Monday 30 November 2015

JUNGBLUTH COMING TO IRELAND!!

ANOTHER great band are making their way over to Ireland early in 2016... Jungbluth!! It's already shaping up to be a good year.


Dates have yet to be confirmed. Here's their latest release, Lovecult:



POWER TRIP COMING TO IRELAND!!

The savage Power Trip are finally making their way to Irish shores in May 2016! Can't convey how excited I am for this, mark it down in your diary or whatever the fuck equivalent you have.


Read an interview with Power Trip here!!

NEW TUNES FROM KHMER!

Khmer, from Spain who we previously did an interview with and featured on Podcast #004 have just put out a 10" release with Livstid (Norway) in the U.S. which is up for streaming here:



Thursday 26 November 2015

WELCOME!!

We finally got a new site up and running, with free hosting!! Up the punx!
The site contains links to all platforms, including the distro, facebook, bandcamp, youtubemixcloud, and soundcloud, as well as the usual chainbreaker news, recipes, interviews, and illustrators! You can now find ALL our podcasts on bandcamp (free stream and download), mixcloud (free stream only), and youtube (free stream only), with only the LATEST episode to be found on soundcloud (free stream and download). Feel free to contact us about anything! Cheers :)


Wednesday 25 November 2015

HONGO (INTERVIEW)

Hi guys, thanks for taking the time to do this interview! So who am I talking to and what do you do in Hongo?

Hi there!! It´s an honor be part of your project. This is Iván and I´m the drummer of the band.




Listening to your demo from 2004, as with a lot of bands, I can tell that this wasn't the first time you had written music in a band before as it showed maturity that a first release generally does not, and of course you have/had members from Ictus, Black Panda, Madame Germen and SL.S3 (I'm sure there are more!). All these bands of which many people will know, are from a small area, A Coruna. Why is it, in your opinion that these great bands have all come from this area?

There are over 15 persons who are involved in all the bands you mention and a lot bands which you don´t know yet. It´s normal because all of us share the same passion, music. It´s impossible for us to see another life so it´s impossible for us be inactive too. Thinking on it you must know that Coruña is surrounded by sea in 70% so it´s only a possible way to escape, to see beyond it and say hello to the entire world. Didn´t you do the same?


 In your own words, what are your songs about?

It´s hard for us trying to define our music. For me It´s a mix of sentiments, concerns, passions, angers with all the music/bands who conform our entire life. While we are writting music We do all that we want. There are no pressure, there are no an exactly kind of stile, there are no limits.

We trying to do the same thing with lyrics. They become our own nihilistic vision to see the world. In a world completely devasted by wars, hungry, social classes, money, progress... human stupidity, and its zeal to destroy everything around it, is the key to make us his puppets. We are absorbed in our stupids "welfare state" problems crushed by his "inculcated fears" to live the life who they want we live. It´s time to be free.


So you took a year out in 2013, why was this?

It was my fault. I had serious problems with my right leg in 2013. I broke some knee muscles and i could not walk so i passed that year trying to recuperate the complete function of my entire leg. It was not easy but now i am preparing for everything.


Recently you toured around Spain finished this Spanish tour in Oslo! How was the tour? Any stories for us? Tell us about Blitz fest!

Probably this was the craziest tour we ever made in all respects. One week before we had to cancel 5 shows because our bass player had to work and reorganize all the tour. This created: an accelerated tour dates changing, a confused tour plan for us and for the people who want to see us live and impossible drive distances between one city and the other, like 11 hours (Málaga – Barcelona). Fortunately, everybody understood the situation and people show us his sincerely respect.

From here, all was too good. A lot of people at gigs, incredible venues and people involved on it, reunions with friends who didn,t see long time ago, rediscover forgotten places...



Blitz fest was amazing. It was our first time in Norway and we could see the incredible nature involved on it. We could sleep in the coolest place we ever seen: A small communitty inside a Norwegian forest. Already at the fest, we are proud to share stage with all the bands who played on it. Specially to LL finger, amazing band better persons. Thousands of beers to all people involved at Blitz fest.

Stories, too numerous to mention!!. A 10 years old guy who asking us for drugs, We get up at 6 am without sleep to start a gig at 6 pm, We forgot a band member in a bar and find him two hours later alone and completely drunk, we was near to die in a little accident returning home...


The obvious questions! Are you planning on recording soon?! And any intention about another European Tour? Or further afield?

Absolutely yes!!. In approximately one month, we will enter at the studio to recorder one 15 minutes song for a split with a Spanish band called Ancient Emblem. We are working in our next solo album too. It´s composed around 30% and we think it will be finish to the end of this year.

We´ll want to do an UK tour this year but we haven´t contacts enough to make it possible. Maybe there´s someone reading this who can help us. If that it´s true, please contact us.



What bands are you listening to at the moment?

I am completely dope with Wino´s songs from the album “Songs Of Twones Van Zandt”.

I can´t stop listening to Sangre de Muerdago´s album “Deixádeme morrer no bosque”.

The newest album of Nausea “Condemned to the System” it´s probably breaks your head.

You have to listen a friend´s band called Guerrera. They are incredibly amazing.



One of our members met one of you guys in a bar in London recently (they met because one was wearing an ictus patch!)... explain!!

Hahaha, It was my fault again. I was in London with my grindcore band “Nashgul” because we played that night in an amazing party-festival called Chimpy Fest. There´s a Nashgul traditional competition consisting in know which member can taste more local beers in less time. So we started the competition at 5 pm in the first heavy-rock bar that we see and let the alcohol make his job. I hardly remember that two or three hours later I was speaking with one guy about Spanish scene, music and even much more. It´s a miracle that I could speak something in English with him because I was really drunk.

Miracles can happen.


Thanks again for the interview! Last words?

Thanks to you for offer us the possibility to explain who we are and what we want. You can listen our music in our bandcamp: www.fungivoro.bandcamp.com/ or follow us in facebook: www.facebook.com/hongometal

If you like our music you must see “Sangre de Unicornio”. An amazing animation short film which have one of our songs. This one It´s carrying a lot of awards around the world.


