A part of the underground hardcore scene seems to be in one big mindtrip back to the roaring nineties. Bands do reunion shows, new bands pay hommage to the nineties sound. Yet there was one thing missing. What I also remember about the nineties (besides baggy pants, sweatbands and the Rain On The Parade - Full Speed Ahead 7") was that there was a big fanzine trading culture.
Every kid and his mother seemed to do a zine at the time. There were zines about the local scene like the H8Zine in Belgium. There were the professional looking ones like I Stand Alone, Value Of Strength and Tension Building. And there were the more arty, in-depth zines like Sculpture and It's Raining Truths.
Zines were made by people in bands, people who just found out about hardcore and people who had seen it all before.
I loved zines back then, did a couple myself and through that got in contact with other zinemakers from all over the world.
Nowadays we're all stuck behind the internet doing a blog here, reading an e-zine there. Some people still make zines, but it seems a dying profession.
Zinemaking inspired me to go and study journalism and I know at least three other guys who made a 'career' out of something they started in the hardcore scene.
So you expected to read a review of HRVST: Death the first book put out by Reflections Records and wonder what the above ranting is all about? Let me explain.
Zines were a platform to educate, advocate, promote and get things of the editors' chest. Some articles were emotional, others political or full of activism. (And you had the interviews with bands saying their new record was the best they had ever made).
HRVST: Death is a book, not a zine. But it gives me the same feeling. It's a collection of stories around one topic, this time death. Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), Chris Colohan (Cursed), Mark McCoy (Charles Bronson/The Oath), Wes Eisold (American Nightmare/ Some Girls/ Cold Cave), Steve Brodsky (Cave In) and Rob Moran (Unbroken) are amongst the contributors.
That's an impressive list. But all these people are known for the music they created. Not for winning a Pulitzer. There are also stories by less well known people with interesting thoughts about death.
Most of the stories in HRVST are heartfelt, well written and touch a nerve here or there. Personally I like the non-fictional stories better about how persons deal with death, their first experience with death or how they try to avoid it. The more non-fictional stories I find harder to grasp.
HRVST isn't a zine. It's a book that inspires, makes you think and gives me that feeling a good zine did back in the nineties. It's also a work of art with a great lay-out.
I first got in contact with Reflections when it was just a zine, later they started releasing records as well and got the imprint words|music. The past years the label seemed to mainly focus on the music part and I'm glad that words are back in business as well.
Since this is HRVST 1 I guess and hope more issues will follow around other topics and with other contributors. Just to inspire a new generation of hardcore kids and get the message across that it's still more than music.
HRVST: Death from Hendrik Thiele on Vimeo.
