Love Thyne Hardcore
By: Lauren Napier

Within the scene today we are bombarded with hardcore and metal and bands attempting to conquer this scene. When in actuality all it really sounds like is the “squealing of dying pigs.” It is understandable how bands could tire of being lumped into the same genre with the same stereotypical bands – but very few try to change anything about this classification.  Love Thyne is attempting to make this change.  As Chris, a guitarist for the band, puts it “hardcore has been at one level, not doing anything different…but the pop music world is all over the place and the bands are maturing.”  Love Thyne sees the need for maturing within the hardcore community and after watching their set, I’m convinced their going to bring it – along with an absolutely brutal breakdown of course.

“So many bands are out there and it’s all the same crowd. We just wanted to see something that had meaning to it.”   That’s respectable – meaning counts rather than just empty words and lyrics coupled up with a hard-hitting guitar part. They have entered the hardcore scene with influences ranging from Disembodied and Unbroken. Christian breaks in with “anything really…obviously heavier stuff…and Zao.”  Zao is met with affirming head nods from all members of the band. Every Time I Die and Murder City Devils are all added into the line-up.

When in a band, music consumes your identity and sometimes it’s hard to remember just where the obsession started. Music means different things to different people with the underlying factor being that it’s important to all of those within the scene in some way, shape, or form.  To Derek, music has meant “pretty much everything…fourteen years…it’s pretty much all [I] do. [I] don’t even work.”  The other life at this statement, but really, once you’ve found what you love to do, is it necessary to hold down a steady job? “Every band in the hardcore scene or rock or anything – it’s just a way to vent your frustration,” so says Chris. “up on stage you are your own deal.”   And Johnny is simply “not good at anything else…[I’m] good at two things: playing bass and being sexy.”  At least Johnny has a gift, has acknowledged it, and let it lead him on a path of possible success.  It all works out well. Christian writes the words so it’s his expression and he vents vocally.  Alex, though most answers have been taken for this question, feels that “music can be so uplifting and it’s so inspiring to be a part of it.”  [And the cymbal sounds again.]

They do hope to “bring back the feeling in the hardcore scene…it’s gone…everybody wants to dress like a scene kid.” They don’t understand that the real roots of hardcore came from bands such as Disembodied.  “We want to make music that you can’t say – obviously people are going to label us as hardcore because we have breakdowns – we want to appeal to all people. Christian [I] wants to write music that  is rock heavy: some kids can do karate to it and the people in the back can lift their glass.”  To have a wide range of listeners, not only improves your audience and shows, but allows for your list of inspirations and experiences to lengthen.

It’s convenient that hardcore is known for the pieces chaos that somehow make up an entire song because Love Thyne’s songwriting process seems to be quite the chaotic happening. “It takes like two hours to get anything solid down,” Alex laughs reminiscing about previous band practices and their lack of structure. “and that’s after we warm-up on old shit.”  And then someone will finally find a decent guitar riff and say “Come on. Let’s start writing,”  while the others protest because no one knows what is really going on or what riff they’re going off of and “utter chaos” ensues and envelopes the room.  “If you repeat that for a couple of weeks – then a song happens.” Obviously this method works for the band because their material is brutal and engaging.

Almost as engaging as their live show. During their stage show, it’s virtually impossible to find one member to focus on. Christian’s demanding presence to Alex’s sporadic jumping behind the kit to Johnny’s swaying moves behind the bass guitar. Love Thyne shall make an impact on the hardcore scene and hopefully make pig squealing obsolete.