Here is the video:


SANGRE DE UNICORNIO (UNICORN BLOOD)


-CMC

DUMPSTER DIVING

I caught up with a friend of mine to discuss the ins and outs, and ups and downs of dumpster diving!


So can you explain to people what is dumpster diving and why do people do it?

Dumpsterdiving is basically taking “trash” out of a dumpster to use it. Stores throw away tons of useable materials, about everything you can find in a store (if you’re lucky!), depending on the store obviously. Most common is food. Food-products have expiring-dates, which doesn’t say much about the state of the food itself but is merely a guidance. Anything that is ‘expired’ will end up in the dumpster (there are a few stores who donate it to foodbanks or sell it for cheaper prices or whatever though) so yeah you can guess that you can find almost anything. This isn’t it though – anything that got damaged will end up in there as well as it’s no longer fit to sell. So depending on the store you can find all sorts of things, from food and drinks at the supermarket, to carpets, vacuum cleaners and all sorts of furniture at the IKEA.... Expired or damaged doesn’t mean unfit to eat/drink/use though – some common sense is good enough most of the times to tell if something really is bad or not.

I think people dumpsterdive for a variety of reasons.... because they’re hungry, homeless, wanting to save money, money-less, as a statement, a general “why the fuck not”-feeling.... Difficult to put it into categories.



There are a lot of ideas about it being dirty etc obviously because it's food from a bin haha. Do you find this to be the case?

Nothing that can’t be washed off! Well almost nothing, as some stores put bleach over all the food in their bins which poisons it (capitalism really is a wonderful thing ain’t it?). It is dirty from time to time and especially in the summer it sometimes smells like hell but well yeah if it’s worth it.... Had it a few times that someone took a dump in the dumpster (hehe) – that ain’t worth it for me I must admit, dumpsterdiving was over for that night once I found it haha. But mostly it isn’t that dirty at all on the top (the bottom of the container is worse). And when you wash it I can’t see why it would be ‘dirty’.... The dumpster I go to the most at the moment is a compost-bin of a bioshop in the neighbourhood, which always has a few vegetables that aren’t good to sell anymore, but since they prepare fresh salads etc. there are always leftovers – little pieces of peppers, courgettes, and so on, that I take home – perfect for a dinner for two. Nothing dirty about it since I get home and wash em all off immediately.



What is the legality of dumpster diving?

Not sure what the legal side of it is in other countries, but in Belgium it ‘s legally considered as theft, and if the dumpster is behind a fence or whatever it’s considered as trespassing. There were multiple people in Belgium convicted because of it in the past (yeah capitalism realllyyyy is a wonderful thing).



Would you recommend it to people? If so, why?

Looking at all the stuff I got out of dumpsters I can’t do anything else but recommend it. Not only because of that but also because it got me in closer relation to my food in some way, as you have to double-check everything if it’s still good to eat. Looking at how this system is organized I can do nothing but recommend it (even though I recommend self sustainable gardening even more!) as it’s disgusting how much gets thrown away.



What are the upsides and pitfalls of it?

Upsides : lots and lots of free stuff. Always an exciting trip as you never know what you’ll find. Pitfalls : sometimes it really is dirty, smelly, sometimes you cycle through the cold to find nothing at all in the dumpster.



Any advice/tips for people who were interested?

Go in at night, bring a good headtorch, don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty (or bring gloves), be cautious as you might be breaking the law. I usually regret that I was wearing my good jacket after dumpsterdiving as I never think about it in advance but it gets a bit dirty most of the times. Watch out for broken glass and other things you can really hurt yourself on. In the beginning I must admit I too had to shift from “expired? Nope not good anymore” to “Dates on the package don’t mean shit”. Smell it, touch it, taste it. Be careful and don’t eat rotten meat or something... With fruits and veggies it’s not too difficult but still. Like I said : some common sense does the trick most of the times. Find the dumpsters in your neighbourhood (more people do it in cities, smaller villages often don’t have a lot of dumpster-divers...) and make sure you visit them on different days (at least in the beginning) to keep track when they empty it and when you’re more likely to find a lot!

Rules to live by are : if you’re not going to use/eat/drink it, don’t take it (how stupid is it to take things from one dumpster only to put it in another one a few days later? Rather leave it for someone else!). Except if you plan on distributing it to people who can use it. Always leave the place cleaner than you found it! Don’t make a mess as that will mean locked up dumpsters, bleach or anything similar soon, which is terrible for people going there who need it more than you do. I’ve seen dumpsters where idiots drew “free food”, hearts and other shitty hippy symbols on the containers – not a good idea. The best place to dumpster-dive in the previous city I lived in started locking their dumpsters after they had to clean up in the morning because people threw it all around. Don’t really steal anything at the same time (anything in the surrounding area of the dumpster). No problems whatsoever with stealing from major corporations, but if you do they’ll secure the place after a few times and you (and others!!) won’t be able to get anything out of the dumpster anymore.



Are there some places better than others?

Different stores have different policies. Some stores lock their dumpsters, some stores throw bleach, rat-poison or hay in it to make sure whatever is in it isn't fit for consumption anymore, some stores throw out a LOT, some don’t....



And at certain times of the week/month/year be better for certain things?

Right after Christmas, New-year or other holidays are usually good days. Who buys all that Christmas-chocolate after Christmas, right? A year or two ago we found a lot of expensive mushrooms, lobsters, expensive meat and so on right after Christmas, for example.



What was the biggest haul you ever got?

The best one definitely was a week or two ago when the freezer broke down of a bioshop nearby (I assume that was it as it was a LOT and it wasn’t expired or anything...) – resulting in almost 20 packs of tofu, 15 packages of tofu sausages, seitan, tempeh, around 20 tofu-burgers (different kinds, 2 per package so actually 40 burgers), vegan puff pastry, lots of soy yoghurt (different tastes), lots of different kinds of cheese, and a lot of fish and meat (which we give to the doggie). The food we got out of that dumpster is easily worth over 200 euros. Pretty insane! And finding wine in the dumpster is always good as well!

