by marcs77These guys from Bologna remind me of early To Kill, or, going back of about another decade, and considering only the Italian scene, Roma's xPurificationx, but Germany's Wolf Down as well as a whole bunch of bands off the xCatalystx records catalogue come to mind too. Metallic hardcore punk with a socio-political stance to it.
Read on to know more about TO ASHES...
gan: You guys started out not long ago. How did it all go?
To Ashes is a vegan straight edge band formed in Bologna at the end of 2013. The first core of the band were Katto (guitar) and Luca (drum), who joined together with the intent to form a political hardcore band. Some months later Emy (bass) and Ivan (voice) took part in the project and finally Marco (from Prometheus) joined the band as "second" guitar at the end of last year.
gan: What are some of the goals you wanna accomplish with TO ASHES?
Our aim is to speak about the political struggles against capitalism and the government, and the stories of suffering which strike all animals (human or not). We write about the war for total liberation without compromises and flags. We encourage the support of political prisoners (earth, human, animal liberation warriors like Marco Camenisch, Gianluca and Adriano, No Tav activists etc...), because is fundamental for them and for our ideas of revolutionary solidarity. We want to bring these themes in a scene increasingly apolitical, where silly themes as partying or getting high are very popular recently.
gan: To Ashes has out a demo cassette titled “Liberation Through Destruction”. Wanna talk about this?
The tracks speak about important themes for us like straight edge, the daily animal massacre in the meat industry, police brutality, situations of suffering for immigrants. Our EP was recorded by Carlo at Toxic Basement Studio and soon these tracks will be released on vinyl format by Bound By Modern Age Rec. and BlackFire Rec.
gan: And then earlier this year you released a new track “Lone Wolf's Howl” to raise money to support ALF's activist Walter Bond...
We are near to all political prisoners, to all who lost his/her freedom fighting for other’s freedom. When is possible we try to raise something for them through songs or merchandise. We also run a vegan distro called “Sweets Of Gaia” with the intent to raise money selling vegan food, books and sharing zines and various material about earth/animal liberation.
gan: Are all the band members vegan straightedge? What did get you to embrace those ethics in the first place?
We are all vegan and straight edge. We pay respect to all living beings and Mother Earth, because these are lifestyles that refuse all forms of exploitation; moreover, to liberate ourselves from substances and products imposed by the system is the first fundamental step to reach the total liberation perspective we want.
gan: I read one of your recent interviews you re-posted on your FB and there you was disagreeing with the interviewer who had stated that apparently the Italian hardcore punk scene was lively and healthy. Is it so common to have a distorted view on many things when these are seen from outside, right?
The Italian punk hardcore scene doesn't exist. There are a lot of scenes from every city and with different peculiarities. Recently is born the Italia Hardcore, but it's a virtual crew with members of few cities and it doesn't represent the spirit of DIY hardcore. Who really “lives the hardcore”, with shows, bands, organization of gigs and more, knows that it still lives… with "highs and lows”, obviously. However we think that the largest problem of the hardcore punk scene is the depoliticization: the loss of basic values like the hate against all authorities and the lack of some clear political stances like anti-fascism and anti-racism.
gan: Future plans, gigs, tour?
While waiting for the vinyl version of the EP we are writing new songs, more heavy and articulate than the previous ones. We will play in Padova and Milan with our friends Stillborn (from Wien) the 1st and 2nd, June; we will play in Modena the 13th June too. Finally we planned the euro-tour from the 28th August to the 12th September and we will publish something about soon!
We can’t wait to meet all our friends around Europe. See you on the road. XVX
Stream here their first demo in full http://toashes.bandcamp.com/album/liberation-through-destruction
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