Rise And Fall
By BLUNT Magazine
Probably the most successful Belgian hardcore band to date, Rise & Fall will be in Australia touring their latest album, Our Circle Is Vicious by the time you read this. With the record having been released on Deathwish Inc (which you probably already know is owned by Converge vocalist Jacob Bannon), the group are well on their way to become a prime export for their country alongside chocolate, waffles and very fast cyclists.
George Baxter caught up with Vince, the band's bassist, between tours and feeling reflective about the new album and hardcore in general.
How was the writing and recording process?
Writing wasn't always easy. Sometimes it wasn't working out at all, due to different reasons. It really took us a long time and a huge effort to get everyone focused and together and to start the actual writing of this album. Things started picking up in the spring of 2008 when we got our own rehearsal room... After that we wrote, jammed and practiced until we had the rough outlines for close to 20 songs. Out of those we finished maybe 12 or 13. Out of those songs, 10 ended up on the record.
So how do you feel about Our Circle Is Vicious now that you're playing it live?
Actually, we are really stoked on being able to mix up the setlist a lot more than we used to. The new songs off "Our Circle Is Vicious" allow us to have more variation in our set, slow things down here and there, it's cool. We haven't played all of the new songs live yet, but we usually play 4/5 "Our Circle Is Vicious" songs and that's been working out quite well. "Soul Slayer" is becoming our new set opener, we're going for that "bum rush the show" effect.
What do you think of the crossover success of hardcore/metal acts that have got a lot of pop sensibility – is this a good stepping stone to 'harder' music?
It could be. No one's born with a copy of "The Age Of Quarrel" in their hands. We all have listened to some dumb shit when we were teenagers and most of us got into this type of music after discovering it through the bigger or more accessible bands so I don't think there's anything wrong with it at all.
What do the terms "Punk" and "Hardcore" mean to you? Are they still relevant?
They're relevant to me because I am and will always be a hardcore person. It's the music I grew up and the music that has inspired me in so many ways. It's not something I think of every day and it doesn't limit me in any way. Over the years of course both terms have gotten watered down, but I believe that true hardcore and punk rock still has something to offer that a lot of other underground music scenes don't have. The lack of barriers, the possibility of communication and exchanging of ideas, the raw energy and anger... It's weird. I don't want to go on and on about it, but yes those terms are still relevant to me. Musically they might not define all that much anymore, but they define my mind set more than anything else.
Do you know much about Australian music?
Sorry to say so, but I'm afraid I don't know much. Obviously everyone knows the bigger names: Nick Cave / The Birthday Party / Midnight Oil / INXS etc. AC/DC and Rose Tattoo. Kylie Minogue. Jason Donovan. Over the past few years we've had the chance to play with a bunch of Australian bands, and they all turned out to be cool dudes: Carpathian, Parkway Drive, Miles Away, Blkout, 50 Lions, No Apologies. I also used to love Day Of Contempt. "See Through The Lies" is a total banger of a record.
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