September 28, 2017
ESCÁ˜RT, Witchtrial, Jackal, Vanta and Universal Peace
New Blood is our regular web feature spotlighting new bands from around the world!
Now check out some killer new shit…
Escørt
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Date & location formed:
We started in July of 2016. Most of the band lives in Olympia, but one of us resides in Seattle.
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How did your band come to be?
It had been about two years since our guitar player PK played in an active project and over a decade since Lucy was last in a band. Josef and PK started jamming with the idea of starting another d-beat/hardcore punk project. Josef’s housemate Mattie Jo was the first bass player we thought of to jump in. Mattie Jo and Lucy had previously talked about starting a hardcore band about three of four years ago. Next thing you know, ESCØRT was formed. We all feel pretty emotionally supported by making this music together.
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What are your lyrics about?
Haha, well I think our band name and some of the song titles speak pretty clearly for themselves like ”Fuck Me Hard” and ”Whore for Whore”. I’ve been in the sex industry in some capacity for over a decade now. So, talking about sex and sexuality come very naturally to me and I’m clearly not shy about it! But not all of my lyrics are as on the nose. I do bring a lot of politics into my words. Having a varied intersection of some marginalized identities, I feel moved to speak to bring up the intense fucked up shit that I see happen in the world. Not just on a personal level but also on a national and even global scale. But I try to carry a nice balance between serious, nasty (in a sexy way) and funny. I want to capture a more rounded, human experience in my lyrics rather than just sticking to one concept.
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How would you describe your sound?
We like to play fast and loud. Typically the d-beats with some dancey interludes drowned out in heavily distorted feedback. Some songs reminiscent of Swedish legends, others not so much.
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What’s in the future for this band?
We’d like to go on a bigger tour at some point, but for now we plan on sticking around the Pacific Northwest, play some gigs and find time to put out a new 7inch.
Witchtrial
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Let’s do a round of introductions:
Evil B — Vocals
Goo — Guitar
Brendo — Guitar
C — Bass
Petrus Ratajczyk (aka Donny’) — Drums -
When and how did you all come to form WITCHTRIAL?
Donny and Goo began writing songs in the late spring of 2016. The full line up was assembled by fall 2016. Demo recorded in February 2017. Released in July. We work slowly.
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What influences did you draw from when you recorded your demo?
Many, but let’s limit it to three: VENOM, early BATHORY and ANTI-CIMEX. For production, we referred exclusively to Morbid Tales and Show No Mercy.
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How would you describe your sound?
Metal for punks, punk for metalheads.
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What’s in the future for this band?
Mostly writing new music.
Jackal
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Date & location formed:
We all live in South Florida, February 2017 was around the time our first song was completely written.
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How did your band come to be?
For some of us this is our first band. There were a lot of fall outs in the beginning and it took a while to find members in general. I had the drums and lyrics written for a long time before things started to get rolling, but everything went smoothly after that. Not many other bands in our area currently have a similar sound and we just love this style of hardcore overall!
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What are your lyrics about?
The lyrics are mainly about being trapped in the work cycle and government officials that don’t really care about the people they’re supposed to help.
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How would you describe your sound?
Hardcore/punk with some early Agnostic Front, Ultra Violent, Reckless Aggression, Urban Blight influence.
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What’s in the future for this band?
In November we’re doing a Florida run with Protocol from Tallahassee and maybe another band. We’re also writing new songs that will hopefully be on a 7″³ at some point.
Vanta
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Date & location formed:
Summer of 2016, Calgary, AB, Canada.
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How did your band come to be?
To have fun and play fast.
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What are your lyrics about?
Things we can relate to; shitty people, bad decisions, worse relationships, etc.
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How would you describe your sound?
Fast, loud, trashy punk. fun stuff.
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What’s in the future for this band?
Tours, shows, more fun, keep making music.
Universal Peace
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Date & location formed:
Formed in December 2016, Tacoma, Washington.
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How did your band come to be?
Antonio: Laura (bass) had the idea to start a band with myself singing, as she knew I had a desire to write in a different musical direction than a different project we were doing together at the time, and we both just hated art so much we wanted to propagate that message.
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What are your lyrics about?
The demo’s lyrics range from feeling caught between two loved ones who refuse to reconcile, to questions about what makes someone their ”true self”, (whether intentions matter or just outcomes), and, perhaps most importantly, the idea that art is bad and you are bad for making and/ or enjoying it.
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How would you describe your sound?
Hardcore but leaning away from aggression, and meandering towards melody and vulnerability.
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What’s in the future for this band?
Tours are being planned, from western Canada to the U.S northeast.
