These days, there’s no denying a creative, critical and media-driven ‘state of grace’ surrounding broad-minded hardcore punk. From the more or less mainstream collective consciousness of Turnstile or Knocked Loose, to indie darlings such as Scowl or Soul Glo, right through to a heartfelt local sense of community – it makes one want to invoke the ‘scene that celebrates itself’ from the bygone days of shoegaze, without the derogatory connotations of that era, to describe the atmosphere experienced at Hetta or Prado gigs – which transcends geographical and generational barriers with an effervescence not felt for some time. Reflecting this, with a keen eye, ZDB has also been giving vital space and time to bands born at the epicentre or on the fringes of this centrifugal movement, and it is on this wavelength that it welcomes the Norwegian band Hammok. A trio that emerged unexpectedly in the midst of the pandemic on Oslo’s (now) bustling scene, which, with the recent release of their second album — When Does This Place Become Our Scene — on Sargent House, fits perfectly into the Los Angeles label’s portrait of a dysfunctional family alongside The Armed and Botch.
With the challenge set out in the album’s title – shouted furiously in the razor-sharp opener The Scene – Hammok’s music pulses with all the urgency and abandon of the most furious hardcore, whilst simultaneously unveiling the melody that ensures these songs linger in the memory. With a raw yet sufficiently clear production that avoids drowning in a morass of shapeless distortion, When Does This Place Become Our Scene unleashes a dozen beasts, in a profusion of caustic riffs, rhythms that both find their groove and drive everything forward in unison, electronic touches and incisive lyrics rooted in a reality that is as much the band’s own as it is easily recognisable almost everywhere.
BS

Roy Batty are a post-hardcore/noise rock quartet from Pinhal Novo. The band grew out of Honey Bones, which at the time featured João Cunha (guitar) and Fishbonn (drums). Following the arrival of Pedro Faria Cunha (bass), João’s older brother, there was a need to channel new ideas and creativity into a new project: Roy Batty.
For three years, the trio composed music, seeking to bring to life influences from These Arms Are Snakes, Loma Prieta, Botch, 90s post-hardcore and 2000s screamo. It was with the arrival of the vocalist, whose identity remains anonymous, that the project managed to solidify its sound.
With a collection of composed tracks already in hand, these were subsequently fleshed out with lyrics and vocals, whilst the quartet continued to compose material for what would become their debut EP, ROY BATTY. The EP, comprising four tracks of chaotic and frenetic post-hardcore, is steeped in a wall of distortion, loops, noise and shifts in form and progression. The vocals navigate the chaos with equally caustic, yet at times spoken, interventions, tackling themes that address mental health and the perception it gives us of the outside world. The music reflects a lost state of mind.