By the time “Question Your Privileges” comes out on October 4, 2025, Prison Of Hope are already past the moment that made it necessary. The EP exists because the band restarted, not because they needed a statement piece. After forming in late 2021 and going through a lineup change, they released the 7” “Unlearn:Learn” in 2024. This record is simply what came next. Most of the songs were written during that same year, then left to sit until they sounded right.
“It’s pretty simple,” the band explain. “Since we started over and released our 7” with the new line-up this EP is the straight follow up. Most songs were finished in 2024 and just needed some fine-tuning.” There’s no hidden concept behind it. What matters more to them is that it finally feels accurate. “For us now it feels like the first real release with the band. It sounds like we want to sound.”
That sound is firmly rooted in 90s hardcore, with heavy metallic edges and a physical, chug-driven pace. Prison Of Hope pull from the same lineage that shaped bands like Chokehold, Unbroken, Earth Crisis, and Indecision, adding death metal undertones and double-bass weight without drifting into excess. The EP runs six tracks: “Intro The Abyss”, “Step Aside”, “Caveman”, “Daryush”, “One Commandment Would Be Enough”, and “Burning Bridges”. Nothing overstays its welcome. The songs do what they’re built to do and move on.
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Lyrically, the band stay consistent with what they’ve been about since the beginning: animal and human liberation, feminism, atheism. But these themes aren’t framed as moral posturing. They’re treated as part of everyday life, something that shows up in small decisions and behavior rather than grand declarations. That approach becomes clearer when talking about the title.
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They’re aware that “privilege” has become a worn-out term. “It seems like the term ‘privilege’ is some kind of overused these days,” they admit, “but we wanted a strong name for the record and it just felt right.” What matters to them isn’t the word itself, but what follows from it.
“What can I, as a person, do to make the world a better place and to make the society I live in less unjust? How do I treat the ones around me?” They’re realistic about limits — no one can flip the system overnight — but they reject the idea that this excuses inaction. They talk openly about benefiting from things like gender or place of birth, and the harder question that follows: “What can I do to prevent disadvantage from others who don’t participate from these profits?”
One line from the EP keeps coming back in that context: “do not cause suffering”. It’s not presented as a slogan or a hook, but as a baseline. Something simple enough to apply daily, without pretending it solves everything.
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“Question Your Privileges” isn’t meant as a break from the past. The band see it as a continuation of “Unlearn:Learn”, and part of a longer process. “We’re still progressing but we see it as a part of a process as a band, personally, lyrically, musically,” they say. The recording itself became a learning phase, shaping how they want to approach future material rather than closing a chapter.
That sense of process also shows up in how Prison Of Hope talk about their home city. Stuttgart, in their view, is in a healthy place right now. There’s a mix of older and newer bands, some gaining wider attention, and a noticeable shift in who occupies the scene. “The good thing is that there are many with female members,” they point out, alongside a wider range of styles. The audience has changed too. The scene, they say, has become more female and more diverse over the last few years, and being part of that feels natural rather than symbolic.
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After the release shows, the band are looking ahead without making it sound bigger than it is. More shows are planned for spring and summer, especially after a quieter end to 2025. New songs are already taking shape, and the idea of returning to the studio in 2026 is on the table. No deadlines, no pressure.
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