Die Choking/II/The Compound/2014 EP Review

  Die  Choking  are  a  band  from  Pennsylvania  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  grindcore,  power  violence  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "II"  which  will  be  released  in  September  by  The  Compound.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some blast  beats  and  a  good  mixture  of  growls  and  screams  which  also  takes  the  music  into  a  more  fast  and  brutal  musical  direction  and  the  music  mixes  thrash  metal,  old  school  grindcore  and  power  violence  together  along  with  a  modern  touch  with  all  of  the  songs  being  very  short  in  length  and  the  ep  is  only  6  minutes  long.

  Die  Choking  remain  true  to  their  mixture  of  grind,  power  violence  and  thrash  keeping  everything  in  mostly  a  fast  and  brutal  musical  direction,  the  production  sound s very  professional   and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Die  Choking  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  grindcore,  power  violence  and  thrash  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "People  Like  You"  and  "Tonsil".  8  out  of  10.

Jig-Ai/Rising Sun Carnage/Bizarre Leprous Productions/2014 CD Review

  Jig-Ai  are  a  band  from  the  Czech  Republic  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  noise/goregind  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Rising  Sun  Carnage"  which  was  released  by  Bizarre  leprous  Productions.

  A  very  heavy  and  brutal  grindcore  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  guttural  growls  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  high  pitched  screams  are  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  some  elements  of  crustcore.

  After  awhile  human  torture  and  rape  samples  are  added  into  the  music  at  times  along  with  a  small  amount  of  slow  and  mid  paced  parts  which  also  gives  the  recording  a  slam  death  metal  feeling  at  times  and  some  of  the  later  tracks  also  shows  the  band  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  with  the  longest  one  being  a  little  over  3  minutes  long.

  Jig-Ai  plays  a  very  brutal  style  of  goregrind  from  beginning  to  end  of  the  recording  and  never  having  a  soft  moment  in  any  of  their  song,s  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  gore  and  porno  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Jig-Ai  are  a  very  great  sounding  goregind  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Suno  Sex  Instructor"  "Human  Tofu"  ":Natural  Tits  Mafia"  and  "Animal  Revenge".  8  out  of  10.      

Siftercide Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since
the recording of the new album?

Siftercide has been playing live as much as possible.  Some new material has been written.  Everyone involved at the moment also have other projects, so I imagine after the release and in between shows more focus will be given to those projects as well as finishing up a new Siftercide record!

2.You have a new album coming out in September, how would you describe the
musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it
differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

The new album is insane.  It is an intense mixture of grindcore, death metal, street punk, crust, hardcore and ska.  The recording itself is pretty intense.  It sounds really good from a production stand point but it is also quite raw.

Back in the day we were the typical teenagers playing noisey goregrind.  Eventually we really started incorporating more punk style riffs as well as hardcore elements.

3.Your music incorporates horn sections and ska elements, do you feel this
makes you stand out among other grindcore bands?

It definitely makes it stand out.  Metal and ska both have those beats and grooves that make you just want to get up and party.  I have wanted to do this for some time, however the means were never there.  One thing I love about the metal genre as a whole, is that you can do whatever you want.  I have heard horns in metal before, but it seemed almost novelty.

4.According to the fb page the band has a metal hating drummer, how does
this work out when it comes out to creating the brutal musical style the
band has on the album?

Haha.  Yeah, the first drummer was a punk who didn’t know anything about metal.  I read an interview where he was only citing Metallica and Slipknot as metal.  After talking with him, I opened his eyes and he was very crucial to what we were doing back then.  I think he’s a music teacher now!

The drummer now is really into black metal, which is awesome, because he can blast for days!

There is a very selfish component to writing songs.  Predominantly, songs recorded are spearheaded by whoever wrote the song.  However, when the rest of the band learns the songs for a live environment, there is more freedom for band members to add their own flavor.

5.The band was on hiatus for awhile, what was the cause of the split and
also the decision to reform?

The original line up and variations of such was always a whirlwind experience.  Eventually, everyone had other projects and priorities.  Siftercide has always been here and there in one form or another.
The decision to continue on with the life of Siftercide was based on writing a grindcore album with horns.  Seeing as how Siftercide always had a punk based riff aspect, it was decided to just carry on, rather than starting a new entity.  This would also give the ability for the older songs to get rerecorded and still have a home in a set list.

6.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with
the music?

