The band plays mid-tempo hardcore which combines influences from 90s hardcore as well as more recent bands like Verse and Shipwreck a.d. And they do it well… The music isn’t groundbreaking by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s intense, well-written and well-executed, and it’s got the right production. And because this is a 4-song, 15 minute long 10″, this EP is over before you know it and there’s no filler or anything like that.

But what really sets this band apart are the lyrics. Hardcore lyrics are usually, and should be, about subject matter that’s close to the heart of whoever wrote them, whether it’s personal or political. This is definitely so with Great Reversals. All the lyrics, and the accompanying essay in the insert, are (co-)written by the drummer, Eric. The lyrics deal with his 8-year old son, who is deaf and autistic, and how it affects him and his family. Things do not get much closer and more personal than that. I definitely get the feeling he poured his heart and soul into these lyrics, one can sense both the despair and hope he has in the lyrics. They’re also thought-provoking, how would you react or feel if your kid was deaf and autistic or had something else which places your kid in a separate world altogether? The lyrical content really got me into this band, more so than the music, even though I do enjoy their music quite a bit as well.

All in all, this is a great effort, and I hope this band will get some more recognition, they deserve it. Also, this 10″ will be released on CD with tracks from their split 7″ with They Come In Waves and an Unbroken cover on Italy’s Indelirium Records.

Great Reversals – To The Ends Of The Earth 10″ was posted on Some Will Never Know - hardcore / punk zine - A zine about people and their stories. About hardcore, about punk and everything in between. About you and me.

LEMURIA – ON TOUR
June 3 Austin, TX @ Chaos in Tejas
July 6 Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary
July 31 London, UK @ Underworld
August 1 Southampton, UK @ Joiners
August 2 Exeter, UK @ The Cavern
August 3 Manchester, UK @ Night & Day Cafe
August 4 Leeds, UK @ Cockpit 2
August 5 Kent, UK @ Hevy Festival
August 6 Kingston, UK @ The Peel
October 26-28 Gainesville, FL @ The Fest

Lemuria touring the UK in July / August was posted on Some Will Never Know - hardcore / punk zine - A zine about people and their stories. About hardcore, about punk and everything in between. About you and me.

Check out the teaser here:

Tracklisting/pre-order/album title and artwork will announced soon.

The band will be heading out on tour in support of the new release in July and August:

SIRS SUMMER TOUR with Spook Houses

July 23 – CT
July 24 – Ridgewood, NJ
July 25 – New Brunswick, NJ
July 26 – Alexandria, VA
July 27 – VA
July 28 – NC
July 29 – SC (Charlotte NC Recess Fest?)
July 30 – Athens, GA
July 31 – Talahassee, FL (spook houses taking this day off)
Aug 1 – Atlanta, GA
Aug 2 – Carbondale, IL
Aug 3 – St Louis, MO
Aug 4 – Chicago, IL
Aug 5 – Grand Rapids, MI
Aug 6 – Detroit/Ann Arbor, MI
Aug 7 – Columbus, OH
Aug 8 – Pittsburgh, PA
Aug 9 – Off
Aug 10 – Philadelphia, PA
Aug 11 – New York, NY
Aug 12 – Boston, MA

To help them with these dates, contact: sirsbvvv@gmail.com

Sirs post teaser for debut LP on Topshelf Records was posted on Some Will Never Know - hardcore / punk zine - A zine about people and their stories. About hardcore, about punk and everything in between. About you and me.

Bore Core will hit stores on July 31st from Bridge Nine Records and new music will be posted online soon. In the meantime, cover art for Bore Core can be seen above.

SOUL CONTROL – BORE CORE TRACK LISTING
1) Appetite
2) Headtrippin
3) Ugly
4) Anxious
5) Reek

SOUL CONTROL – ON TOUR
06/04/12 Pawtucket, RI @ The Met w/ Ceremony, Screaming Females, Raindance
07/14/12 Providence, RI @ Fete w/ Verse and others
22.07.12 Rokycany Czech Republic Fluff Fest w/ Verse, Ritual
23.07.12 Austria Wien Aera w/ Verse, Ritual
24.07.12 Germany Munchen Feierwerk w/ Verse, Ritual
25.07.12 Switzerland Zurich Dynamo Werk 21 w/ Verse, Ritual
26.07.12 Italy Vimercate Into The Pit Festival w/ Verse, Ritual
27.07.12 Germany Karlsruhe Gotec Hoffestival w/ Verse, Ritual
28.07.12 Germany Bausendorf Riez Open Air w/ Verse, Ritual
29.07.12 Germany Lichtenstein Jz Riot w/ Verse, Ritual
30.07.12 Germany Braunschweig B 58 w/ Verse, Ritual
31.07.12 Germany Berlin Bi Nuu w/ Verse, Ritual
01.08.12 Poland Warsaw Radio Luxembourg w/ Verse, Ritual
02.08.12 Germany Hamburg Hafenklang w/ Verse, Ritual
03.08.12 Belgium Knokke-Heist Zaal Ravelingen w/ Verse, Ritual
04.08.12 Germany Koln Allschools Fest w/ Verse, Ritual
Oct. 26-28 Gainesville, FL @ The Fest

Soul Control releases Bore Core EP on July 31st was posted on Some Will Never Know - hardcore / punk zine - A zine about people and their stories. About hardcore, about punk and everything in between. About you and me.

