On their new album, Destroy Myself for Fun, Negative Blast have made slight tweaks to their brand of hard-hitting, hardcore punk. While the hardcore part of their sound is still very much intact, there is a new embrace of riffy hard rock that fits perfectly within the confines of their ripping punk sound.
“I don’t know if it was actually a conscious decision really, as we really just work on musical ideas we think are fun,” says guitarist Alexander Jacobelli. Vocalist Rainier Pesebre continues, “I will say that I personally have got into a lot more classic rock and heavy metal stuff over the last couple of years, and I think that worked its way into the songs. But we all like big rock anthems, so it felt pretty natural. For the bulk of the record we’ve kept to the general songwriting core of Alex, Pat (Callaway, bass) and myself jamming the songs out as a trio as we’ve done for our previous releases. Alex took on the bulk of the riff wizardry with some tunes having the basic structures before bringing them to the table where we’d jam them out and smooth out parts and transitions as needed. Demoing, pre-pro, tracking and mixing would all happen at Alex’s studio, Sunsick, where we would dig deep with tempo mapping, guitar/drum tones, and the like.”
They took a more spontaneous approach to recording the album, which included the use of several drummers. “We had three drummers on the release, with Hunter (Martinez) playing on half the album, myself on a few songs, and our good friend Andrew Montoya on one song,” Pesebre says. “I would draft several versions of lyrics and cadences before going into the studio to knock them out. We wouldn’t spend too much time under a microscope for the songs, as we wanted to capture the best takes we could in the moment and move on with our lives. The tunes came out sounding quite nice and managed to maintain the steamroller-kinda drive that defines our sound.”
All this adds to one all killer, no filler, record, that splits the difference between hardcore punk, hard rock muscle and garage rock swagger. It pulses with a white-hot energy that is infectious and life-affirming. In fact, the album’s title can be seen as the motto for the way they operate.
“Destroy myself for fun is a line from the opening tune of the album, “Fireplay.” It’s kind of like our mission statement as a band. We put so much of our time, energy, commitment, and love towards writing and playing stuff we’re proud to share. There is a type of self-destructive nature in the process of this pursuit … and in many ways we end up refining the approach, learning more about the place we occupy in a world so filled with so much confusion and madness. In this, there is a meaning to something so imperfect. It sums up the lyrical themes in the album in that we bend, break, and recreate our senses of self in the process of living a life authentic to the meanings we define in an otherwise entropic reality. Plus, the phrase is just really fucking cool,” Pesebre says with a laugh.
Even though they clearly enjoy what they do, their lyrics are deadly serious, dealing with a whole bunch of issues plaguing our country and the world. It’s their way of dealing with the world.
“The lyrics on DMFF, and our past releases for that matter, try to explore and expose personal vulnerability in spite of the maddening nature of the world we know today: inundated with distraction, technocratic capitalism, corruption, greed, warmongering and general unrest we are seeing in the US and abroad at the hands of the current administration,” Pesebre says. “I tend to speak in general terms in my lyrics but there is definitely a political influence in the record; from the exploitation and vilification of immigrant communities through the ICE raids happening all across the country, to the targeted and systematic murder of Palestinians in Gaza to the nepotism and government corruption in Asian countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, and Nepal. I can go on and on, but the way I deal with all of it is putting it in words that ring true to me that maybe others can relate to.”
In addition, Pesebre’s lyrics deal with the immigrant experience in the United States, touching how he honors his cultural heritage and stays true to himself. “I am a second-generation Filipino immigrant growing up in South San Diego and Japan in a military family,” he notes. “I have been lucky enough to retain essential parts of my culture but with a framework of understanding as an American and being involved in punk since my early teens. The lyrical themes have an underlying message of staying true to yourself in the midst of all the interpersonal, cultural and societal bullshit the world attempts to bombard you with daily.”
Like all great hardcore bands, Negative Blast excels in the live arena, providing a high energy performance that provides a catharsis for both the band and the audience. They were inspired by the greats of modern hardcore.
“Growing up, I really enjoyed seeing bands like Snapcase, Hope Conspiracy, Converge, that put on such a crazy live show,” Callaway says. “That kind of energy got me into hardcore and punk as a young kid. As a punk/ heavy music band, I think it’s important to have movement and energy in the live show. I would never want to see a band that’s just standing stiff on stage. I’d rather see bands jumping around playing sloppily than a band that plays laser-tight with zero energy. Playing live and having fun is a cool way to connect with the audience, and getting great feedback from people after the set means a lot to know we inspired someone in the way that someone did for me.”
With Destroy Myself For Fun unleashed on the world, Negative Blast are ready to continue their reign as one of the best modern hardcore bands. DMFF is a masterclass on how to deliver high-energy and hard-rocking hardcore to the masses.
“The only intention of the band initially was to make a “rock and roll hardcore band.” (That) was our initial discussion. When Pat joined and we recorded The First Four Months, we started to hone in a bit more on what we wanted out of the songs, but from a larger “career” or whatever point of view, we had no idea what we wanted to do. And to some degree, we still don’t,” Jacobelli concludes. “We do this band for fun, so that intention has stayed the same. Everything that has come along has been a bonus, and we’re grateful to have been offered the opportunities we have.”
Destroy Myself for Fun is out Friday on Three One G Records, and you can preorder it from Deathwish. Follow Negative Blast on Instagram for future updates.
Photo Credit: Becky DiGiglio