Topics and subjects are all over the place!  This album was deliberately written with more of a retrospective and introspective lyrical concept.  A lot of the songs are about friends, old band members, being working class, and living in a shit town.  The lyrics are mainly fun and upbeat.  The lyrics will be included in the album booklet, for those who dare read them!

7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years
and also how would you describe your stage performance?

I have fond memories of every show that I have been a part of.  There are enough bands where the members remain stationary and that gets old.  We are a high energy band live.  A lot of jumping and running around.  On stage we are more comparable to punk and hardcore bands versus the typical metal band.

We have shared the stage with many musical genres from radio rock to indie/alt.  So we get the chance to expose this style of music to a lot of new faces.  The comments we get after the shows are always pretty fun and awesome.

8.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

Touring is a dream.  Everyone is working class here.  We play as many shows as we can around the area.  With the release of the new album we are definitely looking to play a lot more regional shows.  Weekend warrior type things.  We are always looking for bands to play with and venues to tolerate us.


9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of
grindcore?

The jury is still out.  Some people get it, some people don’t.
Some people enjoy new things, and the insanity that we provide.  Others take it way to seriously, I think.

There isn’t anything like us locally, so we usually leave people confused and speechless.  But everyone has been very supportive thus far.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

The future of Siftercide will be more focused.  The new songs are faster and groovier.  Only a handful of songs have the horn section right now.  As the band progresses, I believe the intention will be to make the horns a much larger aspect of the sound with more leads and melodies.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence
on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Loaded question.  Everything.  I listen to anything and everything you could possibly imagine.  Phobia, Birdflesh, Impaled, Cock and Ball Torture, Last Days of Humanity…  Those are metal staples for myself.  Amongst way too many to mention.  Less Than Jake, Streetlight Manifesto, Reel Big Fish, and Big D and the Kids Tables will always be a major influence as far as the horn sections go.

Personally, I listen to a lot of local bands.  Otherwise it’s always a healthy dose of goregrind and ABBA.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Hockey season is coming up, that is always painful to my wallet.
Horror movies are a brilliant destroyer of time.
Skateboarding is the most under rated sport of all time.  We even have some Siftercide skateboards available thanks to CorpseHustler Skateboards!

Otherwise, everything is music.  Doing other projects, solo projects, helping friends with their projects, booking shows, making flyers, going to shows etc…

There isn’t much for local metal around here, so supporting everyone with every chance I get is the agenda.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or
thoughts?

Thank you for the interview!
Thank you for everyone who took time to read this!
We are always stoked to play shows and meet new people.  Contact us on Facebook for booking or Nailjar Records for booking!
Always support your local venues, bands, and film makers!
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/siftercide
http://www.reverbnation.com/siftercide

Disturbance Project Interview

.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the compilation?

Hi! Well after the cd release we have made any local shows and also , Eastern Germany tour of 7 dates and writting new stuff for a new recording(hopefully in short)

2.Recently you have released a compilation where you re-recorded all of your tracks from the splits, what was the decision behind re-recording these songs and also how do they differ from the originals?

We always thought  about do this, due we were not 100% happy with old  recordings, but then  when we change our drummer and our singer, we decided is was important to play old songs with this new line up, because we want to keep same style and same way to do the things with the band, so we rescue old stuff instead of write new songs,  and re-record these 24 songs and release it.  Our previous recording was done in 2009 and this was the faster thing to have a new release, instead of write 24 new songs, that for sure would take us a couple more years for do it. We try to play songs as they always have been done, but in the best way we can,. Just that, but with 2 new  guys you can find any differences, not a lot, but some small ones in some of the songs .

3.There has not been much in the way of new material in the last few years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on the last few years?

As I told you,  last recording before this was in 2009 (well, not really because we made a recording in 2011, but we were not happy with it and is missing for us) In 2009 after a tour in Germany and Scandinavia our singer let the band(he was with us since 2004) so we focus in find a new one and only appear Dylan, a guy from US who was for a year in Spain, so we decide join him to the band for some shows in Spain and a tour, who was managed with the help from Andy from EveryDayHate and it took us to Germany, Czech Rep, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland  and then Dylan went back to US, This was in 2010, so again without singer…In 2011 Kristo join to the band as vocals and we made some shows  and even the recording I told u before, and also we played a show in Italy. At that time we start to have many “differences” with Juan, our drummer, who was in the band since the beginning…well this “differences” came with us  some time ago… and he didn t want to change it, so after a show in october 2011 we talk with him, and he let. Then while we were looking for a new drummer I start with another band, RAGEOUS INTENT and Kristo join this band with me too. DxPx was stopped for a year and then I offer Nico who was playing at that time in a band called VOMITANDO BILIS to play with us, and he say yes . As Kristo was in RAGEOUS INTENT we need a singer too and we offer to Alvaro who was in VOMITANDO BILIS too . We start to practice and select songs for a set list and we made a one week tour in UK and after that, we record the LP. This is why we have not make any recording for a long time.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Nothing special, just same Grind/crust/HC/punk topics like most of the grind bands, sung in spanish and as we are fucking lazy assholes we dont translate them  in our records…Sorry

