France has long been known for a number of things but d-beat and, by and large, hardcore punk have never been one of them. Abstruse philosophical systems, cryptic sociology, pompous arrogant twats shit at foreign languages are however commonly and traditionally associated with a country that has, pertaining to our microcosm in recent years, also been largely responsible with the progressive normalization, if not the invasion, of oi music in the DIY punk scene. Only ten years ago one could have perfectly healthy and rectitudinous conversations with a foreign comrade about how tedious the 2010's postpunk revival was becoming or what the numerous reissues of UK82 bands said about the current scene while oi-related subjects mostly revolved around Hard Skin's banter. Nowadays, you're lucky if the name Rixe does not pop up in otherwise totally righteous chitchats. Being a fourth-generation Parisian, it was not something I expected and fell outside the scope of the imagination. I have exhausted many a shrink because of this unwelcome phenomenon.
But enough typical Paris moaning and whining. Thankfully we have Bordeaux. And sure, there have been, and are, solid punk bands everywhere but when it comes to d-beat or loving Discharge, the town has been delivering steadily for the past twenty years. The precise trajectory of this part of the scene is not the topic at hand (although it would make for an interesting read) and I will thus focus on a band that, to me, stands as the best this scene has had to offer so far: Bombardement. At the time of writing, Bombardement, despite not being Swedish (some of the members probably wish) or from Portland, have become something of a well-read reference in the global d-beat world and its immediate vicinity rich with its own language, quirks, idiosyncrasies and furious protocols. I assume people reading these lines (or liking the post on social media for the lazy bums) are already well familiar with the band and I will not question inconsiderately their knowledgeability or besmirch their good names by assuming the opposite. I mean, how many French hardcore bands are invited to play on other continents?
But enough praises already, let's examine what makes Bombardement such a widely enjoyed d-beat experience. Taken as its substantial own subgenre centered around the imitation of life, d-beat has often been a boy club. Since the inception of its regulations in the early 90's, women seldom partook in this nerd-oriented stylistic endeavours so that the presence of a female singer in a Discharge tribute band is still of note and singer Emilie (who sang in the vastly different Monarch) does an amazing job here through an impeccable and conscientious rendering of the canonical d-beat scansion, flow and accentuation. Although not an element I particularly put an emphasis on, the vocals in such a narrowly construed genre have to display as much accuracy as possible. You cannot just shout at any given points in a proper d-beat songs, it'd just be unruly and a grave breach of the Law of Cal. But as respectful to the code as the vocals are, they still sound quite unique, raspy but high-pitched and passionate standing as a definite asset on this first album.
As for the music itself, it sounds absolutely massive, like a rhino charging rhino unstoppably, determined to get a job as a grey horse of the apocalypse. Experience speaks here with people previously dicking around in bands like Gasmask Terrör, Warning//Warning, Shock or the aforementioned Monarch. While a young spotty band would still be looking for its sound, with crucial conversations about "how many studs do we need to sound like Disclose?" running wild, Bombardement are naturals. They may no longer have perfect hairlines but they know exactly what they are going for and more important they know how to achieve their goal. On their 2016 demo tape, they covered Meanwhile's "The road to Hell" which is a big key of entry into the band's music (basically keeping with the spirit of first-generation d-beat bands). Of course, Discharge is always lurking but the prevalent influence is indeed Meanwhile's second Lp, a work that saw the band adopt a more rocking, guitar-led approach while still doing their daily prayers facing Stoke-on-Trent. Meaningfully, Bombardement have two guitar players so that the riffing never stops and the use of rocking leads does not impair the overall power of the music. To achieve this you have to recruit people who can actually play even if they don't wear the traditional d-beat robe.
The Lp works on all levels because, beside the purposeful songwriting, they found the right balance between a heavy production able to highlight the details and pure hardcore punk aggression, and I am also reminded of early Warcry. I love the fact that they included two groovy mid-paced Dischargey numbers here that can even have you dance (yes, you) even though the last time you tried was in 2008 with the notoriously ass-grabbing Emma from Accounts at a colleague's leaving due. But let's not get into that. This is a pretty recent release and one of the strongest d-beat albums of the 2010's. Bombardement went on to release an Ep and an even better second album Le Futur Est Là with new singer Oriane whose lower pitch is as potent albeit more raucous and with lyrics in French, therefore illustrating once and for all that you can do the Discharge thing in Sartre's language (Emilie went on to - actually - sing in Faucheuse).
Good news for you the record released on Symphony of Destruction and Destructure is still available and it looks brilliant and, dare I say it, pretty original for a d-beat record with a die-cut sleeve like 90's techno records you needed drugs to listen to. The road to Dis starts here.
Well no, I did not lose a bet. I was not threatened or blackmailed in any way and chose freely. Although I have often, if not almost awlays, been disinclined to write about French punk bands, not just because French music generally irritates me and puts me in a foul and querulous mood, but because I did not grow up listening to French bands and in fact only witness their talent, or lack thereof, when at gigs. Many exceptions to this bitter rule exist, thankfully, but French hardcore bands too often wallow in that US hardcore style that I found particularly cumbersome and tainted with testosterone and basically undeserving of my august attention. Hence something of a reluctance.
