?

- Not at all, being vegan edge is just being myself. I think I'm trying more nowadays than yesterday to get more people aware of their choices, to change some lives for the better.
 

I know almost nothing about today's scene, and to be honest I don't really care anymore. I care about veganism and I care about people with something to say, which is rare today.


7. It seems common for people in vegan/sxe to fade in and out of the public eye (including Purification). Why is that?

- The public eye follows trends, vegan xxx has never been one but for a short time at the end of the 90's.


8. Can you shed some info about your personal life? What are the things you love/hate in everyday life, and what is your typical day?

- I'm just a regular guy who works as a web developer, I like vegan food, traveling and stay with my family :)

9. Militant and hardline scenes seem to arise again in vegan/sxe hc. What are your views on hardline vegan sxe? I am talking about people being pro-life, anti-gay, anti-tattoos, sxe who don't drink coffee or eat tropical fruit and all of that... what is your stance?

- I had no clue about those bands, people who are too hard and pure tend to fade away quickly, we've seen so many already. I don't see many problems in being pro-life, I've plenty of tattoos and I have no problem with people with a different sexual preference than mine. I don't drink coffee because I don't like it, I try to avoid sodas and I love tropical fruits.

9. I hate to ask this, but would you care to clear up the rumors about people in Purification being right wing or racist? I have seen pics with you wearing anti-racist tshirts, so what is the deal with the rumors?

- People love to talk shit when you don't sell out and have strong beliefs, personally I don't give a crap about the losers that are big mouth on the web and when you play don't even have the courage to come up and have a chat about those things they make up while they don't even know you are.

10. Do you have any other music projects? What type of music do you listen daily (both hardcore and non-hardcore)? Do you have any other source of inspiration (books/art/anything else)? Do you have any reading material to recommend to people?

- We don't at the moment, we're quite too busy with life itself! I do listen to quite a lot of regular music, the one that plays on the Italian radios...I also like a lot the indipendent Italian hip-hop as well. Inspiration comes mostly from the regular people we meet on the day-to-day basis, people that dedicate themselves to make this place a better world. People running farm sanctuaries, people doing demos, people doing actions, volunteers, people writing, people not giving up.
 

I recently read Eating Animals by Safran-Foer and the documentary Forks Over Knives, bot highly recommended to everybody.


11. You've lived this scene from the inside out. What keeps you inspired to do what you do? Is there an ethic or philosophy that you would like to pass on or be remembered for?

- The vegan straight edge.


12. That is all, thank you very much. Please close this interview in any way you want to. Give a message to the still vegan straight edge kids and those who sold out/who will sell out in the future.

- Be who you want to be but think responsibly. Be part of the solution. Peace.

M.O.R.A. - S/T (full length, self-released)

Genre: Thraschore/Crust/NYHC

Location: Helsinki, Finland

Band Websites: Sterokiller, Bandcamp

Label: -

Finland's M.O.R.A. deliver the fucking fear with the 9 songs of their incendiary debut album which lasts a grinding 16 minutes! There is a lot of interesting stuff about this band, and I will lay it down here for ya: judging from the cover artwork and layout, you'd be expecting something along the lines of Finnish hardcore (namely barbaric crust). But to great surprise, what you get instead is some no-compromise metallic hardcore with dual female vox, sounding like a mix between thunderous thrash and pitbull-style, old school NYHC.

What M.O.R.A busts out is a tight blend of some rarely mixed styles, like having the Cro-Mags team up with Hoods in a fight against Totalitar and Skitsystem. Metal riffs of all types come and go and give way to the more punk stuff, while the exchange of fast and groovy parts keeps the edge tight throughout the whole recording. The two female vocalists have each locked down their vocal style and manage to create a no-BS blend of two totally punishing vocal deliveries. Their approaches are kinda similar since they both have a hoarse screech that will haunt your thoughts, but a description could be as such: one vocalist sounds more adolescent and punky, while the other has a characteristically evil and mean growl.

