Veranstaltungen

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Juni

Konzert

EREMIT | ECHO SOLAR VOID

07.06.2023 | 19:30 – 22:45 Uhr | VVK: 15,00 € zuzügl. Gebühren

EREMIT

Eremit ist eine deutsche Doom Metal Band, welche sich Ende 2015 gründete. Eremit spielen langsamen, massiven und finsteren Doom, angereichert mit Elementen anderer Extreme Metal Genres sowie Ambient und Drone Einflüssen. Sie transportieren mit ihrer Musik die ununterbrochene, dystopische Geschichte eines einsamen Eremiten, welcher nach einer Lebzeit auf See karge Klippen und ein ihm vollständig unbekanntes Land erreicht. Jeder einzelne Song repräsentiert ein Kapitel dieser fortlaufenden Saga.

Support: ECHO SOLAR VOID

EINLASS: 19:30 Uhr
BEGINN: 20 Uhr

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Konzert

MISERY INDEX | HerezA

13.06.2023 | 19:30 – 22:45 Uhr | VVK: 18,00 € zuzügl. Gebühren

YEAH! Misery Index kommen ins JuHa West. Das wird ein FEST.

MISERY INDEX [Death metal from Baltimore, Maryland, USA]
https://www.miseryindex.com
https://www.facebook.com/MiseryIndex

Support:
HerezA [Death n Roll from Stuttgart]
https://www.facebook.com/herezametalband
https://hereza.bandcamp.com

Two decades into their venerable careers, Baltimore death metal savants MISERY INDEX are back with their new record, ‘Complete Control’. The album was recorded in September and October of 2021 and subsequently mixed by Will Putney prior to being mastered by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street studios. The cover features the visceral, uncanny work of visual artist Matt Lombard.
The band’s seventh studio album, and their first with Century Media, is the follow up to 2019’s ‘Rituals of Power’ – and, in the band’s view, serves as a well-refined continuation of their previous efforts. Musically, they share: “we’re mixing death metal even more explicitly with our brutal hardcore and grindcore influences. It’s as if you took our early punk-leanings, mixed them with the thematic darkness of ‘The Killing Gods’, and further blended it with the straight-forwardness of ‘Rituals of Power’, all in one concise presentation.”

As members of an East Coast death metal outfit, MISERY INDEX also stand out for their socially-critical lyrics which focus on everyday themes of exploitation, alienation and injustice. However, long-time followers are more than aware of the well-informed perspective that the band brings to their music – most notably that of founding vocalist and bassist Jason Netherton (who holds a PhD in Media Studies as well as being the author of the book “Extremity Retained: Notes From The Death Metal Underground”). Speaking about the new record from a conceptual standpoint, he offers: “'Complete Control' is a thematic idea which connects all the lyrics into a kind of loosely based concept album. The central idea is that ‘power’ is not something that is always wielded with brute force in the modern world (through violence), but moreso as a control-society where it manifests on a self-governing, individual level (in and through our everyday habits and practices). Each song then dissects these insidious forms of control as they work to fragment, reshape and suppress our very selfhood in alignment with the interests of global finance. I know these are not easy themes to discuss, but to me, it’s always more impactful and sincere to rage about real-world issues, no matter how much we’d like to escape them.”

For MISERY INDEX, being alert and vociferous about present day societal strife is an extension of death metal’s tried and true traditions. Just like on previous albums, the end goal isn’t to cater to whatever has become fashionable or exploit cheap thrills – it’s to continue a long history of purposeful dissent. “I feel like we study and honor the history of this music, and for bands like Napalm Death, Terrorizer, Disrupt, Brutal Truth, etc., social critique is very much a part of their approach to making music. When musical traditions are not honored, you end up pandering to whatever happens to be the flavor of the month. What this practice churns out is a music culture divided into micro-sub-genres that do one or two things overly well, but leaves much to be desired in terms of maintaining song structure and lyrical depth.”

