KIN CORRUPTION is a hardcore band hailing from Athens, Greece. Formed in 2014, the project of vocalist Giannis B. and bassist George T. was at first nothing more than a creative outlet to vent their frustration. With the addition of two more members, however, an actual band started taking shape. It was in the rehearsal space where KIN CORRUPTION was brought to life. The search for a signature sound eventually led them to create an idiosyncratic hardcore tone in the vein of Hatebreed and Terror. Shortly afterwards the first piece of music was recorded and their first single came out in 2015. This was followed by an EP titled “Redwood” in 2016, where KIN CORRUPTION, still experimenting with their sonic identity, made a turn towards New York hardcore.
A pivotal line-up change occurred later that year, when drummer Harris P. and guitarists Dimitris T. and Fontas K. entered the band. Their chemistry was instant and that’s when KIN CORRUPTION really started taking off. It wasn’t long before the quintet settled into a more modern hardcore sound by fusing their shared influences with fresh ideas and a vision. They quickly rose to become a household name due to their energetic performances and, admittedly, invigorated their stagnant local scene. KIN CORRUPTION have also been fortunate to share the stage with some iconic hardcore acts such as Agnostic Front, Lionheart, Backtrack and Nasty.
KIN CORRUPTION draws influence from wide range of heavy alternative music scenes, which include -but are not limited to- old school American hardcore (Agnostic Front, Sick Of It All), thrash metal and crossover (old Metallica, Municipal Waste), nu metal (Dry Kill Logic, Limp Bizkit) and, of course, the likes of Hatebreed and Comeback Kid. Don’t be fooled though; over the years KIN CORRUPTION grew into an entity of their own, assimilating said influences into a solid, hard-hitting sonic outcome.
After the release of the acclaimed single “Through Pain” in 2017, KIN CORRUPTION started gathering ideas for a full length studio album. They say you have your entire life to create your first album and, to an extent, it’s true. Choosing the right material is crucial and never an easy task.
Today, KIN CORRUPTION are releasing their magnum opus, their debut album titled “KCHC”. The initialism stands for Kin Corruption HardCore and embodies the band’s identity and mission statement in the simplest but boldest form, encapsulating at the same time the essence of the record.
Inspired by their predecessors in the international hardcore punk scene, who always talked about unity, KIN CORRUPTION realizes the tumultuous times we live in and stresses the need for people to finally come together. “The main reason behind composing the song is the sense of unity and solidarity we want to convey to every single person in our scene”, comments vocalist Giannis B. “As a band, we strongly believe that the success and advancement of our scene is heavily dependent on collective actions. Besides, creating a wider group of friends with like-minded individuals, outside of cliques, has always been a goal since the band’s inception”.
The above single features guest vocals by Devrim “Defnight”, from the Berlin hardcore band Blood Shot Down. KIN CORRUPTION says about the collaboration: “For this track, we decided to work with Blood Shot Down from Berlin. We met in 2017 in Athens, when we both performed with Nasty, and we’ve been close since. It was only natural that we reached out to them to bring our vision to life and also to promote our message outside our borders”.
The video, filmed during the lockdown, consists of KIN CORRUPTION performance shots and cameos from bands from the Greek scene as well as Blood Shot Down themselves. “The trigger for the creation of the video was the lockdown due to Covid-19 and we figured this would be a great way to mobilize the bands in our local scene and find a way to come together again. So, we reached out to a handful of them from all over the country and asked them to film excerpts of the song. The positive reactions we got were immediate and exceeded all our expectations, proving that music is always one of the best ways of communication”.
KCHC track by track commentary:
1. 2014 – The name of the song is the year it all started. It’s been a great journey with many stories, a lot of fights and a lot of laughs. A road filled with difficulties but in the end of the day we still doing what keeps us alive.
2. Reprisal – “Reprisal” is pure, straight-to-the-point hatred, towards leeches that stick on you sucking every inch of success you have in their benefit, know-it-all’s and pretenders.
3. Brothers – One of the reasons we started the band, was to play music with friends, to make some new and to establish one big community of musicians that are friends. We’ve made a lot of progress since then and we came closer to that goal. “Brothers” is about that.
4. Nube negra – TI tried to bring some of my darkest thoughts to the surface, some deep feelings that soaked inside for some time. While the outcome scared me, I laid down some lyrics and they fitted perfectly with the song.
5. Bottom of the Well – This one’s about an old grudge which goes way back, that I have already forgotten how it started. After all it makes you sick, just by being around the ones you hate, for no particular reason.
6. First to Lust – Humankind is causing all other forms of life on earth to vanish, rapidly leading species to extinction and ending wildlife as we know it. The whole world’s in our hands and we keep destroying it. This song’s about that.
7. I Will Not Break – This song is about all the constants that negatively affect our lives, about all the battles that take place inside our heads and about how we overcome everything at the end of the day.
8. Third Law – Lyrically, this song is about some tough years in school; being somewhat different in this age, school is tough. I tried to explain how to cope with incidents of bullying by talking to people, firstly because perpetrators tend to be ”invisible” and secondly to motivate people to speak up because it’s hard to fight this alone.
9. Precious – I really wanted to dedicate a song for my loved ones; people that stood by my side in the most difficult times, the times I felt helpless, times I felt alone. This one is dedicated to all these people.
10. Cold call – This song, among others, describes that particular moment you experience when hearing some devastating news. For me it was when I heard that I had lost a friend. So if you ever lost someone that impacted you, if you ever lost someone you loved, someone that meant a lot to you, this is for you.
