Travølta returns with a new 12″ split, this time teaming up with German powerviolence act We Sleep (featuring members of Stack and Attack Of The Mad Axeman). The collaboration comes to vinyl and digital at the end of April 2025, following two years of activity since Travølta’s last full-length Discoviolence Up Yours!, and deepens the Belgian band’s commitment to short-form hardcore, biting commentary, and DIY execution.
The release, recorded and self-produced by the band’s bassist, reflects a more cohesive writing process than its predecessor. As they describe, “Compared to our previous album… our writing process for this record changed significantly.” Gone are the fragmented demo sessions from the COVID era. Instead, the songs emerged naturally over a year of rehearsals—though interrupted by injuries and scheduling hurdles. The band wrote “numerous songs,” of which these eleven reflect a focused and furious snapshot of the current Travølta.
Thematically, the record pushes deeper into sociopolitical ground while exploring everyday frustrations and subcultural introspection.
The opening tracks deliver straight shots of rage: nationalism in “Flag Lovers Song,” the commodification of DIY culture in “Everyday Grind Fever,” and pure contempt in “You’re Still A Bag Of Shit And We Still Don’t Care About You.” The latter, they note, “is one of our oldest songs… we reworked it… but it maintains a short song more akin to grindcore.”
View this post on Instagram
Their songwriting blends powerviolence tropes—blastbeats, breakneck runtimes, sarcasm—with a sharpened awareness of their own evolution. “More than on previous releases, our love for hc/punk shines through while still maintaining powerviolence,” they explain. “For most people it’s still unadulterated noise and that’s how we like it.”
Throughout, the artwork—again by their bassist—pulls from anti-capitalist iconography (Barbara Kruger, They Live, Pulp Fiction) and mirrors the band’s satirical streak. This visual identity continues the aesthetic lineage seen on Discoviolence Up Yours!.
The split with We Sleep is only part of Travølta’s packed 2025 schedule.
In June, they’re planning to drop a new live record—a raw and unpolished document of their live energy—released as a split with Cincinnati hardcore/punk/powerviolence band Slutbomb. The two bands have already shared stages twice, and Travølta speak highly of their counterparts: “Sincere people with their heart on the right place.”
Come July, they’ll head out for a two-week tour with longtime friends Meth Leppard, the Australian grindcore duo known for their sheer intensity. “We’ve known these Aussies for years and they asked us to join on their crusade,” the band shares. “It’s only a 2 man band but they blast away every 5 piece outfit. If Insect Warfare was from Australia, they’d probably be known as Meth Leppard…”
On the recording front, they’re currently working on a split 10” with Facepalm Nation, a two-piece German band rooted in old-school powerviolence with clear nods to Hellnation. Travølta were already fans of their previous project, Turtle Rage, and are more than happy to share a release with them.
That’s still not the end of it—they’ve also written over ten additional songs, with plans to record and release more in the near future. Meanwhile, their calendar remains full with upcoming shows around Europe, continuing to deliver noise and message wherever they can.
View this post on Instagram
The Belgian underground is fragmented, but Travølta keep shouting across the cracks
Travølta aren’t just another fastcore band with a Bandcamp and a merch table. They’re a product of Belgium’s patchworked underground—grind, crust, hardcore, punk—all operating in semi-parallel, often disconnected scenes. “Being a 100% DIY band, we feel very closely connected to our scene,” they say, but they’re also realistic about its divisions. “In Belgium there are many underground scenes but they aren’t always very well connected to each other. You can be accepted in one scene but rejected by another.”
That fragmentation stands in contrast to their experiences elsewhere. “In France and Germany… music scenes are more intertwined,” they observe. The band recalls a show with Integrity in Germany—something they doubt would’ve happened at home. “If that show would be in Belgium, they’d definitely ask a more hc band than us to play with them.” They’re seeing slow progress on that front but believe Belgian bookers could be a little more open-minded.
Travølta’s earliest roots were in the crust and grindcore scene. That’s where they cut their teeth—and where, by their own admission, they were “probably hated and ignored by the hardcore kids.” Still, they gave that scene their energy and got plenty back. But powerviolence has always been a niche in Belgium, and the band acknowledges it’s more prominent just across the border. “There aren’t that many powerviolence bands in Belgium, more in neighbouring countries, especially Germany.”
Things began to shift after a lineup change—specifically a new guitarist—and years of relentless gigging. That work earned them more acceptance in the DIY hardcore community (but not, they clarify, the “tough guy breakdown scene”). Playing Ieperfest in 2023 was a turning point. “It’s one of the more important HC festivals in Europe,” they say, and it still holds to the DIY values of the ‘90s. “It was great for us to show them what powerviolence is all about. The short outbursts were greeted by some, the lack of breakdowns was discussed by others.”
