12-12-2009Artist focus - The Departed

Hardcore from the North East

Hardcore is experiencing a revival and upsurge in popularity in recent times. It has been taken away from just the straight edge enthusiasts and is slowly inducing its way into the public conscious. Bands such as Gallows, Your Demise and Dead Swans are beacons of popularity amongst the alternative masses however it's surprising to learn that one of the UK's brightest prospects, The Departed hail from North Easterly Grimsby.

Hardly recognized as a breeding ground for the future prospects of alternative music, but that isn't something that The Departed are going to let affect their goals. We take some time to talk to the guys and find out what music means to them and exactly what makes them tick.

When The Departed's new CD arrived at the Rocksnail headquarters we did as we always do with any album, slapped it on and cranked it up! After the first two songs chief programmer Rick piped up, "This is probably the most honest new band I've heard in a while." This notion of honesty and integrity is what categorises the hardcore movement and The Departed achieves this with effortless ease. Although, as its popularity rises it's become an easy route for kids who are just learning their instruments to play something that can achieve a level of popularity relatively quickly. It's removing value and placing emphasis upon aesthetics as opposed to passion. So that's why it is refreshing to see a band such as The Departed play what they play for the sole reason that it is what they love and what they want to be playing. They understand the structures, placing chants along the sliding guitar work and rolling snares to build momentum and validity. Vocally there is the shout come scream lyrically posed questions accented by the backing gang chants made famous by the likes of Comeback Kid.

The band's new album, 'This is what we know' is available on 'Scratch Media' and for any Hardcore lovers this is a must have in the collection. The production isn't slicker than slick in fact it is gritty and intrusive, just as it should be. The gang chants echo a resonance that is brought through the poignant and well thought out lyrics that don't divulge into cliche. 'I thought you said global welfare not warfare' is an example of the themes that are on offer for the Departed lads and third track 'So long and thank you for the chemicals' really steps the album up a gear. The rest of the album continues in this vein, crusading its way through the twenty minutes of a thoroughly entertaining and at times provoking listen.

If you could explain how The Departed came together?

Well, we all knew each other from either previous bands or from being involved in live shows for the last few years... The Departed came about when after being sat around for a few months after the split of my old band, I got bored of doing nothing and hooked up with Mez and Jack (guitar and drums) for a few jams. The uniting factor is that the entire band grew up listening to fast, melodic punk rock in the Fat Wreck/Epitaph/Honest Don's vein, and so we wanted to do something that included those influences, along with the newer hardcore stuff we were enjoying at the time, and mix it all together in some sort of ecstatic melting-pot of hardcore/punk rock joy!!

How would you describe your sound?

It's pretty much what it says on the tin... It's fast, it's melodic and aggressive haha! We're not trying to reinvent the wheel, or do anything new... We just want to play the style of music that we all love!

What's the best thing about being in a hardcore band?

It has to be that wherever you go, and whoever you play to, it feels like there are no expectations of you. No one's expecting Steve Vai, or Pantera. Everyone is just looking out for a good time!

What bands influence you and really get you excited?

Common to the whole band: Comeback Kid, Casey Jones, Champion, Verse, Allegiance, The Legacy, Bane... To name but a few.

What does a usual Departed show go off like?

Well, lately, I'm glad to say that we haven't played a bad show in a while... We played a house show for our friend Jonnie Aggro in Nottingham, then a week later we played Leeds Rios with Deez Nuts, and to be perfectly honest, they were both batshit crazy!! We demand human pyramids and crowd-surfing though, they HAVE to happen!

There's a couple of other bands using similar monikers to you, what do you feel about this?

Erm... Well, there are a couple of other UK-based acts with the same name, but only one that is similar in style, to which I would say that we've been around longer and are probably more recognised, so they should probably change their name. As for the other genres, we're not really bothered. Same goes for our American counterparts... Really, they can take us to court if they're that arsed about it, haha! One thing worth mentioning is the project from members of 7 Angels 7 Plagues, Misery Signals and Fallout Boy, which shared our name... We left them a myspace comment saying "Hiya :D" and the next day, they were called "The Band Formerly Known As The Departed" hahaha!

How do you see the UK Hardcore scene at the moment?

It's a really exciting time at the moment. We're just getting out there, and we can see that there are probably more kids into this now than ever before. There are some completely awesome UK bands coming up right now, as well as the established heavyweights, and with such indie labels as Thirty Days Of Night getting big exposure due to the popularity of bands such as BMTH etc, then I think it's opening the doors for this next wave of UK bands to really get noticed.

What bands other than yourselves should the Rocksnail readers look out for?

Oh, a good few amazing UK acts such as... Santa Karla, Lockdown, Beasts, Almost Home, The Legacy, Dead Swans, Fast Point, Rat Attack, Make It Through, Take Courage, Push The Ghost, Search Party and more!

What kind of themes do you explore lyrically and how much do you rate the importance of lyrics in hardcore?

Lyrical content is extremely important to us as a band. We're not a joke band, or just doing it for the sake of it, and our lyrics cover real issues from our personal lives to our experiences and thoughts on wider issues, whether they be political, religious or otherwise. In short, we have something to say!

How do you feel about the latest release?

We're all completely and utterly stoked that it's almost ready for release... It's been such a long time coming (we originally started recording it in May 2008 ), and due to us not being rich enough to get it all recorded and mixed in one go, it took a few sessions to get it just how we wanted it. Then we recorded some extra songs, and decided to throw them in there too, so that added to it... But at the end of the day, once I've got a proper copy of our finally-released CD in my hands, I'll just be able to die happy as it will be one of my life's dreams fulfilled, and I think that goes for the rest of the band too, haha!

What should the Rocksnail reader expect from you guys in the upcoming year?

Well, it looks like our CD release will be taking place on Sat 7th March in Grimsby, which coincides with the birthday of 2 members, so expect a MASSIVE party!! And apart from that, we're planning a tour around April/May time to plug the CD, along with a few mini-tours throughout the year, and just gigging as often as possible throughout 2009. We've also started writing some new tracks, so hopefully we'll be able to organise some splits with some awesome bands, and another CD's worth of tracks by next year... So to promoters, help us out and put us on... And to everyone else, come out and party with us!!