Thursday 29 June 2017

NEW RELEASE!! BORN FOR SLAUGHTER - SELF-TITLED LP

We are back! And what better way to be back than with some new releases!!
CHAIN#007 brings you Born For Slaughter from Macedonia, who play an aggressive metallic style of crust, interspersed with mournful riffs which add a more complex emotional element to the music.


The band released a split 7" with Myteri in 2016 which really demonstrated the ability the band has, both in terms of technicality, and in song-writing.


This self-titled released will consist of 5 excellent tracks, on a one-sided black 12" etched vinyl, also available on a limited edition of one-sided clear/transparent 12" etched vinyl. One of the tracks will be played on the podcast here, and another will be available for streaming next week! For now, here's the artwork:

Artwork by VZR Graphics.
Born For Slaughter will be heading off on a European tour this September, check out the tour here and see if there's a show on near you!

-CMC

Wednesday 28 June 2017

OKUS (INTERVIEW)

Thanks for doing the interview lads! So can you introduce yourself and tell us what each member does in the band?

Greg - guitar/vocals, Crispo  - drums, JK - guitar/vocals, Ross - bass 


When was the band formed? 

2013 (I think) 

Greg on guitar/vox.
Scourge was released a year (and two weeks) ago - how did you find the reception for the album? 

Seemed to go down well to those that got a chance to hear it . Peoples reactions were very positive, but then again most folk don't tell you you're shite LOL.


Was the writing or recording process different than your self-titled release?

I (Greg) pretty much wrote the entire first one on my own, but Scourge was much more of a band effort with the band minus Ross in a room coming up with ideas etc .

Crispo.
When I heard Scourge in its entirety, I was surprised at the intensity of it - it doesn't really let up much apart the few odd breaks, at it seemed more energetic and relentless than the previous release. For a band with members who've played in a load of other bands for many years - how do you do it?! Was that the intent with this album? Was there a change in mindset?

There was no change in mindset and we approached the album the way we approach most things we do in this band i.e. to give it 100 % and do what comes natural . Don't think we had any pre-conceived notions of how things would sound, it literally just developed along those lines. I suppose it's a cliché at this stage but the current state of everything around us and the state the world is in has an effect on us when we are writing and coming up with  material. The world is FUCKED and we are sinking fast , I think that sense of desperation comes through in the music on Scourge . The new material we are writing is even more bleak and pathetic.


I know Drogheda can be strange... but whats been the weirdest show you've ever played?

Thats fucking rich coming From someone who grew up in Enniskillen. Say hi to Arlene from us LOL ..  (CB: he got me there) We played a gig in an Arts centre here in Drogheda, it was a project called Proto Punks that documented the history of Punk Rock in Drogheda . The line up was quite diverse and the venue was an Old Garda station currently an Arts centre which was just fucking bizarre. Lots of people had strange flashbacks of getting a hiding back in the 80's in the cells

Greg in the middle of one of those flashbacks.

Pints or tea?

Stout and Coffee


What are you up to these days? Are you working on any new stuff or are you planning any tours/shows?

Writing new tunes for an EP. Going to play No Sanctuary in July...


Are you guys in any other bands at the moment?

Yeah too many to mention tbh. Crispo is currently on tour in Europe with 80's New Wave sensations Flock of Seagulls...


What are you currently listening to?

Currently listening to my neighbours dog barking its face off which in turn is causing my dog to have a total meltdown. The latest Full Of Hell album Trumpeting Ecstasy is playing in the background . Recommended.


Thanks a million for doing the interview!

No worries. It's taken us about 2 years to get it together!!!!! Productive bunch WHAT!!!!!!



You can buy Okus' latest release Scourge in our webshop here.

Okus Facebook



-CMC

Tuesday 27 June 2017

CHAINBREAKER SALE!

We're finally back! The store is up and running, we have some new releases coming out, everything is fucking great... so to pass on this happiness we're running a sale on all previous Chainbreaker releases! This includes:
  • Iskra - Ruins LP
  • Subordinate - Respect Existence or Expect Resistance LP
  • Absolutist - Traverse EP
  • Okus - Scourge LP
  • Sense Deficiency - Will Think For Braincells CD EP
Simply enter 'cbreleases' into the discount voucher option at check out and you will get 20% OFF all of these items! Sale is on until Thursday 6th July.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!
I've always wanted to say that. Life = complete. But there really is more! We're also doing a sale on selected Merch items, so have a browse and see for yourself on our online shop.

PUNK POST NOW AVAILABLE!

