Sex, (no) drugs and vegan sausage rolls

“To see through eyes unclouded,

The slaughter for selfish gain,

The bloodlust of countless masses,

The cries that will go on in vain.” - Repentance

All across the south coast, in pubs, bars and even church halls, people gather to listen to really loud music and run into each other. They’re all different in every kind of way, from different backgrounds. But, what brings them together is their taste in music. Loud, shouty music.

It’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Speaking personally, it’s far too intense. Meaty, powerful guitar riffs, ferocious drums and throaty screams are not suited to a mellow, indie music taste such as mine. Yet, the lyrics are entrancing. Read from a lyric sheet, they’re poems, revealing the shared passion of this disillusioned group. Straight edge veganism.

The vast majority of this group have vowed to not drink alcohol or take drugs and to not eat meat. This ideology stems from a rebellion. Punk rock in the 80’s was a culture of binge-drinking, drug-use and violence. A culture of not giving a fuck to be frank. But, how can you fit into a culture of adult-only activities when you’re not an adult.

You put an ‘X’ on your hand.

Here's Louis, right in the thick of the action

The ‘X’ symbol has become the embodiment of straight edge hardcore. It originates from a gig in San Francisco in which Teen Idles were stopped from performing at a bar due to them being under-21. As a compromise, bar staff drew an ‘X’ on their hands to make sure they were not served by anyone. Upon their return to Washington D.C., the band suggested this system to allow underage fans to attend gigs. It’s stood ever since.

But this isn’t America. The drinking age is 18. A vast majority of the south coast hardcore scene are all over 18 and yet still don the ‘X’ on their hands. This is the evolution of the hardcore scene. Moving on from its sketchy, moral-less past to a progressive scene full of forward-thinking, environmentally conscious young people.

One of these is my good mate Louis. When he first got into the hardcore scene, we all took the piss out of him. We only saw it for the screaming and moshing and essentially called him a goth for a good year or so. It wasn’t until we started to speak properly with him that I saw what a positive influence it had had on his life.

At first, we didn’t understand straight edge. Growing up in Portsmouth you have around 13 pubs per square mile and the vast majority of youngsters can’t wait to get out and find their favourite one. Being a working class city, Portsmouth definitely has a huge drinking culture. “Going straight edge for me was purely a personal choice and at quite a young age people did think it was odd. I’d say I went edge because I hated the idea of starting this young with things like social drinking, getting pissed etc because it felt it was pressed upon people as a social norm.

But there’s more to the south coast scene than not drinking or doing drugs. Veganism is a huge influence. Some of the beautiful, poetic lyrics are in fact dark tales of animal slaughter. Louis isn’t vegan. In fact, for most of his teenage years he worked in a butchers. But being involved in the hardcore scene has opened his eyes to what really goes on.

“You do start to see things differently. 100% you question things more. “I’m now more aware of the conditions of animal farming and slaughter etc and the true size of it. It’s disgusting.” What started out as a new taste in music, quickly became a way of seeing the world in a new light. Of becoming a better person.

“I would say that being involved in ukhc has opened my eyes. Being surrounded by people who have a similar mindset to yourself, who see the world for what it is and don’t just generally conform to the same generic views that society puts on a the majority of people, really helps to put things into perspective.”

“I think through hardcore I have started to see things for what they really are. Not just a bigger picture but through day to day life as well, you view people differently and you see past so many fake personas and egos that people put on in day to day life so they can conform to the same as everyone else, be it through fashion or views on what’s cool etc.”

The floor is contributing to animal slaughter

A community of people built on good morals and good times. The rebellion may have changed through the years, It’s less anti-violence, more anti-meat industry than anything. But, the point is that the rebellion is still there. This is a group of people fed up of something that have grouped together to swing arms at each other whilst a select few shout into a microphone, beautiful poems about animal slaughter.

“There’s something about hardcore in general that’s untouchable. Nothing comes close to the excitement of being at a gig. A hardcore gig is a lot more intimate with a whole different vibe; it’s not just kicking each other and jumping off stages. There’s an energy that comes through that music that many genres don’t have, be it through the messages shouted through a mic, or the breakdowns and riffs playing and that affects you whilst you’re there. You become solely focused on that.”

It truly is one of the last sub-cultures: similar to punk. Seeing your mates and enjoying music, the same excitement you get through seeing bands is amplified because you have that sense of what’s going to happen through that set. Usually it involves someone getting smacked to fuck and jumping off stage but that’s just hardcore.”

By Samuel Carter