Since I don't know a word in Finnish, I can't really explain anything about the lyrical themes M.O.R.A sings about, but I wouldn't expect that they sing about no happy stuff. I'd guess something along the lines of modern socio-political punk? Hate against society and normality? Something like that. Last but not least, this Finnish hardcore powerhouse packs an awesome and very tight production that puts many professional recordings to shame. The guitars are nice and heavy, but I want to point out how good the rhythm section is; it showcases a gurgling bass, and drums that have a sharp and metallic but also organic feel.

To sum it up, this band is not a bunch of crusty punx just doing the dbeat  rehash; they have their sights set forward, they know their influences, and have created something new and modern out of the basic elements of the music we adore. Thus, they are oldschool and progressive at the same time. We need more bands like this!

Review: Gacy's Threads - "The Ignorance of Purity" (Savour Your Scene Records)

Genre: Technical Metal/Hardcore

Location: Belfast, N. Ireland

Band Website: Official, Facebook

Label Website: click

 

John Wayne Gacy was a convicted serial killer and rapist, who has long ago been executed by the state of Illinois. I don't know if Belfast, Ireland's Gacy's Threads have taken their name from this creepy and fucked up character, but what I do know is that they play an awesome brand of technical, heavy as fuck metallic hardcore. I won't go as far as to term Gacy's Threads mathcore, because they have a pretty solid metallic base where their aural havoc stands, but they sure have a characteristically technical and complex sound!

I surely dig the bands who can more than play their instruments but don't forget to encapsulate the raw feeling that all heavy music should have. Gacy's Threads manage just the above by packing many elements into their sound, from shoe-gaze, discordant clean intros to slow, melancholic mosh parts, to straight on blastbeats and prototype all go no slow hardcore assaults. All this is blended nicely with off wall, off with their heads mechanical riffs that set the pace for a much more technical feel. The best thing about this album is that the band doesn't stick to one specific formula, but tends to a constant shuffling of cards - without, nevertheless, going overboard. This is the way shit should be done, period. The production sound is solid and much closer to a beastly, metallic hardcore sound as compared to the clean-metal, overproduced (and overused) mathcore/techinical deathcore sound prevailing these days.

It takes guts and knowledge to be able to belong in more than one territory, but Gacy's Threads do it very well and rather unapologetically. If we forget the specifics, we discover that this is just a very good dark/heavy hardcore band, the members of which happen to know how to use its instruments more than well. I have been playing this on repeat and all it seems to do is grown on me more and more. The solidified rhythm section attack, the discordant, angular painting of the guitars and the tainted hardcore vocals really won me over. An extra point goes out for the bleak song titles and the overall negative feeling! I am looking forward to see more from Ireland's Savour Your Scene records and Ireland's hardcore scene in general.

"Suicidal Pathway" - New song by Unveil!

Unveil is a Swiss metallic hardcore band which proudly brings back the true 90s vegan straight edge sound and message. This poltically minded hardcore outfit functions within a deeply DIY HC/punk framework, constantly playing shows in all kinds of independent venues and releasing one good recording after the other. After a very well received demo and a bunch of 7"s (and split 7"s), Unveil is ready to release their debut full length album through a xCatalystx / Cobra Records collaboration. Make sure to check this scene-changing, highly influential band of our times, and don't say we didn't warn you when they've become a household name in hardcore. Political vegan straight edge hardcore is BACK in Europe!

Suicidal Pathway is a ne song that will be included in Unveil's new album. Make sure to give it a sneak peak through the player below!

Suicidal Pathway by unveil

http://xunveilx.com/
http://www.facebook.com/xunveilx

Interview: BEAR (Belgium, Let It Burn Records)

A few days ago we did a review for Belgian progressive hardcore/metal pioneers BEAR (their Doradus lp on Let it Burn Records). In fact, we got so excited with this album that one thing led to another and we ended up doing an interview with these guys. We managed to steal some time ftom those brainiac metallic hardcore kids in order to learn some more about this monster of a band that answers to the name BEAR. 