Behind every gig, zine, and label in Belgium is unpaid labor, and Travølta makes a point to highlight it. “The underground only exists because of the DIY principles,” they write. “People organising a show in a squat, people starting their own label or zine. It’s built on the back of passionate people and that’s what makes it worthwhile.” They don’t drop names lightly. Shout outs go to Isaac Roelens (“Thanks for putting up all those shows and playing in more than a gazillion bands”), Peter Vandelintfabriek (“already a legend, thanks for letting us play with Despise You when we just started out”), the people at Magasin 4 BXL and La Zone, Pie from Antwerp Music City (“one of the best DIY venues in Belgium and thanks for keepin’ it real”), and Niek Mendville (“How many shows can you do?”). These are the people who keep things moving—often thanklessly.
View this post on Instagram
Still, even in a scene built on community, the difference between big and small shows can be dramatic. “If a good but smaller grindcore band is playing on a Monday in Antwerp, not a lot of people will show up,” they note. “When Napalm Death is playing, the place is packed and sometimes even sold out.” For Travølta, it’s not about shaming fans—it’s about asking for balance. “It would be better if people not only supported bigger events, but also the smaller things.”
Their frustration with apathy extends to lyrical content, too. “We always thought that music is a form of protest,” they write, invoking the Agathocles mantra: “Grind is Protest.” But that message, they feel, is fading. Travølta’s singer often addresses social and political issues between songs—something that’s not always welcomed. “You know the drill, just play, stop talking…” But they don’t stop. They insist that hardcore, powerviolence, punk—whatever you want to call it—has to mean something. Seeing bands like Seein’ Red or Drop Dead gives them hope that that tradition still lives.
They close with recommendations that span Belgium’s fractured but still-thriving underground. For grindcore: Parasite Circus, Days Of Desolation, Agathocles, Intestinal Disease, Assur, Verpest, Lintworm. For crust and d-beat: Plague Thirteen, Raw Peace, The End Of Ernie, Head Of The Baptist, Arrogänt, Serial Pissers. And for punk and hardcore: Röt Stewart, Colère, xINVICTUSx, Don’t Drift Astray, Dögmën, Hetze, On Fire, Bezette Stad, Reproach, and Haemers.
Full track-by-track commentary follows.
This record marks a shift in how Travølta builds its chaos. Compared to their last full-length Discoviolence Up Yours!, the writing process behind the new split with We Sleep was far more grounded in the physical space of the rehearsal room. “The earlier album featured a fragmented approach due to the COVID pandemic,” they explain. “We couldn’t hold rehearsals and instead created blueprints at home, sharing them with each other.” That remote, patchwork method shaped a handful of tracks back then—but this time around, the band focused on writing live, together, whenever time and injury allowed.
Across a full year, they churned out a long list of songs, though the process wasn’t exactly smooth. “Our progress was sometimes interrupted by injuries—such as when our drummer suffered an arm injury—or by scheduling conflicts that limited our time to rehearse.” The songwriting sessions were full of momentum, but long gaps between them made it hard to keep that momentum steady. Frustration ran parallel to creativity, but they stuck it out.
There was a shift on the technical side too. Instead of booking studio time, they handled the recording themselves, with the bassist taking full charge. “This was a financially practical decision for us and provided valuable learning experiences,” they write. It wasn’t a plug-and-play setup—it took trial and error to “nail down our preferred sound”—but they eventually got there on their own terms.
Musically, they’re leaning harder into their love for hardcore and punk, though they never leave powerviolence behind. “More than on previous releases, our love for hc/punk shines through while still maintaining powerviolence,” they say. “For most people it’s still unadulterated noise—and that’s how we like it.”
What follows is their own track-by-track breakdown—stories, riffs, frustrations, jokes, and the politics stitched into every blastbeat.
1: Flag Lovers Song
Flag Lovers Song bursts forth as a raw and relentless tribute to old-school powerviolence, clocking in at under thirty seconds of frenetic hardcore energy, complete with blastbeats that are sure to ignite any stage—especially in the gritty atmosphere of a smelly squat. We aimed for a track that was both short and impactful, drawing inspiration primarily from the likes of Punch, Charles Bronson and Fuck On The Beach, three bands we adore. (In a fun twist, our drummer is arguably the planet’s biggest Das Oath fan, surpassing even his love for Charles Bronson; if there’s anyone out there who shares this rare appreciation, he’d love to hear from you!)