Places like Saint-Etienne or Bordeaux have proved, year in year out, to be able to deliver quality and tasteful hardcore punk music enabling the average French punk to look a Swede in the eye and claim, albeit with a shaky voice and with a horrendous accent: "we have a couple of decent bands at home you know". One cannot overstate how prevalent an influence the Bordeaux hardcore scene has had for the past 20 years. It is known for its deep-rooted passion for the D and for the recognized quality of its bands well outside the country. The fact that it's pretty much the same 10 people doing all the bands is of no importance as you could say the same thing about many a good scene in 2024. In the war against shit taste, they stand as a bastion of good hardcore music and the national résistance against the lurking peril of French oi. They protest to survive, resist to exist and ain't no feeble bastards when it comes to reject the rules of boots'n'braces and £75 Fred Perry shirts.
If you are into d-beat, and I concur that you are if you are reading this (unless you just enjoy reading pompous bollocks), you will have heard of class Bordeaux bands like Gasmask Terrör or Bombardement but the town also has hidden nuggets such as Fosse Commune (which translates as "mass grave", cheery stuff) that the common Discharge worshipper might be unaware of and it is my job, as the condescending redactor-in-chief and self-appointed leader of good taste, to educate the masses and uncover little-known but valuable d-beat bands and in actual fact I rate Fosse Commune pretty highly when it comes to that zoological classification.
The band proved to be, sadly, short-lived so that you would be partly pardoned from not knowing them and I admit that my proximity with the Bordeaux clique did facilitate my coming across them. Fosse Commune was born out of the desire of guitar hero Jesse and drummer Rémi to start a band that would sound like Disaster playing on Disclose's gears which on paper sounds like a very just cause to play music. The masterminds behind this evil plan were not exactly beginners as Jesse had been previously dicking around in the rudimentary albeit noisy Incendiaire and Slakteri and was also singing in the very fun Sexplosion (the title of a Discharge song you wish you could forget) at that point in time, while Rémi was, and still is, involved on the bass with the much underrated raw and furious hardcore band Hondartzako Hondakinak (amply referred to "Honda Honda" because we are, beside being Street Fighter 2 fans, linguistically lazy and unschooled in the Basque language). Singer Esmé and bass player Jean-Marc (formerly in Déjà Mort) joined the troop and they joyfully recorded this 7 song demo, with lyrics in English but for "Des chiens", in 2017 which they self-released in true DIY fashion and therefore had to distribute themselves which must have been a pain in the arse.
Although not getting any discount on the tape myself, Fosse Commune were a generous band with about 14 minutes of noisy d-beat to gift the world. Had they been American, they would have released it on Lp and embarked on a two week European tour with five different shirt designs. The idea was basic and simple enough, nothing revolutionary was undertaken and Fosse Commune, in the grand Distory, could be characterized as pleasingly unoriginal and tastefully unimaginative. From a national perspective however, the creative intent that drove the band was precisely the opposite. Indeed, playing Disaster-styled d-beat hardcore with a Disclose-styled guitar sound in the landscape of French punk music sounds like a near-impossibility, a conceptual aberration, something that can barely be imagined. What would Les Béruriers Noirs think? So while Fosse Commune would have been a delicious non-event in South-East Asia, Spain or the States - albeit one that I would undeniably celebrate - its national uniqueness cannot be understated, as obscure and brief the band might have been.
Dis chats?
Guitar hero Jesse confessed that the project was to use the songwriting of Disaster and apply a layer of Kawakami. This adventurous endeavour had already been touched upon by Deadlock from Japan, who similarly relied heavily on Disaster's slower d-beat drumming - what I call "jogging d-beat" - but don't know that Fosse Commune really thought about them in the writing process. Simple, heavy and distorted riffs the sound of which required about 15 pedals (it probably would have been easier to just plug the guitar into a rusty tumble dryer), some "just like Disaster" transitions and overall a well-executed primitive d-beat pace with a solid sound that fits what they were trying to do and their devotion to the subgenre's tenets. The band's originality - a rarefied realm in this genre - cannot be said to be immeasurable but does exist with Esmé's direct and raspy vocals whose flow and texture are reminiscent of 90's crusty anarchopunk (Lost World or Fleas and Lice at times?) rather than d-beat strictness. As mentioned earlier in the series with Atentado's Ep, female vocalists are few and far between in the cult of Discharge replicas so that it always sounds like a breath of suffocating yet fresh air.
This is a humble but solid demo tape that will undeniably ravish d-beat raw punk sectarians and repel wankers who equate hardcore music with wannabe New York bodybuilders but I believe that Fosse Commune, for its simplicity and groove, can also be enjoyed by the casual hardcore punk fan. I wish the band were able to record an Ep but it was not to be. The one minor flaw of the tape might be the artwork - which I can enjoy - as it is unclear to me what the band wanted to achieve with the lack of references to their extremely referential sound. But maybe I'm just a bit think, innit?
Let's get real for a second. Terminal Sound Nuisance has become this massive undertaking that is slowly consuming my social life and my eyesight, ruthlessly testing my stamina, gauging how resilient I can be with average crust music and how long I can endure tuneless d-beat raw punk bands and poorly executed faux anarchopunk without overdosing. Forget the labours of Hercules - that half-god, half-man, total mercenary wanker - would not be able to pull out a decent review of a third-rate Doom cover band or see the difference between '86 and '87 Antisect. That poor unsubtle bastard would probably not even know the difference between Dischange and Meanwhile! And he is supposed to be a hero, just because he strangled some kind of snake and hunted a wild pig? Now, are you having a laugh? Bloggers are the true heroes of today (and "content creators" are the scum of the Earth and the real super villains in case you are wondering) and I should be the one people carry down the street chanting my name. But as heroic as I have been for the past 11 (!) years, I realize I have never written about a proper French punk-rock band. The time has now come. That'll teach ya Hercules.