1. What music did you grow up with and what is the process that led to having such a varied musical landscape? Do you have any formal music backgrounds? Were you in other bands before?  

I think I speak for all of us when I say we grew up listening to more heavy music, but learned to appreciate and love all kinds of other stuff during the years. Like funk, free jazz, flamenco...everything that is played with heart or brings something else to the table. That reflects in the music we write. Unavoidably you get influenced by everything you listen to. If you only listen to one kind of music the chances are big you won't be able to step out of that mindframe and get caught in repetition. We were all in other bands before, bringing those experiences into BEAR makes that we can work more focused.

2. What is you it want to achieve with BEAR? Is there a message behind the band and if there were three words to describe BEAR as a whole, what would they be?

We just love to play the music that we do. And like every other band we like to see people enjoy our music. It would be cool to see BEAR influence other musicians or bands in what way so ever. We don't really have a message other than do what you love and believe in, do your own thing, Three words that could describe us would probably be :  Non typical metal !

3. Tell us a few things about the recording process and your cooperation with Let It Burn Records.

The recording process was fun! It's awesome to hear the things you've been working on for a couple of months come together on an album. We recorded at Red Left Hand Studio with Sven Janssens who is a good friend of ours. He knew what we wanted, we trusted him so we just went for it. The album was recorded and mixed in 2 weeks and we're all stoked about the way it came out. As for Let it Burn we couldn't have wished for more at this point. Chris (the label boss) totally believes in us and was willing to give a band that was only playing for like 6 months or so a record deal. That says a lot! 

4. Do you do music as a hobby or do you want to take it a step further in the future? Would you like to have music as your normal job (which is..)?

Well I think when you've been playing in bands all your life like us it isn't just a hobby. And of course we would like to take it as far as possible with BEAR. We love to play together, we've got something going on so it would be a shame to just let it hang. As far as 'normal'  jobs go... well I make a living teaching guitar in music schools so I couldn't ask for more :) Our bass player is a teacher too and our drummer and singer are working in the 'graphic design' department.

5. I've seen some crazy action going on from your live videos. How hard is it to maintain top notch musical accuracy while moshing so hard?

Haha, good question! Well, let's say there are certain parts you can let it go and certain parts you have to stay focussed hard on what you are playing. You kind of make out for yourself which are the 'easy go crazy parts' and the 'shit I wish I hadn't made this so technical parts' haha. All of us have kind of a reputation of going bonkers on stage from our previous bands so we've had some good practice in the old days. 

6. What are listening to nowadays? Do you still listen to metal and hardcore or have turned to other stuff?

My personal taste has always been a bit eclectic. I like music or bands that try to do something else. We all are big Dillinger and Meshuggah fans. But then again I can enjoy a good Katy B track much more than the umpteenth breakdown hardcore band. And as I said before, you need to keep an open mind to evolve. Serch our drummer and Dries our bassist still also listen to a lot of hardcore stuff aswel as other things. What can i say, when it's good... it's good. 

7. What are your main likes and dislikes about the modern metal/hardcore music scene (both industry and people-wise)?

It's cool to see a lot of hardcore/metal bands trying to do their own thing, without copying other bands. More and more kids are trying to make their mark. And you make your mark by standing out, you stand out by doing something else. The only thing we don't like is narrow mindedness but you have that in every scene.  

8. What are your current and near future plans with BEAR?

Well currently we are trying to get our record DORADUS heard everywhere as much as possible by playing gigs, doing interviews :). Trying to get it as much media exposure as possible. We'll probably shoot a second music video to support the album. Near plans: well we are already starting to write music for our next album. So we'll be working on that in our spare time. 

9. If you were going traveling for a year and could only take one tape with you with 2 albums recorded on it, what would they be?

