From Darmstadt and Frankfurt, OFFCELL has been around since November 2022, pulling together a lineup shaped by years in the German underground. Dirk Modrok on vocals, Eike Grams on guitar, André Liegl on bass, and Julien Jung on drums — all of them with pasts in bands like Acheborn, Robotnik, Narsaak, Sunburnscold, PSSGS, Last Nights Favorite, and the Data Break. It’s not a debut built on hype but on familiarity: same scene, same rooms, same records on the turntable.
The band’s self-released debut EP “Still Here” was recorded in 2024 in a friend’s studio — that friend being Lari Eiden, whose own roots in hardcore run deep, and who happens to be the brother of Heikki Eiden (vocalist of Acheborn). The six tracks are short, tense, and melodic, anchored in lived experience and personal reflection, but delivered with a Central / Western European urgency that adds a layer of emotional grit — something that’s long been present in Polish hardcore and equally present here.
Forming the band was less about auditions and more about proximity, shared taste, and timing. Julien and André had been working on a stalled project, and when they looked for a guitarist, they asked Eike — someone they’d known from shows at Oetinger Villa in Darmstadt. When it came time to find a vocalist, Instagram made the match: Dirk had just moved to Frankfurt, and what started as a hangout trading 7-inch tracks turned into a first rehearsal. By the end of that night, it was clear: they needed a vocalist, and he needed a band.
Dirk’s lyrics on “Still Here” don’t chase big statements. They sit in lived-in reflection — on personal loss, disillusionment, mental health, the early days of the hardcore scene, and the slow erosion of relationships. There’s nothing inflated here, just solid songwriting and a clear sense of self.
The title track “Still Here” throws it back to the 90s. “All of us were socialized in that era with countless bands, fanzines and concerts,” Dirk explains. “I grew up in a small town that was held together by consuming as much alcohol as possible. As a non-drinker, I was always at odds with others. Discovering Straight Edge was a revelation for me and a big fuck you to everyone.” That defiance stuck: “Back then, I was always told that it was just a phase… 30 years later, I can say something different.”
“End Again” revisits a theme from Dirk’s 90s-era band Sunburnscold, this time updated for the algorithm age. The original track “…and again” went after the hollow lifestyle of fashion magazines and TV. The updated version keeps the same bones but turns the lens on “likes and little hearts.” Some lines from the old lyrics made it in too.
“Falling” addresses panic attacks — something Dirk dealt with throughout his twenties. “Back then, mental health wasn’t an issue and was seen as a weakness. I had absolutely no idea what was wrong with me.” He says the attacks became less frequent over time. “To this day I don’t know how I managed it without therapy. The song describes these attacks. You can never be completely cured of them, but I have learned to deal with them.”
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“This Is Not Forever” shifts to the pandemic years and what came undone. “I had a pretty difficult time between 2020 and 2023, including the death of close family members,” he says. At the same time, his clothing label of 15 years collapsed. “The pandemic forced a number of small companies to close. Unfortunately, mine was one of them.” But the track doesn’t stay bitter. “I never gave up hope that everything would work out. I am now very happy with what I do again, even if it is something different. So this is a negative song that turns into a positive one.”
The final two songs on the EP deal with cutting out toxic friendships. “I’m Just Waiting” and “Finally” both circle that theme from slightly different angles — the first looking at the internal decision to walk away, the second at the concrete discomfort of socializing with people whose company no longer feels like anything but weight.
Since releasing “Still Here”, OFFCELL has played shows across Germany, including Hamburg, Berlin, and Solingen. The energy is steady, the lineup solid, and a second EP is already in the works, likely to be recorded by the end of 2024.
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Their musical DNA runs through a wide set of influences, reflected in their personal top tens. Julien mixes Millencolin, The Bled, Captain Planet, Invent Animate, and La Dispute. Dirk’s list reaches from Refused and Battery to Guns N’ Roses and Earth Crisis. Eike folds in Elliott Smith, Meshuggah, Ministry, and Amyl and the Sniffers. André’s picks show range: Integrity, Neurosis, The Smiths, Fugazi, Bauhaus, and Tom Waits.
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OFFCELL builds on what they’ve lived through and listened to. Melodic hardcore with a sharper edge. European in tone — emotional but disciplined, raw but never performative. The same kind of clarity that’s made chaotic San Diego bands, Polish hardcore or Italian and French post hardcore stand out in the past three decades, now coming from the Frankfurt-Darmstadt axis.
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