Tourdates

MAY 17 – Binghamton NY @ 16 Walnut
MAY 18 – Philladelphia, PA @ The Treehouse w/ Greek Favorites, Lana Avacada
MAY 19 – Richmond VA @ 2815 Garland Ave.
MAY 20 – Wilmington, NC @ The Soapbox w/ Museum Mouth
MAY 21 – Greenville, NC @ The Pool House (402 Highland Drive)
MAY 23 – Aiken, SC @ HIC Warehouse Indoor Skateboard Park
MAY 24 – Savannah, GA @ No Control
MAY 25 – Gainesville, FL @ Turkey Town w/ Dikembe
MAY 26 – Jacksonville, FL @ Shantytown Pub
MAY 27 – Valdosta, GA @ TBA w/ Farm
MAY 29 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade – Latest Disgrace Showcase
MAY 30 – Raleigh, NC @ House Show
MAY 31 – TBA

Cattle Drums – Spring tour announced was posted on Some Will Never Know - hardcore / punk zine - A zine about people and their stories. About hardcore, about punk and everything in between. About you and me.

In itself there’s not that much ‘wrong’ with the ten songs on Victoria!. That is if you like lightweight punk. But there are no dynamics on this record. The tempos and chords are all pretty much the same making each song replaceable with the next one. I wouldn’t say Victoria! is a dull record, it’s great as background music but there’s nothing memorable going on.

After hearing The Menzingers’ On The Impossible Past a band playing the same brand of music has to do better than Downtown Struts do on this release to make a lasting impression. There’s too much of the same formula going on on this record. Where Dead To Me was experimenting too much on African Elephants, Downtown Struts are playing things way too safe.

Downtown Struts – Victoria! was posted on Some Will Never Know - hardcore / punk zine - A zine about people and their stories. About hardcore, about punk and everything in between. About you and me.

You can listen to a couple of songs below or check the full stream at punknews.org:

The 12″ vinyl for Homelife’s Translation is limited to 500 on black vinyl and is available for order now.

While the members’ hardcore background is still on display in some aspects of Translation (most of the songs clock-in the 2:30 range and sound best played LOUD), the sparkling and sharply-cut dynamics on display have set the ideal background for Weston’s unique delivery and lyrics that throwback to the sincerity of 90’s favorites such as Jawbreaker, Knapsack (whom the band covers here), and The Promise Ring.

Translation follows up Homelife’s 2011 split with Bike Tuff as well as their 2009 Demo. Both can be downloaded for free here.

Homelife full-length Translation out now was posted on Some Will Never Know - hardcore / punk zine - A zine about people and their stories. About hardcore, about punk and everything in between. About you and me.

How did you guys get Purgatory started?

Darke: Well it started in my attic didn’t it…?

Ajay: Basically I was doing the Brutality Will Prevail (BWP) record, Forgotten Soul, and no-one wanted to put it out, so me and him [Darke] were like, “well let’s do a label type of thing” and we sat in the attic for ages trying to think of a name for the label and we came up with Purgatory out of something we were reading and we thought it was a good name so we went from there. We brought out that Forgotten Soul record, which was the first release out on the label. There wasn’t really a plan to carry on going after that though really, we just wanted to get that out.

What were the first bands you worked with apart from yourself (BWP)?

Ajay: We did that Hang The Bastard record; the Hang The Bastard/BWP split. It carried on just being for releasing BWP stuff as we couldn’t get anyone else to release the stuff.

What sort of numbers did you put out for the first release, how many records did you press?

Darke: We didn’t hold back!

Ajay: There was 1000 of the Forgotten Soul CD, and 500 of the split 7” and they sold out really quickly…. I wish I did more of them if I’m being honest with you.

How has Purgatory changed since then? You’ve obviously got a lot more bands now, do you run it differently?

Darke: Not really, it’s the same principle. You find a record you want to do, find out a way of making it work and go at it.

Ajay: It’s the same, we do it from the house, we scrape the money together, and that is pretty much it really. Just trying to release it and get it out there, it could be better…

Darke: …But would it work then? The principle has always been that you work with your friends, There isn’t really a band we’ve worked with we don’t like. We always joke that to be on Purgatory you’ve got to come round and have food at the house, that’s basically the principle [So it’s a family ethos then?] Yeah definitely, we wouldn’t want to put out a record of people that we think are arseholes regardless of how good the record is or how it’s going to sell. I want to work with people who I can sit down and share food with and spend my time with. That’s how it’s always been, the plan from the beginning, it wasn’t really a plan but that’s how it’s developed.