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Disturbance Project'?
In 1990-92 were a grindcore band/project in our town that played just a show and record a 7” that never was released. Their name was UNCHALLENGED SUFFERING  and the tittle from that unreleased ep was “Disturbance Project” It sounds cool for me and it keep the way of bands that choose their names from another band albums or songs tittles, so I guess it was a good idea use it , and is our tribute for these guys that were playing grind in Madrid befote us

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

For me first time we played in Almeria(South of Spain) it was fucking great, we´ll play at the end of the year again, so I expect 8 years later will be at least as last time…I didn´t like most of our past shows. But most special shows are always when we play out of Spain and we meet people that we don t use to see here

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We love to tour. Last 2 tours were fucking great with these new guys in the band. One of the main reason we have a band is for touring. We arrive almost 1 month ago from our last tour  and we´ll star to think in a tour for 2015. The main idea is Czech Republic and Slovakia, but let´s see…Maybe France…Also we need to find time for it…Also I love do it together with RAGEOUS INTENT. Let s see what happens…

8.Over the years the band has been a part of a lot of splits, out with all of the bands that you have worked with on these albums, which one where you the most proud of being able to work with?
All them are special for me; I love all those bands  and is a pleasure to have splits with all them. I can say U RABIES  because it was the first and are great people, or PLF because are fucking great people too and we have play many times with them…Or SUBCUT &PLAGUE RAGES  because I love those brazilian bands…TERRORISMO MUSICAL fucking great people who we meet personally in Czech in 2008, RAS  friends for many years…FUCK  I can´t choose…ALLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!

9.The new album came out on EveryDayHate, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
EDH already release our comp. CD,  and our split with RAS, so he is an old friend that also help us with our tour in 2010 and I know him since 2003, so… who better for this????? He is releasing a lot of great grindcore stuff, so perfect, and even alter the record releas ewe have obtain some extra help from him, so the best trice…

10.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of grindcore?
Maybe I turn too pesimist, but I think it  is going down. I think  interest in grindcore bands  is going down and with DxPx is the same. There are few people that keep it on , but for sure this, actually, is not fashion and not most  of the people DON T care about DIY grindcore bands. We dont mix our shit with thrash or metal riffs as the “biggest” grindcore bands do. Anyway Everydayhate has made a good job with the promotion and there are some nice reviews from our cd all around and we hope it keeps on and on

11.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects these days?
Alvaro Zamora (guitar) Is working in a project, but I guess not  grind , dont know a lot about it, just that he is doing something.
Alvaro Vivero(vocals) plays bass  in a Fast core PV grind  band that are starting now. Today I listen a rehearsal from them and they will kill!!!!!
Nico plays drums in a death metal band called BRAIN REMOBAL  and also just played drums for a Black death thrash band in the HELLHAMMER/ BATHORY style called LURKING EVIL
And me ,Gerardo,  play guitar in the crusty Grind band RAGEOUS INTENT as before mentioned

12.When can we expect new material and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Hopefully in October  we´ll record new stuff for a couple of 7” with CRUEL FACE  from Brazil and BLOODY PHOENIX from US and for a  kind of tribute to NAPALM DEATH ´S scum on tape. Make those splits is a great pleasure for me!!!! You cannot expect any new from us,…more of our grind crap, we just try to make a better recording than ever before, with a more powerful sound and we´ll work hard for it. It´ll contain 6 songs from our missing 2011 recording plus other stuff we wrote in the past, but never play or record and already we have a new song writing by our drummer(first time that anyone who wasn´t in the original line up write a song) by the way, is fucking great…10 songs done, we have to write  a couple more in this month and maybe an SOB cover…