Notably, this new LP represents the band’s seventh full-length release in just 19 years. For a band like MISERY INDEX, there is a constant dialogue that both addresses what they do and do not identify with, and the answers to both questions often involve looking back to their roots. “We maintain our approach to music-making by consciously avoiding trends. We try to further what we are doing with each effort by tapping into our own matrix of influences which span the realms of punk, hardcore, death metal, and grindcore. For the most part, we write for ourselves and seek to please our own musical aspirations before those of our audience or anyone else. In many ways, our music is also inseparable from the Maryland extreme music scene it was born from, where the hardcore and punk influences historically situated in the D.C. and Baltimore areas provided us with a unique foundation to base our brand of extreme metal upon. Over the years, however, the sound has evolved considerably into a death metal band that incorporates all those styles evenly to avoid stagnation or becoming one-dimensional.”

As devoted fans of the band might expect, current events, both domestically and abroad, played a role in the band’s writing process on ‘Complete Control’ – as they always have. This time around, MISERY INDEX isn’t shying away from acknowledging both the pros and cons of these tumultuous times from a creative perspective. “To be perfectly honest, I think the struggle and challenge of putting this latest effort together helped refine the songwriting and made the album even better. The scenario however was far from ideal, especially for the recording process. The world totally shut down right on the tail end of our EU tour with Napalm Death and EyeHateGod in early March 2020. For a solid year and half, we had to write and record this thing separately by sending files back and forth online and utilizing nearby studios for tracking.”

In the end, the adversity faced has yielded another gem. ‘Complete Control’ is a riff-driven assault that captures the tension of the modern condition – channeling it into nine songs of ripping ‘end-times’ death metal. From “Administer the Dagger” to “The Eaters and the Eaten,” the listener is dragged across concrete hellscapes echoing the rage and contempt of a dead-end generation. Spewing with Orwellian invective and razor-sharp songwriting, this new album is a much-needed hammer to the face; a wake-up call for the disaffected and dispossessed. ‘Complete Control’ is a rousing metal soundtrack for a new epoch that melds deft and diverse songwriting with a demand for a better way of life.

Tickets an bekannten VVK-Stellen, Eventim und hier: juhawest.loveyourartist.store

 

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Konzert

NO TRIGGER (USA) | MOBINA GALORE (CAN) | Support: SNACKWOLF

16.06.2023 | 19:30 – 23:00 Uhr | VVK: 16,00 € zuzügl. Gebühren

YEAH! NO TRIGGER (USA) und MOBINA GALORE (CAN) kommen zurück ins JuHa West! Mit dabei die SNACKWOLF aus Stuttgart.

NO TRIGGER (USA)
Dr. Album Tour 2023
Special Guest: MOBINA GALORE
Support: SNACKWOLF

Dr. Album is a very atypical project, so it calls for a very atypical band bio. Some folks from the underground music community chimed in (punk points!) and we even let the hacks at the label take a swipe at describing this wacky punk rock chimera. Let’s start with them:

It’s been ten years since No Trigger gifted the world a full length. TEN GODDAMN YEARS. But all that is about to change with the release of 2022’s Dr. Album. They’re the first sextet on Red Scare (we think?) and the biggest thing to come outta Worcester, MA since Bob Cousy. These guys have played all over the world (Europe, Japan, South America, Australia, etc.) and made their name perfecting melodic hardcore, but this new 13-song record has something for everyone. Dynamic indie-punk of all stripes can be heard on Dr. Album, and this doctor has an IV bag of hooks, choruses, melodies, and ferocious lyrics that you’ll wanna inject straight into your veins. Side note: Did you know that Emma Goldman opened an ice cream shop in Worcester (AKA Wormtown) back in the 1800’s? It’s true, and Saint Emma would be proud of these scrappy punks and this Left-Wing masterpiece. It may have taken a decade, but No Trigger is relentless, and the band is playing Riot Fest, Punk In Drublic Festival, and shows with The Lawrence Arms in support of these new songs. Onward and upward!