Because we're a D.I.Y. label, and shipping prices are extortionate as fuck, we want to make punk post an available option. If you don't know, punk post is when your order is given to someone known to the customer and/or seller who may be heading the direction of the seller. This punk courier (baha!) will be put in touch with you and a meeting place or drop off point can be negotiated. This does require a lot of trust, however it also means free shipping! So you have to weigh the options and decide for yourself.

This option is only possible if you get in touch with us directly.

Email: chainbreakerrecords@gmail.com

Cheers!


INSTINCT OF SURVIVAL (INTERVIEW)

Hey guys! Thanks so much for doing this interview, I appreciate it! So can you introduce yourselves,
tell us what you do in the band, and what is your favourite drink?

Well, I will lead you guys through all of it since it is quite impossible to get all of us in a room doing it. I am Padde. One out of two guitar players and singers, the other one is Kalle. Hauke hits the drums, and Tommy is the guy on bass. We all love beer, preferably Holsten out of tall cans.

Padde from Instinct of Survival.


When did the band form? 

Hauke, Kalle and me formed it in late 1994/95. We were called Sperrzone back then; had an extra singer, I played bass and all that changed in 1999 when we kicked out the singer, and changed the name to Instinct of Survival. Later, I quit the bass and took the second guitar place, we added Pacik on bass who left the band almost 2 years ago, so since then we have Tommy in the band.
Kalle, Hauke, Padde, and Pacik.

Call of The Blue, in comparison to your earlier stuff like North of Nowhere, has a more post-punk goth vibe I think. Would you agree?

A lot of people say that. In my eyes it is just a little bit [more post-punk]. We just kicked out the metal out of our songs. Call of the blue distance is pure crust with a lot more going back to the roots of punk. More ambient like zygote or amebix. There are little hints of post-punk/goth but in my opinion this is just the result of us being us. We always played what we wanted (look at our releases). We reached an annoying point with North of Nowhere where promoters tried to book us for the weirdest metal/grind festivals, not punk related at all.... no politics behinds that. We don't want to play with unpolitical metal or porngrind bands! We are a punk band! We are punks! We wanna play with punk bands! I don't get why punk seems to transform into metal, but maybe this is just another trend. Just stay with well-played three chords and have fun!


What bands have you been listening to to influence your newer stuff?

It is not that we get influenced by recently listened to bands. For example, I am going through a Finnish punk phase, just rediscovered it and love it, that doesn't mean that we will soon sound like Kaaos or Riistetyt haha. We listen to punk since we are 12 years old, now getting close to 40, I can say that we heard a lot good bands, some got stuck, some faded away after listening to it. Bands who influences us since we started are for example: Doom, Hiatus, Deviated Instinct, Zygote, Prophecy of Doom, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Skinny Puppy, The System, Antisect, Amebix, Ent etc.


The last release you guys had was two years ago, and I think I seen recently that you're writing for some new releases. Can you tell us anything about the new stuff?! Any changes in direction with the band, or details about the releases? Please please please!

You are actually wrong. We released two split EPs last year. One with the incredible LIFE from Japan, and one with Vølkermord. We are working on new songs for a mini 12" and 5 split EPs. Not
so much changes in my eyes, just stay tuned!


You guys still keep busy with gigs, recently you played Punx Picnic and Somewhere In Nowhere. How were they?! Any cool stories?

The Somewhere in Nowhere fest was fun! Sadly, not so many people but I really enjoyed it being deep in nature with no phone reception! Next day in prague was something different! People went crazy, crowdsurfing, singing along, pogo etc! Was a perfect show! Not so many stories to tell, only passing out in bars etc. Instinct's usual party.
Tommy, Padde, Kalle, and Hauke.


Craziest/funniest thing that happened at a show you guys played?

Hm, all in all not that much i think. Kalle likes to entertain the crowd with his dystopian view
of mankind, people seem to like it.
Up the punx!

I like to throw in questions which are weird just because it makes it a little more interesting, so here's one for you all - why do you play in a band? What makes you keep doing it?

Kalle, hauke and me became punks together, and since that day we are still doing/loving it. More than a lifestyle, and more than friends. We are family, and we love to spend our time together. Tommy is even longer punk than us, hung out in the squatterscene back then and lives now in an old squat in Hamburg. Simply said: punks for life!



Finally, any favourite bands you're listening to at the moment?

For the newer bands I have to mentions canadas LANGUID! Their latest release slays! Best German
band lately are PISS and best northern bands are SWORDWIELDER and GLORIOUS!


