New Blood

Let's do a quick introduction:

Cong: My name is Cong, I do vocals for RAGE POINT. Khairul Dol’s on guitar, Fizal Simon is on bass, and Haziq Aiman is on drums. We started out when I was in Seoul, South Korea for my semi-skilled welding job; one night it just crossed my mind that Haziq and Fizal are also into mid-80’s hardcore. I struggled to choose a guitar player, I didn’t immediately think to ask Dol. He plays guitar in a band called Noseblunt, which are more to heavy hardcore riffs.

Haziq and I wanted to have a unique sound, with influences like Against The Wall which are huge inspiration for me. Dol and Fizal wrote our first song, and everything just flowed together from there on. Haziq showed us some unique drum sound arrangements and I wrote us some more lyrics. Being our frontman wasn’t my immediate thought off the bat, I used to laugh at the thought of how I’d look on stage!

What are your songs about?

C: Stuff I’d want to immediately change about this world, like how closed-minded people are, and how humans readily apply stereotypes to one another… how people advertise beliefs in equality and equity and don’t back it up with responsibility. How when your back is to the wall and you are facing fear head-on, the only way is forward and through it.

How would you describe your sound?

C: Honestly, I’m so proud of all Malaysian hardcore, our scene’s a huge inspiration. So many great bands have come out since the mid-90’s (like the ones included in the Visionville’ comp). Another Side was formed in 1996, and is probably one of the oldest local hardcore bands still alive and kicking; I’m stoked that they’re bringing their cacophonous brand of hardcore to younger audiences. Another Visionville’ alumnus, Chronic Mass, is often credited with being the first proper pioneers of Malaysian hardcore; with a strong punk lineage running through their sound, the band delivered hardcore fit for purists – fast, abrasive and unifying. Tracks like Togetherness’ still sound as fabulous and powerful today as they did back in ’96. Mid-80’s American hardcore bands like Release, Against The Wall, and Hardstance are also influences.

What have you all listened to recently that you think people need to check out?

C: Firstly, U.S. Hardcore is one of my favorite things. Fury are great people with badass lyrics and riffs. We’re also a fans of Mosher’s Delight Records bands like Intent and Free At Last.

I’m currently diggin’ The Real Cost, Step 4 Change, Abuse of Power, and Diztort. Magnitude, Substance and SFL’s finest, Ecostrike, Day by Day, and Put it Aside. We’re all currently waiting for Fury to head over to our side of the world.

What’s in the future for all of you?

C: To play in any other country… that’d be a dream come true, and I hope we can make that happen. Continuing to meet people in other countries who aren’t just in hardcore scenes, learning about different cultures, perceptions of beauty, taking photos, the whole touring experience…

Anything else you wanna add?

C: It just feels so good to be in this interview, and it feels like we’re working to strengthen the Malaysian hardcore scene, a lot of what we do and hope for is a lively scene in our country. Thank you so much!

Date & location formed:

Kristen: Paul, Will, and I started jamming and writing songs in a storage zone in Tallahassee in the fall of 2017. By December, we had 6 songs but no vocalist so we asked our good pal Sebastian if he’d have any interest in being frontman and of course he already had lyrics ready to go, within a few practices, SLAC was born.

How did your band come to be?

Kristen: Will and I used to be in a D-beat band called Myakka that formed in May of 2016 but disbanded in May of 2017 because our guitarist had landed her dream job in San Francisco. We practiced in a storage zone and still was renting it out with some other locals and wanted to be in a band again so sometime in October, we had hit up mutual friend Paul, also an incredible guitarist, to jam and sure enough Paul already had riffs ready to go and like that we pumped out 6 songs and soon after Sebastian joined thus forming SLAC

What are your lyrics about?

Sebastian: The lyrics are a personal reflection on the vile nature of our current socio-economic condition, of the hatred that has been projected onto historically oppressed people by the bigots who now pretend to rule over us. They represent the process of self analysis required to understand our personal relationship, through our apathy and through our defeatism, with this system that takes so much from so many for the benefit of so few. We have hard work ahead of us and we need to be critical of ourselves and give voice to those who have been voiceless. Question your own intentions and motivations, sacrifice your comfortable identity, your privilege, and get on your knees and beg for the self-awareness necessary to stop being complicit in the dehumanization of those who aren’t wealthy, or white, or straight, or man – who have consistently been denied their dignity, autonomy, and agency in our past and present world.

How would you describe your sound?

Kristen: Not really too sure this does it’s justice, but maybe an odd mix of 80’s Hardcore punk and 90’s Post/hardcore/punk. Like if you for some reason threw Discharge, 86 Mentality, and a dash of Wire into a blender and went at it.

List something or someone you think folks need to listen to right now.

Kristen: I think Sebastian and I agree that Xylitol is one of the best bands live we’ve ever seen. Also C.H.E.W, Matrix, Public Acid, Deviant

What’s in the future for this band?

Kristen: Hopefully a 7 inch, maybe an LP, maybe a tour or two. We’re all pretty busy with work so it’s hard to say

Date & location formed:

February 2018 in Sydney, Australia.

How did your band come to be?

Wanted to start a punk band, started a punk band.

What are your lyrics about?

Mental illness and bodily betrayal.

How would you describe your sound?

Songs to make your allergies worse.

List something or someone you think folks need to listen to right now.

Rapid Dye, BB and the Blips, and Arafura.

What’s in the future for this band?

More of everything.

Date & location formed:

2017 in Lawrence, Kansas.

How did your band come to be?

Could very well have been an accident. Let’s chalk it up to numerous drinking sessions, bad decisions, and an undying persistence to play angry music.

What are your lyrics about?

The wrong with the world, drugs, not meshing with standards.

How would you describe your sound?

Not too pretty, but after a few beers you could slam to it.

List something or someone you think folks need to listen to right now.

D-Beat bands?

What’s in the future for this band?

Not much.

Date & location formed:

2017 in Berlin, Germany.

How did your band come to be?

4 Mexican inmigrant kids living in berlin from diferent backgrounds (drummer is a tattoo artist, one guitarrist a dj, bassplayer a photographer…) were playing together for a year 2016 without a singer…. then they ask Daniel (ex singer Migraviolenta from argentina) and thats how all came together in 2017.

What are your lyrics about?

we singing mostly in spanish… we have few songs in english too.
lyrics are mostly about what we are living … being latino inmigrants in europe, growing up in violent cities, capitalism, war, colonialism, some personal stuff about depression, drugs to scape reality/hardship.

How would you describe your sound?

is Hardcore Punk, Latino Punk i like to call it.. but basicly is fast HC-Punk with some heavy and long intros

What’s in the future for this band?

we are trying to play as much as possible around Berlin… we just played KÁ¶pi last week.
we are gonna tour Mexico in february for 3 weeks!
we just recorded 10 songs for a first LP and we are looking for a label to put it out!!!