13.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Well, for DxPx I must to say that our main influence and “anti-influence” was DENAK. When we start, two of the formers were in DENAK, so if we want make a new grindcore band, it must to sound different to it, just for not to do the same with both bands, so when we  write a song, it couldn t sound like DENAK. When we start with DxPx I remember to talk about NASUM, Inhale/Exhale and previous stuff as an influence and about we must to write like that. It was not bad at all for me, but I was(and still and forever) more into  AGATHOCLES, ROT, CARCASS GRINDER, EXCRUCIATING  TERROR …and all classic grindcore style bands. Actually we have already a lot of stuff in the past and when we write new shit, we just think that it must to sound similar to it, just keep the style


14.What are some of your non musical interests?
All my free time I keep it for my bands. We all have “normal” lifes, so boring apart from the bands…
15.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
First of all, millionx thanx for doing this interview!!!! If anyone is interested in any DxPx stuff get in touch with Everydayhate Records. Cheers and Grind

Neopera/Destined Ways/Armoury Records/2014 CD Review

 

  Neopera  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  symphonic  form  of  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Destined  Ways"  which  will  be  released  on  August  29  by  Armoury  Records.

  Dark  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  guitars  which  leads  up  to  some  operatic  female  vocals  and  death  metal  growls  which  takes  the  music  into  more  of  a  gothic  and  symphonic  metal  direction  and  you  can  also  hear  a  classical  orchestra  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  are  more  in  a  melodic  metal  direction.

  Clean  singing  male  vocals  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  the  guitars  going  for  more  of  a  modern  progressive  metal  direction  while  also  adding  a  decent  amount  of  power  metal  elements  into  their  musical  sound  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  bring  a  neo-classical  feeling  to  the  recording  at  times  and  they  also  bring  in  a  few  long  and  epic  in  length  tracks  as  well  as  adding  in   some  thrash  and  psychedelic  rock  influences.

  Neopera  combine  classical  music,  gothic  and  extreme  metal  together  to  create  a  very  original  sounding  album  that  adds  something  new  to  the  metal  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  mythology  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Neopera  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "A  Call  To  Arms"  "Falling  Water"  "Error"  and  "The  Unspeakable".  8  pout  of  10.

      

Siftercide/Self Titled/Nailjar Records/2014 CD Review

  Siftercide  are  a  band  from  Wisconsin  that  plays  a  mixture  of  crust,  grindcore  and  death  metal  along  with  a  horn  section  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2014  album  which  will  be  released  in  September  by  Nailjar  Records.

  A  very  fast  and  brutal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  blast  beats  and  a  mixture  of  growls  and  screams  and  all  of  the  musical  instrumentals  sound  very  powerful  and  after  awhile  the  band  brings  in  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  the  tracks  being  very  short  in  length.

  At  times  you  can  hear  elements  of  punk  rock  in  the  music  and  the  horn  section  makes  the  music  sound  more  original  and  as  the  album  progresses  melody  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  on  of  the  songs  sees  the  band  bringing  in  pig  squeels  to  more  of  a  punk  grind  musical  style.

  Siftercide  take  a  lot  of  different  influences  ranging  from  death  metal,  crust,  grindcore,  punk  deathcore  and  adds  in  a  horn  section  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  on  this  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  humorous  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Siftercide  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  crust,  grindcore  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  these  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Feast"  "Pig  Pomp"  "Curly"  "Bloody  proper".  8  out  of  10.    

Uncle Ray Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

1. We're Uncle Ray from Windsor, Ontario, Canada. We play powerviolence/grind mixed with hardcore/punk and consist of four members.  Alexa on vocals, Steve on Guitar, Sean on Bass and Phil on Drums.  The band originally formed in late 2012 as Rat King with just Alexa, Steve and Phil (no bass).  We were pretty active locally and released one EP before “disbanding” in the summer of 2013. The band (somewhat unexpectedly) reformed as Uncle Ray in late 2013 when Steve and Alexa returned from some summer travels, inviting Sean in on bass, bassist of the late RAID, a Windsor project which Phil was also a part of.  We have been locally active since then.

2.Recently you have released your first ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

2. We have a lot of different influences that come through in our music, so it's hard to describe.  We like to keep things short and powerful.  Our buddy Rob Maslanka of Dynamic North Audio definitely captured the sounds we were looking for on this release.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

3. Alexa: My writing is about my outlook on life, mostly a positive one, as well as animal rights and how we has humans are sucking this earth of everything it has to offer.  I don’t like to force myself to write.  I like it come naturally.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name'Uncle Ray'?