 

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Konzert

CANDY | SPY | AUSGEBOMBT

27.06.2023 | 19:30 – 22:45 Uhr | VVK: 15,00 € zuzügl. Gebühren

CANDY [us - Relapse Records | Hardcore-Metal-Punk]
https://candygonnadie.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/candygonnadie

SPY [Bay Area - Hardcore Punk]
https://spyhc.bandcamp.com

Support: Ausgebombt [Tübingen - Hardcore Punk]
https://ausgebombt.bandcamp.com

EINLASS: 19:30 UHR
BEGINN: 20:00 UHR

Tickets gibts hier: juhawest.loveyourartist.store

 

FACEBOOK-EVENT

Konzert

VORDT - "ASHES" Release /w DORNEN | TRISTE

30.06.2023 | 19:30 – 23:00 Uhr | VVK: 12,00 € zuzügl. Gebühren

VORDT - "Ashes" Release
mit DORNEN und TRISTE

Vordt aus Stuttgart spielen kompromisslosen, depressiven Black Metal. Ihr Debüt „Ashes“ bildet mit einer flüssigen Symbiose aus flächigem, atmosphärischem Sound gepaart mit rohen Gitarren und treibendem Schlagzeugspiel den Eindruck einer Band, die weiß, was sie will. Unverkennbar sind sowohl Produktion als auch die Attitüde, mit der die fünf Titel dargeboten werden. Inhaltlich schwingen Verzweiflung, Depression und Menschenflucht mit. Auch wenn sich das nicht in den Texten widerspiegelt, sind sie politisch klar links einzuordnen - gegen Nazis/NSBM. „Ashes“ von Vordt sind knapp 40 Minuten zwischen Raserei und Luftholen.

Tickets über juhawest.loveyourartist.store

Einlass: 19:30 Uhr
Beginn: 20 Uhr

VVK: 12,- Euro (zzgl. Gebühr)
AK: 15,- Euro

 

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Juli

Konzert

Dvnkel & Büchse - Bühne kleiner Schlossplatz!

01.07.2023 | 19:00 – 22:00 Uhr

Zwischen den Stühlen
Wo Punk und Rap sich treffen

Zwischen den Stühlen, auf denen Punk und Rap sitzen, haben Dvnkel aus Stuttgart und Büchse aus Trier Effektpedale und einen riesigen Subwoofer aufgestellt. Dvnkel vermischt zynischen Nihilismus mit atmosphärischen Beats und zuckersüßen Melodien zu einem Output, das sich im Spannungsfeld von Rap, Post-Punk und DIY-Ästhetik verorten lässt. Das Punkrap-Trio Büchse liefert eine düstere Mischung aus Systemkritik und Problemanalysen, ohne dabei auf harmlose Plattitüden zurückgreifen zu müssen. Die Band verschmilzt Gitarren, Synthesizer und Drumcomputer und zeigt eindrucksvoll, dass Punkrap mehr kann, als einfach Punk und Rap aufeinander zu stapeln.

 

EINTRITT: FREI

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Konzert

THE DROWNS | NEAT MENTALS | SIDEWALK SURFERS

05.07.2023 | 19:30 – 22:45 Uhr | VVK: 15,00 € zuzügl. Gebühren

Yeah! The Drowns aus Seattle kommen ins JuHa West! Wir freuen uns sehr auf die Punk Rock'n'Roll Abend. Mit dabei Neat Mentals und Sidewalk Surfers.
BOCK!

THE DROWNS [Punk Rock - Seatlle]
https://www.facebook.com/thedrowns
https://thedrowns.bandcamp.com
For the bands that really make a difference, there are releases that prove to be the proverbial ‘tipping point’ – taking them to another level, exposing them to giant new waves of fans… “Under Tension“ definitely had its game-changing moments – but ultimately was hampered by a pandemic hell-bent on preventing this band from taking those tracks across the globe with serious gusto!
….This record, oh, this record… an EP at that, is without a doubt the one that will prove to be that game-changing moment for the vast majority within earshot. It includes epic ballads and heart-wrenching, truly game-changing barn-burning life-altering tunes, for TODAY.
This is the real deal. If you’re into PUNK, you are into this band, and this record is epic!
The power and presence that this band will throw in your face in every way, at every opportunity is an extension of “Under Tension” – Profound, somewhat intimidating, and most importantly – overwhelmingly welcoming… and noble! Best get out of the way, or better yet, sign up and join the fight!