Yeah, definitely, we wouldn’t want to put out a record of people that we think are arseholes regardless of how good the record is or how it’s going to sell.

Ajay: It’s like on that Acacia Strain tour, we went out on that tour and every night there would be someone from one of the bands on Purgatory out with us, having food with us, staying over at their house, hanging out, just chilling. It’s really good man, it’s a good position to be in; I just wish it could have happened a long time ago.

How do you guys do finance wise, do you ever make money from Purgatory?

Darke: It’s a cobble you know, Forgotten Soul did well which meant that we could afford to do another record. Some releases haven’t done great, records which we thought would be pretty good for us haven’t necessarily played out like that, but it’s becoming self-sufficient now, with merch sales and one thing and another we can get more releases out and it’s gathering momentum I think. The first quarter of this year we’re looking at an album and two 7”s and the first half of this year we’re looking at two albums and three 7”s. For a small label being run out of someone’s living room I think that’s pretty good, I’m pretty happy with that.

Do you ever get any stick for putting out merch? You guys are pretty much eBay gold, or is it a means to an end?

Ajay: Well, we don’t really do that much merch. I try not to do too much of it really. I always see people moaning that we don’t do enough of it, and I think we probably could do a lot more, like other labels in the UK but I’d rather hold back and not rinse it.

Darke: We’ve been really lucky with how people have picked up on our merch, I’m not going to deny that and it’s been really cool and exciting going to shows and seeing so many people representing the label, and that means we can put out more records which means we’re in a really fortunate position.

Ajay: If it wasn’t for that, we wouldn’t do half as many records as we could as there’s only a certain amount we can afford out of our own pockets, because we’ve got mortgages and bills to pay at the end of the day.

Is it ever a difficulty running a label and working a ‘real job’? Do you ever find motivation an issue, especially if you’re losing money?

Ajay: Not really no. The worst bit is when someone orders something and within 5 minutes they ask where it is, that’s the worst bit about running a label. People need to understand that Purgatory is something that I do next to my real job. I go to work, I come home, I’ve got a lot of real life stuff to do, I’ve got a band to do, Darke has things to do, my girlfriend posts everything. She replies to stuff, Darke replies to stuff, I don’t really go on the e-mail and reply to stuff… It’s just hard work, and people have got to understand we’re just a label. It’s not our jobs, if it was our jobs we’d be on it every day, e-mailing back straight away about why your T-shirt hasn’t arrived within 24 hours.

What jobs do you both work when you’re away from Purgatory?

Darke: I work for the NHS at the moment doing a general administration/management role.

Ajay: I’m a hairy-arse plumber.

Darke: It’s not really an issue, I mean everyone has got a smart phone nowadays, you can do a lot on the fly, but people have the perception that Purgatory is this much bigger label and it’s just not.

Ajay: Some kid said to me at the show the other day “oh you must be rolling in it, all the money you make from Purgz.” – I was like, man, I have never once taken any money out of Purgz, and I put the money in to start with. I’m out of pocket because of Purgatory; the only good thing about it is I’ve got a couple of free t-shirts I can wear!

Darke: You get the odd show for free and we get a couple of free T-shirts and that’s the bottom line really.

Ajay: We do it as a hobby, that’s really what it is. It has become a hobby, we did the first BWP record followed by the split, and we’re really good mates with HTB. We recorded together and it was really cool, then we thought, let’s do another record for another band and it’s kind of just gone from there.

How many bands are on Purgatory at the moment? Do you have bands who only release on Purgatory?

Darke: There are bands who I would consider to be on the label, Breaking Point are on their second with us, third if you count the split (with Wiretap), Broken Teeth are on their second with us, BWP are very much on the label. Frustration and By My Hands are on their first record with us. They’re our friends so we want to keep working with them. If Frustration put out another record like that (Dying Breed) we’d put it out tomorrow, it’s so good. They’ve done well. They’re a prime example of a hardcore band getting out there and doing the work. Dublin has a strong scene from what I can see so they’ve got the support back home and Dublin has come out for them hard supporting them on this release. Some bands have the fortune to be playing all the spots every week, but that’s a band that’s gone out and lost money. They’re in Europe more than most UK bands, that’s two trips, one to the UK then over to Europe, that’s a band who is losing money, but grinding it out.

Ajay: Broken Teeth are putting the work in hard at the moment, those two bands (Broken Teeth and Frustration] are the bands putting the most work in out of anyone at the moment. I don’t understand how they do so much really, fair play to them.

Some labels are associated with scenes; do you think Purgatory is more national even though there are the South Wales origins? 