Thanks so much for the interview!!

Hope the next releases are coming soon!

Stay punk!

Thanks so much!!

Instinct of Survival Facebook

 
-CMC

DISTERROR (INTERVIEW)

Hey guys, thanks a lot for doing the interview!

Can you introduce yourselves, tell us what you do in the band, and tell us two interesting facts about yourself?

Romeo - Guitar/Vocals, Self Taught programmer, Horror Movies/Books Fan.
Manuel "Gallo" - Drums/Vocals, I have Maya Blood, and also I'm a lawyer.
Orlando - Guitar, I do MMA and also a Saint Seiya fan,.
Rafael "Racho" - Bass, I'm also lawyer, and I love Pizza.



When and how did the band form?

Disterror was born in mid 2010, by Romeo (Bass/Vocals), Salxy (Guitars) and Nelson (Drums), but  it wasn't until 2011 when they recorded the "Upcoming Warfare" Demo, that the band began to be actually active and performing live. Salxy left the band after the Demo, Gallo joined on Bass, and Nelson quit after the Split with MDD. Since then it's been Romeo and Gallo mostly, then Orlando joined during the recording of Catharsis, and recently Racho joined bass a few months before the Canadian Tour.


You're just back from tour in Canada - how did it go? What was your favourite 
show? Tell us a story from the tour!

It was our most amazing experience so far, we loved every second of it. We met so many amazing people, and had such great moments, every show was incredible, but I think our favourite ones are the Opening Show at Bleak Life 4 in Ottawa, and the Closing Show at Loud House, Montreal. A funny story is that we almost died on our way from Montreal to Ottawa to play in Bleak Life, Orlando was already in Ottawa, so it was Romeo, Gallo, Racho, and the guys from Hatewölf in the van. We were passing through this tunnel under construction, when we lost control of the van and almost crashed with this big passing truck! Romeo was laughing like a maniac the whole time hahaha.



Catharis was your debut album, and it had a very mature, and well-formed style for a debut album. Had you worked on these songs/the album as a whole for long before the release?

Most of the songwriting was done by Gallo and Romeo during band practice, they have been playing together for many years so the songwriting process came out very natural, also Gallo's drumming style was a major factor, as previously he played Bass on Disterror, and for Catharsis he switched t drums. Labyrinth was actually completed at the last moment during Studio time, as we felt the album lacked a mid tempo driven song.


How did you find the reception for Catharsis when it was released?

Catharsis was a very personal work for us, it could be said that the whole process of making the album, was our very own Catharsis, so we were very overwhelmed by the reception. So many people liked our music, and so many good reviews, also bad ones, those are our favourite ones actually.



Gilgamesh is a pretty interesting song; pretty epic, a LOT of riffs, and over 8 minutes for a crust band is impressive! What is the sample at the start of it from?

Gilgamesh was the first new song we made for the album, lots of twists and cool riffs, it was probably one of our most polished songs at the time. The sample is from the Spanish dub of  "The Seventh Seal", during a scene in which the main character is questioning the existence of god and his own purpose in life.


What is the punk scene like in Mexico?

Violent, passionate, rebellious and very unique.


If you had one wish each (and you can't wish for more wishes!) what would it be?

Romeo: to be constantly traveling the world while on tour.
Gallo & Racho: To know the world and all the cultures.
Orlando: Have an infinite bag of dank weed.



Catharsis was released in 2015, are you guys working on any new material at the 
moment?

We have some new song we have yet to record later this year, we are planing to release a 7" during mid 2018 maybe.


Thanks a lot for doing the interview!



Disterror Facebook

-CMC

GRAND COLLAPSE (INTERVIEW)

Hey Calvin, thanks for doing the interview. First of all, congrats on the new release, haven't stopped playing it. It's powerful, inventive, meaningful - it has a lot going for it, not to mention the artwork by Mr John Abell. Are you happy with the process of creating it and how it's turned out?

Over the moon with this one. We wrote pretty much all the songs in a year so it all felt quite fresh and energetic going into the studio. We put a lot of thought into the sequence of the songs and I feel like it flows much better than the first. It has a momentum and doesn't let up from start to finish. The production and artwork are spot on too.

Album art for Along the Dew, by John Abell.

Calvin from Grand Collapse.
With Along the Dew, it seems to recall the compact yet impactful style of the s/t EP, with some of the more intricate bass riffs and guitar rock riffs from Far From The Callous Crowd. Would you agree? Did you have a particular stylistic approach in mind when writing these songs? What bands were you listening to at the time?