It is not easy for me to reflect about that kind of sound because, on the whole, I have never been much of a fan of French punk-rock. In fact, I don't really like the sound of the French language when used in punk-rock. There are meaningful exceptions but as a general rule, on principle, out of common decency even, I am going to dislike it before actually listening to the band. A bit like an annoying kid who won't taste vegetables, just because he won't, no need to give further arguments. I cannot even pretend to have experienced some sort of trauma, one that would involve being abducted by a demented fan of Bérurier Noir and subsequently forced to listen to Souvent Fauché, Toujours Marteau! for a whole week (an experience akin to an execution of the senses and only an absolutely heartless maniac would do that to a fellow human being). French punk-rock is not well-known outside of the French-speaking world and, to be honest, that can be for the best. Just look at the legions of mediocre French oi bands that have perverted once perfectly sound punk brains on an international scale. Damaging to say the least, fortunately the worst of them have been successfully contained (so far).
However, as harsh as I know I am with our national punk traditions, some French punk bands are genuinely good and deserve to be praised outside of the cheese-eating world. Enter Kochise, the epitome of French-style anarchopunk. I was lucky to catch Kochise - the name comes from Cochise the name of a famous Apache leader and unsurprisingly the Parisians had a few songs about the political struggles of Native Americans - in 2003 (I think) just before they split up. It was on a beautiful Sunday evening and at that time the band had a mandoline (or was it a banjo?) which, I have to admit, did not strike me as being a particularly good idea since, as everyone knows, such instruments clearly belong to the category of "forbidden instruments in punk music" as stated in the Punk Bible (the Old Testament if you want to check). But it did make the gig quite memorable and, well, enjoyable. The lyrics were great, I could actually understand them without pretending, and they had some great tunes. Despite a plentiful supply of terrible bands, we do have an old tradition of strong female-fronted punk-rock bands with political lyrics in France, La Fraction (a band I rate very highly) being undoubtedly the most famous. Approaching Kochise through this prism is definitely relevant and it makes sense to see the band as a part of the same dynamics and creative political drive as Psycho Squatt, Haine Brigade, Heyoka or Verdun, bands that you are probably not familiar with because you decide to lose your time listening to ghastly bollocks like Komintern Sect or Tulaviok.
So why pick Kochise as part of a series about the survivance of the old-school anarchopunk sound? Well, I feel the band is a great example of a successful adaptation of the classic UK anarcho sound and stance in a different punk tradition and context, in this case quintessentially French punk-rock. While I can pinpoint influences and roots in the aforementioned British past, Kochise nevertheless sound like a French punk band for many reasons. Their use of unusual instruments is one (sax, for instance, was a pretty common tool, or torture method, in French punk-rock); the very specific way the two vocalists place their voices, the accentuation, the prosody overall and the distinctly revolutionary-sounding chorus to be sung along to; the other genres the band borrow in the songwriting like reggae, French chanson or alternative rock; and of course that vibrancy and emotional tunefulness that can work so beautifully but also end up sounding corny. On that level, the work between Géraldine's powerfully epic and tuneful voice (she can actually sing, which is not something I write to often on this blog) and Cyril's streetwise spoken tone is admirable and worthy of your investigation if you are a fan of global anarchopunk music with the classic male/female vocal structure.
If Kochise make sense in this line of French anarchopunk like Haine Brigade or Psycho Squatt, I would argue that using a broader perspective can also be helpful. It would be a little far-fetched to convoke older obscure UK bands like Sanction or Eve of the Scream because not many people had even heard of them in France by 1997, but early Conflict (with whom they toured in France in 1994 and they would also tour with Schwartzeneggar the year after) would almost certainly have been an inspiration although Kochise never hit quite as hard (they were able to write fast-paced numbers though) and bands like The Sears or even Decadent Few, for the sake of description, could be mentioned as well (but again the relevance could be questioned). Dans le Meilleur des Mondes (the band's second album) is clearly rooted in the 90's however so that looking back to the previous decade may not teach us much. To keep a British frame of reference, Kochise's music and versatility is not unlike that of bands like PAIN or AOS3 in spirit who were working on a fusion of traditional anarchopunk and reggae dub, while the intense emotional-yet-angry side of the band really reminds me of the cruelly underrated One By One. But I am sure other people would hear other things and my rather limited knowledge of French punk-rock may impair my usual omniscience and omnipotent sense of analysis.
Last but not least, the Lp comes with a massive booklet that reeks of the 90's anarchopunk spirit and its way of communicating and presenting ideas. The booklet includes the lyrics, articles, pamphlets, addresses, context, lists of contacts, artworks, and is just as important as the music itself when you consider Dans le Meilleur des Mondes... as a whole discursive entity. The music is great and accessible but without the notebook, it would not tell the same story. This kind of booklet so emblematic of 90's anarchopunk has almost vanished nowadays and you could argue that the internet and the wealth of information and political database it contains has made the initiative behind such an object rather pointless. I understand the point but when you look at some 90's anarcho records and see the love, the care, the belief that must have gone into the making of these booklets (they really do look like political punk fanzines), it still makes one wonder. Kochise's lyrics are sharp and combative in nature and tackle a wide array of topics (from the democratic circus to state surveillance and Orwell and revolutionary hopefulness). Some songs, notably about feminism and sexism, are still as relevant today as they were 25 years ago or even ahead of their time, which is rather sad when you think about it.