4. Uncle Ray was originally suggested back when the band was still Rat King.  Rat King, based on some internet research, was a fairly popular and somewhat overdone band name and we wanted to get away from that, so we were looking for alternatives, the band still being in its somewhat early stages. Uncle Ray was suggested based on the brand of potato chips based out of Detroit, Michigan.  They are cheap, rad chips and no one can deny that.  They come with a different story on every bag, life lessons and morals told through childhood stories and life experiences of Uncle Ray himself.  They are usually pretty cheesy stories, and rather humourous in an unintentional way, so we thought... we can spread good words through power violence, a different story with every song, just like Uncle Ray!  At the time Phil was not down with this as a band name, so we decided to keep Rat King knowing the project was going to be done soon.  Time passed and when the idea of starting the band back up came about who other than Phil to re-suggest Uncle Ray as a name, Steve and Alexa not letting him think twice happily agreed.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

5. Our release show this past July at The Windsor Beer Exchange was super hype and we really enjoyed it.  Also grinding the basement of the late Holden House was always a good time, and The Coach and Horses is a classic spot in Windsor to get down.  As for stage performance, we consider it to be raw, loud and noisy.  This is the music that we love and gets us stoked, and we want to share that stoke with everyone.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

6.  We have a few local shows in the month of August and are touring at the end of August, playing in Ontario and heading east towards Nova Scotia.  We are really stoked because we have yet to play out of town as Uncle Ray.  We definitely want to remain active locally and get out of town as much as possible in the future.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

7.  We are not actively looking for any labels at the moment, and have not received any interest in this matter.  We are very big on DIY ethics and like to put out all of our own music and merch along with the help of our friends and local talent regarding printing, artwork, recording etc.  If any label opportunites were to arise, it would be something that we would discuss as a band, and move forward with based on our decision.  We are definitely supportive of independent record labels helping the underground music scene grow positively.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of grindcore and power violence?

8. We've only released one album so far, so we are still in the early stages of the amount of material we have out there, but anyone we've been in contact with so far seems to enjoy our music.  We feel like we have a very strong supportive local vibe that's always present that we very much appreciate, and we hope that positive feedback will continue from other fans we may gain elsewhere.

9.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects?

9. Currently, Sean plays bass for three local projects varying in style, Wasi'chu and Spice Boys in addition to Uncle Ray, and was also the host of the late radio show Poison City.  Phil plays drums in a 2 piece bass and drum side project, Deer Birth, and snare drum for Thick as Thieves, a local street folk band.  Phil also is the brains behind Putrid Magazine, a local zine keeping people up to date on local shows, bands, and everything DIY and independent.  Steve plays drums for Blank Wall, another local project, and Steve and Alexa are in the very early stages of Distension, another bass and drum side project with Steve on the bass/vocals and Alexa on drums.

10.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

10. We are keeping very active as a band, always writing new material.  Besides the 11 songs we have recorded and released thus far, we currently have 7 unrecorded songs that will definitely be put towards our next release.  We definitely want to make the next release more of a full length and thoughts are leading towards vinyl for sure.  Arguably this EP did have 10 songs, but they were all really short, and new songs we write continue to be, for the most part, rather short.  We want to keep fast raw aggression in all of our songs, and keep things the same, but different, with all our future material.  For now, we just released an album, so the next release date is unknown, but were not done yet.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

11.  Steve: Toxic Narcotic was definitely a staple that lead me towards more aggressive styles outside of hardcore punk/street punk. Getting into more and more heavier styles and bands over the years just kept getting me more and more stoked. Capitalist Casualties was definitely the band that opened up the world of powerviolence to me, and I knew I always wanted to play that style of music at some point.  With so many genres, influences and bands out there I appreciate, it's a combination of all that, the day to day, and what I love that reflects in my music.  Again, so much fucking music, but recently I've been spinning Toxic Narcotic, Trash Talk, Six Brew Bantha, Pizza Hi Five, Violent Restitution, Catharsis, White Widows Pact, Nails, Hatred Surge and Hellmouth.