Not at the outset but it became clear throughout the process that it was going to be more of a 'hardcore' record. I don't think it's too much of a departure from the first one, just maybe a bit heavier / more aggressive in places. We're listening to bands like Zeke, Death & Sick of it all. Maybe some of that crept in somewhere?! We've tried to write slower songs so many times but they always end up being rapid, so fuck it.

Dave and Glenn, drum n bass.
I really enjoyed the lyrical content and way in which they're put to the songs. Sometimes they're done in a more typical way, as in kind of written for the music, but more often than than not on this release they're like stories, or poems, put to music. Can you tell us maybe why you chose to write in this way, like was there an intention to allow for the lyrics to be considered on their own as poems?

I wrote them all to the music, even if it doesn't look that way cos of how they're constructed into sentences and paragraphs. I've tried writing 'line for line' and making the last word rhyme but it just doesn't work for me, so I tend to try and ramble and then make it fit the rhythm. Each one takes fucking ages, believe it or not!


Do you have particular favourite parts of the album?

The sample at the end of Chalk & Flint is a resistance song from the Spanish Civil war. The guitar reaches a top note and then Luciano Ponzetto kicks in immediately like a boot to the stomach. I thought that was pretty cool.


You have a sweet UK tour lined up - how did the release show go? Any other tour plans further afield?

Tour was great; the best one we've ever done for sure. Every gig was energetic and we really got to showcase the new material and get the record out there. We're hoping to visit the mainland in September and another UK tour in October.

Jon and Calvin.
I actually wasn't talking to you much about the USA tour with Conflict - how was it? How did it compare to Europe as a scene, and the reception at the shows themselves? Don't even know if I should ask but sure fuck it - what was the weirdest shit that happened on the tour?

It was class mate. Fucking hot as hell too; Texas in July is no Joke. Obviously nobody had a clue who we were over there too so it was interesting playing to completely new crowds and watching some amazing bands along the way. The oddest thing was the palaver we caused in San Antonio where the metal band downstairs were carrying a real goats head on stage. We took exception and it all got a bit messy. I'll leave it there... We ate at Denny's A LOT.


So what does Llygaid Gwyrdd mean, and what's the song about for us non-Welsh speakers?!

Green Eyes. It's just an abstract song about the grass being greener on the other side, then arriving and it's not. Making the same mistakes over and over again kinda thing.



If you had to go away for 3 years, off the grid, relatively isolated from society - where would each of you go?

Scunthorpe.



You're on tour in Asia in the middle of fucking nowhere. The van breaks down. It'll take hours to get fixed. What do you do?

Drink, obviously.


Thanks so much for the interview, really appreaciated. Safe!

Grand Collapse Facebook


-CMC

Tuesday 13 June 2017

ACCIDENTE UK & IRELAND TOUR

Accidente hail from Madrid, and have created some of the catchiest punk tunes going at the moment. Personally, I had never been a massive fan of the pop side of punk, having always been into crust and d-beat etc. But I will gladly make an exception for Accidente - they're one of those bands that are just too good to be limited by a genre.


This will be their first time making it to the UK & Ireland, and as one of the best punk bands going in Europe at the moment - you really shouldn't miss this, get yourself down to a show. The tour event is here on facebook, and we have the privilege of putting on a show for them in Galway, more info on that here.


The band play a superbly refined brand of melodic punk, and even if you don't speak Spanish you will be trying your best to sing along anyway. Political, and rebellious. Check 'em out.




- CMC

ACCIDENTE, FLAYERS, FIEND - THE CELLAR, GALWAY THURS 27TH JULY

We are proud as fuck to bring some of the best punk in Europe to Galway on the 27th of July with the help of Solemn Records.

ACCIDENTE (Madrid) have created some of the catchiest punk tunes going at the moment. I've never been a huge fan of the pop side of punk, having always been into crust and d-beat etc. But a good band is a good band. Accidente are one of those bands that are just too good to be limited by a genre. They play a super catchy brand of melodic punk which will be stuck in your head for actual days. Political punk with rebellious anthems - don't miss it. If you don't believe me, listen for yourself.


FLAYERS (Galway) purveyors of all things punk.

FIEND (Galway) local noisey punk merchants with delayed vocals and ripping guitars. Street lethal.



This is a public event, so please invite and spread the word! It will take place in The Cellar Bar, Galway.

FACEBOOK EVENT

RAFFLE!! Tickets available on the door... prizes tba

5 Euro entry. Doors 9PM. First band on shortly after.