From what Discogs tells me - our modern Pythia when it comes to records - it should not be too difficult to grab a copy of what is one of the best French anarchopunk works from one of its most iconic contestants, de Paris s'il vous plait.
Alright then, this is the first attempt at an interview for Terminal Sound Nuisance. The idea is to have a friendly talk with people from "da scene" who, I feel, have insightful things to say about punk-related topics I have been interested in since I the dawn of time, more or less around the year 2012. I have been toying with the idea for quite some time in order to Discussions about the ramifications and evolution of hardcore punk, about how we collectively relate to music, how the internet has affected how we related to and write music, how we connect with the story of punk as a subculture, the importance of context in the process of creating music and so on. I guess this is a pompous way to say that we are going to get shamelessly nerdy and feel good about ourselves. Ideally, the interviews will prove to be thought-provoking or even, though I cannot stand the word, "inspiring", but more realistically and at the very least, they will incite you to blast some Discharge in order to piss off the Man and that is good enough for me.
Today, we are sitting down with Luc from Bordeaux, rebaptized A Luc at Tomorrow for this occasion. If you have never heard of him, Luc is our renowned Discharge and käng expert on the national level. His resume speaks for itself: he is a two-time recipient of the D-beat Without Borders award, has coauthored the very successful self-help guide book Where there is a will, there is a waaaayyy and his former band Gasmask Terror represented France for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest making it to the 37th position (the country's highest ranking to this date) and is currently the Head of the Department of Käng Studies at the Sorbonne. We will be talking about Discharge's Why, the 90's d-beat wave, Discharge worship, käng hardcore, the evolution of Discharge worship, Disclose and even more serious stuff like the impact of streaming on our perception of classic hardcore music or alarming concerns like the recent popularity of Grave New World.
A LUC AT TOMORROW
Terminal Sound Nuisance:Alright then, let’s get right into the heart of the matter and start with the prehistoric period of hardcore punk: Discharge. Common punk sense has long established that there are three main ways to discover Discharge. a. The metal way through the band’s influence on famous 80’s metal acts like Metallica; b. The UK punk way through famous bands like The Exploited or GBH who borrowed from Discharge; c. The hardcore way through the revered 80’s hardcore scene in the U$A where the name Discharge kinda floated around. What and when was yours?
A Luc At Tomorrow: Mine was a mix of A and B. I started to show interest in both punk and metal simultaneously, circa 1986 – possibly even 1985 (I was 12). I first had a very short Pistols / Clash phase but it didn't last long as I was soon introduced to louder sounds by a couple of school mates: GBH, Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Chaos UK, Dead Kennedys… but also Eskorbuto and Kortatu since I grew up in Iparralde (the North/French side of the Basque Country) where "rock radical vasco" was all the rage. Anyway, 1986 was the year crossover and thrash metal hit big time and there was no way escaping it – with grindcore soon to follow. I immersed into both punk and metal at the same time, and have loved both "genres" ever since. Discharge came to my attention really quickly, they were an established household name by then and you'd see pictures of Metallica or Slayer members wearing their shirts. It was a name that popped up all the time as they were obviously very influential, but it took a little longer before I first heard them.
TSN:A first encounter with Discharge through "Massacre Divine" could be enough to deter the listener from the band for at least a decade. What was the first Discharge record or song you came across? What did you spontaneously think about it? Did you charge your hair?
ALAT: My initial interest in hardcore and punk started around the time Grave New World came out. Haha, bad timing, right? That was my first exposure even though I hadn't listened to it yet. I remember seeing the cover art in a metal magazine, reading a couple of really bad reviews, so for a while I didn't pay much attention. But in the corner of my mind I knew Discharge was more than that, since the name was mentioned pretty much everywhere, their shirts were worn by all the cool bands, etc. But information was hard to come by. No internet of course, I yet had to discover the world of fanzines and tape trading, I was super young, lived in a small town in rural Southwest France, had no connections in "the scene", so I had no idea what was up, how to acquire cool tapes and records. First I'd swap tapes with the other two guys in my school that liked louder music, but everyone had very small collections and limited knowledge at that point. Strangely enough, this older guy who lived in my street, literally one block away, was ALWAYS wearing a Discharge shirt. He probably only owned one band shirt because he had it on his back every time I'd cross his path. I never talked to him because I was this super shy skinny little boy and he was a couple years older (a huge gap when you're 13!) and looked intimidating. One day I walked past his apartment building and this super loud, super aggressive punk music was blaring out of the window. I KNEW it was Discharge, and it sounded fantastic. It reminded me of a more chaotic, noisier GBH, because that was my only point of comparison back then. Haha. Fast forward a few months, I'm not sure why but I remember getting tapes of Discharge-influenced Swedish bands (Anti-Cimex…) BEFORE I even heard a full Discharge record. The first Discharge record I heard was Why. It's still my favorite to this day.
