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Real Friends
Shame
Paramore
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D ISRUP T T H E N O IS E
Remy
Shalom
M(h)aol
Sløtface
Year Of The Knife
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Pierce The Veil ZULU Maggie Lindemann //
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Howdy. It’s a smidgen under two years since we first put Meet Me @ The Altar on the cover of Upset and proclaimed them the future of pop-punk. Now it’s time they deliver on that promise. With a debut album about to drop and all those predictions sounding pretty damn prophetic, we’re delighted to have them back on the front of the magazine.
Stephen Ackroyd @stephenackroyd Editor
March 2023 RIOT! 4. Maggie Lindemann 12. Real Friends 14. Hundred Reasons 18. Shame 20. Year of the Knife ABOUT TO BREAK 24. Remy 26. Shalom FEATURES 28. Meet Me @ The Altar 36. Pierce The Veil 40. ZULU 44. M(h)aol REVIEWS 48. Paramore TEENAGE KICKS 50. Sløtface
UPSET Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler
Scribblers Alex Ingle, Connor Fenton, Dan Harrison, Jake Hawkes, Jamie MacMillan, Kelsey McClure, Linsey Teggert, Rob Mair, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin Snappers Alice Baxley, Celina Kenyon, Elvina Vladi Kvisle, Jonathan Weiner, Naomi Williams, Sarah Louise Bennett PUBLISHED FROM WELCOMETOTHEBUNKER.COM PO BOX 420, HASTINGS, TN34 9LZ
All material copyright (c). All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of The Bunker Publishing Ltd. Disclaimer: While every effort is made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which The Bunker Publishing Ltd holds no responsibility. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of Dork or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions. Distributed nationally.
THE MONTH IN ROCK
MAGGIE LINDEMANN has come a long way fast. From first seeming an overnight sensation to now finding her place as a rock star, she’s finally making her own music on her own terms. Words: Ali Shutler. Photos: Sarah Louise Bennett.
Rewriting the scene on a mission to be the biggest band on the planet, there’s no lack of ambition to MEET ME @ THE ALTAR. Words: Ali Shutler. Photos: Jonathan Weiner.
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t’s been a hot minute since Pierce The Veil graced us with new music. But now, they’re returning revitalised and ready to seize the day with the California band’s fifth album, ‘The Jaws of Life’ in tow. No small statement, as with everything the Pierce The Veil pen touches, it’s meant to be fully loaded. “It felt big; the words feel powerful,” guitarist and vocalist Vic Fuentes gushes. “It describes the meaning of the album in a lot of ways - about how life is trying to devour you, and you’re trying to get out of its grips or find your way from a dark place into the sunlight again. That’s the vibe for this album.” It’s this lifeline that Pierce The Veil have been for fans since arising in 2007. But in the space between today and 2016’s ‘Misadventures’, they found those sharpedged teeth sinking in. Following the departure of founding drummer and Vic’s brother Mike Fuentes after
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misconduct allegations, the band began to reconcile with the future of Pierce The Veil. With Vic teasing material as far back as 2018, fast forward two years, and with everything standing still, Pierce The Veil were at odds with the world around them. “This record is what got us through those feelings in that state,” Vic says. “This is the record that took us from a darker place into a lighter place. And it was through that process of making the record and being with my bandmates, living together in a house, working on this record - reconnecting and communicating again - it strengthened our bond and our brotherhood and brought us closer than ever. And so, I think this record did a lot for us internally.” Hunkering down with the band – guitarist Tony Perry and bassist Jaime Preciado – up in Seattle, while those rain-sodden streets are a world away from those of their home state, it allowed time for the group to reconnect. “We would just
Nearly seven years on since their last album, a lot has changed for PIERCE THE VEIL. Now firmly fixed on the future, they’re a band reborn. Words: Steven Loftin. Photos: Celina Kenyon.
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Los Angeles’ ZULU bring together a world of sounds for their debut album ‘A New Tomorrow’, a release that aims to create a space of positivity despite the world around them. Words: Steven Loftin. Photos: Alice Baxley.
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I
f you were wondering what the clashing sounds of jazz and hardcore sound like when carefully posed next to each other, then look no further. With the breathtaking excitement of an illegal fireworks display, Los Angeles’ ZULU have created a debut that disregards any notions of audible healthy and safety for a no holds barred glimpse into the mind of the project’s brainchild, Anaiah Lei. “I was in two very different places when I started the band, and to be quite real, I didn’t know how to do something on my own,” Anaiah begins. Having played in various outfits as a drummer, “I’ve been in situations where I was made to feel like my contributions didn’t matter. So when I started writing it, I was very nervous,” he admits. Bringing himself to the front of the stage, his idea for ZULU’s hardcore and powerviolence - a genre that cuts through hardcore’s throat to take things that little bit further - began to take shape throughout two early EPs. 2019’s ‘Our Day Will Come’ and 2020’s ‘My People… Hold On’ were hefty slabs of adrenaline-fused hardcore, dealing as much in celebrating black culture as they did channelling the fury of injustice. More importantly, however, as things progressed, Anaiah’s confidence grew away from the subdued “Oh, I’m just a drummer, and that’s as good as it gets” that began ZULU, to fighting, “I knew how to play those other instruments - let me try it at least.” Settling on a group consisting of guitarists Dez Yousef and Braxton Marcellous, with bassist Upset 41
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Fierce Irish punks M(H)AOL are here to shake up the scene with their powerful and thoughtprovoking debut ‘Attachment Styles’. Words: Linsey Teggert. Photos: Naomi Williams.
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