His Hero Is Gone – Monuments To Thieves

AC: His Hero Is Gone are fucking great, they tap into a lot of things. They have death metal-y bits, but it’s all very heavy, raw and fast. Todd Burdette is also probably my favourite vocalist. It’s shouty but it’s not just yapping away like some hardcore bands. It’s coming from the chest but it’s not like a scream. It’s hard to describe, but tonally I find it very satisfying to listen to. He and his brother who was also in the band, had been in loads of other bands including one called Tragedy. I got into Tragedy first because it was a bit more approachable and more melodic. This was the same time I was getting into the skramz stuff, but their very outward political messaging was something that appealed to me at that time. I guess on a certain level it appeals to me now, although I’m slightly more cynical with what can be achieved with music other than speaking from the heart on issues you care about. The Battle Of Wolf 359 stuff, that scene was political, but in a way that wasn’t necessarily super apparent in the lyrics, such as venues that doubled as activist spaces. A lot of [the more mainstream hardcore scene at this time] was very, very boring, like ‘You’re not straight edge enough, dickhead!’ That’s fine when you’re an 18 year-old, but some of these people were in their 30s.