Damn, that's a tough one! Well it would probably be the things I'm listening to currently being: Camaron (great Spanish singer) and Karnivool (Sound Awake).

10. Do you have any other interests aside from music, i.e. art / photography / literature / politics whatever? How do you spend your free time?

Well yeah, we all have our non musical hobbies. But they are all in the creative sector too. I'll just give you a list of some of our free time spendings: basketball, martial arts, photography, comic books, b-movies, drawing, designing, eating, ... yup a whole lot o' other stuff :)

11. Thanks for the interview and for the great music!!! Please close this interview by telling TYS readers how the new BEAR record will benefit their world.

No prob! You're gonna love it or hate it, either way you will have discovered something new!

  

Right! So I will just close this by saying a big thanks to everyone involved in this interview: BEAR, Chris Let It Burn, as well as, the guy who took these awesome pix. Music speaks louder than words so remember to check BEAR on their social media. You will be rewarded with some awesome music and remember, these guys BREAK STUFF!

Featured Bands: SLEEPING GIANT

SLEEPING GIANT is an insane metalcore band which calls Redlands, CA home. They play brutal metalcore with huge breakdowns that hit way harder than most metalcore bands out there today. Luckily for us, they don't go down the clean vocal path and just deliver sheer vocal brutality with all kinds of growls and variously pitched screams. Another thing that may hit kinda hard about this bruising hardcore machine, is that they are a heavily outspoken Christian band. The amount of good Christian hardcore bands out there is unbelievable, and more often than not they seem to produce some of the heaviest, hardest music. It's hard to figure out how a bunch of devout kids can make such extreme music. Of course, we know that Christian hardcore bands don't usually get the acceptance of hc kids, but if we can judge hardcore for the intensity of the music and the integrity of the lyrics, SLEEPING GIANT is the real deal!

These guys compare their music to a soundtrack for the judgement day or the apocalypse. The destruction of this world is what fascinates them to create their music (and that's pretty dark, if you ask me!)

All in all, we don't care what you say, these guys are awesome and make great music!

Trivia: All SLEEPING GIANT members were at some point in the legendary straight edge deathcore band xDEATHSTARx.

http://myspace.com/sleepingxgiant

http://twitter.com/sleepingxgiant

http://www.facebook.com/sleepinggiant

Featured Bands: THE EYES OF A TRAITOR

THE EYES OF A TRAITOR is a superb metallic hardcore band from Hertfordshire, England. Their unique blend of all good things metalcore is aswesomely brutal and mercilessly delivered, but also brings a hint of a mysteriously dark / new age feel. The above element enables them clearly depart from your typical US metalcore sound. With their brand new 4-track ep on Reprogrammed to Hate Records, TEOAT have reprogrammed avant garde metalcore and taken it to new levels of extremity and commitment. British hardcore astonishes once again.

http://www.facebook.com/traitorUK

DEAD END PATH - Stay Up, Stay Active: Pennsylvania Metallic Hardcore

As long as there are bands like Dead End Path out there, I WILL NOT lose faith in hardcore music. DEP play heavy metallic hardcore which is equally influenced by Ringworm as it is by Slayer. They have a few recordings out, including a self-released demo, an EP and a full length (released in 2011) on Triple B Records.

These Pennsylvania dudes pack a ton of aggression in their sound, and have a heavy duty frontman that will make most hardcore emo screamers of today go running back to mommy! DEP also hits you in the face with harsh reality lyrics and songs with titles like "Turn Cold" and "No Paradise". This is dark, negative hardcore that somehow makes you feel good! And that, my friends, is a rule of heavy music!

Even though the band has kind of progressed to a somewhat cleaner sound on their new full length Blind Faith (a better and more professional recording being the main reason), they have kept the underground feeling that makes a good hardcore band, as well as the extremity of their early recordings.

Check out their awesome tumblr site: http://deadendpath.tumblr.com/