Band: Antagonizm
From: London, England
Their formation story:
(Ollie, vocals): "Antagonizm started as a one-off project only for a bit of fun. One song that appeared on a compilation for one of the best independent labels and studios going, Fuzzbrain, with several vocalists a la (straight edge band with multiple members), which included various UKHC heads including Marco from Payday, and Niall O’Reilly from Blind Authority.
"Ben Woolf (Blind Authority, Lawful Killing, Frame of Mind, ex-Payday) and Bobby Cole (The Annihilated, Motive) then wrote several more songs together, which weren’t put to use. The band had a couple of rehearsals with Joe McMahon (Chubby & The Gang, Last Affront, Vile Spirit) on vocals, but when Chubby blew up he had to depart.
"This led to Jon suggesting I get on vocals having heard me practice with my former band MASK, who didn’t release anything and were absolutely shit. From then on, we started."
Their sound in their own words:
"What I really like about being in this band is that we all come from somewhat different backgrounds regarding influences, but also significant crossover. Bobby loves and knows basically any in contrast to Ben who comes from a LBU Rucktion Records background and Jon who’s an NYHC fanatic, we all love the same shit when it comes down to it, and are debatably hardcore experts in our own fields.
"The amount of bands I’ve had the pleasure of discovering as a result of these three putting me on is immeasurable. However, to simplify it, the main influences for this band are Gut Instinct, Fit of Anger, Krakdown, Payday, Neglect, and Celtic Frost."
Latest release info:
"The newest release is a 12-inch we had in the works for a minute. Ben and Bobby wrote all these songs when I was 17/18, when I had only just met them, and while there were a few hiccups in getting out, our dear mate Ola kindly put it out for us. While the live demo was pretty shoddy, I’m particularly happy with this given the sound, speed and also my lyrics which are entirely open to interpretation."
Future plans:
"I live in New York now as I am currently attending college here, which makes it hard to do band things as expected, but we’ll definitely be up to some antics this summer. Stay warned, friends."
What other bands from their region should we check out?
"I highly recommend bands in the current Leeds scene, particularly Frisk, The Shits, and Tramadol regarding experimental yet trudging nasty riffs. While they’re also well known, I think Subdued, Churchgoers, Pest Control, and Last Affront are mental too.
"Middleman involves three friends of ours doing punk in the vein of kids doing Mission of Burma and Wipers style, and I’m always floored when I see them. Also check out Stingray, Imposter, Motive, and Fate."
Freeze Motherfuckerz is available digitally, and will be released on 12-inch via Quality Control HQ on March 24th (US store/EU store).
***
Tagged: antagonizm
