INTERVIEW WITH NICOLAI OF LIFESICK

Words on early influences, Copenhell, and Hatebreed with Nicolai of Lifesick ahead of their appearance at the Rhapsody all day fest January 31st. 

Do you remember the bands or records that first made hardcore click for you? How do those early influences still show up in LifeSick?

For most of us, our first experience with the sound of hardcore was through Hatebreed. At the time, we were just taking in all kinds of aggressive music and didn’t really know what “hardcore” actually meant. That changed before we started going to a festival in our hometown called Fredericia Hardcore Festival. We were all around 14 years old, and that year—if I remember correctly, 2007—the lineup included bands like Madball, Municipal Waste, and others. There was a mix of punk, metal, and hardcore, and from that point on it became a huge part of our lives: what we listened to, how we dressed, how we moshed—everything -  And bands like Hatebreed are still a huge inspiration for LIFESICK—we have a lot of working titles on riffs and songs simply called “Hatebreed riff.”

What’s your take on the current hardcore scene where you’re from and globally?

The genre is definitely becoming more “accepted” and has seen a huge rise—especially in Denmark, where heavy metal, black metal, and death metal have traditionally dominated. Because so many bands mix genres these days, the word “hardcore” isn’t as dangerous as it once was. I can only speak for Denmark, but when the festival Fredericia Hardcore Festival existed, it was great. Then there was a gap of about ten years where it just kind of sucked.

These days, we have an even bigger festival called Copenhell, which now invites quite a lot of hardcore bands. The festival is attended by more “normal” people who mainly listen to rock and similar genres, and that helps open things up and makes hardcore more accepted.

Globally, it feels like the genre has taken a step back toward its roots, drawing more inspiration from older hardcore. And with bands like Terror still keeping it alive all around the world, it’s just amazing.

Is there a particular track in your catalogue that you feel defines your identity as a band? Why?

We tend to change the setlist from time to time, but there’s one song simply called “LIFESICK” that we’ve always played. No matter what kind of show or set it is, it’s always been a part of the setlist. The song was on our first album/EP—it’s built around one riff with a few catchy vocal lines, and it’s just easy to get into.

Where do you see LifeSick HC heading in the next few years — musically or as a scene participant?

Not sure, to be honest. LIFESICK has been around for about 10 years now, and it’s always just been five friends playing and having fun—that’s probably our main motivation. We still love playing shows and getting out there.
We definitely have some goals we want to achieve, and one of the main ones is to tour the US, since we’ve never done that. Besides that, we want to create hardcore music that inspires people, especially the younger generation. I guess we’re on the edge of becoming “old heads” now that we’re entering our 30s, so we obviously want to stay relevant and keep pushing the genre without becoming too corny or gimmicky.

How do you want people to feel when they leave a LifeSick show?

Exhausted but hungry for more. We always keep our sets short so we don’t bore the listener. Our music moves at a fast pace, and you don’t want too much of it.  

Do you approach smaller DIY shows differently from bigger festival stages?

Yeah, for sure. We always care a lot about our live shows and adapt them to the type of audience and show we’re playing. At bigger festivals—especially metal festivals—you obviously need a different kind of stage presence. That’s mostly the singer’s job: not calling for violent mosh pits, but maybe encouraging a circle pit, if you know what I mean. Stuff like that.

We also don’t want to use too many gimmicks, but when playing a festival like Copenhell, we had to bring in pyrotechnics and bigger banners to fit the atmosphere.

Nicolai / LIFESICK

Catch Lifesick at the Rhapsody Records all dayer 31.01.26 Play Middlesbrough. Stream their single on Metal Blade Records 'Legacy of Misery' below :

SIDEWINDER, KING ABYSS, LAST WITNESS @ CAFE ETCH DEC '25 , SHOW REVIEW BY JD PROSHO

Mad Friday Mayhem: Teesside Hardcore Turns Café Etch Into a Warzone

Café Etch is slowly morphing into Teesside’s unofficial hardcore embassy. Tonight, it’s hosting the year-end blowout for Rhapsody Records, and the timing couldn’t be more chaotic: the last Friday before Christmas Eve—known in the UK as Mad Friday or, if you’re feeling spicy, Black Eye Friday. Originally NHS and Police jargon for “the night everyone gets obliterated,” it’s now a cultural institution: the final knees-up before festive purgatory. Translation? Middlesbrough’s hardcore kids have one last chance to throw themselves around a 60-cap room like it owes them money.