Ajay: There is a South Wales thing, but like we’ve got bands all over the place, we’d love it to be all over the world, but there is the time and the place to do that. We went to Europe, met AYS, listened to the 7”, thought ‘this is good’ and then worked with them to put the record out. So yes, I think Purgatory has expanded from its CCHC origins but it does still come from that scene.

Do you think the UK scene is doing well at the moment?

Darke: Yeah definitely, people are quite quick to dismiss it which has always been the same. Kids who were in the cool band before Christmas are now saying that the UK isn’t cool and there aren’t any cool bands, but I don’t give a shit, there’s always bands doing the work. There are some mainstay bands like BWP, Frustration Breaking Point, and Broken Teeth who have been doing work for a long time. There’s so much stuff, loads on the South Coast, Iron Curtain, Abolition out of London, stacks of good things.

Ajay: From being in a band from the last few years I’ve noticed that bands are being appreciated more; people are buying vinyl more which didn’t happen before. Vinyl sales have gone up by about 7% worldwide, and more bands are releasing on vinyl as CDs just appear to be dead now. When American bands used to come over, everyone would get really excited about that, including myself, but now an American band can be on tour with a UK band and that UK band can be on par with the touring band every time.

Kids who were in the cool band before Christmas are now saying that the UK isn’t cool and there aren’t any cool bands, but I don’t give a shit, there’s always bands doing the work.

Have you guys ever toyed with the idea of doing an all-day event like TDON do?

Darke: It would be nothing like TDON, we’d do it our own way, Purgzfest! Although it would probably end up being more like Wayne’s World II. We’d end up booking Aerosmith and U2…

Ajay: We’ve talked about doing it. It would be so hard to do.

Darke: We wouldn’t want to do it without all the bands, but getting everyone together is just such a big task. It would have to be in Le Pub (in Newport), which might be the last thing that ever would happen there. They’ve always been good to us since we started Purgatory and since we got CCHC going. It’s a great venue, it’s not somewhere that’s always appreciated, and it’s a place that knows what it’s about. Whether it’s someone falling down the stairs or someone smashing something, they don’t get stressed about it, it’s a place for music.

What’s coming for next for Purgatory?

Darke: Well, the Aerosmith and U2 split [laughs]. We’ve got two releases being pressed at the moment. The Natural Order record is coming out, that’s going to the press very shortly  and it’s something we’re quite excited about and people are catching on to that. When they play some shows people will lose their minds.

Ajay: We’ve got a new BWP record that we’re recording at the moment, so that will be out on the label soon. The record is on hold until we think of a name for it, which is proving to be a problem; it’s doing my head in. I did like ‘Desperate Youth’ but it sounds a bit too much like a Youth Crew name, so I don’t think I’ll use that. It will be ready for the summer time though.

Purgatory has just released the new LPs by Frustration and By My Hands which can be picked up online as well as the new E.P by Broken Teeth. All of this can be found on their Bigcartel website.

Purgatory Records was posted on Some Will Never Know - hardcore / punk zine - A zine about people and their stories. About hardcore, about punk and everything in between. About you and me.

Listen now:

This is the second installment of Self Defense Family’s “Island Series” of recordings. Recorded at “Sundlaugin” in Mosfellsbær, Iceland the studio owned by the band Sigur Ros. The session was engineered by Birgir Jón “Biggi” Birgisson.

New Self Defense Family 7″ EP out soon on Deathwish Inc was posted on Some Will Never Know - hardcore / punk zine - A zine about people and their stories. About hardcore, about punk and everything in between. About you and me.

Featured artists include: Seven Sisters Of Sleep, Countdown To Oblivion, Ilsa, Ringworm, Homewrecker, Like Rats, Children Of God, The Guilt Of…, Anne, Pulling Teeth, Young And In The Way, Junior Bruce, God’s America, Hatewaves, The Love Below, Empire Of Rats, Shin To Shin, Sick Fix, Kill Life, Enforcers, Pleasant Living, Gravehill, Cynarae, Triac, Thee High Priestess, Nothing, Rot In Hell, Unholy Majesty, Integrity, Gehenna, Low Places, Pharaoh (NJ), Full Of Hell, Vilipend, Ancient Shores, Pale Creation, Chapelle Des Morts, Virgin Witch, Pick Your Side, Eddie Brock, Penetration Panthers, Day Of Mourning, Withdrawal, Trapped Under Ice, In Cold Blood, Mindsnare, Astronomer, Masakari, Wisdom In Chains, Mighty Sphincter, Earthride and Vermapyre.

To stream or download the A389 MMXII Digital Mixtape/Sampler visit:

http://www.a389digitalmixtape.com

A389 Recordings releases free MMXII mixtape was posted on Some Will Never Know - hardcore / punk zine - A zine about people and their stories. About hardcore, about punk and everything in between. About you and me.