Band: Violent Thoughts
From: Arnhem, Netherlands
Their formation story:
(Jasper Meijerink, bass): "Hans (vocals) and I go a long way back, and we've wanted to do a band together for quite a while. We had both been going through some pretty tough and dark times—mentally, emotionally, financially, you name it—and wanted to do something to express the feelings associated with those experiences. Music was probably the one constant that pulled us through.
"Hans had a whole binder full of potential lyrics, writings about suicidal thoughts, depression, losing friends, hurting and getting hurt, love and loss, and dealing with tough times. Hence the name Violent Thoughts. Not towards others, but towards yourself and life in general.
"But you know how it goes, 'We should do a band together, we know plenty of musicians,' and then nothing happens. Till one day, Hans is like, 'I've asked Robbie (who played drums in his previous band Real Hate), and he's enthusiastic.' Cool, so we had a drummer. We then asked Teun to play guitar, and although he's more of a metal kinda guy, he really liked the idea.
"We hit the practice room in October 2025, played our first show last April. We recorded 8 songs last March at No Compromise Recordings, run by our friend Martin, who also did the mastering. We're really excited about how it turned out. He really understood what we were going for, probably better than we did, and captured it really well. Raw but tight, does that make sense?"
Their sound in their own words:
"I find it pretty hard to describe our brand of hardcore, though. The idea was to keep it simple, fast, and to the point. You know, like the early Revelation 7 inches, like No For An Answer or Judge, SSD, Slapshot, bands like that. But with a more metal-oriented guitar player, you get a different angle on that specific style. Not original per se, but still pretty fresh sounding. More modern bands like Combust or Death Threat are also an influence.
"We get Sheer Terror a lot too because of the vocals. But if you asked us about Converge, Killing Time, or D.R.I., we'd probably agree they're influences too."
Latest release info:
"We've collectively been making loud music for most of our lives, our average age is 50 something, you're bound to pick up a lot of influences. I'd say that if you like your hardcore fast and heavy, and feel that two minutes is long enough for a song, then you just might enjoy us"
Future plans:
"Having been around the scene for a while means we have some friends and contacts, and we've already got a few offers and opportunities for shows. We love playing live, but we're definitely not trying to be the next big thing. We're just four guys making the music we've loved our entire lives and enjoying every minute of it."
What other bands from their region should we check out?
"Johnny Paymen, Loud Love, and Thrive. There's definitely an influx of younger people discovering hardcore through bands like Knocked Loose and Turnstile, which is awesome. But it's also great seeing the old guard starting new projects and pushing forward instead of simply repeating the past. Senior hardcore kids for the win!"
Violent Thoughts on social media: Instagram
Tagged: violent thoughts