NEAT MENTALS [Melodic Punk Rock - Stuttgart]
https://www.facebook.com/neatmentalsband
https://neatmentals.bandcamp.com

SIDEWALK SURFERS [Melodic Skate Punk - Saarbrücken]
https://www.facebook.com/SidewalkSurfersMusic
https://sidewalksurfers.bandcamp.com

Einlass: 19:30 Uhr
Beginn: 20:00 Uhr
VVK: 15,- Euro (zzgl. Gebühren)

 

FACEBOOK-EVENT

Konzert

CLUB DÉJÀ-VU Release Show | Support: DETLEF

08.07.2023 | 20:00 – 23:00 Uhr | VVK: 12,00 € zuzügl. Gebühren

Club Déjà-vu
Club Déjà-vu ist die dienstälteste unentdeckte Qualitätsband Deutschlands. Traumschöne Leads und zuverlässige Beats, liebevolle Basslinien und schroffe Gitarren. Seit 19 Jahren bedienen Club Déjà-vu mit ihrem unverkennbaren Stilmix aus Punk Rock, Indie, Wave und AOR. Hier treffen Leichtfüßigkeit auf jenseitige Traurigkeit, Sanftmut auf Abreibung.
Sänger Ferdinand Führer spart sich den Umweg über die Ohren und singt direkt in Euer Herz, Angry Stefs Punch spendet Trost in dunklen Zeiten, Roland Van Oysterns Marshall-Gitarren inspirieren zu Tatenlosigkeit und Gregor Endhardts Solos beseelen den Körper wie ein unverhoffter Schluck Bier in der Nachmittagssonne.

Detlef
Aus den Trümmern der Kölner Urbaner-Asipop-Bewegung entstand im November 2017 Detlef. Detlef ist der legitime Nachfolger und militante Arm von Supernichts! Den beiden kongenialen Punkrock-Routiniers Detlef Löber (Schlagzeug, Gesang) und Detlef Meurer (Gitarre, Gesang) von Supernichts und Knochenfabrik schließt sich Detlef Damm (Bass, Gesang) von Incoming Leergut an.

 

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Konzert

CIGAR | CHASER

25.07.2023 | 19:30 – 22:45 Uhr | VVK: 16,00 € zuzügl. Gebühren

CIGAR (us - FAT WRECK) kommen am 25.07.2023 zurück ins JuHa West. Mit dabei CHASER. Was ein PunkRock Brett.

CIGAR (West Coast)
Melodic punk band from the West Coast of the United States.
https://www.facebook.com/cigartheband
https://cigartheband.bandcamp.com/music

CHASER (Califorina)
Fast, energetic, & melodic skate punk with a positive CHASER spin!

https://www.facebook.com/chaserbandhttps://chaser.bandcamp.com

 

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Konzert

CROUCH | GHOST TRAIN SUPLEX

29.07.2023 | 20:00 – 23:00 Uhr | VVK: 15,00 € zuzügl. Gebühren

CROUCH [Belgium Heavy music made by Levy Seynaeve, Wim Coppers and Jasper Hollevoet]
CROUCH was founded somewhere around 2021 when Levy Seynaeve and Wim Coppers decided the world needed a good, slow heavy band. After working together on 4 Wiegedood albums, it quickly became clear that the songwriting mojo also translated when composing Crouch songs.
When 4 songs were finished, the EP was recorded by Gilles Demolder (Wiegedood, Siem Reap, Oathbreaker). Up until then, there was no bass player and Levy recorded all the bass lines himself. This search was quite an easy task: Jasper Hollevoet, who earned his stripes in Siem Reap and Ventilator, provedto be a great match. Crouch was born and is ready to take over.

Support:
GHOST TRAIN SUPLEX [Stuttgart: Metal-Hardcore-Jazz]

Einlass: 20 Uhr
Beginn: 20:30 Uhr

 

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VVK: 15,- Euro (zzgl. Gebühren)
AK: 18,- Euro

August

Konzert

BAD COP BAD COP | THE VENOMOUS PINKS

01.08.2023 | 19:30 – 22:45 Uhr | VVK: 19,00 € zuzügl. Gebühren

DESTINY TOURBOOKING UND JUHA WEST PRÄSENTIEREN:

BAD COP BAD COP
UP THE PUPS TOUR 2023
with THE VENOMOUS PINKS

BAD COP BAD COP [FAT WRECK]
Bad Cop Bad Cop has done angry. The band’s 2017 full-length, Warriors, was recorded in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election. The Los Angeles quartet’s new full-length, The Ride (Fat Wreck Chords, June 19th), shows what happens when you come out the other side of that anger.