The song came together after an “aha!” moment when our guitarist was driving to the rehearsal room. If the music you listen to throughout the week feels intense, you have to do keep that feeling and make the angriest song possible, in your own limits.
Theissong has a certain punch to it. that’s because our guitar player was listening to Punch a lot at the time. We should all listen to Punch more frequently.
Lyrically, we take aim at nationalists who overly idolize their countries, questioning the value of such pride when faced with mortality. After all, what significance does your nation hold when you lie in a casket adorned with its flag? It’s a provocative commentary on the absurdity of nationalism that invites listeners to reflect deeply on what truly matters.
Lyrics:
Stench of war surrounded your head
Pain and destruction the front row of death
Will you come home in a body bag that’s covered in a flag?
Will you?, Will you? Will you?
You die!
2: Everyday Grind Fever
The initial blueprint for Everyday Grind Fever was crafted by our drummer, and it remained largely unchanged after we shared it with our guitarist. Following a few rehearsals, we polished the track, but it ended up sitting on the shelf for over six months. When we finally revisited it, our bassist added his unique flair, and we made a subtle tweak at the end.
Interestingly, the sample we used comes from an instructional video on grinding—just a quick Google search will show it has nothing to do with Napalm Death! The title plays on “Saturday Night Fever,” but with our own twist; in this song, our singer passionately expresses his love for grindcore and related subgenres. It poses the question: How genuine are you? Does music truly run in your veins, or is it merely a pastime? For some, music is just background noise while tackling “more important” tasks, like work. Yet for many of us, it’s a deep passion, something we think about constantly and can’t imagine living without.
For us, when the music hits the right notes and the lyrics tackle meaningful themes, it creates something truly special—it ignites an everyday grind fever! But liking the music isn’t enough to keep the scene alive. It’s about showing up at shows (even on a Monday), buying merchandise, and supporting each other that strengthens the DIY community. If we don’t stay active, this beautiful culture risks fading away.
It’s crucial to mention that DIY bands often don’t receive fair compensation from streaming services. While platforms like Spotify can help discover new music, they don’t genuinely support emerging artists. A better option is Bandcamp—it’s more artist-friendly and honest. Streaming giants overshadow the importance of physical copies, complete with artwork, lyrics, and liner notes. I fondly remember the thrill of buying CDs and records 20 years ago, like the day I grabbed “Infinite Water” by Razor Crusade at a local record store right after getting a skateboard. Those moments carry a nostalgia that digital files simply can’t replicate.
In our lyrics, we also critique the evolution of Record Store Day. What began as a celebration has turned into a commercial hype, with reissues piling up at inflated prices. While it’s true that some costs have risen, the dramatic price hikes on vinyl raise eyebrows, suggesting a profit-oriented mindset rather than just covering costs. This commercialization not only affects prices but also prolongs wait times for independent bands at pressing plants as they compete with endless reissues, which further dilutes the spirit of the day.
Lyrics:
Everyday grind fever, everyday grind
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
We got the everyday grind fever
Going out ready for the show, support as hard as you can
Stay away from Record Store Day, they took it all away!
We got the everyday Grind fever, we got the everyday grind fever
Grind fever, Grind fever, Everyday Grind fever
Not just on Saturdays, we support all days!
3: You’re Still A Bag Of Shit And We Still Don’t Care About You
This is one of our oldest songs. We wrote it for our demo almost 10 years ago. We reworked it by adding some stuff but it maintains a short song more akin to grindcore. Reading the title almost takes longer than listening to the song.
Through some kind of reason, it’s also a hard song, although it’s basically one riff. The song is made to be played aggressively and intensely. That’s why we try to push ourselves when playing this song every time we play it. Be it on in a rehearsal room or on stage/floor.
Lyrics:
Step back, move back
(step back move back)
Step back move back I don’t wanna hear it anymore
Step back move back you’re still an attention whore.
4: Sabotage Works
We originally made this song before we fully dove into working on the album, and there’s actually a several-month gap between “Sabotage Works” and the rest of the tracks. This delay was primarily due to our busy schedule of playing shows, which made it challenging to find time for rehearsals. At one point, we almost forgot about the song, but thankfully, our drummer keeps everything Travolta-related neatly stored on his laptop.
The track itself features a blend of ideas; while it includes some d-beat patterns, it certainly isn’t a straightforward d-beat song. In fact, we take a surprising turn in the middle when the tempo slows down—a departure from our usual style. The lyrics came later, during a songwriting session when we revisited and revamped the song alongside our newer material. Thematically, it focuses on animal rights and human rights, infusing our music with a message we feel strongly about.
