IDIOTEQ is proud to give you an exclusive interview with Swedish heavy hardcore band NO SAVING GRACE and the full stream of their second EP “Hell To Pay”, produced by Sam Thredder (BUN DEM OUT, NINEBAR, DIRTY MONEY), who has delivered an amazing job with adding more depth and destruction to the band’s original offerings. The new EP is a follow-up to NO SAVING GRACE’s no-bullshit songwriting approach with thick riffs and brutal vocals first presented on their 2015 EP and debut demo from 2014. Take a listen now and scroll down to see the full interview with NO SAVING GRACE!
Hey Jesper! What’s up? How’s Västerås doing this fine Spring?
Hi! Just taking care of some stuff at home. Västerås is nice now that the snow has finally melted and it’s actually sunny outside.
Please tell us more about your local independent music scene. Are you forced to hit Stockholm every time you want to attend a hardcore show?
Västerås used to have a good hardcore scene but it eventually died out because of the lack of shows and bands. We’re currently trying to get a scene going again and book bands every once in a while but it’s hard to find good places that let us rent their venues for a decent price so it is what it is right now. Stockholm has a lot of cool shows and we do attend them but there’s shows in other cities aswell like Örebro, Gothenburg and Gävle that we sometimes travel to attend if we can afford the gas and everything.
How did you get involved in hardcore in the first place?
I got introduced to hardcore a long time ago through my brother but I was a metalhead and had no friends who liked hardcore until I met Tobbe (guitar in NSG) in school and we started attending shows and writing music together.
How did you come up with the idea to start NO SAVING GRACE?
Well me and Tobbe were really into the heavier kind of hardcore and felt like there was a lack of bands with that sound in Sweden and since we had nothing better to do we started NO SAVING GRACE.
Will we recognize members from other bands?
Tobbe and our drummer David used to play in a deathcore project called A MISANTHROPIC VIEW that recently split up but they’re currently writing music for a new slam death metal band so keep an eye out for that. We have had members from other bands in our past though like Mange (SISTA KLIVET, ANGERS CURSE) Wez (WAIL OF SIRENS, DRIPBACK) and Niklas (BITTER TASTE OF LIFE).
Which bands influenced NO SAVING GRAVE if you had to name a few?
100 DEMONS, COLD AS LIFE, ALL OUT WAR, DEATH THREAT, IRATE, LIFELESS
Where do you see yourselves fitting in musically? Do you fancy the ‘beatdown’ tag? How are you going to distinguish yourselves from the flood of hardcore bands these days?
When we first started off we weren’t exactly trying to write beatdown we just wanted to play something heavier than the usual style of hardcore, but we kept getting called a beatdown band at shows and stuff so we eventually just embraced the beatdown label. I guess we fit that tag and it works to describe our style.
Since all our influences mostly come from the US we try to sound a lot more American than European and I think that works for us. I don’t exactly think we stick out that much but we’re happy for whatever attention we draw.
What’s the message behind the name? Also, tell us about the lyrics and the message you are trying to convey. What was in your mind when you wrote the lyrics for this new record?
The name NO SAVING GRACE comes from feeling like you have no hope and no way to make your life or situation better. Most of my lyrics deal with anxiety, depression and disappointment and our name reflects that, but for our new EP the lyrics are a bit different. The first track is a lyric I wrote many years ago when my family was being threatened by local nazis and I wrote about how badly I wanted revenge on those people. I guess the message is fuck nazis and fuck anyone who tries to intimidate you and your family. The second track is about seeing someone you care about destroy their life with drugs and negative shit and trying to help them but getting rejected and basically just giving up on trying to save them. It’s about selfishness and the feeling of seeing your peers let their negative ways get the best of them.
Is there something about heavy hardcore that you couldn’t communicate through different styles and genres you like as a listener?
I like and listen to a lot of different styles of hardcore but it’s always the heavier bands that I connect to on a personal level because of the often negative and dark lyrical themes.
Ok guys, so you’re about to unleash your new EP anytime soon. What’s the status of this recording and how did you team up with Sam to mix it in the UK?
It’s currently at its final stages of mastering/mixing and we couldn’t be happier with how the production sounds. We got Sam’s contact through our good friend Wez who’s from the UK himself and knows Sam since way back. Sam has worked for tons of awesome UKHC bands like BUN DEM OUT, DIRTY MONEY and NINEBAR and knows the style of hardcore we play by heart and we’re very thankful for his help.
Can we expect some live shows in support of this record?
We’re gonna try to get some shows booked for sure. We got no dates right now but they’re coming!
What country would you love to visit with NO SAVING GRACE in the future?
England, USA, Finland, Poland, Germany, Spain, Russia, Portugal, Austria just to name a few. There’s so many countries with great scenes that we’d love to play a show in. Anywhere we can!
Ok guys, one more. What has your playlist been like recently? Do you mind sharing some recommendations before I let you go?
I’ve been listening to WORLD OF PAIN‘s new record “End Game” a lot recently, every song on that record is a banger. ABSOLUTE SUFFERING – Death Is Guaranteed is also really good. Some great up and coming bands I wanna recommend is MIND CHAOS from Finland, MYVERA from Örebro and WASTE from Gothenburg. Make sure you check them out!
Thanks a lot! Anything else coming up from you or your friends that we should know about?
No problem. Nothing else that I can think of. Keep an eye out for our EP and come mosh at a show!
Ok, thanks a lot for your time. Any last words? Just shoot them if you will.
Free Linus.