“It’s not that I am just stoked or blind to suffering,” says singer-guitarist Jennie Cotterill. “I think anger is a legitimate and understandable reaction to injustice and wrongdoing. It’s just that for myself, I am trying to move past ‘reaction’ into productive ‘response.’”

The message BCBC is sending this time around is less about wagging your finger at others, or giving the middle one to the Man, than it is about self-love and acceptance. As Cotterill puts it, “Love is a more powerful truth than anger.” That positivity fuels many of The Ride’s tracks: “Originators,” “Simple Girl,” “Community,” “I Choose,” “Perpetual Motion Machine,” and “The Mirage” exude confidence, gratitude, and compassion. In 2020, such things qualify as contrarian.

"These are political statements—self-love is a huge fucking statement," affirms singer-guitarist Stacey Dee. "Self-love means putting a fix on the problems at home before trying to fix everything in the world. It's asking people to find it in themselves to create the life that they really want to have so they're not in turmoil, so they're not in a place of stress and sickness."

Dee speaks from experience. In 2018 she was hospitalized twice for different ailments, then discovered she had stage one breast cancer at the end of the year. Fortunately it was highly treatable, but the experience was life-altering. Dee captures it with brutal frankness on “Breastless,” whose bright melodies belie the struggle described in the lyrics.

“Certain Kind of Monster” and “Pursuit of Liberty”—both written and sung by bassist Linh Le—are blistering repudiations of the current administration’s treatment of immigrants.

The former is an imagined conversation with an ICE agent, and the latter juxtaposes her family’s immigration to the U.S. from Vietnam in 1975 to current events, something she’s never explored musically.

The perspective behind The Ride lends it an undeniable maturity, without losing its power. Recorded throughout much of 2018 and 2019 by Johnny Carey and Fat Mike of production team the D-Composers, the album boasts all of the elements of BCBC’s sound: big guitars, lock-step bass and drums (the latter by powerhouse drummer Myra Gallarza), intricate vocal harmonies, and plenty of attitude.

It’s just that this time, the attitude is encouraging, not raging. Nowhere is that more apparent than lilting album closer “Sing With Me.” Built around acoustic guitar, piano, and Cotterill’s voice, it’s an exhortation to “sing with me / or sing your own song / I don’t mind, just as long as you find / a voice.”

Dee adds, "If people are listening to our songs and they're going to sing along to them, they're going to start owning some of those words. And in owning some of those words that gives them some strength and power going forward. That's really the biggest gift that I could give to anybody."

THE VENOMOUS PINKS (SBÄM)
If members of Bikini Kill and TSOL musically collided in a Russ Myer movie, the soundtrack scoring the scene would be orchestrated by The Venomous Pinks. Hailing from Mesa, Arizona the three-piece trio creates an unapologetically, uniquely addictive, in-your-face punk sound, that instantly makes the soul hurt so good, you can’t help but yearn for more.
Recently signed to SBÄM Records. They have blasted their way from the garage and into the spotlight, shredding the stage with some of punk rock's finest bands, such as: Bad Religion, Iggy Pop, Anti-Flag, The Bouncing Souls, just to name a few. Even though they have been touring all over the country, they have street cred to back them since their loyalty to their local roots runs deep.

Einlass: 19:30 Uhr
Beginn: 20 Uhr

Tickets via Reservix, Eventim und juhawest.loveyourartist.store

 

Facebook

Konzert

PULLEY - Special Guest: The Rumperts

05.08.2023 | 19:30 – 23:00 Uhr | VVK: 18,00 € zuzügl. Gebühren

PULLEY EU TOUR 2023
Support: The Rumperts

PULLEY is an American punk rock band from Simi Valley, California. Shortly after forming in 1995, the group signed to Epitaph Records. Over the next ten years, with the backing of the influential Los Angeles based independent label, the band issued five full length records, helping to build a cult following of supportive fans.
As time went on, PULLEY members, Scott Radinsky (vocals), Mike Harder (guitar), and Tyler Rebbe (bass), continued to tour and release new music regularly, eventually adding longtime friends Trey Clinesmith on guitar and Sean Sellers on drums.
In 2019, after more than two decades performing live, both nearby and in some of the further reaches the planet, PULLEY was honored to be inducted into the Ventura County Music Hall of Fame. PULLEY released their latest studio album "The Golden Life" on May 13, 2022 via SBÄM Records.