Alexa: I was more into metal and screamo as an adolescent. Then I started going to more punk shows and listening to more power violence and the list goes on of all the bands that have put me where I am. I love doing vocals for this style of music as much as I do listening to it. There are so many bands that influence me, it's hard to pick and choose.  Right now I’m really into Sex Prisoner, Trash Talk, White Widows Pact, Hellmouth and Maneurysm.   

Phil: In all honesty I draw influences from many different kinds of music. I rock alot of thrash, doom, hardcore, mathrock, hip hop, folk music, jazz, grind, and old school punk, i guess also. I try and take from tons of different sources when im learning. Even local our local acts. Uncle Ray, "Rat King" was the first band i've ever played drums for. I bearly knew how to play drums when we started out, so i learn mostly from watching others at shows and drummers from other bands i've been in. But to name drop some music i listen to lately: Earl Sweatshirt, Kids Like Us, Hellraiser, The Bulletproof Tiger, Weak Ends, and Rape Revenge.

Sean: Though Uncle Ray is noisy, groovy, and chaotic, and is influenced by powerviolence and grindcore, I think there's more than a certain musical style that influences what we play and how we play it.  Part of it is where we're from and being good homies.  Steve's guitar playing and the way that he structures songs definitely contributes to our sound as well.  Live, we just like to play as loud and as raw as we can.

These days I've been listening to the new Shabazz Palaces, Lower and Pallbearer records but also Lust for Youth, Brotman and Short, DIIV, Hoax, Ceremony, Water Torture, Sea of Shit, The Wake, Thou/The Body collaboration, Lebanon Hannover, Iceage, S.H.I.T., The Smiths, Acousma.  I'm really all over the map.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

12.  Steve: Homebrewing, hops, skateboarding, craft brews, board games, hops, posi vibes, the colour black, meals and drinks with friends, traveling, and vegan food.

Phil: Aside from music, I like to skateboard, ride my speed bike, get stoned and play video games.  Also, like stated before, I make my own zine in Windsor called “Putrid Magazine”.  Check it out on tumblr.

Alexa: Im a hair dresser by trade. As well as that, I like to skateboard, sew, garden, home brew, screen print, ride my bike and travel. There’s probably more I forgot to name, I like to do a lot of things ! 

Sean: I'm interested in photography, cinematography, writing, cooking, bikes, cigarettes, and coffee. I want to start making my own beer soon too.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

13. Thanks for having us in your zine, we appreciate your interest and support, and what zines are doing for the underground community.  And to anyone reading this feel free to get in touch. Cheers!

Radio Bikini Interview

 

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?

Dennis; we played some shows in Holland, Belgium and Hungary and then went for 19 shows to the states. When we got back we did some cool festivals like Play fast or don’t (CZ), Bloodshed Fest(NL), Kanivo chaos (FR). Did 2 shows in Israel and currently working on songs for a new release and another USA tour for March 2015.

2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the new recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Dennis; I think the best way to describe our music is crust, it used to be trashier but since we started again we slowed the songs down a bit and it sounds way better.

We recorded at BUNT studio, Menno bakker understood what we wanted and that helped to create the album in the best way possible.

Our past recordings sound very noisy and thin.

Simon: We basically grew old and fat and couldn't play the songs as trashy as before. As it turned out slowing the pace down a bit helped a lot. It's still pretty fucked up fast though...

3.The band broke up in 2006 and re-formed in 2011, what was the cause of the split and also the decision to reform?

Simon; well to be honest you can't blame Dennis for that at all. Sander, Ted and me were three drug-crazed alcoholic party animals, and looking back at it, it's a miracle that Dennis kept on going as long as he did... Most of the shows were still pretty solid, but we also fucked up big time a couple times. Nowadays I guess we can handle our liquor better, let's leave it at that haha.

One day our friends from Usual Suspects from Belgium asked us for a reunion show on their 15-year anniversary, and we decided to go for it. It's been going fucking great ever since

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?

Dennis; radio bikini has always been a political band and still is but we all got older and re-thought a lot of stuff what normally is taken for granted, like we have a song about the occupy movement. Simon; You can pet yourself on the shoulder with your self-absorbed ideas, but all I see is a bunch of people discussing in tents and getting nowhere. Where's the revolution in that? But that's mostly how it went in Holland, don’t know the situation exactly in the rest of the world, so I can't tell if it was different in other places...

Dennis; If you’re a left wing minded person it works once in a while to think for yourself too and question things from your own point of view, even within the punk/hardcore scene.We try to get this across with a lot of humor too.