Hartlepudlian debutants Final Witness pick tonight for their swansong, and honestly, they couldn’t have scripted it better. Early nerves? Sure. But once they lock in, Café Etch gets its first wall of noise—and it’s glorious. Think Municipal Waste thrash colliding head-on with Obituary-style death grooves, snarling vocals riding shotgun. For a band barely old enough to rent a van for the short journey south on the A19, their setlist feels seasoned: heads bang, limbs flail, and Middlesbrough suddenly has four new best friends. Bookmark this name—they’re going places.

Derbyshire’s deathcore veterans King Abyss hit the stage like they’re settling scores. Tracks like Fear the Dead don’t just shake the room—they threaten structural integrity. The pit? A demolition derby. Vocalist Dom stalks the floor like a man possessed, while guitarists Sam and Harry flex technical wizardry on Weapons of Mass Delusion, a track that swings between chugging brutality and fretboard acrobatics. By the time Eyes Always Watching closes, the crowd looks like they’ve been through a small war—and loved every second.

Headliners Sidewinder don’t waste time with pleasantries. Their opening mantra— “Respect the venue, don’t respect each other”—lands like gospel, and the crowd obeys with WWE-level aerial assaults. Leeds’ hardcore export delivers a set so fast and feral you barely have time to breathe. Between sci-fi nods (Starship Troopers, Gears of War) and communal whiskey swigs passed around like sacrament, this feels less like a gig and more like a church service. Damo, their preacher-in-chief, screams sermons of rage and release into the faces of his gathered flock, while Incarcerated—an anthem for anyone shackled to a soul-sucking job—hits extra hard on Mad Friday. Responsibilities? That’s January’s problem.

As the last chord rings and the whiskey bottle empties, Teesside spills into the night—some with bruises, some with literal missing teeth, all with stories. Café Etch didn’t just host a gig tonight; it hosted a riot disguised as a Christmas party. Happy Fucking Holidays.

Full Sidewinder set available below : 

Show review by : James Prosho @jdprosho

Paleface Swiss - The wilted EP (2026) REVIEW BY @JDPROSHO

Paleface Swiss - The wilted EP (2026)

When Paleface Swiss emerged back in 2017, their sound was pure, unfiltered beatdown chaos: raw aggression, blunt-force riffs, and breakdowns that felt like a crowbar to the temple. But The Wilted, a brand-new EP from the Swiss noise merchants, is a different animal.

Not softer but smarter, sharper, and riding the same modern metalcore wave that’s been dominating playlists without losing the street-level menace that made them infamous.

This EP feels like the band finally decided to hone their craft. There’s melody here, the production is polished without sanding down the serrated edges, and the song writing flexes a confidence that says: “We know exactly who we are, and we’re not afraid to evolve.”

Tracks hit like a hybrid of beatdown brutality and metalcore sophistication—think surgical breakdowns stitched together with atmospheric tension. It’s the sound of a band refusing to drown in an oversaturated scene, carving out their own space with riffs that still swing like a wrecking ball but now come with a more sophisticated blueprint of the direction they want to head in.

Paleface Swiss aren’t abandoning their roots; they’re fertilizing them with something darker, more calculated. In a genre where everyone’s screaming (literally) for attention, these guys are making sure you hear them above the noise. Ones to watch? Absolutely.

Catch Paleface on tour across Europe with Stick to your guns and Statis Dress. In early Jan through to February : 

Written by @jdprosho

Nuclear Venom – Poisoning the Minds (2026) REVIEW BY @JDPROSHO

Nuclear Venom – Poisoning the Minds (2026) 

There’s a particular joy to crossover thrash when it stops pretending to be high art and just goes—the kind of joy that smells like stale beer, hot amps, and a circle pit that forms before the first snare hit. 

On Poisoning the Minds, Polish thrash/crossover upstarts Nuclear Venom channel that joy with almost weaponized efficiency. It’s a really fun record—emphasis on fun—that blends the speed and whiplash riffing of classic thrash with the tar‑thick churn of sludgy hardcore. The drums sprint, the guitars screech, and the vocals sound like they’ve been left out in the radioactive rain.

If your playlists run from Municipal Waste’s beer‑splash blitz to the serrated crossover punch of Manic Aggression, this EP sits right in that sweet spot: fast, filthy, and ferocious. Nuclear Venom never forget that extremity is entertainment, and they lean into it with the kind of energy that’ll have you price‑checking elbow pads before the second chorus.

The production is perhaps a bit raw at times, with guitars that scrape and squeal before dropping into sludge-laced chugs that feel like you’re wading through concrete and vocals that may be difficult for purists to hurdle over, but this isn’t a record for them - plenty of bands can varnish and fine tune their sound but not all of them are able to convey the fun they’re having making music. Nuclear Venom bake humor into menace without undercutting the heft. 

