Hardcore stretches beyond borders and seas, there are bands from all corners of the world providing their take on the genre and it is growing all the time. I am amazed by the bands that are appearing and forming their own scenes across the globe, from the already broad and growing US hardcore scene to the DIY, Underground Bandung hardcore scene in Indonesia.
Europe to has a big hardcore community and this is especially true of Eastern Europe. ProoF are from Bucharest, Romania. They have been together since 2006 and in that time have played all over their home country with many of hardcore's leading lights, including Born From Pain, No Turning Back and Ignite.
ProoF is made up of George on vocals, Adi on bass and backing vocals,Stefan on guitar and backing vocals, Luci on guitar and Remus on drums. The band released their first EP - Blood Money in 2010 and are offering it as a free download at this link
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OWGY53X5.
Their EP - Blood Money is another great example of European hardcore. It's structured but also bruising enough to create havoc in the pit. It's all held down by a great rhythm section and the crushing double guitar attack.
Blood Money is made up of five relentless tracks. First track Violent Opposition is a short sharp sign on intent from the band and prepares listeners for the battering that is to come. The EP is fast and the songs would stand up on any hardcore bill you put them on. The bands varying pace in third track Beyond Prejudice and the bass being high in the mix, build an atmosphere that adds another aspect to the bands sound.
Overall, this is a really promising EP and shows that their is definitely more to come from ProoF, who are in the process of writing material for a new record.
Vocalist George, was kind enough to answer some questions about how ProoF were getting on and to give us an insight into the scene over in Romania:-
You're from Romania. What's the hardcore/metal scene like over there?
Howdy! The hardcore/metal scene is just developing in Romania, but the genre is starting to take off, there are always new bands looking to get feedback, and they manage to go on national and international tours using their own money; it takes a lot of sacrifice to evolve, as it does with every underground scene. The show promoters are getting more and more interested, and a lot of big names have started coming to Romania. Most times, there is prejudice and skepticism about Eastern European bands; I think Romania has many capable bands that could easily rise to the level of well-known metal bands.
What influenced you guys to form ProoF?
All five of us are multiple music genre fans, varying from thrash, sludge and metalcore, to nu-metal, punk rock and hip-hop, but the thing we have in common is the hardcore genre, with bands like Biohazard and Hatebreed,for us it’s more than music that we listen to when we have some free time, it’s more like a way of life, a way to express a very precise and well put together art. Another reason was the desire to play something pretty new in Romania, to refresh the scene here and to demonstrate that you can also create a different kind of music than what’s already popular with the people of Romania. As we know, hardcore’s a way of protesting, and the social and political issues of our country are a never-ending well of ideas and song themes.
How have you found it playing shows in Romania and has it been easy?
It’s every band’s dream to get in a van and go out on a tour, but surely it can be difficult at times, when you don’t have anyone’s financial support, and record labels are not willing to promote this music genre. We are all making a big effort in order to do this; we strive to book concerts in as many different cities as possible, and be seen by more and more people. In the end, this is why we got to playing music in the first place, and the audience is always receptive to us wherever we go; it always descends into a big party at every show. We have made a lot of friends and memories around the country. To initiate a tour in Romania is seen many times as an ‘extreme sport’ because all responsibilities fall back onto us, starting from contacting booking agents, and ending with promoting the event and such, but after all, the satisfaction of getting a good feedback from the audience makes us forget about these obstacles.
Have you played many shows outside of Romania and where have you played?
Until now, we have only had shows in Romania; we had a few opportunities of playing outside the border, but unfortunately, we didn’t manage to make a deal due to some issues we were struggling with at the time. We really hope we can succeed in going international this year.
You've played with a lot of great hardcore/metal bands in your home country. What has been your highlight so far?
We have indeed played with some big names, we would have never even thought about this a few years back; I think the mind-blowing experience was at the Noisefun festival, which took place at a huge arena, and we were a supporting act for Ignite, Born From Pain (we played with them twice) and Death Before Dishonor. This was a dream come true, seeing as they are some of our favorite bands, and a huge inspiration for us; We also had the honor of playing with some other bands that we admire, such as No Turning Back, Last Hope, The Setup, Confronto, Manifestation or Bleed Into One.
You've been promoted on TV, which is awesome. How was that?
Yes, we were invited to some TV shows promoting our kind of music, seeing as this music gets little to no promotion in Romania; we might say it was something unique and we’d like to thank them for inviting us. I can’t say for sure how much the promotion you get from TV shows today helps, because we are living in the Internet era, and the online environment is perfect for promotion, as compared to TV, where you can only be on one or two channels, you have way more advantages using the Internet, because you can be heard by people around the world. You also have to organize a lot of concerts to get people to notice you and your band. Underground music does not always sit well with the masses, so any kind of promotion is welcomed by us.
You've had a lot of attention from the media and online. Has that helped you gain fans and interest outside of Romania?
Yes, as I said earlier, I think the Internet has helped us and every other new band the most by using websites such as MySpace, Facebook, Reverbnation, Last.Fm or YouTube. They have made it possible for everyone in the world to be able to listen to our music, download our songs and get to know more about us. We’ve made friends everywhere, we always get messages from people living in the USA, South America, Asia and Europe who want to buy our EP or just say encouraging things to us, and this can only make us glad.
What do you think about the hardcore/metal scene around the world at the moment?
I think the hardcore scene is at its best time in history, maybe even better than when it first appeared, it’s becoming popular with everyone, not just young people; I see a lot of good bands that came out these last few years, that make it their goal to have tours around the world, having no outside help, as well as very well-known bands, like Hatebreed, Terror or Madball, that made this genre wide-known to the public through huge festivals and the media, making the masses interested; we can only go up from here! Although hardcore is a real concept that involves ideas, manifestos,a lot of listeners don’t perceive its true value, as it’s more of a niche that’s starting to gain popularity as times passes.
I love hearing new bands from around the world. What bands are you excited about at the moment?
Although I’m a huge sludge fan, I would say HAARP, from New Orleans, Louisiana, one of the heaviest bands I’ve ever heard, jack! Evil Army, a hardcore/thrash band from Memphis, Tennessee; they have that old school sound which now is a pretty rare thing, you gotta love those insane old school shows man, and Arson Anthem, one of Phil Anselmo’s newest projects, the same old hardcore sound that I’ve mentioned before. Some other older bands that got huge in these last few years and that I really enjoy these days are Mastodon (these guys are going to be legends), Maylene And The Sons Of Disasters,Comeback Kid,Authority Zero, Soilent Green and Crowbar. I’m also looking forward for the new Limp Bizkit album, Gold Cobra.
And finally, what bands from your local scene should people check out?
You should definitely check out Skullp, a very talented metal/thrash band from Cluj-Napoca, they remind me of Machine Head and that kind of stuff, Spiritual Ravishment from Oradea, maybe the best grind act in Romania at the moment, and two bands from Bucharest, Deathdrive, a great metalcore band and H8, veterans in the hardcore/metal scene.
