Slovenian hardcore band Reach A.D. have returned with their most defined and personal release to date. “Chains Of Yesterday” is their second single with the current lineup, accompanied by a music video, and it cuts deep into themes of personal regret, transformation, and finding peace through pain.
Produced and recorded by anXist and mastered by Will Killingsworth at Dead Air Studios, the track brings a sharp blend of heavy hardcore with early-2000s metalcore influences—what the band calls “a little 00’s metalcore twist.”
The foundation on “Chains Of Yesterday” doesn’t shy away from brutality. Razor-sharp guitars shift between 90s metallic hardcore and modern, chug-heavy breakdowns.
Drums punch in with short, furious bursts, while the bass adds a raw, dirty undercurrent. “It’s a great combination of straightforward heavy hardcore,” the band states, citing influences like Pain of Truth, Worst Doubt, Boundaries, and Poison The Well.
According to vocalist Goran, the song is “about raw reflection on personal growth, diving into the weight of past mistakes and the burden of regret. It’s about facing your own flaws without shame, learning from them, and using that experience as fuel to evolve.” The lyrics make that process clear: “I know that all my mistakes made me the man I am today, and I won’t beg for forgiveness, I am my own witness.”
Bassist Matija was the one who brought the core idea for the track. “My main goal when I started writing the skeleton of ‘Chains of Yesterday’ was to add something unique and different to what Reach A.D. was used to. Personally I listened to so much melodic hardcore growing up—especially Dreambound, shoutout to Homeland and Reliance. While I wanted to keep the barebones of heavy hardcore I just wanted to add a special little touch to it.”
Drummer Benjamin recalls the writing process: “When Matija sent us an idea of a song we instantly knew that this was it. Me and our guitarist Timi spiced it up a little bit… some riff changes here and there with a spark of brutality and a huge breakdown at the end of the song. Goran came with some sick lyrics and that was it.”
This new phase marks what the band calls a fourth stage in their evolution.
Founded in 2016, the group began under the name Reach, releasing a demo CD, a split CD, a compilation tape, and the EP More Than Us in a fully DIY manner. Those early years were steeped in straightforward hardcore, reminiscent of Terror, Bent Life, Expire, and Backtrack. Then came lineup changes: Matic and Timotej joined as vocalist and guitarist, shifting the band’s sound toward beatdown and metallic influences—Code Orange, Knocked Loose, Jesus Piece.
The third major change came in 2022 when Goran became the new vocalist and Matija took over on bass in 2023, replacing longtime member Jože. “We all love old school hardcore,” they explain, “but newer bands and metalcore influences are a huge part of our writing process too.” They cite their upbringing on the MySpace-era mixtapes filled with bands like Poison The Well, Unearth, and Killswitch Engage, blended with raw NYHC energy.
Benjamin highlights the role of online DIY culture in shaping their direction. “We all agree that from the day Hate5Six started posting live sets of bands we never heard of before, it changed the game in hardcore. This was the additional spark that lit up the fire in our hearts—meaning our love for hardcore grew every time we watched a new set from TIHC.”
That inspiration turned to frustration when comparing the U.S. scene to their local one. “I remember watching TIHC sets wishing our scene in Slovenia or Balkans would look like this,” says Benjamin, “but unfortunately we are still light years from that. There is still hope… In the last few years hardcore scene around here has grown and new kids are coming to shows, creating new bands and being active in bookings. When you see youngsters two-stepping and spin-kicking in front of the stage, you know things are getting better.”
That spirit is part of what birthed Reach A.D.
“Hardcore dancing was always a big taboo in our country. I think most kids were just embarrassed to enjoy themselves in that way because there was always a negative comment coming from some gatekeeping hardcore ‘veteran’ telling us that this is something posers would do.”
Since the release of their EP Oath of Defiance, Reach A.D. have shared the stage with Terror, Deez Nuts, Bold, Backtrack, and Abhinanda, and toured across Europe with Risk It and Combust in 2023. The band is aiming to bring Slovenian hardcore to the wider map—and “Chains Of Yesterday” is part of that effort.
The lineup’s new cohesion is not just musical but personal.
“Our writing process was a little bit slow in past years due to constant lineup changes and battling demons in private lives,” they explain, “but we figured it out now. What helped the most is that everyone became straight edge. Some of us were SXE already for years and years, some of us became sober not so long ago, but what matters the most is that we see the world with a clear mind now. So our new music will be focused around these issues too.”
The band has upcoming shows lined up across Hungary, Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia—including Tolminator Metal Fest in July 2025.
Apr 18 – RIFF, Budapest (Hungary)
Apr 19 – SUB, Graz (Austria)
Apr 26 – SKWHAT, Sisak (Croatia)
Jun 2 – VENSTER99, Vienna (Austria)
Jun 28 – PRIMARIUS, Zagreb (Croatia)
Jul 23–27 – Tolminator Metal Fest, Tolmin (Slovenia)
Lastly, Read A.D. have shared their shoutouts and recommended bands and labels to check out. Here’s what we got.
SURVIVED BY NOTHING
See recent IDIOTEQ feature HERE.
Our good friends from Croatia. These youngsters are something different, something fresh on our soil. I never thought I’d be hearing a local band that sounds like some american heavy hitter but fuck yeah! They got our support all the way!
ESCALATE
By now most of you probably heard of Hungarian vegan straight edge warriors called Escalate. Not so long ago this band was signed by New Age Records and they are not stopping now! These guys are not just great band but also the most friendly and supportive people we know. Huge love for them!
RISK IT
Reach A.D. and Risk It! connection goes years back when we booked a show for them in Slovenia and that’s how our friendship began. At some point these guys were like big uncles to us. We learned a lot from them and we are forever gratefull for all the opportunities they gave us!
COMBUST
See recent IDIOTEQ feature HERE.
We never thought we’d be friends with such a talented band representing what NYHC is all about. So big shout-out to our homies across the pond.
Shout-out to these cool bands too:
STEPPED OUT, very cool hardcore punk band from Split, Croatia (FFO: Comeback Kid, Have Heart, Terror), ODPISANI, legendary Slovenian old school hardcore punk (see IDIOTEQ feature HERE) (FFO: SICK OF IT ALL, SLAPSHOT, WISDOM IN CHAINS), NEVEN, new kids from Serbia breaking through (FFO: youth crew & 90’s hardcore combined), DEAD DOG SUMMER, unique sound coming from Croatia (see IDIOTEQ features HERE) (FFO: TITLE FIGHT, BASEMENT, JOYCE MANOR)
We want to shout out some of the promoters keeping the hardcore scene alive:
DIRTY SKUNKS: Everlasting love to these guys. Slovenian metal & hardcore scene wouldn’t be the same without them. Bringing big names to Slovenia since day one.
HARDCORE KOPER CREW: Saddly we played at their last show ever not so long ago but these guys kept hardcore in slovenia alive for years.
HARDCORE FOR THE LOSERS: Booking based in Vienna, managed by Croatian. I think every hardcore band that played VENSTER99 or RHIZ could agree that Mišo is the legend!
TO DEFY COLLECTIVE & REACTION ZINE: Two separate bookings working together. Based in Budapest, these guys started to bringing some heavy hitters to Hungary. Expect big things!
BARREN FIELD BOOKING: Based in Graz, Jakov and Maja always took good care of us!
There’s probably a lot of bands and promoters we forgot to mention so big love to them too!
