Hardcore-punk bands come and go, repeating a familiar cycle of building, imploding, growing up, moving on. In some rare cases, these groups stick around long enough to show the next generation how it's done.
In 2013, to exert impact in the hardcore genre is a tough trick. It has grown saturated, there is a rash of self-referential bullshit and posturing nonsense one must sort through, and the internet has removed much of the effort that used to separate the bands that worked hard enough to be heard from the rest of the pack. So, when the mouthpiece and figurehead of one of the most influential hardcore bands of the past decade, Trial, offers to grace our scene with a speaking engagement -- essentially a concentrated version of the banter that punctuates a set, but can be as important as the songs themselves -- you'd better believe the occasion is one worth attending.
After some folding chairs were quickly set up on a floor far more accustomed to stomping feet and spitting bands, Bennick appeared at the foot of the stage. The environment was intimate, and Bennick began immediately by thanking the promoter, the occasionally unsung hero of hardcore (in this case, Breakeven Booking's John McHale) for taking the time to put the show together. Bennick politely requested that no filming take place, explaining that hardcore is an immediate thing that needs to be experienced in the moment, and that his spoken word is similar in that each night is entirely unique. The experience is a possession of those that chose to come out rather than an artifact for YouTube surfers.
Follow @CountyGrind
