Interviews Jacob Oliver Interviews Jacob Oliver

REEBZ

REEBZ joins to make a special announcement and to talk about the exciting frontier of drum n’ bass metal, the power of building community around values, and more!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/REEBZuk

Instagram: https://instagram.com/reebz_uk

Twitter: https://twitter.com/REEBZ_uk

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@reebz_uk?_t=8nxbL4X8GBc&_r=1

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2cUSgme8otbeKGRDl6xm1t?si=aASTdh1fTCqSVJDIbkLW1g

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/reebz/1596188243

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCDrx6kjFKTVyRUCwNtI2GDg

https://hypeddit.com/rbz-thanatosis

Read More
Interviews Jacob Oliver Interviews Jacob Oliver

ICYKAL

UK rapper, South London Film Festival Winner, artist manager, and co-founder of Southeast London Pride Icykal joins for this incredible interview about her music, her work, the importance of having real conversations, and beyond!

Insta: @icykal

Tik Tok: @icykalofficial

Read More
Interviews Jacob Oliver Interviews Jacob Oliver

WORST DOUBT

Q1. For readers who might not be familiar with you, would you please provide some background on the band—where you’re from, when you formed, etc.?

Jacob (Guitars) : Hey man, thanks for the interview ! The band started in 2014. We’re from Paris. Hugo (singer) and Emile (drums) used to play together in a beatdown band called Backboned. After the band split up, they created Worst Doubt. Different line up back then but the plan was to play straight up New York Hardcore. Since that time, we released two demos, a LP and an EP. Our style has changed a bit, but we still see ourselves as a glorified NYHC band with metal influences.   

Q2. Who are some of the band’s primary influences?

In the beginning of the bands, we were super into the og NY bands from the late 90’s / early 2000 (Dmize, EGH, Bulldoze, Merauder, Kickback…) but also the more “modern” ones like TUI, King Nine, Soul Search. Since that time, we also add some more metal influences, mostly Death Metal as it’s a genre we dig a lot. Bands like early Suffocation, Dying Fetus and their side projects, Pyrexia, early Gojira. We fuck a lot with the Hardcore bands that mix those two genres, like Irate, Terror Ave, All Out War, etc.  I think you can hear it on Immortal Pain.

Q3. Your EP Immortal Pain was recently released—what was the writing and recording process like, and what can listeners who haven’t heard it yet expect?

Pretty much the same writing process since the start of the band. Hugo, our singer, is the main songwriter in the band. Most of the time when he has ideas, he records pre productions, send it and we discuss what’s to keep / what’s to change until everyone fuck with it. Some of the songs of the ep were already written during the Extinction (our first LP) writing sessions.

Regarding the recording, we worked again with our friends Max (from Rixe) at Chateau Vergogne Studio. He’s a great producer and he knows how we work so it was a no brainer to call him again. We recorded the ep in a weekend and ask Cody from Sanguisugabogg / Volcano to mix / master it. We love his bands and the records he produced and felt like his style was a good choice for the direction we aimed for, which was mostly like “we want this ep to sound like a 90’s Death Metal demo”. Some people hated it but it is what it is haha. We love it, that’s all that matters.

I think it’s a straighter forward record than our LP imo, but if u fuck with that “in your face” type of Mosh Metal, people should give it a spin.

 

Q4. What are some of the themes you explore on the EP?

Theme wise, it’s the logical continuity of the LP lyrics. Personal struggle, social dynamics criticism, poser shaming, you name it. We also have a song with 10+ featuring from a lot of friends from the Paris Scene which is your classical ignorant “my city is better than yours, fuck you” type of song and was super fun to do.

 

Q5. For American listeners, the EP was released via DAZE. How did that relationship come about?

When we were talking with Cody during the mix session, he told us “That’s the kind of shit that Lumpy (from Daze) would fuck with. I just sent him a track, you sould send him the whole EP when it’s done.” Which we did. He actually fucked with it and he was already familiar with the band, he was down to do a co release with BDHW. He’s a great dude and has one of the most exciting roster at the moment imho so we’re super happy to work with him. Plus, he’s one of the few US hardcore labels that actually give a fuck about euro bands.

Q6. Some of your members also play in Headbussa, recently on the road with Knocked Loose and Deafheaven and then out in Asia with Last Wishes. What were those touring experiences like and does Worst Doubt plan to hit the road in the near future?