Actual picture of the find!




-CMC

PARTY CANNON (INTERVIEW)

To start off with, who is Party Cannon? What is a Party Cannon? How does one become a Party Cannon? How does one get “Partied in Half”? What are these completely true events that lead to your creation? In short give us a history on the band, how you guys started and how you all decided that Slam was the way to go, as it’s up there on the niche end of the metal spectrum, was it just the sheer brutality?

Currently Party Cannon is made up of Stony on vocals, Craig on guitar, Mike on guitar, Slovakian Martin on drums and myself on bass. Five fully grown men who should really all know better.  Some people would refer to a “party cannon” as a cardboard cylinder that when contorted fires a large volume of confetti, where as other people would describe it as a way of life.

I guess Party Cannon “officially” became a thing in the middle of 2010, however Craig, our original guitarist Jack and myself had been jamming riffs for a while before then. Dunfermline is a really small town and there was only a handful of people into death metal. We all played in different bands at that point that were no were near brutal death metal. I played in a Black Dahlia/Obscura type melodeath band called Psychoanalysis whereas Jack and Craig were playing in a old school death/thrash band called Lycanthoropy. Both bands eventually broke up around the start of 2010 and that's when we started to take jamming a bit more seriously. Stony joined on vocals as also in Lycanthoropy for a bit and a little bit later Neal joined on drums. Since then we've played a lot of shows, had a few line-up changes and put out some ok-ish releases.

It wasn't really a conscious decision to be a brutal death metal band, it just came naturally as all our favourite bands were stuff like Suffocation, Dying Fetus, Defeated Sanity and Devourment. Besides, playing slams and watching people bust offensive dance moves is way more fun than widdly melodeath and super serious death-thrash.




Tell me how you guys go through your writing process, is it a case of everyone meeting up and firing out ideas or do you guys often send riffs and things to each other? Is there any bands you guys would draw influence on at all? I would like to know why Tyrone has sugar and why you want him to put it down as well?


When we first started writing and gigging our drummer at the time was rarely able to make practices due to work or whatever, so when we actually did get a practice we had to fit as much as we could into that time as possible. This led to everyone writing songs separately and using practices to teach our drummer the stuff. Since Martin joined on drums it's been a bit different, we now have our own practice space and are able to jam as much as we want so it makes it easier to bring in ideas and have everyone's input, I definitely prefer it this way.
When we're all together as a band jamming through ideas I don't think there's anyone in particular we try to sound like, we just go with what works and sounds cool. Personally though when I write riffs for the band I try to have fast more technical parts like Gorgasm and Blasphemer while having the slammy chun parts.
As for Tyrone; he has a serious food addiction and we're just trying to do what's best for his well-being.



You’re set to play a four date tour of Europe ending in Valentin Slam Fest in Leipzig Germany, have you guys toured much before? How do you find it? Is there any weird preparations you all go through to get ready for going on the road?

We've done a few tours of the UK and Europe before and they've always been great.
The last European tour we did was with Laceration (New Standard Elite Records) and while that went really well, the amount of things that went wrong with our van was ridiculous. Our windscreen wipers stopped working as soon as we got off the ferry into Holland right in the middle of a rain storm and we couldn't see a thing. We phoned the AA and their guy came out and did the sketchiest repair job ever; he tied an elastic rope around the windscreen wipers that fed into the driver's window, so any time we need to use the wipers someone in the passenger seat had to pull on the rope. It sounds silly, but it seriously really sucked.
Other than that we really enjoy touring, especially in Europe. The shows are always good and the people you meet are always interesting. As for the pre-tour rituals, the only one we really have is to leave booking all the transport until three weeks before the tour so it's extra fun and stressful sorting it out.



I remember seeing a while back you guys were arranging to tour America, how has that been going? Have you been finding it hard to break into the US and find date, I know you’re set for Deathfest. What I also found interesting about that is on the poster the only logo it doesn’t take a magnifying glass and a linguist to decipher was you guys.

Bay Area Deathfest is going to be amazing, it's pretty surreal we get to be part of it when there's so many great bands playing,  plus you know a fest is going to be ridiculously brutal when all the logos are unreadable! Believe it or not the guys at Midnight Management got in touch with us asking us if we'd be interesting in coming over and playing BADF and offered us a two week tour with Epicardiectomy and Parasitic Ejaculation on top of it, how amazing is that!? So despite it being the furthest away we've ever played and our biggest tour, it's actually the easiest thing we've done organisation wise since everything is being taken care of for us – that is something we're really not used to happening!

For years now we've been getting messages every other day from people saying they'd love to see us in the US and I never really thought anything of it, then Midnight Manage got in touch saying they want to bring us over because there's apparently been a lot of demand for us,  really did not see it coming at all.



How are you finding ordering and shifting your merchandise? I’ve been following for you guys for maybe near a year now and I’ve noticed you go through long sleeves a lot, or are getting a lot of new stuff in here and there. This leads me to ask how did you all come up with the logo and the idea for the actual image of being Partied in Half? Do you guys do your own image work or did you have somebody to go to for it? Has being duct taped to a flag pole ever been a problem for you all?

I was literally duct taped to a flag pole for the cover of the “Duct Taped...” promo, like suspended 5 feet in the air, I had a good time.
We do all the covers ourselves using practical effects, we feel the whole B-movie DIY thing really fits our music and find it adds a certain character to it. We're big into stuff like Brain Dead and Troma so it makes sense.
Our original guitar player Jack (who's actually on the cover) came up with the concept of 'Partied In Half'. He was high one day and text me saying “we should call the EP 'Partied In Half' and the cover should be a guy cut in half with confetti coming out”, and I thought “ok, that is something”.
With merch I think we're doing ok, our label, Gore House Productions, has been sending us a lot of cool high quality stuff, like stuff we've never even thought of printing – like we have Party Cannon shot glasses now, which is pretty nifty. I'm always really amazed to see where we get orders from, the other day I was sending packages to Russia, Japan, America and Germany. I have no idea how these people have heard of us, but it really means a lot that they'd choose to pick up some of our stuff when there's so much quality stuff being released at the moment.



