Złodzieje Rowerów was a Polish emo hardcore punk band that formed in Zambrów in 1993 and disbanded in 2010. Their music was heavily influenced by 80’s and early 90’s Polish hardcore punk, European HC like Instigators and Life But How To Live It and late 80s US hardcore like Verbal Assault.
Despite being relatively unknown, the band gained recognition for their original song structures, well-written lyrics, and impressive live performances. In 1995, the band recorded their first material but failed to find a label interested in their music. However, a small, then amateurish label from Warsaw took a chance on them and released their material on cassette format, which sold around 1500 copies. This decision proved to be fruitful, as the band’s relationship with the label, Refuse Records, lasted for almost 30 years.
Złodzieje Rowerów’s music has been described as a combination of Verbal Assault and Dag Nasty, with Polish lyrics. The band’s live shows were intense and back in the day resulted in violent dancing and fights. Their late live appearance combined their passion with heartfelt, emotional praise from dedicated fans that sang along each and every line of their lyrics with hearts on their sleeve.
Today, in the new era of digital music, Refuse Records is giving us a chance to relive the old days and stream the iconic debut from Złodzieje Rowerów via Bandcamp.
In the same year, a live recording was released from CYMEON X, the pioneering straight edge hardcore band in Poland, who had previously unveiled two releases: “Wygrać Swoje Życie” in 1992 and “Free Your Mind Free Your Body” in 1993.
The band was heavily influenced by late 80s NYHC bands like Youth Of Today and Gorilla Biscuits, as well as European bands such as Manliftingbanner. Their music featured direct political and straight edge lyrics.
Cymeon X was considered to be the most significant straight edge hardcore band in Poland. They were active until their farewell show on June 15th, 1994, in their hometown of Poznań. Despite their disbandment, the band played several reunion shows in later years, including Straight Edge Fest in Podkowa Leśna in 1997, Poznań in 1997 (with Homomilitia and Awake), 1998 (with Battery, Better Than A Thousand, and Veil), and Poznań in 2006 (with Regres and Six-Pack).
In 2011, the band decided to reunite full-time, and has been active since then.