Yeah 3 of us plays in HB (Hugo, Emile and Baptiste, our guitarist). I was lucky enough to do merch for them on that tour and it was really dope. Awesome conditions, rock star tour bus, sold out big clubs almost every night. And everybody was really nice to us. S/o to Knocked Loose for picking up Headbussa,  S/o Deafheaven for being awesome people. We were sharing the bus with them and we had tons of fun. It was really far from the DIY style type of tour we’re used to, great experience. I wasn’t in Asia but they loved it as well. People there were super welcoming, crazy moshers. SE Asia / Japan have a great scene.

Regarding Worst Doubt, we all have been super busy with our different projects but we just did a French run with our friends with Sorcerer (great band, check them out) that was really dope, as it can be tricky to do only French shows for bands. We wanted to play a only French run for some while now and are super happy with how it went. Now, we’re mostly working on some stuff that we can’t talk about yet but cool news should be announced soon for late summer / end of the year, so keep your eyes peeled. 

Q7. Who are some other artists/bands on the scene we should be paying attention to?

They are so many atm but I really fuck with the Glasgow scene (Despize, NBE, Hellbound, DOP…), our friends in Take It In Blood, Sorcerer, Corruption Pact, Citrus, Dig in Wretch, Broken Ankles are also dope and you should check them out.

Q8. Is there anything else on the horizon for the band or any other things you want to tell our readers about?

We working on bringing our asses to places where we never been yet, so that’s the main focus right now. We’ll also probably try to write a new LP next year. Some of us also play in a new band called Severed (Worst Doubt / Headbussa members). We recorded a demo so hopefully it ll be out soon.

Thanks for the interest and all the best with your zine.

Read More
Interviews Jacob Oliver Interviews Jacob Oliver

FALSE REALITY

Photo Credit: Andy Baz Haynes

Answered by vocalist Rachel Rigby

Q1. For readers who might not be familiar with you, would you please provide some background on the band—where you’re from, when you formed, etc.?

Hi! We’re False Reality and we’re a hardcore band from Essex and London. We started the band just over a year ago, the guys have been in hardcore bands for years and I’ve been putting on hardcore shows for 8/9 years and going to shows for around 15 years - so that’s how we met! When I decided to try out starting a band I knew immediately who I wanted to do this project with.

Q2. Who are some of the band’s primary influences?

Our main influences are very all over the place as we all wanted to bring in our own style to the band which has allowed us to create the sound we have which has a little bit of everything - our most notable influences are Trapped Under Ice, old Sepultura, and old Metallica.

Q3. Your EP Path of Self Destruct recently came out. What can listeners who haven’t heard it yet expect?

A lot of riffs, bouncy two-step rhythms and a lot of guitar solos.

Q4. What was the writing and recording process for the EP like? Were there any themes or sounds you wanted to explore with it?

It was a lot of blood sweat and tears - we’d been writing and working on it for quite some time because we wanted it to reflect us properly. Dave wrote the riffs, we’d go into a practice room and change bits, all put our inputs and styles into it and it just worked. Steve Sears who mixed and mastered our EP was amazing - we would go in with ideas in our heads about how we wanted certain parts to sound and it’s like he’d go into our brain and do it without us having said it yet. It was a really amazing experience writing this EP and it’s made us extremely excited to start working on the next record.

Q5. How did the feature with Speed on “Opposites React” come about?

So one of our first few shows was supporting them when they played in London in 2023 and we became good friends with them from there. They’ve always supported us from the very beginning so when we wrote Opposites React I knew I wanted someone to jump on the song with me, and I just knew I wanted to ask Jem as it just felt right.

Q6. “Pressure” was recently featured on Alyx Holcombe’s BBC Introducing Rock program; that had to have been very exciting! What is the impact this program under her stewardship is having on alternative music in the UK?

Alyx is absolutely smashing it out the park. It’s so important to put a spotlight on upcoming artists as it can sometimes seem like a closed shop - but she’s given so many new bands that boost of excitement which is inspiring.

Q7. Who are some of the great bands on the scene we should be paying attention to?

Words of Intent, Ill Vision, Final Nail and Rated X

Q8. What are some of your touring highlights and/or most memorable shows you’ve been a part of?

Playing with Jesus Piece was so much fun. It was so last minute (I’m talking mere hours) and our bassist was stuck in work so there we were on stage infront of a lot of people playing without bass which was very nerve wracking but we made it work. We also love playing at Boom in Leeds so much - the energy up north is amazing in live music.

Q9. What are your plans for the near future?

We’re so excited to get started on new music - everything that’s happened lately and all the support we’ve received has really inspired us to get back in the studio. Having something you can pour real passion into is the best feeling in the world and we’re extremely grateful to get to do it with our friends.

Photo Credit: Andy Baz Haynes

Read More