Same as for shows, they should be a good night out and not a political rally, doesn’t say that no one could talk politics at a show.

Simon; I have noticed that I became very cynical when it comes to political subjects, and lyrically I guess this evolved in a more abstract approach to the stuff that pisses me off. Like hippies.

5.In the record you had a comic in there, can you tell us a little bit more about it?

Dennis; well we wanted to do something special with our first full length, so we all wanted a poster inside and a text book, Ted and me did some drawings in the past so we thought why not make it a comic book.

We had 10 months to come up with the songs, draw the book, record the songs, get the rest of the artwork together... At the night of the release we we’re still folding the posters and insert poster and comic into the record. It was a close call...

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Radio Bikini'?

Dennis; Good question , we always told people it was a code name for dropping the A-bomb on the test site of the bikini islands.

But in fact radio bikini is the name of a radio broadcast to inform the general public in an effort to calm down people's fears and rally support for the tests.

7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Dennis; the best ones come to mind right now are; Seattle and Oakland 2013, kanivo chaos 2014, first show in Nijmegen 2012 and the goodbye show we did in weert 2006, we had a confetti canon on stage filled with flour, in no time the whole venue, people and equipment was covered in the stuff and we got banned from that place for life.

Simon; We played on a 60-bands-in-24-hours World Record festival in Venlo, that was crazy... Tell Aviv 2014 was amazing, Counter Culture 1012, the list is endless.

we would say our shows are energetic, we are doing this for a while now and nowadays shows are overall pretty well attended which makes the whole thing crazy.

8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?

We are booking our second U.S. tour for March 2015; we will do this with DIRTY PROTEST the other band Simon and me are in.

It’s not clear what our next release will be but we want something before March, so we’re writing songs as we speak, it depends on how many songs we record if it will be a 12" or a 7”.

9.On the new album you worked with plenty different record labels, do you feel these labels have been very helpful when it comes to getting your music out there heard?

Dennis; yes very much, music gets spread much wider all over the word, I worked with most of the labels in the past and still are grateful that they help out every time.

It’s a great network that is not based on greed or big sales but on helping each other out.

10.Over the years the band has been a part of a few splits, out of all of the bands that you have worked with on these albums, which one did you enjoy working with the most?

Dennis; Makiladoras/radio bikini split is the best, we we’re friends with them and played a lot of shows together, they helped us putting our name out there.

Simon; Unfortunately, as so many Dutch bands, they've split up, and as hard we try, we can't get 'em back together. Lazy bastards!

11.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer music by fans of punk and crust?

Dennis; feedback has been amazing since the first show, I think people didn’t expect much of it after 6 years hiatus, we all played in other bands so never stopped making music.

The first time we practiced again it felt as the old times again.

The record was received very well and reviews we got were all positive.

Simon; Sure, we still fuck up sometimes, but we have fun doing it.

12.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Dennis; new songs are a bit slower with more variety than the old fast 3 chord songs. But still expect powerful crust because that’s all we can do ha ha.

Simon; We all grew as serious musicians, so expect a more singer/songwriter based indie hipster kinda poppy arena-rock anthem filled record

13.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays.

Dennis; when we did the recordings for the record we had a cd from skit system with us, not to sound like them but just for reference for the heavy sound they have on their records, after one take the engineer told me to hit the drums harder if we wanted the same aggression as them ha ha.

It totally worked out that way.

I’m a big fan of Dutch punk hardcore from the eighties but also crust from that time.

At the moment I listen a lot to HIGH ON FIRE, seen them a week ago and they sure made an impression.

Simon; I listen a lot to Swedish stuff. Wolfpack, Illdad, Project Hopeless, Kontrovers, Martyrdod, Ursut, Victims, that kind of stuff. A lot of brutal stuff, but also rock 'n' roll, disco, delta blues, jug 'n jook washboard stuff, polka and the almighty Tom Waits.

14.What are some of your non musical interests?

Dennis; working on my double decker bus for 10 years and love traveling.

Simon; I am a big fan of alcoholic beverages, so I am trying to get alcohol out of everything. I am currently making two types of elderberry wine, two types of walnut liquor, two types of hazelnut liquor, and cider. It is harvest season in Holland... Sander does a lot of backpacking in South-East Germany. Ted does nothing.

15.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

2015 is to going to be a busy year for us and we hope to meet everybody again and party together when we go back to the states in March.

Thank you for this interview.

Cheers and beers!