Poisoning the Minds is the sound of a band who understand that extremity and enjoyment are not opposites—they’re accomplices. It’s fast, filthy, and fun, a blast of crossover thrash that drags through sludge just long enough to make the next sprint feel like lift‑off. Short playtime, zero filler, maximum repayment. 

Ones to add to your radar immediately. And maybe to your health insurance.

Written by @jdprosho

SECONDS OUT INTERVIEW

Words on dream guest vocal, hard working starts and messages for the younger generation with the young team in Seconds Out. 

Seconds Out have played a bunch of rhapsody shows already , we’ve loved having you every time, you guys got any feedback on how TSHC has welcomed you/highlights ?

All of our shows in Teesside have been class and we’ve played lots of good crowds and supported some dope bands , one highlight would definitely be playing for negative frame and Ollie being kicked in the face the same night.

There’s no doubt you guys have worked hard this year , it shows and we gotta respect it. What has pushed / inspired you to do seconds out as a project?

Hardcore music has always been a passion with all of us , really big on our local scene and the scene across the Uk , our main drive is trying to get ourselves out there and play on bigger shows and meet more pals while we do it for sure

Do you have anywhere you’d like to play in 2026 and why ?

For 2026 we’re definitely looking to play out of the north east down by Bristol and London but a show out of the country is always gonna be a big thing we wanna do. 

It’s dope to see younger homies doing bands , what message do you have for the generation below you in regards to hc?

Remember the roots of the genre and what is stands for and have fun with it.

If you could get a guest vocal from anyone dead or alive on a Seconds out track who would it be ?

Gonna have to with bill greenburg from swear to god.

Catch Seconds Out. at the Rhapsody Records all dayer 31.01.26 Play Middlesbrough. 

R.I.C.O. INTERVIEW

Words on tour with despondent, local representation and plans for 2026 with R.I.C.O.

What you got planned for Rico in 2026

We’re Writing new stuff for 2026, we’re moving away from the pure beatdown scene and focus on writing heavy mosh anthems. No heavy for heavy’s sake anymore. Maybe a five/six track EP. Potentially a split with a band very close to us!

How was tour with the despondent boys , any highlights? 

Tour was really fun - big shoutout to despondent for being some of the best boys we’ve met in hardcore. Glasgow was a highlight, Muz choking out one of screwdriver lobotomy

How important do you think local representation is in building a scene?

Incredibly, you can’t build a local scene without the involvement of the locals, you gotta support each other, attend shows, put on shows, uplift each other. Everywhere we go we shout about Teesside hardcore, here on Teesside we’re building something so special - some many bands that have established themselves and some unreal up and comers. We’ll always champion our hometown an our home scene.

Our last all dayer saw your first set, our next your latest , how do you think Rico has evolved in this time?

We had only been a band for a couple of months for that show with a lot of changes happening. Kyle Lightfoot [shoutout] stood in on drums for us. We played a mashup of 3 tracks and a cover. This next all dayer we’re gonna bring the heavy mosh tunes you’re used to from RICO and we might have a few new things in the pipeline for it. One thing we can guarantee is we will not be playing nothing but a beatdown anymore.

Catch R.I.C.O. at the Rhapsody Records all dayer 31.01.26 Play Middlesbrough.  Stream 'Call it what it is' by the TSHC outfit below:

INTERVIEW WITH MITCH OF DISARMED

Words on the end of Aggrieved, first show and musical influences from Mitch of new NEHC outfit DISARMED. 

Youve already dropped a single what have you got in store for the EP?

We've got another single dropping in early Jan and the full EP dropping before the rhapsody all dayer, got some new shit that we're working on too so hopefully that won't be too long until it's out either

Disarmed even though based further north feels like a TSHC band to me, where do you sit on that?

I feel like by the end of Aggrieved it was less of a TSHC band since only Jack lives in Middlesbrough, but I feel like even with the vibe of Disarmed that TSHC is still a massive part of it

Disarmed feels like the next evolution of Aggrieved , what style changes/influences have you drawn on for the new project?

Everyone's brought loads of different ideas to the songs with Disarmed which is sick. Petes big inspired by Whispers and shit on this EP, Leeroy has brought loads of Killswitch Engage style shit, I've ripped off that riff from Thank You For The Venom as much as I can. I think it's still fairly obvious that we're all massively into thrash and death metal but it's a really nice change from what we're all used to.

What are your experiences of the first show with Jawless / Clobber at etch?

That show fucking banged. I remember the first Aggrieved set being weird and a bit awkward but this one went really well. Etch is also one of the sickest venues I've seen. The whole lineup absolutely banged for that show too.

3 bands UKHC heads should check out in 2026?

Actin Up, Despondent, Human Deceit. Honourable mentions to Break Them and Dispute 

Stream the latest single from Disarmed below :