TSN:It could be argued that "Why", released 40 years ago, is one of the most influential punk records of all time and the impact it had is overwhelming. Why do you think it still is the object of such fascination and how much of a game-changer do you think it was at the time of release? Many people don’t consider Discharge as a real « hardcore band ». Do you?
ALAT: I've come to realize over time that most people consider Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing as the quintessential Discharge record and I understand WHY. It's cleaner, tighter, has a huge guitar wall of sound that appeals to both punks and metalheads. But for me Why is their cornerstone. It takes the intensity of the early EPs to a next level, it's savage as hell, and the production is stellar! Every instrument sounds amazing and well-balanced on Why, the guitar and bass tones are perfect. A few years back I even played the drums in a one-off Discharge cover band named No Feeble Bastards with some friends, we only covered the Why record – all songs played in order. It was so much fun. Anyway, I understand why some people won't consider Discharge a real "hardcore band", especially since the term hardcore is a very American thing. But they totally are first wave hardcore pioneers, just like Black Flag were in the US. Rooted in early punk, but taking things to a whole new level sonically.
TSN:For a long time, post-1984 Discharge was something of a joke, banter and a subject loyal fans did not really want to get into (like the early Blitz fans actually). However, once deemed terrible albums like Grave New World seem to have taken a cult status recently and some people even claim to love the thing. What is your take on the taboo era of Discharge? Do you think that it is so bad that is ironically good? Did you enjoy it when your first heard it?
ALAT: Like you pointed it out, it's so bad it becomes ironically good. It is such an anomaly it becomes fascinating. But let's be honest, it's pretty unlistenable. I do own a copy but have never managed to listen to the full album in one sitting. Those vocals are insufferable. The music I can stomach though, and Dissober proved it wasn't THAT terrible by speeding up their cover of "Grave New World" and playing it in the 1982 style. That cover is actually pretty raging!
TSN:The Discharge influence in the 80’s quickly spread, notably in Sweden where armies of young punks embraced the band (and still do) creating a Discharge-inspired genre of their own. As a world-renowned expert in Swedish hardcore and head of the Department of Käng Studies at the Sorbonne, could you give us some sort of chronology and defining moments of the Discharge invasion of Sweden in the 80’s? How and when did you get drawn to the Swedish hardcore scene? And why are they so good at it? Is it because they are taller and better-looking than us?
ALAT: You'd better off ask a Swede about the chronology, I'm nowhere near the expert you assume I am, haha. I'd say a bunch of dorks in bands like Skitslickers and Anti-Cimex probably started it. My introduction to Scandinavian hardcore was the "1984 The Second" compilation on the French label New Wave Records (featuring tracks by Sound Of Disaster, Krunch, as well as Finland's own Mellakka), and I remember vividly getting a mixtape in the mail from Rak (of Sodan Tragedia band and zine) featuring full EPs by Anti-Cimex and Mob 47 amidst a few other international bands. They all left a lasting impression right away, the extra pinch of rawness and brutality appealed to me in a big way. In the late 80s I totally immersed myself in the up and coming death metal underground, trading tapes like a maniac, and the Swedish scene was fascinating… Unsurprisingly, the punk and death metal scenes in Sweden had strong ties – a lot of original dödsmetallers had a punk background. I have no idea why it caught on and spread like that in that particular neck of the woods though. Fuck the spoiled Swedish master race though, you bunch of handsome, tall, smart humanoids. Haha.
TSN:On the contrary, the massive U$ hardcore scene of the 80’s - which most would call the cradle of hardcore - did not seem to be that much into Discharge in the early 80’s, with some exceptions, although the Stoke-on-Trent lot could be said to have been « the hardest core » then as early as 1980. Do you have any theory as to why that is? Where, apart from Sweden, do you think were located the best early Discharge-loving bands in the 80’s?
ALAT: I find it intriguing how some bands had a huge impact on local scenes far away from their home turf. Discharge in Sweden, Disorder in Finland, Finnish hardcore in Brazil, Chaos UK in Japan, bad oi! in France… Sometimes it's due to bands touring and leaving an impression, but not always. Sometimes you can blame it on a handful of influential local scenesters pushing/promoting certain bands. Still happens these days, I guess. Discharge's imagery and obsession with war was prompted by the geopolitical context of the time – Thatcher had just been elected, the Falklands war was soon to follow, the Cold War was in full swing and the threat of nuclear annihilation was real, with the UK at the forefront: the US maintained a stockpile of nuclear weapons in the country throughout the cold war. US punks had other concerns, and wrote lyrics and music from a different point of view. But I'm just scratching the surface here, we could make a deeper analysis. Every country seemed to have at least one Discharge-like band in the 80s: MG-15 in Spain, Eu's Arse in Italy, Subversion in Belgium, The Iconoclast in the US, Crow in Japan, etc. But truth is nobody did it like the Swedes.
TSN:The worship continues. Sometimes I am under the impression that Discharge have never been as popular and cult as they are today. Do you share that opinion? Do you see any meaningful differences with 90’s Discharge worship for example?
ALAT: I think Discharge has always been popular, since day one. What may have changed over time is the target audience. But I feel there's always been a solid core of Discharge lovers. It's more spread out today though. US hardcore kids are way more into Discharge than they were in the 90s, that's for damn sure.