Are there any bands out there today that you guys love that you think should be picked up on? People you’ve gigged with and the like. Also as we’re pretty much closed up on 2014, what are your favourite albums that were released this year?


People definitely need to be checking out Kaasschaaf from Holland and Repugnance from Malta, they are the best bands and people.
For me, the best albums of 2014 were: Gorgasm – Destined To Violate, Disentomb – Misery, Repuganance – Seeds Of Oppression, GutRot – Porto Potty Pervert, Indecent Excision – Aberration.



You will have been a band for four years this summer coming. Have there been many changes or have you guys been through any questionable periods through this time? Do you think maybe reaching five years in time will put things in perspective for you all? Where do you think you’ll be in another four years?

Weird to think it's been four years already, but a lot has changed for us since we started. Four years ago I had no idea that it'd be possible to start a slam death metal band in Dunfermline and end up travelling to Europe to play for people that genuinely like your band. We've had so many line-up changes in the past two years and we've learned a lot from that. In 2013 we actually came really close to calling it day as our drummer situation then just seemed so bleak. Hopefully in four years time we'll still be a band, but if we're not for any reason I'd hope that whatever we release remains in some way relevant and there'd be at least a handful of people wishing we were still a band.



“Last night during Squash Bowels' set we saw a man jump on stage, turn his back to the audience, pull down his trousers, bend completely over, deeply clutch both his arse cheeks, widely spread his anus and shake the exposed orifice in time with the music...” I’ve added this in from the experience you guys had at Grindfeast. Just because. Have there been any other insane occurrences you have experienced while gigging or at gigs?

Chris: That guy's anus must have been less than a foot from my face, he was really going for it with the whole anal exposure thing. Some pretty weird things have happened to us at shows, like the time some girl put her hands down my shorts during our set in Newcastle or the time we played the Cancerous Womb album launch show in Edinburgh and I somehow burst a blood vessel in my leg during our set and it made the right side of my arse turn completely purple. One of the best ones though was when we played a gig at the Troqueer Arms in Dumfries on the last day of our UK tour with Laceration. It was a pretty busy gig with a lot of people there. There was a guy head banging in front of Craig while we were playing, the guy was pushed into the headstock of Craig's guitar and it completely bust his face open. There was blood everywhere. We were all pretty concerned, but the guy thought it was awesome and just kept going mental! Dumfries is a magical place.



Lastly, we maintain a regular podcast (or at least try to), would you guys be cool with letting play one your tracks? Also do you keep up with any podcasts or blogs? Cheers for the interview guys, much appreciated!

Of course, we'd be very happy for you to play one of our songs!
There's a local journalist called Miss Bomb who covers a lot of cool gigs on her blog– be sure to check that out.
Thanks for the questions, really appreciate you taking the time!

Party Cannon are currently on that american tour and have a new album just released "Bong Hit Hospitalization":





Bandcamp: https://partycannon.bandcamp.com/
Big Cartel: partycannon.bigcartel.com
Gorehouse: https://gorehouseproductions.bandcamp.com/album/partied-in-half-reissue
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PartyCannonUK

- JP

WHEELCHAIR WHEELCHAIR WHEELCHAIR WHEELCHAIR (INTERVIEW)

So I caught up with Bobby Wheelchair from WheelchairX4 for an interview that coincided with their ripping track from the Halloween Podcast. So here's what the man himself had to tell me about the band's experiences and influences.

Any major influences into what you play?

We both like different kinds of extreme music and other genres as well. We both had a background playing classical music in our teens, oddly enough (Stuart on trombone, Bobby on piano). My drumming is pretty basic and repetitive - in my old age I like crust and lo-fi grind, but when I was younger I liked Death Metal more than anything. If I had all the time in the world I'd learn more techniques but I usually play what's necessary. I could barely play drums at all when we started Wheelchair: I'd just play as fast as possible. But to me that's a good punk approach, don't wait around until you can blast at 200 bpm with a metronome: do what you can, now.




Have you any interesting memories of Monsters of Rot?

Plenty. I wrote a very short album about the experience. http://bobbyking.bandcamp.com/album/green-island


I must ask Bobby, does getting naked at the gigs help your drumming at all?

I try to rise to the occasion. The night before we'd done the drummer swap, so I felt I should push the boat out for the festival. I saw the curtain behind us and something went click. The best experience you get can playing live is leaving people speechless. That happened to me once when I saw the Dwarves, and a girl jumped on stage during the last song and started sucking Blag's dick. Me taking my clothes off is pretty tame compared to that.


Can we expect any new releases in the next while?

We're working on two splits etc


What's the extreme music scene like in Scotland?

There wasn't much when we started, and we can't take much credit for it expanding; but the main grind band are Sufferinfuck, who have about a dozen offshoot band thanks to the drummer, Matty; including Deathwank and Major Cunt. Apart from that there are decent hardcore and metal bands like Clocked Out and Buried Sleeper; and Co-Exist, who've been around for longer.


I seen you guys played Chimpyfest this year, what was your experience like?

Brilliant, we don't actually play that often; so going from Monsters of Rot last year to Chimpyfest this year was magical. I got completely plastered and stagedived all night. All the bands were great; by now we've got a few friends in London who were there so it was great catching up. All part of the big crustgrind family. I then tried to walk back 8 miles to where I was staying. I walked two hours, sobered up, and still spent £20 on a taxi. I had an oystercard on me and everything.




Any thoughts about the referendum and how it turned out?

I was pretty obsessed. It was very exciting. Nearly the whole media was against it, as well as big business and the banks. The No campaign won by lying to old ladies that their pension would end. They had almost no activists: they relied on media bias and the fact they had money from the Tories to run call centres in England, and bus up paid campaigners from England. For these reasons, the under-55s in Scotland voted Yes. I believe it's just a matter of time before we get another shot. (Stuart, although pro-independence, doesn't necessarily agree with this analysis) It's a comparable situation in Ireland, people there are sick of the corruption in civic life and want to take some power back; independence is just the best solution for Scotland.