Präsentiert von:
Destiny Tourbooking, Sbäm Records, Reservix, Ox Fanzine & livegigs.de

Einlass: 19:30 Uhr
Beginn: 20 Uhr

Tickets gibts hier:
- Reservix
- Eventim
- LoveYourArtist

 

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September

Konzert

A SECRET REVEALED | PRAISE THE PLAGUE

07.09.2023 | 19:30 – 22:45 Uhr | VVK: 14,00 € zuzügl. Gebühren

Anfang September startet die gemeinsame Herbsttour von den Post-Metallern A Secret Revealed und der Doom/ Black Metal Band Praise the Plague.
Taucht ein in den energetischen und melancholischen Sound von A Secret Revealed und die düsteren Klanglandschaften von Praise the Plague.

A Secret Revealed - As I Watch You Perish:
https://youtu.be/rs2QD_IQxUc

Praise the Plague - Beyond:
https://youtu.be/E9Kx8xi2-mQ

Einlass: 19:30 Uhr
Beginn: 20 Uhr

 

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Konzert

PLAIINS

14.09.2023 | 19:30 – 22:45 Uhr | VVK: 15,00 € zuzügl. Gebühren

PLAIINS
Your Friends All Bore Me - Tour 2023

Einlass: 19:30 Uhr | Beginn: 20:00 Uhr

PLAIINS ist eine Rockband, die einen mit voller Wucht erwischt. Songs voller Kraft und Kanten, voller Charakter und Verrücktheit. Mit dem erfolgreichen Release ihrer ersten EP „DEAD RINGER“ im September 2022 machen Chris (Gesang, Gitarre), Tal (Bass) und David (Drums) klar, dass es ihnen um nicht weniger geht als in der obersten Rock-Liga mitzumischen. Auch live stehen sie dabei für einen kompromisslos nach vorne gespielten Alternative Rock im Geiste von Bands wie IDLES, Amyl & The Sniffers oder Viagra Boys.

 

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Oktober

Konzert

STRIKE ANYWHERE | ROUGHNECK RIOT

04.10.2023 | 19:30 – 23:00 Uhr | VVK: 20,00 € zuzügl. Gebühren

STRIKE ANYWHERE
NIGHTMARES OF THE WEST - EUROPE TOUR 2023
Special Guest: Roughneck Riot (uk)

STRIKE ANYWHERE – NIGHTMARES OF THE WEST
Nightmares Of The West might be Strike Anywhere’s first new music in over a decade, but in some ways the five-piece hasn’t changed at all. These seven songs – six brand new originals and a cover of “Opener” by London punks Blocko – are as full of fire and fury as anything the band has written since forming in Richmond, VA in 1999. At the same time, this EP infuses the band’s ideological vision with the perspective its members have now, both as people in general, but also as political activists and musicians currently living in the USA – somewhere that’s markedly different from how it was when Iron Front, their last album, was released in 2009.
“We wanted to write things that we felt really fresh about and that revealed something new,” explains vocalist Thomas Barnett. “It was almost like this refresh, this restart, where we found ways to write songs that not only moved us, but also reflected the times and our ages. But we definitely feel inspired, and this record is a platform for us to hopefully – in time – play shows, connect with community, and help keep those little fires lit in ourselves and in others through the music and those shared experiences. These songs are the conversations that we want to have and the feelings that we still really need to share.”

The seeds of those conversations and feelings were properly planted in 2017 in Brooklyn, when the band – completed by guitarists/backing vocalists Matt Smith and Mark Miller, bassist Garth Petrie and drummer Eric Kane – were on a bill with Hot Water Music. Because although there’s been no new music for a decade, Strike Anywhere still played the odd shows and still sent ideas to each other from their respective towns and would work on them when they were together. That night, it was “The Bells”, a song about retreading your past that specifically explores the ghosts of their hometown of Richmond.
“That night, we brought out the bones of that song,” says Barnett, “and just started playing it, like rapid fire around the room with Eric kind of playing his drum sticks on his lap, and we just started getting into it. And then we had this conversation that has a lot of chemistry and smiles, and we were talking about the songs like they were actually living and breathing.”

