UKHC veterans from bands like Voorhees, Thirty Seconds Until Armageddon and Break it Up have recently teamed up for a new project called TIED DOWN and their debut demo landed on Refuse Records and Sakari Empire Records in November last year. Mesmerized by its harsh, unforgiving beauty, we asked the band to share their thoughts on each and every track and give us some background and explanation of the lyrics. Check out the full rundown below.
This is their debut release of 6 songs of old school hardcore that features aggression, rawness and melody all put into a musical blender and spat out into your face. FFO early NY and Boston hardcore punk with a distinct UKHC feel. Hardcore punks never die they just get angrier with age!! / Refuse Records
TIED DOWN is: Lins – vocals; Sean – guitar; Max – bass; Gaz – drums
1. Don’t Care – basically this song is about not giving a shit about people who you have a problem with. It’s at that point where you realise that their isn’t any point in trying to work things out and that a mutual dislike will be the only way forward.
2. Turncoat – we wanted to emulate SSD on this one musically and lyrically this one is about good friends who for whatever reason decide to stop being friends and then become friends with your enemies, leaving you wondering why. No explanations just that empty feeling of did I do something wrong to justify this betrayal.
3. Asshole Alert – everyone will testify to going out and meeting a complete and utter asshole who is basically put on this earth to piss you off and spoil your day. They become confrontational and you try to be the better person by walking away from the situation because you know you’ll do jail time if you take the bait and bite!
4. Aim to Please – live your life the way you want to and not the way someone else wants you to. Also don’t be a sheep and follow the flock just to try to fit in. Individuality is the key here, do not succumb to peer pressure. I’d rather be happy with myself alone than be unhappy being something I’m not to get more friends.
5. Negative Reaction – when I wrote this I was so pissed off with my job and how I was basically working my ass off for very little reward. I hated my company, I hated my boss, I hated some of my work colleagues. It was like a domino effect !! I went to work with a negative outlook because I felt unappreciated and used. It was hard to get out of this rut and at times it was like an emotional millstone around my neck.
6. Divide and Conquer – this is a song about how certain aspects of society try to divide and conquer people through their tactics. Governments do it, racists do it, homophobes do it, sexists do it… It’s an endless list of those who use this method to get their warped or wrongful policies across to the masses. We as intelligent humans need to differentiate from these tactics and do the right thing and not be led by those with a corrupt or devisive message.