Lastly, any plans to hop back over the water and play Ireland again?

Love to, last year was one of the best touring experiences we've had. Someone book us.





-JP

PARASHINA ILLUSTRATION










Answers from the Author


How old are you and where are you from?

I'm Enda & my artist nickname is Parashina, age 29, I'm from Palembang - Indonesia.


When did you first get into art, and why?

It started when I dropped out from the university of civil law faculty in 2003, I realized that my true passion is in the art, after that I went to college again, this time I choose Graphic Design in 2004. The reason why is because I have a background that supports me to be an artist. My father was an art teacher, since kid I always love to drawing character, comic/manga even imitating skull artwork in Metallica T Shirt, Gun N Roses & Iron Maiden Posters. When I knew much more about music like punk & metal also skateboarding ...it impacted my theme of art too, since then art became part of my life, and till now I'm still doing many artwork/illustration for T Shirts, merch and Cover for punkrock ,hc punk, crust, grindcore bands and skateboards clothing.


Where do you get most inspiration from?

My drawing influence mostly from Pushead, but my total inspiration for the whole illustration from reading many political books, i grew up as political crustpunk so this "ideology" always gave me a lot of inspiration (ideas).


Any artists you like that do designs for bands?

Brian Schroeder a.k.a Pushead (Septic Death)


Favourite band/genre?

My top 5 favourite bands : Crass, Disrupt, Tragedy, Skitsytem & Martyrdod...mostly I like genre Crust punk.


Any tips for people who want to do art?

Always keep up your drawing skill, proportion is the key to make a good illustration and always open wide your imagination by reading "a good" books, talk with people and add more art references


Favourite colour?!

Black and White is immortal !


Any last words?

For my complete art portfolio visit www.facebook.com/parashinart
Cheers !



-CMC

ROTWORKS ロットワークス









Answers from the Author


How old are you and where are you from?

I'm 31 years old, born and raise in Singapore.



How did you begin to get involved in art and design?

I started drawing way back in 1997. But that was just scribbles and for fun. Met a few of my friends who are really talented in the art department. They started sharing their sketches and finished artwork and it got me interested to be a little more serious on comic/manga arts like Dragon ball, mystical creatures like dragons etc. Self studied about structures and details. Bought tons of sketch book and did not let go of the pencil since then.



Where do you find most of your inspiration comes from?

It usually comes from other artists. I've learn their skills and create my own style. Then again whatever comes to my mind like objects in public or even dreams from sleep inspires me to create a piece.



You do album art and layouts, t-shirt design, and tattoo design. Which is your favourite and why?

Shirt design is probably my favourite as i would prefer a bold stand alone artwork to a scene artwork (album art). It is of course easier to execute almost an abstractish kinda designs which I'm really into more than a cover artwork.



What bands are you listening to at the moment?

Rotten Sound, Everytime I die, Converge, Gridlink, Bone Thugs and Harmony, 2pac, The Kill etc.



Do you have any advice for people who want to start designing for bands and getting more involved generally?

Keep sketching as much as possible. Like i said before, never let go of the pencil. Look through your favourite artist to which style you are comfortable with. And from there try to imitate the details and study how it should be done to produce the intended result. Keep practising and you'll bound to find your own style and move on from there.



What is your favourite sauce?!

Sauce?! lmfao. probably ranch.



Thanks! Any last words?

I am kind of slow at the moment producing new artworks but rest assure I will be getting back on track once everything has settled down. Thanks again for the interview. Keep it GRIND!

Click here to see more from Rotworks.

RAZOREATER









Answers from the Author


What got you into it? 

I used to draw a lot in my childhood, but when I got older I lost my interest in it somehow. After some years, I think I was 15 or 16, a friend and I discovered this whole digital stuff with programs like fireworks, photoshop etc. and I started to do things with it. Things like taking a photo, re-arranging it, destroying it, just fucking it up. And that’s basically what I still do. With time I started to create some show flyers just for fun and one day I made one for a "rise and fall" show in Berlin. I created a facebook event for it, including the flyer and after some days the organizer contacted me and he was a bit upset because they had contracts and all that saying that the promo couldn't start at this point especially when it is not official. Ge said as a redemption I could send him the flyer and everything is cool. From this point on I made a lot of flyers and posters for them ("stateless society" in Berlin) and the whole Razoreater thing started. So actually it was a bit weird.



What inspired you at the beginning? 

Puh, good question. I always loved horror movies (surprise) so this is a major influence I guess. When I was 11 I started to listen to Marilyn Manson and I think this was also a big influence. The old stuff was awesome! Because of this band I listen to harder music I would say.



Favourite piece you have been commissioned for?

Oh that’s hard. As an artist I’m never really satisfied with my stuff. I could always change or add something here and there but it would be a never ending story so at some point I just have to stop and send it away. But I really liked the digisleeve for Deathseekers and the 12” for Ravage Ritual. Shirts are cool but I prefer to do album art in general.



Favourite band/genre?

Nothing specific. I have a few favorite bands like Interpol, Massive Attack, Young and in the way, Nine Inch Nails, Gus Gus, Rise and Fall… so you see not so many “extreme” bands actually. Speaking of genres, I like darkened hardcore, very primitive death metal and grindcore, drum and bass, trip hop, some doom metal and so on. I listen to a lot of stuff.



Any tips?

So if you mean graphic tips or something like that I would say, do what you want to do and if you’re working like me with photos and all this kind of stuff, create a photostock database you can use!



Favourite food?

Anything fast food. but you can always catch me with italian food, especially pizza! Thanks for the support! :)


Click here for more pictures or to contact Razoreater.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY EMMETT MULLIGAN









Answers from the Author


Where are you from?

I'm from Whitehall in Dublin.



What age did you start getting into art? What drew you towards it?