TSN:Although there were certainly genuine Discharge-loving and mimicking in the 80’s (Discard being possibly the first?), the 90’s marked and codified the creation of Discharge love as a style and took it to its extreme and logical conclusion with the birth of the d-beat genre (with Sweden being unsurprisingly at the forefront of the movement). When did you become really aware of d-beat as a proper genre? How did you relate to the 90’s wave? Did you feel it was a natural evolution or a silly-but-enjoyable trend?
ALAT: It's hard to tell exactly when the "d-beat" thing really took off and became a "genre" per se. I remember the terms "Discore" or "Scandicore" being used loosely as early as the late 80s or very early 90s, then when the Swedes started coming up with the first Dis- bands, we used to call that "Dis-beat". The term "D-beat" (or D-Takt in Swedish) started sometime in the 90s and I suspect people like Jan Jutila in Sweden and Kawakami in Japan may have coined it, or at least helped make it popular. I'm just speculating here. When the 90s Dis-tsunami hit the shores, I ate it all up… It just popped up at the right time: I was growing out of my death metal phase at the time as the scene was oversaturating. Black metal was taking over and I couldn't relate to it politically and musically, so the whole Swedish / Distortion d-takt explosion provided a perfect alternative. It had a slightly similar vibe, a very dark/desperate imagery, and in hindsight I realize a lot of former dödsmetall kids were also involved (some members of Dischange, Skitsystem, Disfear, etc were in death metal bands prior.) It was like a gateway back into punk.
TSN:I remember reading in one of your old zines a rather nasty review of a Disfornicate Ep. Did you get bored of Dis-bands at some point? Almost 30 years after the first d-beat wave, how does it hold up according to you? How outdated is the Distortion empire?
ALAT: Haha yeah, Distortion releasing the Disfornicate / Disregard split 7" was a turning point for me, the Active Minds phrase "Dis is getting pathetic" really made sense at that point. That's when my interest in all things "Dis-" started fading a little bit.
TSN:Where and when do you locate the first proper, just-like Discharge hardcore punk bands (pre d-beat wave so to speak)?
ALAT: I believe there were a handful of bands in the UK trying to sound like Discharge very early on, but none of them actually achieved it. You can tell GBH or The Varukers were possibly heavily influenced by them. I'd say Discard in Sweden and Disattack in the UK were probably the first ones to actually mimick Discharge by ripping off the name, logo, layouts, and lyrics.
TSN:Were you aware of Disaster? And more largely, were many people familiar with Disaster at the time of "War Cry"? They are seen as a classic band today but what about then? Also, do you remember the first time you came across the phrase « d-beat »? Did the genre have other names before it settled on « d-beat »?
ALAT: Funnily I was aware of Disaster early on for the sole reason my friend Alexis, whom I used to skate with all the time back in the Basque country, started his own punk zine circa 1990 or 91 and he conducted an interview with Disaster by mail! I didn't get the 12" until a few years later though. Like I told you above, terms like "Discore", "Scandicore", and "Dis-beat" were all used randomly prior to "D-beat" taking over.
TSN:Alright, let’s tackle the most famous d-beat band ever: Disclose. You are also something of a Japanese hardcore punk nerd so I’m guessing you followed the band early. What was the first Disclose record you bought? What did you think then? Just another 90’s dis-band? Did you notice that there was something special about them? Today, they are seen as this legendary iconic band but was is always the case? I remember people being much less enthusiastic about them in the 00’s. And in the 90’s? And what is your favorite Disclose record?
ALAT: I was heavily into Disfear et al when I came across a review of the first Disclose 7" (Once The War Started) in a great Swiss zine named No Sanctuary. Sounded right up my alley, so my friend and I stuffed a few dollars in an envelope and sent it to Overthrow Records. We were blown away by it. It was everything we loved about the Swedish bands, but I thought they were even better. That 7" actually didn't sound THAT distorted compared to a lot of their subsequent releases, and to this day it remains one of my favorite Disclose records. They were pretty popular in Europe, but I guess at some point they were so prolific that people paid less attention? But their popularity still grew and by the early '00s the US started paying attention and they suddenly got huge. Other than the first EP, some of my personal favorites include "A Mass Of Raw Sound Assault" 7", "Nightmare or Reality" 12", and "Apocalypse Continues" 7".
TSN:Looking on YouTube or bandcamp gives the impression that there never have been as many bands from all over the place flying the d-beat flag through the #d-beat. Do you share that impression? Why does the dis phenomenon never ends? What is its essential appeal? Could you define what is a good d-beat band and a bad d-beat band in terms of music and visuals? Do you have to actually play a Discharge beat on the drums to be a Discharge-loving band?
ALAT: I dunno, I guess d-beat punk can be related to some sort of primal trance. I'm sure theorists like Jan Jutila would possibly draw a parallel with ancient traditional African beats or something. There is something inherently primitive, organic, and driving about it. There's a bazillion bands flying the d-beat banner these days, and the good bands tend to be lost in a sea of mediocrity. The absolute worst d-beat move is obviously double bass drumming! Also I can't fucking stand all the generic artwork featuring bullet belts, winged skulls, or the Discharge typeface, it's all been played out to death… Worst of all is words like "D-BEAT", "RAW", "NOISE", etc. in record/song titles. This is a no-no! As for your last question, look at bands like Final Bombs (Japan) or Price Of Silence (Sweden), they don't necessarily do the d-beat thing yet they're some of the best Discharge impersonators around!
