Amsterdam’s OPEN WOUNDS (featuring Marko Korac of veteran pack VITAMIN X) have recently released their debut full length on Refuse Records, and we finally have the chance to give it a proper feature, including their first hand track by track commentary from singer Jip Daems. Featuring melodious, yet raw tracks with nods to 80s hardcore and spiced up by an amazing sci-fi cover art from acclaimed artist Bill Hauser, this offering is a record to warm the minds and hearts critical of current society and systems’ absurds and injustices. Play it loud and see the full commentary below.
Open Wounds’ “Invaders” brings you that classic no-nonsense early 80’s North American hardcore punk sound. 14 catchy songs filled with energy, anger and a good dose of melody. Packed in beautiful surreal SciFi artwork created by the great artist Bill Hauser. This record will make you sing-a-long, stage dive from your couch and circle pit around your kitchen chairs./ Refuse Records
For fans of: Minor Threat, Jerry’s Kids, Government Issue, Offenders, Urban Waste, Circle Jerks, CIA, The Abused, Negative Approach, YOT, Gorilla Biscuits, Career Suicide, Government Warning,and Direct Control.
OPEN WOUNDS is: Jip Daems – Vocals; Marko Korac – Guitar; Gideon Ferrero – Bass; Boy Van Egmond – Drums
Open Wounds
“First track of the Lp and one of my personal favorites on the record. It’s a super straight-forward fast paced hardcore song, but I think it has a good balance with some melody in there as well. The fact that this is also the song that carries the same name as the band was not the reason we chose it as the opening track, but I think it’s a nice coincidence. Lyrically this songs is about skeletons in closets. And how there’s a cost to trying to appear perfect. We all have flaws. Better embrace them than try to pretend they’re not there.”
Can’t Escape
“This is quite an old Open Wounds song. We actually recorded a version of this song for our first demo tape. On that tape we were very much still in the formative stages. The band has undergone some significant personnel changes since then, but we still play this song live and we figured it would be cool to re-record it for the LP. A song about going crazy from having too many people around you. Don’t get me wrong: there’s loads of cool people out there, and I enjoy people’s company a lot. But there’s also plenty of annoying ones. And some days being around people can be really draining. This is a song for those days.”
End of the Line
“This one’s about life beating you down. And how lucky you are when you have friends and family to pick you back up. Musically, this song combines a good dose of speed and aggression in the verses with more melody in the chorus. Marko’s intention while writing this song was to make something that combines elements of the early Articles of Faith records and some Dag Nasty thrown in the mix.”
Record Collectors
“Marko usually writes the music for our songs. I remember him coming into practice with the opening riff for this song, and all of us instantly liking it. This one is about one of my favorite activities in the whole world: collecting records. It’s actually an activity the majority of the band has in common; though not all in similar degrees. I’m guessing me and Marko are the worst of us four as far as collecting vinyl goes. We definitely all love music. Eighties hardcore and punk being the common denominator, but the musical tastes within the band are actually surprisingly diverse. From Zappa to hiphop and from folk to metal. For me, whenever I see a record store somewhere, I just have to take a look and usually I end up walking away with one or more additions to the collection. This song is a celebration of the joys of collecting.”
Talking Shitheads
“What sets this song apart from other songs on this record is the slow intro but energetic build up and fast part that appears 3 times in the song. The goal was to create a very early 80’s hardcore type of anthem that can easily fit on your old tape compilation between bands like The Abused, Koro or early C.O.C if you can manage to squeeze it in. Lyrically, the song is about all these so called celebrities talking their shit on TV. It annoys the hell out of me a lot of times.”
Cogs In The Machine
“One of the most melodic songs on the record. This song was written by Marko as more or less an experiment to see if we could pull of something a little slower and more melodic. I’m guessing his love for the ‘oi’-spectrum of punk also shines through in this one. Lyrically it deals with this whole idea that we live in a system in which the powers-that-be try to tell us that the way the world works in somehow an inevitable fact. That we can’t change the world, because it simply is the way it is as if by some sort of law of nature. I can be really cynical at times, but I still believe that we as humanity have a choice, and that unjust systems can be changed. Fun fact about this song: there’s actually a recording of this song where I sing lyrics to a The Cure song over the verses of this song. Not telling you which song, because when you hear it, you can’t unhear it. Me and Nils (who is a total boss and who recorded most of our record) recorded it in one take to have a laugh and freak out Marko. Which it did.”
Dark Days
“Another one that’s already a bit older. It’s about tragedy. How it can turn worlds upside down in the blink of an eye. You never know when these moments will hit, but when they do they feel like a line drawn in the sand and you can never go back to the way things were. Musically I really like the little bassline at the start of the song, as well as the sing-alongs in the chorus.”
Energy
“This songs kicks of side ‘B’ of the record. A super simple, positive, fast hardcore-punk song. Definitely a tribute to the music we all love. Marko and me wrote the lyrics for this one together. It’s about the fact that this thing we call DIY punk/hardcore has been around for 40 years, and there’s still so many people involved keeping it alive and keeping it going. It’s specifically directed at the people ‘behind the scenes’; who do all the work but a lot of times don’t get the credit they deserve. Yes, bands are super important in keeping this thing going, but the infrastructure of venues, kids booking shows, making food, offering places to sleep, doing (web)zines, etc. is in my opinion at least equally, if not even more, important.”
Judgment Day
“I like to believe that there is something like karma out there. That good deeds and being nice to people will somehow be rewarded, and that you’ll end up paying at some point and in some form for being an asshole. Same goes for humanity as a whole. We’re not treating our earth the way we should, and we all know that someday we’ll pay the price.”
Don’t Want to Be (An Individual)
“This song is both tongue-in-cheek and completely serious at the same time. It’s about the horrors of living a completely ‘average’ life, and the blissful prospect of it at the same time. I’m often torn between the two. Musically I like the way this one turned out a lot. The chorus of this one is definitely one of the most tuneful moments on the record and I like how the backing vocals turned out.”
Never Back Down
“This song, like ‘Energy’, features a cool guitar solo by Marc, the guitar player for Marko’s other band Vitamin X. Very cool to have him contribute some of his excellent guitar skills to our record. I really like Gideon’s bass playing on this song as well. I guess it’s not cool to say this about your own bass player but this guy is one of the most talented musicians I know and one of the most skilled bass players in the Dutch punk scene. You should definitely check out his other band, Paranoid State, as well. They already have two excellent Lp’s under their belt which more people should know about.”
Deadline
“About being super overloaded with work. No time for slowing down. We’ve all been there, right? Musically, this is probably one of fastest songs on the record. Early Adrenalin OD was definitely an inspiration for this song, but combined with a more punk rock type of slow part in order to accentuate the fast parts that come afterwards.”
No One’s Perfect
“The title says it all really. We all have our flaws and our faults. Be compassionate to your friends and the people you love. We all make mistakes at times. I know I do. And yes, there are definitely some very intentional nods to Insted and Youth of Today in this song.”
Can’t Accept Defeat
“Last song on the record. This one’s about life flying by. I wouldn’t say we’re a band of old farts, but we’re all over 35, with half the band being over 40, so we definitely can’t claim to be the youngest anymore either. At a certain point you can’t help but feel that your life is passing you by. This song is a reminder to actually live it.”