I started drawing at a very young age, literally 4 or 5 years old right through to my last year in school/first year in college. I think I've always just enjoyed being in my own head and playing with pens & paper really. I was never into sports or anything else and I think art & reading comics are what I used to pass the time while my friends kicked a ball around. As for what drew me towards it - pure escapism. I'll never forget the first time I seen 2000AD & Marvel comics. Blew my fragile little mind! After college (Graphic Design & Printmaking) I lost my way for a loooooong time & foolishly joined the corporate office world. Literally didn't pick up a pen for close to 10 years. Then one night I discovered The Red Album by Baroness & John Dyer Baizleys artwork & it kind of lit a fire under my ass. I quit my job, moved to Canada for 2 years & made art my primary focus. Best decision I ever made!



Your material consists of a lot of skulls mixed with nature. Why do you use these a lot and what do they represent to you?

Well the skull thing has been with me since I seen a class mates skate deck when I was around 11 years old. It was some awful cheesy looking thing with a vulture ripping an eyeball out of a skull or something but I thought it was the most badass fuckin' thing I'd ever clapped eyes on. I've been drawing them ever since. That said, these days I don't draw them because they're 'badass'. I just think skulls are a very powerful, striking image & if done right will almost always catch your attention. And they're fun to draw. The nature thing is just down to my obsession with life cycles. How things live, die & are reborn from decay. I don't see it as a scary thing, just a part of nature. I figure if I'm going to draw skulls, why not have them teeming with life to kind of represent this. That way each piece tells it's own little story.



You do logos and album designs. Anything else?

Primarily I do merch/album design and the occasional logo but I'll try my hand at anything really. I love working on t-shirt designs because it means I'm not confined to a square shape as with album covers etc. I do private commission pieces too & screen printing is something else I want to get back into when I have time to commit to it. I've also been experimenting with gel medium image transfer recently & will hopefully have some fun projects relating to that up & running this summer.



What bands are you listening to at the moment?

Currently loving all the recent stuff from Torche, Floor, Nachtmystium & Mutoid Man. Loving the new Teethmarks album, Survival - savage hardcore band from Toronto. Also Jersey Shores by Akimbo is fucking immense. Amazing album! Since Pepper rejoined Corrosion of Conformity I've been listening to Deliverance a lot - my favourite album in the world! I always have some Irish stuff on the go (Putrefaction, 20 Bulls Each, My Name is Satan) and your own ep, Subprdinate - To See Their Demise is on my playlist too. Looking forward to the new Headless Kross album (Volumes) when it hits in April. Fantastic band for drawing to.



From your experience, what tips can you give people trying to go down the same route?

Work your hole off, don't sell yourself short & know the value of your work. I know a lot of illustrators do work for free/cheap when starting out & it can be mutually beneficial for band & artist but there's nothing wrong with being aware & knowing when to 'level up'. Especially if you intend making a living from art. I still get requests for work in exchange for 'exposure' from time to time but I started turning it down long ago. Realistically, if I'm going to put 20/30/40 hours plus into a piece then I just can't justify doing it for nothing. I find most of the time it's possible to work within a bands budget. The band just needs to actually have a budget to work within!



A letter arrives, addressed to you. Inside is 3000 with no note attached. What do you do?

Probably get buried in tattoos! Or build a massive sarcophagus for myself made entirely out of lego...



Thanks for the interview! Any last words?

I just want to get drunk & headbang!



Click here for more pictures or to contact Emmett.

-CMC

NEW RELEASE!! ABSOLUTIST - TRAVERSE EP

This dark, atmospheric, crust 3-piece from Scotland have made waves around Europe recently, and with good cause. A relatively young band of about 6 years old, they achieved a lot in this time despite some line up changes. From the humble beginnings of the 'Blasphemy EP', they have developed stylistically, and matured a lot into their own sound. Today, they play an emotive brand of atmospheric crust, laden with effects, and drilled full of d-beats.

Their last release was a split 12" with Link from Belgium, in which they delivered a monster one-track crust odyssey which clocks in at nearly 16 minutes from start to finish. This was put out in 2013, so after 2 years, there is much anticipation for this upcoming 7", named 'Traverse'.

A 3 track EP, this release in no way compromises from the previous 16 minute track. In fact, the band seem to have taken the strongest aspects from their arsenal of musicology, and distilled it to a purer, unadulterated form; which, as a result of compressing the quality of song-writing and production Absolutist have come to be known for, means this release packs a fucking punch.

Awesome artwork by Denise from Dogs & Vultures!


The band are embarking on a tour in Greece, UK, and Ireland this Summer, so make sure to keep an eye out for them.

'Traverse' will be released in August by Chainbreaker Records, Distro-y Records, Broken Limbs Records, Bomb This Shit Productions, Holy Goat Records, Mind Control Records, Never Fall Into Silence, Pumpkin Records, and Svoboda Records.

You can now buy the EP from Chainbreaker here!



BADGER CULL



Back in December 2011 Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) announced that culling of badgers would be allowed in order to stop the spread of tuberculosis in cattle “as part of a science-led and carefully managed policy of badger control”, which then led to the first culling license on the 17th of September 2012 in West Gloucestershire, and a second license on the 4th of October on the same year in West Somerset. This all lead to said cull being executed in the summer of last year, apparently with a panel to oversee and make sure it's “humane”; but what's humane about culling a species? According to their report, which you can find on the Defra web page, the estimated population for the counties were: West Gloucestershire – 2657 to 4079 and West Somerset – 1972 to 2973 “with an 80% confidence.”  The BBC reported that, "The cull aimed to kill at least 70% of badgers across areas about the size of the Isle of Wight in each zone."

70% percent?


The reason behind writing this other than the fact that such a perverse thing happened is that it's planned to go ahead yet again and for the second time this year and again without an independent monitor. Each scientist consulted in the report etc. has all been government backed and rightly so, folks don't trust the government that much. They failed to reach their target of 70% last year (West Gloucestershire: 39% - West Somerset: 48%) due to a lot of resistance through peaceful protests and not so peaceful protests i.e. people smashing the traps, letting the badgers in cages loose etc.  One bright note is that The Badger Trust has won the right to challenge the legality of the cull due to lack of said independent monitoring.

The main question is, is this really necessary or just a cheap dirty solution like a lot of other policies that take the more damaging way out? To find out I did a little research into the alternative ways to tackle TB in cattle.

