Influence is a hardcore musical outfit from Vienna, Austria featuring musicians who have also played in bands like Time X Trial, OnXPoint, and Alive Inside. Their Vienna Hardcore EP recently hit streaming outlets and caught my attention for its raw and pissed-off take on straight edge hardcore.
"We have been in straight edge for a long time and even though it is part of our lifestyle, we had the feeling that this expression is becoming less represented in hardcore band," Influence vocalist Miso wrote me via email.
"Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of new X'd up kids, but some other trends have taken over the primacy both in sound, lyrics, and band art. We mostly like that old uniformistic Youth Crew without too much philosophy. I would say something what Confront did back in the days."
In our exchange, I asked Miso about the lyrics to "Hardcore Yes, But for How Long?," one of the tracks on Vienna Hardcore. "It was the first song written for Time X Trial, but we used it for Influence. The lyrics don't call anyone specifically out, but after 2-plus decades in DIY Hardcore, I really can't stand gatekeeping from anyone, least of all from someone who's in it because of a whim or a hobby."
I also asked Miso about the hardcore community in Austria. "I can only tell you about Vienna, since I'm not really familiar with the overall scene in Austria. As far as I know, hardly any hardcore bands appear outside of Vienna. In Vienna, the situation is currently decent. I've noticed that some young people and bands have popped up lately. I'm talking about newer bands like Compete and Scuffle, but there are also some older ones still vibing like Dice Throw and Alive Inside. But for a city with more than 2 million people living in it, it's a modest hardcore community.
"In terms of infrastructure, Vienna is very developed, probably on the top of EU. There are very good venues and a lot of shows, but the flame that will lead all these people to create more bands and support DIY hardcore is missing right now."
Before ending our email conversation, Miso told me about some of Influence's upcoming plans. "We have been invited to play several festivals, the reaction to Vienna Hardcore has more than surprised us. I think this is the band in which I have received the most invitations in one day to play a show.
"This gave us the energy to start working on new songs, further develop our sound, and deliver to the non-commercial hardcore scene what Vienna Hardcore is all about."
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Influence on social media: Instagram
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