Lyrics:
This is for the ones that come out at night
The kids with the balaclavas that are ready to fight
The Antifas and the Animal Liberators
The Hunt Sabs and the Human Liberators
For the individuals who dare to speak out
Ready to give it all
For the activists who speak out loud
Ready to give it all
Sabotage, sabotage now
Sabotage this unfair system now
Sabotage for social change now
Sabotage for social change now
Let’s become large
Rise Up, Rise Up Now
5: We’re All Sisterhood
Actually, this is a good example of a song that’s inspired by what you are listening to at the moment. Our guitarist was heavily listening to youth crew bands for a few months straight and the fact that our drummer also drums in a youth crew band was the perfect combination to create this song. We tried to do something with the intensity of such bands and it grew to a the song it is now.
We’re All Sisterhood is our homage to the raw energy of olderhardcore bands, encapsulating the spirit of the Youth Crew movement that we all cherish, reminiscent of the sounds of Youth Of Today and the likes. What’s the connection with what we mostly do? Well, just listen to Heresy, it’s basically Youth Of Today on speed!
This song is particularly unique as it opens with vocals—a departure for us that took some experimentation during rehearsals to perfect. After exploring various structures, we finally found a connection that felt right, enhanced by a short blastbeat to infuse that Powerviolence edge we wanted.
Our guitarist deserves a pat on the back because he really created some nice riffs for this song. We sometimes play this song live but it also leads up to smalls discussions in the band. Our singer keeps telling the rest of the band (or maybe just the drummer) to slow down, that our live version is much faster than the recorded version. There is some truth in this, when playing live the energy takes over and the playing gets faster than usual…
While we don’t use choruses very often, we consciously crafted one here to amplify our message: a powerful stand for women’s rights and the right to choose. We were struck by how many men oppose these vital issues, which we find utterly absurd. To underscore our point, we sourced audio clips from anti-abortion rallies, capturing the disturbing tide of hateful and ignorant rhetoric that permeates these protests. The resulting sample serves as a stark reminder of the ignorance we confront, driving home the importance of solidarity and sisterhood in the fight for rights that should be universal. So we also have a chorus, another thing we can check of the list… Are we now sell outs for the Powerviolence kids?
We enhanced the song by including guest vocals from Dorien (Hetze, Arrogänt). It was the only right to do when taking the lyrics into consideration. By adding these female vocals, the track got angrier and maybe even more heartfelt.
6: Putin Dead
Guitarist: “Hey, our rehearsal is almost finished, let’s write a short song. Shall we? I have a riff.”
Quirky riffs tend to stick. Our singer calls it our thrash riff.
Moments later this song was born. The lyrics are pretty self-explanatory.
It’s possible to recycle this track on new releases but with other protagonists.
Maybe this one -> Elon dead, Tesla through his head?
Lyrics:
Will someone please put a bullet in the Russian dictators head
Putin dead, Putin dead, Putin Dead, Putin Dead, Putin dead
Bullet in da head
7: It’s Shoveling Time
If it were for us, all songs were as facestompin’ as this one. Maybe that’s what we use a shovel for?
The first new song we played because it’s full of energy and that’s what we like to create while being on a stage! Initially, we created and performed it without an intro, but that changed when someone in the band jokingly compared the song title to “Clobbering Time” by Sick Of It All. Inspired by that moment, we decided to incorporate the intro from their song, which added a fun twist and made it our own. It doesn’t happen very often that people recognize the intro. When we played in Münster (Germany) and started the intro we saw someone running from the merch stand to the stage to yell “It’s Clobbering Time”. Thinking we were going to play the original song he was confused by what followed. Yes Rens (1 person but in at least 10 bands, keeper of the Dutch scene), we’re talking about you!
Titled “It’s Shoveling Time,” this track carries a distinct Charles Bronson vibe. Our guitarist even walked into our rehearsal space one day and said, “I listened to Charles Bronson in the car, and now I have an idea.” Just moments later, we laid down the blueprint for the song.
We also included a sample from an interview at a Dutch hardcore festival—though it’s worth noting it wasn’t hc/punk, but rather a gabber hardcore event. The sample features what might have been a slightly drugged-out woman, but the sincerity of her message really resonates. This community holds significant meaning for me; it provides a sense of purpose and amplifies my voice. Lyrically, the song celebrates living life to the fullest and reflects our desire to create as many powerviolence tracks as possible.
