Mob 47 #2 - bringing the filth - a short interview with GRIEVE.

The Mob 47 gigs in February are shaping up nicely not only to be a celebration of legendary hardcore but an opportunity for DIEHARD fans to check out some of the raw talent that is cutting a path for itself through the patch covered, pyramid studded woodwork of the hardcore underground. Over the coming months I'll be taking the time to catch up with some of these groups and hopefully give you all a flavour of whats in store during the Northern Noise Mangel 2018 tour. First up we have a new group who's members hail from many corners of our fair country, Grieve. An impressive demo from earlier this year meant that when the band approached me about joining Mob 47 and The Wankys for their Scottish dates the decision was a no-brainier. Anyway, as Mr Dibergi himself would say 'enough of my yakin' - I'll let vocalist/guitarist David fill you in on the rest - enjoy!


Can you give us a brief history of the band? What was the initial inspiration? Me and Stevie (Bass) had been talking about forming a d-beat band for about 2 years but could never find a drummer. I eventually got my act together and started coming up with some riffs. Then slowly but surely got round to recording the first demo, Atrocities. I played everything on the demo, just to save time and get it done as quick as possible. I actually recorded the drums while at a recording session with another band. Inspiration was the usual suspects; Discharge, Doom, Extinction Of Mankind...
You released a demo 'Atrocities' back in April with a sound very reminiscent of 90's groups such as State of Fear and Disfear - what sort of sound were you aiming for with the demo and how will you be developing on this with your next release? We were definitely aiming for a really noisy Disfear kind of sound without going to the extent of completely ripping them off. When it came time to lay the vocals down I had no plan, they just came out the way they are on the demo. Our next release is a 5 track EP and it will be more of the same but with the full band playing this time. At this point all the music is down, I'll be laying the vocals down before the end of the year and it SHOULD be out by the time February rolls around.


Grieve is now of course a fully formed group ready to rip it up with Mob 47 in February. How did the band come together, was it difficult to find members who shared your vision as I know this has been a problem for you in the past Vuil and the revolving door of drummers. The idea to get the demo recorded as quick as we did was so we could show the people we had in mind and see if they'd be into it. Luckily the 2 people I had in mind were. There was only one person that I wanted to play drums in Grieve, so if Sned didn't say yes we wouldn't be doing gigs and the 1st demo is all that would exist. Grieve is not going to be a crazy active band on the live circuit, we will maybe only see each other and play a couple times a year and maybe get together for the occasional recording session. I can't imagine there will ever be a Grieve tour, that's just the way it is.
How excited are you to be playing with Mob 47 then? Do you have any favourite songs or tales connected to the band you would like to share? We are all quite exited to be playing with Mob 47! It's good that a punk band of that caliber is playing 2 shows in Scotland, we can't wait. Obviously the 84’ EP is a classic in Swedish hardcore, It’s solid from start to finish. No tales as yet, wait until February!
Are there any other d-beat bands locally or nationally you'd like to give a shout out to at the moment? Which groups are currently crushing your eardrums? Mainly the return of G.A.T.E.S!!!! Nightwolf from Malaysia and International metal punk steel Indian Nightmare! Finally, whats next for Grieve and where can we check your stuff out? Who knows what will be next after the EP and the Mob 47 gigs? there's been talk of some split releases, maybe one of them will materialise but no future plans have been made as of yet. Check out the demo while it's still up on bandcamp, it will probably come down once the EP is ready. www.grievepunk.bandcamp.com







Mob 47 and The Wankys - Northern Noise Mangel February 2018

Friday 16th Feb - the Lughole - Sheffield
w/tbc

Saturday 17th Feb - Pop Records - Sunderland (12-2pm Matinee) 
w/Prolefeed

Saturday 17th Feb - Nice N Sleazy - Glasgow
w/Grieve + Droves

Sunday 18th Feb - Bansee Labyrinth - Edinburgh
w/Grieve + Iron System

Mob 47 #1 - Discharging their frustration.

Mob 47 is a name that is no stranger to back of a leather jacket, and although inactive for almost 20 years after their initial demise in 1986 the band remains an incredibly important and influential force within the underground hardcore underground. I am beyond excited to be bringing them over for their first ever Scottish gigs under the Our Future banner next February and will be putting up a number of posts about the band over the coming months in anticipation of this historic event.

I thought it would be nice given issue II's focus on the Grave New World LP to give a nod to both Discharge and the year 1986 with the first Mob 47 post. By 1986 Mob 47 were in their third year of activities and already had quite a sizeable discography as the compilation CD/LP Back To Attack proudly attests. Quite uniquely for the time, and to be fair in general, Mob 47 decided during this period to record not one cover by Stoke on Trent's favourite sons but a collection of eight Discharge classics! Clocking in at almost 14 minutes  this would be considered a full LP by many of today's d-beat pretenders. For me personally the beauty of these tracks is that they predate the trend of heavier guitars, guttural vocals and chainsaw guitars - what we get is just pure hardcore mania from a group of OG diehards.

Will the band treat us to any of these classics come February, only time will tell!

Mob 47 and The Wankys - Northern Noise Mangel February 2018

Friday 16th Feb - the Lughole - Sheffield
w/tbc

Saturday 17th Feb - Pop Records - Sunderland (12-2pm Matinee) 
w/Prolefeed

Saturday 17th Feb - Nice N Sleazy - Glasgow
w/Grieve + Droves

Sunday 18th Feb - Bansee Labyrinth - Edinburgh
w/Grieve + Iron System

Taste the Burning - one last look at Discharge '86

Our final look at Grave New World era Discharge concerns the one that got away, the first track recorded for the LP which for whatever reason didn't make the grade, Taste The Burning. Certainly one of the most tantalising pieces of information from Fish's interview in Our Future issue II, the idea that there is a complete, studio quality outtake from the LP session out there somewhere in the ether is as frustrating as it is exciting.

Assuming Taste The Burning was never copied from the original reel to reel the likelihood of this track ever seeing the light of day are slim indeed, however thanks to the power of the DIY underground there are a couple of live versions of the track out there for us to enjoy.

Taste The Burning Live in Leeds

The song adds a welcome change of tempo to the 1986 set, but it is this same tempo which perhaps reveals why it was dropped from the final album track listing, being at odds with the LP's more mid-paced assault.

Perhaps we will one day see some comprehensive Discharge re-issues - until then we'll just need to keep digging through the underground.

Discharge 1986 - Back from the Grave

Issue II of Our Future is now pretty much sold out but before Issue III hits the door mats there are a few more aspects of Discharge 1986 I'd like to consider here on the blog.

The first is a classic 'what could have been' consideration. From about the 5 minute mark on the video below we get to hear the 1986 line-up of Discharge tearing through some classic Pooch era numbers sans vocals. The musicianship and energy is top shelf: Garry remains a powerhouse behind the kit, Fish more than nails the leads, and Nick doesn't slouch in bass department either.

The whole performance asks so many questions. What if the band had interspersed a few more of these these tunes through their set? What if Cal had toned down the falsetto a notch or two. What if the band had managed to keep going just a little longer? 

Close the curtains, back comb (whats left of) your hair, crank it up and give your best Cal impersonation!

More Discharge related posts t come, you can order a copy of the zine while stocks last here, and follow the zine/label via facebook here

back for the attack - Feb 2018!

More details to follow - expect a whole lot of noise disorder and chaos!!