While there’s certainly a sense of heartfelt, poignant personal nostalgia ringing throughout “The Bells” at all the things and people that have been lost over the years – it is, of course, also underpinned by the political outlook and ideologies that have driven the band from their inception. So – like most songs the band have written over the years – while it’s specific in setting and inspiration, it’s universal in meaning, in message and in emotion.

“It’s about Richmond, our hometown, and a walk through the city i took after a good friend of mine died in a fire,” Barnett explains. “In the past 10 years since Iron Front, there's also been a lot of loss, because obviously that's what happens you get older – you lose friends and peers. So tucked into the record is that idea that of mourning and grieving, but knowing you don't have to go it alone. But this song also deals with the loss and grief of non-human things – cities, time. Things that used to have a lot of depth and felt really robust, and now feel flattened by gentrification, flattened by raw capitalism squeezing out art spaces, squeezing out working class communities. It’s looking at the way cities change and who you lose, and where people have to go when they can no longer afford to live anywhere.”

That balance – at a crude level, between the political and the personal, though really it’s something much more nuanced than that – is found within the fabric of the rest of the EP’s songs, too. Recorded, like the band’s four albums to date, at Salad Days Studio in Baltimore by Brian McTernan, it starts with the blistering “Documentary” – another song riddled with an overwhelming sense of loss, and contempt and disgust with what society has become – before crashing into the impetuous, breathless rush of “Dress The Wounds”. Elsewhere, “Frontier Glitch” is an aggressive yet melodic burst of defiance and pissed-offness that also contains the line from which this EP takes its powerful, provocative title – one that cements, if there were any doubt, the purpose and the meaning driving these songs.
“It’s speaking to what's happening now, obviously,” says Barnett. “This system, this machine, this view of history has deep, fatal flaws. And it's not just something for people to talk about academically, or, you know, in little groups, like this is something that is writ large now, when it hasn't been in our lifetimes. And the critical failures of the view of America that the view of capitalism equating with freedom, the view of nation states, all this stuff that's past its sell-by date, itself, like these ideas, that were flawed to begin with, and nobody was honest about it. And now, unprepared as fuck, here we are, and we really need to say 'Okay, look, we can reorganize this. This thing happened 200 years ago, or the western hegemony of the globe happened 400 years ago and these were deep missteps. And we can either annihilate ourselves by trying to justify it to death, or – to quote the Bouncing Souls – we can find what's good and make it last.”

That, then, is exactly what Strike Anywhere are doing with these songs. But more than that, they’re also turning the negatives in positives. For while there might be a sad tenderness at the heart of “Imperium Of Waste”, out of it springs a hope and an optimism that transcends and overpowers the emotions experiences that inspired it. Similarly, the Blocko cover pays tribute to that band’s drummer, Marc ‘Mates’ Maitland, who took his life in 2019 – a way of keeping his memory alive while acknowledging how time keeps moving on for all of us – and always will. To that, extent, the point of Nightmares Of The West is to understand that, and to understand that despite of all the injustice in the world, it’s still important to fight the good fight, to find solace in friendship and community, in order to heal on both a micro and a macro level. That’s something encapsulated by final track, “We Make The Road By Walking”, the sentiments of which embody the EP’s overall attitude – that no matter what has happened, and no matter what might and will happen, we have to always continue walking forward towards something better, as well as strive to be better ourselves .

“This has to be about healing,” says Barnett. “It has to be about looking deep and understanding that we're all still in this together. And this shit is getting harder. And it's a lot of the same stuff that bands have been talking about, that people have been protesting and laying down their lives for. It’s not even about having all the answers, but finding that strength is really important. It’s really important to stay in the game and to feel love, and to feel like your family – and everyone and everything around you – is worth fighting for. That’s all this band has been trying to say for 20 years and counting, but it’s the project of a lifetime.”

EINLASS: 19:30 UHR
BEGINN: 20:00 UHR
Tickets bei RESERVIX, EVENTIM und im LOVEYOURARTIST STORE

(Photo Credit: Josh Casino)

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