Lyrics:
It’s shoveling’ time
One foot in the grave
Times right, misbehave
Aaaaaaarrrghhhhhh
One foot on the shovel
One foot in da grave
Time’s right to misbehave
Free yourself… slave
Live
8: Delete The Stock Exchange Elite
Our drummer crafted the blueprint for this song while hanging out at a playground with his oldest kid, managing to balance parenting and music by saying, “Hey kiddo, you play and I’ll work on my laptop. Behave, okay?” Initially, the main influence came from the band Sect, whose members are known for projects like Cursed and Racetraitor. However, as the song evolved, it transformed significantly, with only the break in the middle remaining from the original idea; our drummer was insistent on keeping that break, despite it initially being twice as long.
In its recorded form, the song showcases a blend of styles, steering away from traditional start-stop powerviolence or grindcore, yet peppered with enough blastbeats to echo those genres. Towards the end, it introduces some melodic elements that lean more into hardcore territory while maintaining an overall driving energy throughout the track.
Lyrically it’s about rich people (the 1%) enslaving middle and or lower class. Working for the big man and only making him richer and richer while staying poor sometimes feels like modern day slavery.
Parts of the sample are borrowed from Office space enhanced with surround noises. It’s always fun to cut samples up to create something fitting for the lyrical concepts of the song.
If you like to gamble you’re already lost
An Illusion in your føkked-up head
when you’re realize you’re already dead
Rich scumbags make the rules, you’re just
Cheap Labor Fools
Cheap Labor Fools
Time is now, enough is enough
They’re not representing us
We’ve got the numbers / time to stand up
No respect for the stock exchange elite
Føk those rich men and their rich men’s deed
No respect for the stock exchange elite
Føk those rich men and their selfish deeds
Føk ‘em, Føk ‘em, Føk ‘em, Delete ‘em!
9: The Meat Industry Lobbies Faster
This track stands out on the record as the only one created by our bass player and drummer, and interestingly, we haven’t performed it as a full band until now. The writing process was quite fragmented; our drummer established some drums and shared them with the bass player, who then layered on guitar and bass. Lyrics were added just before the recording, which added an extra rush to the process. Initially, our guitar player was not very enthusiastic about the song, possibly because the riffs weren’t his own, leading to some debates about whether to record it, but in hindsight, I’m really glad we did.
The initial intention was to create a punkier opening, and you can hear a bit more melody in this track compared to the others. While it may not be the most aggressive song on the album, it definitely has its own hooks. Lyrically, this piece explores the connection between the meat industry and climate change, highlighting a crucial topic in today’s world. Probably a song we won’t be playing live though.
Rumor has it that our guitar player is still very confused about this song to this day. But hey, he took it and recorded it.
This sustainability debate is full of laughter
Environmental thought about killing animals faster?
How dare you to forget this chapter?
Grrrwwaa
The meat industry lobbies faster
We’re heading for an climate disaster
The mass industry is gonna murder us all
Are you ready to take the fall?
Acres full of food for corpses
Blindfolded and deaf for reality, someday your eyes will see
Rainforest cuts for the meat industry… do you think that soy belongs to me?
Those proteins are already abducted to the livestock industry
The meat industry is a føkking disaster, they extinct us all way faster
10: Heultje Power Violence Stomp
The initial concept for this song originated with our drummer, who, like with several other tracks, crafted the drumming blueprints on his laptop while at the playground with his kids. Amidst the other parents engaged in mundane tasks, he was sipping coffee and contemplating power violence. The original structure comprised three parts and bore some resemblance to “We’re All Sisterhood,” but after rehearsals, only the slow intro persisted. We even wanted to use it as an intro for an album. Alas, we couldn’t agree on it. Instead of discussing the riff, we just started to play with riffs and started to add goofier and goofier parts to the song during a rehearsal. And after a while we we’re like, “yeah this definitely works”. Our singer was like, “this is the Heultje Power Violence Stomp”. Which made it more easy for us to get as goofy as possible.
This song leans a bit gimmicky and diverges from our usual style, as we found it amusing to sing about our hometown, Heultje, a tiny Belgian village made up of just a few streets. We often chuckle at how big bands tend to boast about their big-city backgrounds, as if it actually holds significance. To add a playful touch, we decided to incorporate a sample of a typical sound from our neighborhood – the sound of a cow, which we find quite funny.
So this probably is our sing-a-long song and we suggest you learn the lyrics. Don’t forget, we are the heaviest band from HEULTJE CITY! (and probably also the only band…)
Lyrics:
Hey kids this is the Heultje Power Violence stomp
Stomp, Stomp, Stomp
Heultje Power Violence Stomp!!!