So the first thing I came across while reading into it was from the Wildlife Trust, in which they state that the government funded scientific research had shown that badger culling would be counterproductive unless following a strict criteria and that it would lead up to a possible 12 – 16% reduction in TB in cattle. Is 16% really worth ending the lives on a large number of sentient beings? I mean would it not be better to first tackle where the other 84% is coming from?  An interesting info-graphic on how it could be very counterproductive is shown below:



As for the alternative means to this, two obvious solutions were the first to be found, these are to set up badger vaccination programmes (as there is a vaccine that works on badgers) and to develop a TB vaccine for cattle (why doesn't this already exist?). One other point which I think is the main one would be to increase biosecurity which is pursuing and preventing all ways possible on-farm transmission could happen.  The reason I say this is that the ISG (Independent Scientfic Group, which is the research team that the government had undertaken the study) concluded with:

"Firstly, while badgers are clearly a source of cattle TB, careful evaluation of our own and others’ data indicates that badger culling can make no meaningful contribution to cattle TB control in Britain.
Indeed, some policies under consideration are likely to make matters worse rather than better.

Secondly, weaknesses in cattle testing regimes mean that cattle themselves contribute significantly to the persistence and spread of disease in all areas where TB occurs, and in some parts of Britain are likely to be the main source of infection. Scientific findings indicate that the rising incidence of disease can be reversed and geographical spread contained, by the rigid application of cattle-based control measures alone."


So their own team over a trail that lasted around eight years and cost a serious amount of money showed that there can only be harm caused through the culling of badgers. THE GOVERNMENT'S OWN TEAM. It's pretty obvious what's needed is what is stated in that “rigid application of cattle-based control measures”  are needed to be implemented and not the culling of an innocent species, the only reason I can think of personally is that the government is too lazy to go through with putting in these regulations and making sure they're implemented.  Maybe it'll cost them too much so they'd rather gun badgers down to keep farmers quiet.


Whatever the real reason, this isn't the way forward so UK residents who see this should write a letter to the PM, to your MP, whoever and raise awareness of this shocking development.




Wildlife Trust “Stop the Cull” video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhojkHMyaJg


Wildlife Trust reply to Final Report

http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/sites/default/files/twt_btb_response_final_26092013.pdf

-JP

NEW RELEASE! SUBORDINATE - RESPECT EXISTENCE OR EXPECT RESISTANCE LP

From the pits of Ireland come Subordinate, a 3-piece heavy crust d-beat punk band with strong melodic influences. They play an aggressive style of d-beat with a more neo-crust approach, employing melodic, slower paced sections, which at times carry a dark atmosphere.

We are proud to announce that their first full-length album titled 'Respect Existence Or Expect Resistance' will be released on vinyl LP with Chainbreaker Records in July, along with Distro-y Records, Anarchotic Records, Pumpkin Records, A World We Never Made, Don't Live Like Me Records, and Suburban White Trash Records. It will also be available in cassette format which will be put out by Chainbreaker Records and Solemn Records.

Subordinate have been around since 2012, when they released their self-recorded EP 'To See Their Demise', which is available for streaming and free download on their bandcamp,

Since their EP, the band has developed stylistically in a lot of ways. There is more of an evident influence from the Spanish style of crust to bands like Fall Of Efrafa and Tragedy, with an underlying Irish crust punk sound. The album was recorded in The Hive Studios with James Eager and mastered at Enormous Door FX.

Artwork by Costin Chorineau.


Expect a more mature, and refined work on this release. Here is a track off the upcoming album to give you a taster, available for free download:

NEW RELEASE!! ISKRA - RUINS LP

This will be Iskra's 3rd full length release, not including their split LPs with Doom Siren and Against Empire. In total, they have 15 releases, which is a fairly impressive catalogue, however, considering they were founded in 1998 it's understandable.

Hailing from Canada, they are styled as 'blackened crust'. Whilst I can't deny that they have crust elements to their music, they are very much on the metal side of things, with a strong Scandinavian black metal vibe being the dominant force. Their style packs an impressive punch and displays a finesse which is earned from many years experience. Iskra recently got their official website up and running, which is well worth a visit, with a full (and impressively documented) history of the band, the bands ideology, music from all their releases (free download which even includes lyrics!) and more! Check it out at www.iskracrust.com.

This release is set to be pressed in North America and Europe on vinyl, cassette, and CD formats. A host of D.I.Y. labels will be financing the release, ourselves among them. 'Ruins' was recorded and mastered in February 2014 by Iskra, Cody Baresich, and Martin Ankelius in the Cutting Room in Sweden. The LP will feauture 10 tracks:

Lawless
Ruins
Predator Drone MQ-1
Traume
Nihil
Illegal
Aegis of the Victor
Der Einzig
Lebensraum
Battle of the Hundred Slain

To support the release, Iskra will embark on an extensive North American tour, details of which will be released closer to the time.

Currently, there is one track available to listen to, Predator Drone MQ-1, which you can download for free on the Chainbreaker bandcamp HERE. Iskra have stated on their website that once the album is officially released, all music will be available for free download, as is the case with all of their music! D.I.Y. ethics at its best!

We have a full interview with the band coming soon, until then, enjoy this brutal track from 'Ruins'.

Since this article, we have released the LP which you can get here, and listen to in full below!



NET NEUTRALITY

For those not yet familiar with the term “net neutrality,” it represents the idea that internet should be allowed equal speed despite the site or the content that it come from. This seems like a great idea but wouldn't you know that the US's biggest ISP is touting it around but not exactly being the biggest role model for it. So I decided to write this up to give you all the overview on what is happening so far, as well as who's involved.



Comcast, which are (or are soon to be) America's largest ISP, have begun trying to create a merger with Time Warner Cable which would have been their major competitor. This is a very big merger, you're looking at pretty much the entire US being with either company and now with a merger a lot of the smaller companies are set to be drowned out completely.