TSN:You played in an openly käng-inspired band and your current band Bombardement is even more Dischargish. Why do you think the Discharge wave never really took in France, be it in the 80’s or the 90’s (with some rare exceptions)? Did you see Gasmask Terror as a way to even the score with this sad cultural fact? What was your own first attempt at playing d-beat?
ALAT: The first true Dis- band in France was actually a -charge band, haha. It was a short-lived early 90s (or late 80s?) Parisian band known as Surcharge who didn't do much. Which is unfortunate because they were pretty awesome, and I know you can back my words. In the 90s, the South West seemed to be the hotspot for crust and d-beat sounds, with Enola Gay paving the way in the small rural town of Auch, followed by Disbeer and Sickness. Another highly overlooked band from the same region was Four Monstrous Nuclear Stockpiles, who started as a straight up HNSNSN cover band, but ended up writing original material by popular demand. Even though it has a few goofy lyrics, I consider their 10" as the best French d-beat record ever released. It sounds just as good as any of the Swedish bands that were coming out on Distortion at the time. But this was still pretty marginal. I didn't start playing music until my mid 20's. Gasmask Terrör initially started more or less as a joke (hence the stupid name, which was just generic punk words put together randomly), we were really into Totalitär at the time and wanted to start something along those lines since there were hardly any bands in France playing that style in 2003. We approached Shiran to play guitar because we knew he loved Discharge and Disgust even though he was primarily a doom metal musician, but I don't think we had actually planned to record more than a tongue-in-cheek, cliché Dis- demo or something at the time. The band ended up lasting 14 years, releasing many records, playing hundreds of shows on 3 different continents… definitely far beyond our initial plan, haha.
TSN:Let’s tackle some broader issues. The internet revolution has drastically changed our ways to relate to and listen to punk music. Once extremely obscure, mysterious and rather small local bands are now instantly accessible and hailed as 80's classics. On the one hand it is can be said to be the greatest democratic revolution making punk available to all, on the other many now take the free and instant access to every band ever for granted. What’s your take on this? Do you think the internet age has changed the way we relate to bands, even our own, and even how we write music?
ALAT: Yeah, a lot of bands that once only had local exposure, sometimes only playing a handful of poorly attended local gigs, have blown out of proportion thanks to the internet. And I'm sure this is also partly why so many bands are getting back together after years/decades: a mix of midlife crisis, nostalgia, and old retired punks Googling the name of their old band only to find out a bunch of nerds across the planet consider them legends, when hardly anybody gave a fuck back then. It can be pretty deceiving, but the web pretty much rendered the notion of "underground" obsolete. Everybody has access to everything without much effort or time now. On the other hand, it's kinda cool that people pay attention to what happens beyond their home turf.
Of course, pre-internet, information and access to music wasn't as convenient as it is now, it required a lot more work and involvement. Another huge difference is that a young punk today has well over 4 decades of stuff to dig through. Punk had only be a thing for a decade when I got into it, so obviously there was much less material out there. But yeah, having access to much less music, you'd play what you had on a far more regular basis.
So yeah, of course it all has an impact on the way we write music. When hardcore started, there wasn't any hardcore to mimic. Members of early hardcore bands grew up on Led Zeppelin, or Stooges, or Cheap Trick or Kiss or whatever their older siblings were listening to at the time, and that probably had an influence on the way they played their instruments. Nowadays a hardcore band has over 40 years of hardcore music to digest so chances are they may play it by the numbers. Hardcore bands are influenced by… hardcore bands. Guess that's the fate of pretty much any aging musical subgenre, like a serpent biting its own tail.
TSN:The amount of information about new punk bands and new records feels overwhelming at times. Do we produce too much? Are you still as enthusiastic about new bands? Have social media exacerbated the impact of trendiness, fashion and ultimately equalized our culture? How do you personally proceed in order to get to the really good stuff?
ALAT: At 48 it's obviously hard to be as enthusiastic about new bands as when I was 15. I'm much pickier now. As much as I'm trying hard NOT to be this jaded old fuck who thinks "things used to be better", I know I am in a way, but I'm trying to keep an eye open on what's happening. Sometimes you get good surprises. But I feel like in the past 20 or so years, nostalgia and rehash have been a mainstay in the punk scene.
TSN:Let’s have fun now and rank some favourite of yours. Let’s say that you are talking to a beginner to the hardcore punk scene. What 5 records or tapes would you recommend if he or she would like to get into the following :
- Five 80’s Swedish hardcore bands that loved Discharge very much:
Anti-Cimex - Raped Ass 7" Anti-Cimex - Wictims of a Bomb Raid 7" Skitslickers - GBG 1982 a.k.a Cracked Cop Skulls 7" Discard - Death From Above 7" Avskum - Crucified by the System 7"
- 80’s non-Swedish hardcore bands that loved Discharge very much:
Diatribe (US) - Aftermath demo/7" Eu's Arse (Italy) - split 7" w/ Impact The Varukers (UK) - Another Religion Another War 12" The Iconoclast (US) - Demo/comp tracks Doom (UK) - the early stuff. Basically a UK band paying tribute to Scandinavian bands that were paying homage to Discharge in the first place, haha.
- Five 90’s d-beat bands:
Meanwhile - any Disclose - any Disfear - s/t 7" Totalitär - they started in the 80s but reached their peak in the mid 90s in my opinion Times Square Preachers - Don't Be Numb! 7". The whole Uppsala crust scene was pretty amazing (Harass, Cumbrage, etc.)
