The hardcore scene in Glasgow has been a hotbed for angry, impassioned music for some time now. The city has a longstanding reputation for it's working class nature, industrial attitude and grit and when it comes to its heavy bands, it is no different.
Test of Patience is a newer band that is proving to be one of the real shining lights of the DIY hardcore movement in the UK. They've made real waves across the country and beyond following the recent release of their second EP, Two for Flinching. The EP includes guest spots by members of renowned UK hardcore bands such as Hellbound, Cannonball, and Bathed in Sin.
I recently caught up with Test of Patience vocalist Gem to learn more about the band, the new EP, and the hardcore scene in Scotland.
Tell us a little about how the songs on Two for Flinching came together.
Paul and I wrote the songs, brought them to the band, who add their own little flares to it, and we all fleshed them out and refined over the course of a year, not long after we put our first ep. We always start with a rough demo instrumental idea and everything else falls into place afterwards.
The song that came first was "Rip the Zip," which Paul wrote, and we started playing that live in February 2024. I had "Ignite," "SMYS," and "Tightrope" as songs in my head that I tried to slowly, but surely develop over the course of last year by bringing the ideas to practices and going to Paul's to demo it, because he's strong with music software. "Calamity" was a response to "SMYS" that Paul sat down and wrote in one go, we heard it, and we were like “yeah, that's class."
I wrote all the lyrics, and I basically try to respond to the instrumental parts, thinking about what it makes me think about, what emotions it evokes, and try to think about what order of words could work rhythmically, and then it’s a case of refine, refine, refine. Most of it was set for when we got in the studio, but I needed to do some tweaks on little words for recording.
You've got some pretty cool guest features on the release. Did you write the songs with these people in mind?
Thank you. We knew we wanted people to guest on it for sure, but we didn't know exactly who until closer to the time. There are still people we want to guest on future things that we haven't worked with yet.
When it came closer to recording, we thought of each of the guest vocals more specifically, and we knew that their voices would really match the tone of the songs, and we were stoked that they were up for it.
Is there a specific theme that you like to touch on when writing the lyrics or do you just go with what comes naturally?
I go between getting really angry and existential about the world, to being sentimental and hopeful with lyrics about how I love Glasgow and how I love hardcore, for balance. For when I'm going into the angrier shit, I've had a pattern of doing a rant with direct addresses to those in power. I've been driven by reflecting on my own personal experiences and processing the multiple crises I read about daily.
I get angry about the corruption, individualism, classism, ableism, racism, misogyny, oppression of the LGBTQ+ community, the genocide we are seeing on our screens every day. People's rights getting stripped away, and perverted billionaires controlling everything. There's so much disconnect, people perpetuating violence, hurting others instead of getting the help they need to break the cycles and move towards a better life for all.
I go between that and speaking about how hardcore and the people I have met through it has been such a gift, it has taught me a lot that I carry with me everywhere I go. I've grown so much as a person because of it.
I mention Glasgow in little snippets. It's a place that is very special in my heart. It's my home. It gives me hope that it's not just me that's angry and that there's kind generous empathetic people who care about the world being better and are out here doing amazing things.
With bands such as yourselves, No Known Weakness, and Despize making waves in the Glasgow area, it must feel great to see the scene looking so healthy.
For sure. it's insane how much it has grown after the pandemic, none of us could have ever fathomed that this would happen. The new heads have been so inspiring, they've just dove right in. They did their homework on the history, the ethos, they have started their own bands, they put on shows, their heads are screwed on.
The shows have been busy and people have been so kind and supportive. There's a huge range of sound and talent across Scotland in terms of hardcore just now. It's beautiful to see.
Are there other bands in the scene that people should check out?
There's so many Scottish bands right now, it's crazy. To name some smashing it right now, Despize, Demonstration of Power, Hellbound and Nothin but Enemies. The OGS: Broken Oath, Divide and By My Hands. New(ish), Look out for Bathed in Sin, Heads on Pikes, Grand Slam, Kute, Shot Down in May, Mind Invasion, Lights Out, Bldsprt and Allmylifeneededwasasenseofsomeplacetogo, Bleaks and Knome.
Keep an eye out for others and sorry if I missed anyone out.
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What is the future looking like for Test of Patience? What have you got lined up?
We are going to play some more cool shows around the UK and will try to get to the spots we haven't managed yet, and look to write the next thing.
Have you got a message for the people who will be reading this?
Free Palestine, Free Ola, Free the Filton 24, Trans rights are human rights. Fuck racism, fuck ableism, fuck misogyny, fuck classism.
This goes to living life within and outside the scene: be kind, be generous, take care of yourself, take care of your loved ones, and get involved.
DIY is king, community is king. The beautiful thing about hardcore is that anyone can do anything they put their mind to. You can pick up an instrument, take pictures, videos, start a zine, book shows, whatever the fuck you want. If you want to learn how to do something and you aren't sure where to start, reach out, ask questions.
There are so many people who will be glad to help you. Life's too short and precious to be unsure or embarrassed, so just go for it and stick with it. You'll be glad you did.
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Test of Patience on social media: Instagram
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