The Real Downside

It promises a lot of things, all of them sound pretty good, I mean, who could argue with a “fair and protected internet” really? Rush Limbaugh apparently. Rush has dubbed net neutrality as “The Fairness Doctrine of the Internet.” The reason behind this is that when you look into the details it doesn't seem as nice as you may have first thought.

“In 2010 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) doesn’t have the power to regulate an Internet provider’s network. At the time Comcast had filed suit after the FCC tried to stop it from controlling traffic over its network to a popular file-sharing site. The court ruled that the FCC didn’t have “express statutory authority” from the U.S. Congress to regulate the Internet. At the time, most thought this would stop the FCC cold. However, this court ruling didn’t squelch the FCC’s attempt to regulate the Internet with “net neutrality” regulations.”


So you can start to gain a little vision into what is going on here. After that happened the FCC and other parties have been doing ins and outs of this and that, which in every place has denied use of their net neutrality rules. However, Comcast has been following them completely and during that time has bought over NBCUniversal. You can get the picture here.

The liberals have lost a lot of media with channels like Fox News and websites like the Drudge Report as well as a host of other news shows and sites the republicans have a hold of. So you can see that Comcast are following the liberal agenda and if they do acquire Time Warner Cable, then we'll be seeing the same thing that history showed us back when the Fairness Doctrine was around. It will be controlled content that will seep through rather than the free and open internet the people know and love. I'm not a fan of the republicans or in fact a lot of things about America in general, but something like this could have an effect globally.

It's all a big old trojan horse for the FCC. If it happens and it all works, what would stop other governments from doing similar things in their country with the bigger player ISPs? Heck I could imagine BT becoming the lacky here (although they haven't agreed with any of the anti-piracy stuff and a lot of government plans in the past).



Internet Slowdown

So having explained the political side of things, now we get to look at the internet slowdown. This went by last month (10th Sep 2014) and was put together to show the effects of content control and lower speed on websites that have open political views, or just have something they may not agree with on it. A lot of popular sites such as Tumblr, Netflix and Etsy all participated by showing buffering bars or links to a petition against what was going on. Twitter also saw the #battlefortheinternet spread around its site. I'm not one that can personally get behind the whole #hashtag or social media circle jerks, but in the past it has worked well in spreading the news at least in a truthful manner.

Unfortunately, the were campaign for the FCC to not approve the merger didn't happen, as I had mentioned before they're in cahoots with each other. However, it's now up to New York State Authorities to decide, so it's not all gone up in flames but action needs to be taken now. Now. Before what happened to the radio decades ago happens to the internet now.



Useful links:

The main social media front

https://www.battleforthenet.com/



Decent Forbes article that goes into more detail than here, also reference to the quote I put in

http://www.forbes.com/sites/frankminiter/2014/09/18/limbaugh-is-right-net-neutrality-is-an-attack-on-free-speech-so-why-is-comcast-for-it/



Ways you can take action

http://www.savetheinternet.com/what-can-i-do



Stop Comcast-Time Warner petition

http://petitions.moveon.org/workingfamilies/sign/stop-the-comcast-time



 -JP

BONE DIVINATIONS








Answers from the Author


What got you into it?

I started drawing in school. Art was my favourite subject but I didn't imagine doing it for anybody else and it took a back seat when I made the mistake of going to university instead of art college.


What inspired you at the beginning?

There are too many artists and albums to mention here but I really got back into it because of the necessity of needing covers and logos for the bands I was playing in. I always admired the covers of the albums I bought when I was younger; a really good collection of songs would never have the same effect on me if the visual aspect wasn't there or didn't match up. Buying LPs again was also a factor because I think the artwork is much more pronounced on that format.


Favourite piece you have been commissioned for?

Probably the piece I did for The Corded Ware, it’s a sort of spontaneous, atmospheric, noise project from Dublin where a lot of the rules of ‘normal’ music don’t really apply. It was delayed a lot by work and moving around but I had complete control over the final image and theme so I decided not to reflect the sound of the record at all haha. It gave me a chance to look into a lot of religious iconography, tarot card art and symbolism; I was probably an absolute bore to be around while I was working on it.


Fav band/genre? Any tips?

Impossible to say, metal and punk would be among my most listened to, probably and definitely my favourite to see live. But I’ve been listening to lots and lots of Hexvessel, Chelsea Wolfe and Earth while drawing at the moment. No fun, no mosh, no tips.


Click here for more pictures or to contact Bone Divinations.



- CMC

NACHO MOUNTAIN

I took a fancying to making these, and they turned out unreal so they had to be shared with you! So easy to make.



You need:

1 pack of lightly salted tortilla chips
1 can chopped tomatoes
3 garlic cloves
Tomato puree
1 packet of chili spice mix for chili con carne
1 small can of kidney beans
1 red pepper
2 bay leaves
2 small red onions
2 avocados
1 medium tomato
1 lime
Handful of fresh coriander
Jalepenos
Vegan cheese
Sour cream
 Salt

For the guacamole:

Add 2 large avocados, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tomato, 1/2 red onion, and coriander to a blender. Give a quick blend, then add some salt and lime juice from 1 whole lime, and blend again (Tip: for keeping guacamole fresh in the fridge, keep a stone from an avocado with the mix). Add some water if it seems a bit dry!




For the veggie con carne:

Heat olive oil in a pan to medium-hot heat. Add 1 finely chopped garlic clove, 1 finely chopped red onion, and 1 finely chopped pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, add tomato puree and coat everything with it.

Add spice mix, give a quick thorough stir and add can of chopped tomatoes and bay leaves for a bit of depth. Add a pinch of salt, and let simmer for about 6 minutes.

A few minutes before serving, add in the kidney beans, so as they get warmed through.




Assemble!

Sooo easy. Add in the following order:

Tortilla chips (make a hole in the middle)
Veggie con carne
Guacamole
Sour creme
Jalapenos
Grated cheddar cheese
Throw your construction in the microwave (I say throw, please gently place instead) until the cheese starts to melt. Awesome! Great for with friends, also good to keep for the next day for party weekends!

Throw a wee bit of sexy garnish on the top to look pro.



-CMC