“Eye for an eye, die for a lie.”
Words by Rodrigo de Mendoza, photos of xApothecaryx by Maisie Cooper (portfolio/IG) at the Leeds date of the tour.
Although there are a lot of hardcore shows in London, there aren’t many shows that sport a full straight edge line up. There are plenty of straight edge bands, many new ones sprouting from today’s political climate, but not many full SxE shows. Luckily New Age Records came over from across the pond to remind everyone that the global movement is still strong.
You could tell the atmosphere at the New Cross Inn was different on the 2nd April. On all the guitar cabs there were “X – Straight Edge” flags made by touring band Escalate, with their bassist letting me know that they’ve been putting them out at every show so far, and will obviously continue to do so for the rest of the tour. The bands had their merch tables set up with the usual tees, hoodies, stickers, even some records. What really caught the eye were the flyers: zines and writings discussing the importance of going vegan, the pressure we should be putting on our local governments on the importance of both human and animal rights, leaflets on how to organise within your community for a better future. My first ten minutes in the venue reminded me what hardcore was truly about, what it had been founded upon, and the bands were about to drive that point home.
Local legends xApothecaryx kicked off the show. Melodic and heavy, they warmed up the room perfectly – you could feel everyone limbering up. Their last few songs were violent, and they debuted a brand new track as their last song of the set. Clean, practiced, and melancholically brutal, they a must see for anyone in the UK. Their vocalist Jordan X’ed me up before they started playing, asking my name and where I was from. Immediately I felt included – although I did have friends there already I suddenly felt like I’d just been welcomed into a bigger family.
Next up was Escalate, bringing a more straightforward heaviness to the room. Everyone was moving, with not one mosh part going unnoticed. Their vocalist shouted that “veganism is inherently antifascist and anti-sexist,” with the resounding cheer from the crowd leading into their heaviest track of the set. I didn’t know they were European until I met them at their merch table, dripping with sweat, huge smiles on their faces. They told me about their scene back home and how strong it still is to this day.
Moral Law were up next. The vocalist, walking on with an Earth Crisis tee, immediately kicked it off. We got our first pile on of the evening, with concert goers pulling him off the stage to get closer to the microphone – a surreal experience. It would turn out that the vocalist also plays guitar for Life Force, the headlining band. We discussed how tiring it is to work double duty on a tour, especially with both bands being fast and high energy. Albeit sweating, he climbed back up on stage for the last performance of the evening.
I got to talking with a guy in between sets about his “Philadelphia Straight Edge” varsity jacket, and it turns out he made it himself by hand, and even makes them to order. Not long after he got a tap on the shoulder, politely excused himself, picked up the mic and walked on stage. Life Force was clearly a different form of hardcore, one that’s definitely more punk and, for lack of a better word, ‘American’ than what we’re used to in the UK. Constant fast riffs with little to no mosh parts, these songs made to emphasise the message and the energy, rather than for being fun to play on stage or to get a reaction from the crowd. No one told the crowd, apparently, with everyone dancing no matter the heaviness.
Every song was divided up with a speech from the vocalist talking about pressing social issues. You may be thinking that these speeches would be preaching to the choir, boring, strung out, or inconclusive, but the reality was far from all that. Not only did he control the room every time he spoke, with a power he evidently knew he had, but the vocalist kept things short and sweet. He touched on defeating extremist hateful ideologies before one song, and brought up the eternal fight for trans rights before another. He kept on delivering poignant and relevant talking points that dropped my jaw to the floor. I also understand that I’m the perfect demographic for this, but it was very moving nonetheless. They threw in a Chain of Strength cover towards the end of the set, and the juxtaposition between their fast, hardcore punk riffs and the heavy Chain of Strength chugs had the whole room moving – a fitting ending to a perfect evening.
I went with no expectations, honestly there to finally experience a night of pure straight edge hardcore and nothing else. I left with a bunch of new friends from all across the world, a bag full of merch, X’s on my hands and a huge smile on my face. UK hardcore is ever living, and may it never die.
Straight Edge for Life XXX