The woods of Vermont ain’t just brewing up maple syrup these days, no they’re rocking the fuck out with some of the meanest-sounding hardcore punk you can score. COOKED, from the humble city of Burlington, have been one of their most rabid bands in both sound and support for the scene that is blossoming in the great Northeast.
Taking influence from bands like Trash Talk, as well as crust influences like Aus Rotten and Choking Victim, COOKED was able to stand out in the scene through vocalist Bobby Bones’ harrowing tales of his struggle with drug addiction and life on the streets.
Though they always mixed these dark elements in their sound, COOKED also dabbled with some poppier elements to lighten the musical mood but Bobby’s lyrics and delivery remained nihilistic. Songs like “Overdose” off their debut album, The Hanged Man, demonstrated this with its bouncy two-step arrangement that carries each verse while Bobby screams as though he’s having a serrated knife twisted into him.
Now, after an eventful couple of years, COOKED has revamped their lineup with the addition of two new guitarists into the fold, Ben and Ross from Abbadon and Voices In Vain. Commenting on their addition to the band, vocalist Bobby stated, “Because they both come from more of a metal background, they add a different flavor to our sound that we’ve all been hyped on.
"A lot of collaborative efforts have been made on the new songs we’ve been working on, still getting accommodated with how each other writes and understanding the directions we all want to go. It’s been nothing less than a great time to have the new guys with us, both offer so much talent and charm to the band.”
The new and improved COOKED lineup is making its recorded debut with a track appropriately titled “Nihilism,” which will be released as a standalone while they put together a larger release. The band is giving No Echo readers the chance to view this fun little video exclusively on the site before its official release:
The vocalist told No Echo: “I was a self proclaimed nihilist in my early 20s, using it more of an excuse to self destruct. It wasn’t until I sobered up that I picked up Beyond Good and Evil and dove in. I reworked a quote from Nietzsche and kinda went off that, while still adding in my own experience."
The theme of nihilism certainly suits COOKED’s character when diving into their back catalog. There’s always been a desolate view of the world from Bobby’s perspective that drives the music over the edge of insanity and into hopelessness. “Everything in the world displeases me: but, above all, my displeasure in everything displeases me.” - Friedrich Nietzsche.
“We were actually going to shoot the video at a swimming hole/ waterfall in Bristol, Vermont," Bobby said of the "Nihilism" clip. "I thought that getting COOKED and Skud together, hanging out and partying while jumping off cliffs into water would be a perfect summer video. When that idea fell through, and Skud couldn’t make, it we already had plans to go to the fair with our friends so I figured that would be the next best place to do a video.
"It wasn’t until editing the footage over the music that I realized it was kind of a perfect dichotomy. Screaming about believing in nothing while people laugh on fair rides, kinda poetic."
COOKED will be hitting up the East Coast next month with their friends Gumskab and The Path for a little weekend run. They’ll be playing Boston, Long Island, and Providence from the 20th to the 22nd, so if you’re in the area and in the mood for some Nietzschean hardcore check them out.
In the meantime, they will be taking it easy recording some more new filthy tracks as well as compiling the material of the last two years for a compilation through State of Mind Records. “Jon Contra (Burn It Down, Rebuild, The Path) is a big part of us getting the vinyl out, so a big shout out to him and everything he does," said Bobby of the collaboration."
COOKED would like to shout out: NEW ENGLAND HARDCORE.
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COOKED on social media: Instagram
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