INTRODUCING: Born In Dissonance & Abuse
The UK underground is crammed to the rafters with boundless undiscovered talent that are champing at the bit to get their craft into the ears of as many people as humanly possible. Two examples of the diamonds which lay beneath the surface are BORN IN DISSONANCE and ABUSE who are both flourishing amongst the southern hardcore scene.
Both outfits have been making strides in their own right but have recently teamed up to provide one of the most crushing split releases to grace this country. Before this diabolical collaboration came to fruition frontmen Eddie Sims and Ashley Dymond discovered their love for the violent yet endearing genre in quite different fashions. “I’ve always been into hardcore, ever since I was little” explains Ashley. “I started off with bands like TRAPPED UNDER ICE, FIRE AND ICE, BROKEN TEETH, TERROR and stuff like that. My eldest brother is straight-edge and he introduced me to a lot of bands like that and I just fell in love with it.”
“I used to be a little scene kid, listening to PIERCE THE VEIL, SLEEPING WITH SIRENS and A DAY TO REMEMBER!” Adds Eddie. “I think it was actually MALEVOLENCE with Reign Of Suffering that really opened the door to hardcore for me. I then went to Ghostfest when HATEBREED was headlining and that kind of cemented it for me. There’s literally nothing like the hardcore scene. It’s the only place that is acceptable to actually have a fight with your friends. It doesn’t take itself too seriously even though its quite a serious genre but it’s all good fun.”
Hardcore has branched off into a diverse range of stylings and become quite different from the punk-infused origins of the scene which was born in 70s. BORN IN DISSONANCE and ABUSE have both taken different routes in terms of sound and arrangement but are as thick as thieves. “ABUSE is more on the beatdown side of things, downtuned riffs and my vocal direction is kind of like 25 TO LIFE and old school beatdown bands” discusses Ashley.
“I think you went more down the European route in my opinion, no nonsense, angry shit,” adds Eddie. “I actually kind of consciously don’t want to compare myself to anyone because I listen to that much music it’s kind of a little bit of everything. I don’t feel like I emulate anyone, I just kind of go out there and do my own thing. I try to fluctuate between the classic hardcore shouty style and the more deathcore approach. To be able to shout at someone and for it to be acceptable is quite fun!”
The camaraderie that flows throughout the hardcore movement has proven to be one of its greatest qualities, ensuring that the scene brings out the best in its inhabitants. This mentality really helped Eddie overcome his pre-show anxiety. “I think we talked a little bit before your first show as you were quite nervous and I kind of just said be yourself and don’t worry about it,” states Ashley. “I remember meeting you for the first time and you were like a basketball player, you’re so tall! We just hit it off straight away.”
“We were supposed to play with GASSED UP and MONASTERIES but I, unfortunately, got COVID so it delayed our first gig for a few months,” adds Eddie. “Both of us played our first gigs at almost the same time. I was terrified and was kind of leaning on the ABUSE boys a little bit but the gig was fucking sick and afterwards all we could think of was wanting to do a split together. We feel like we’re almost intrinsically linked now. The scene is like its own subculture at the moment and it’s just fucking awesome and so energising to be a part of it so we want to release nothing but our best.”
Social media and the almost essential requirement to stay at the forefront of people’s brains by creating regular content can be a blessing and a curse for some artists. Whilst providing a huge opportunity for exposure it can be an arduous process. “I remember a big part of me wanting to start a band was seeing all the clips on Facebook of VEIN.FM, CODE ORANGE and DESOLATED putting up all these sick pit videos and I want to be able to produce that kind of content and show everyone what fun we’re having and encourage people to come to shows or even start their own bands as they want to be part of that too,” explains Eddie. “Networking is 100% the way forward, playing gigs and impressing enough people to want to come back and see you again or get you on some more shows. We took a real short notice gig and we managed to impress the guitarist of GROVE STREET and that led to him helping us record our new tracks.”
“I’m a total boomer with anything like social media,” admits Ashley. “Our drummer is an absolute wizz, he does our logos and everything so I rely on him for that side of things. We like to do a lot of promo shots and use that as content so we can get a bit more traction and keep active. It’s also difficult to find gigs locally as most of the venues use the same excuses. ‘Oh sorry, your music doesn’t fit our audience’ so we depend on playing shows in the likes of Plymouth and Bristol. None of us drive currently either so we can’t travel further. I wish we didn’t have to use social media but in this digital age it’s kind of a necessity.”
The aforementioned split entitled South West Heaviest Split shines the spotlight on the best material released to date by the respective forces and also shows the breadth and depth of their scene by showcasing their individual talents. Watch this space as neither band are planning on letting their momentum come to a halt. “The song we’ve put on the split is a really fun song and I’m very passionate about it,” declares Eddie. “It’s about not allowing your mental health to define who you are. Now the split has dropped we want to start looking at the next chapter and start putting a strategy together. Our first year has just been overwhelming in how quickly it’s kind of snowballed and we haven’t even played that many shows yet. It’s all been super positive. Both bands are playing C4C, an all-dayer in Bristol at the end of August and we’ve also got some dates supporting TYRANTS so get yourselves down!”
“ABUSE are working on releasing a new EP at the end of this year, beginning of next and we’ve got some songs written for that already,” confirms Ashley. “It’s going to be so good and we’ve got great ideas for the cover art too. That is one element of the band that I take a lot of pride in. I live in a small town St Austell and there is a place called Cosgarne where they house drug addicts. There was one occasion where people were shooting up in front of little kids and I was thinking ‘I’m fed up with this, I’m going to write some music about it’. The cover art for one of our tracks was a blurred out image of that incident. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re struggling with addiction please seek professional help but don’t be causing problems in your local town and scaring kids. Another one of our artworks is a bunch of needles placed face up in the sand at the beaches. Our songs have very deep meanings which are personal to use and this imagery helps them hit home.”
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