- Five 00’s d-beat bands:
Warcry - Demo, Deprogram LP, Nausea 7", Savage Machinery LP. Bomberegn- s/t 7". Had to be seen live to fully appreciate. Framtid - Under the Ashes LP Kvoteringen - first couple of 7"s Contrast Attitude - any record, but LIVE is where they really shine!
- 10’s d-beat bands:
Kylmä Sota - 10 Tracks 12" Herätys - s/t LP Bloodkrow Butcher - Anti War 7" Rat Cage - Caged Like Rats 7" Final Bombs - There is no Turning Back LP
- Five ace Discharge covers:
Dissober - Grave New World is #1 of course. Genius move. Times Square Preachers - Maimed & Slaughtered, partly because the drumming is the closest you'll ever hear to Bambi's drumming. Totalitär - Born to Die in the Gutter Siege - It's no TV Sketch. I doubt there's a recorded version of it, but it was pretty awesome to witness live as they had this amazing guitar/saxophone trade-off solo going. Soulfly - The Possibility of Life's Destruction. Laugh all you want but I'd rather hear a shitty mainstream band cover Discharge than an umpteenth generic d-beat band these days. I had never listened to Soulfly before my work mate played this for me a few years back. It's a pretty raging cover, gotta love the bouncy drumming on it.
The full live set of Bordeaux's one and only "Why" cover band, No Feeble Bastards. You know you want it
TSN:To wrap it up and I want honest answers.
What is your favorite dis-name?
Recharge was a good move when all the bands were going Dis-, but I can't think of any really good Dis-name to be honest. Disclose was probably the best, in retrospect. Four Monstrous Nuclear Stockpiles was a pretty nice one too.
What is your least favorite dis-name?
There's so many bad ones. Disfornicate was mentioned earlier and it's hard to find worse. Disfear and Dissober were bad enough monickers, Disbeer too obviously but they were friends and didn't take themselves too seriously so they get a pass. In recent times, Disturd is a pretty embarrassing monicker, but we all know we can blame it on poor English skills from this otherwise excellent and friendly Japanese crust band.
What is your favourite Discharge song and why, why, why, why, why?
There's no way I can pick a single favorite song, but I have a soft spot for "Ain't no Feeble Bastard", which ironically doesn't even have a d-beat. Haha. (Side note: it's "Why why why BUT why", not "Why why why why why", no idea WHY so many people hear it wrong.) (TSN edit:very true that, shame on me, I'll NEVER AGAIN make the mistake).
What is your favourite, most precious piece of Discharge paraphernalia?
I don't really own crazy paraphernalia. But I do cherish some of my rare vinyl bootlegs, like the "Live in Philadelphia" LP (raging set!) or the "Live in Preston" 7" (mostly for the artwork/packaging… and unreleased track of course!) Oh, and does my retarded Discharge tattoo count? I designed it myself so it's pretty unique, haha.
"Troops of Tomorrow" or "Leather, Bristles, Studs and Acne"?
GBH hands down because the band had such a strong impact in my teen years, but I gotta admit Troops of Tomorrow is an excellent record – Exploited's best by a long shot, if you ask me, even though I hate Wattie's racist ass.
"Wind of Pain" or "Wasted Dream"?
Wind Of Pain, no question. I remember exactly the day when I first heard it, back in 1994 or something. Chris of Urban Alert Records played it for me and I became obsessed instantly and ordered it straight from the Finn Records mailorder list in Sweden. When my band toured Japan in 2011, we covered "Misery" (we had been covering it on and off since the band inception) and at a gig in Yokohama – coincidentally booked by Koba-san who used to drum in Bastard – we were approached by a very drunk Tokurow-san (former Bastard singer) who asked if he could join us on stage to sing "Misery" with us. How could we turn down such an offer? It was a beautiful moment, I felt like a spoiled kid on Christmas day! PS: Wasted Dream isn't even my favorite Death Side record by the way.
Bombanfall or Svart Parad?
Fuck you and your impossible to answer questions, Romain! I'll say Bombanfall because they almost sound like proto death metal, and I LOVE death metal!
And the winner is!
Meanwhile or Disclose?
What the hell (on earth)? Come on, they're the best 2 Discharge worship bands ever. Maybe Disclose by a small margin?
Eskorbuto or RIP?
I was into Eskorbuto long before I heard RIP, actually they were one of the very first punk bands I heard, so they have a very special place in my heart. But they got a bit derivative as years went on. RIP had a smaller but better discography. I'll still pick Eskorbuto because they were a formative band for me.
Kaaos or Riistetyt?
Love both, but once again I heard Riistetyt first so they resonate with me more, especially the Valtion Vankina LP.
EU’s Arse or Underage?
Eu's Arse. Those unhinged vocals are the best.
"Massacre Divine" or "Shootin’ up the World"?
Neither, but Massacre Divine has better artwork… as well as "Sexplosion", featuring slap bass.
PS: Wait, no Broken Bones vs English Dogs? Ripcord vs Heresy? Priest vs Maiden? ZZ Top vs Thin Lizzy?
This is THE END of the interview. Massive thank to (A) Luc (At Tomorrow) for taking the time and playing the game. Hopefully it was a pleasant read for men, women and children too. Cheers mate and see you after the gigs!
