Big Cheese | |
|---|---|
 Big Cheese performing in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Leeds, West Yorkshire, England |
| Genres | Hardcore punk |
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Labels | Quality Control, Triple B, Painkiller |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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Big Cheese is an English hardcore punk band from Leeds, West Yorkshire. They are a part of the New Wave of British Hardcore. [1] In an article for Metal Hammer , Jimmy Wizard included their song "Rotter" in his "essential hardcore mixtape". [2]
The band formed in 2016, when guitarist Maegan Brooks (who then-played in Rapture) and vocalist and then-bassist Tom "Razor" Hardwick (formerly of Obstruct, Fade, Violent Reaction and Shrapnel) began living together. After developing some of the songs Brooks had written, the pair decided to recruit Louis Hardy and Alex Wizard of fellow-Leeds hardcore band Higher Power to play guitar and drums, respectively. On 22 October 2017, they played a sold-out show the Camden Underworld with Trapped Under Ice, Higher Power, King Nine and Chamber. [3] [4] [5] As soon as they began playing live, Hardwicke handed bass duties over to Anthony Wheatley (formerly of Sheffield hardcore band the Pact). [6] In June 2018, they played Outbreak Festival in Leeds. [7] In August they toured Europe with Illusion of New York. [8] In October, they opened for Turnstile on their UK headline tour. [9] On 17 April 2019, they released Don't Forget To Tell The World, a compilation of all their material released up to that point through Painkiller Records. This included their EP Aggravated Mopery and live tape from a NWOBHCFM Radio session. On 21 July, they opened for Have Heart on their reunion run at the Stylus in Leeds. [10] In June and early-August, they began a European headline tour with Mere Mortal, [11] followed by a European tour with Culture Abuse and Short Sharp Shock hosted by Vans. [12] In October, they announced that they would be entering the studio to record their debut studio album Punishment Park. [13] They released their first single from the album on 3 December 2019, titled "Write-Off". [14] On 8 October 2021, they released the three track EP Anymore for Anymore. [15]
Big Cheese play hardcore punk. [16] [17] [18] Their music is influenced by New York hardcore bands like Warzone, Killing Time, Leeway, Breakdown, Madball, Rest in Pieces, Sick of It All and Crumbsuckers in addition to UK bands like Motörhead, Charged GBH, Ripcord and Voorhees. [6] [16] They often make use of drums grooves and metallic riffs. [19] [20] Author Freddie Alva described their debut album as "a love letter to the NYHC sound during the late 1980s". [16] In an article for Hard Noise, writer Fred Pessaro described their style as "Melding Breakdown metallic brutality and Warzone-y groove". [20]
Motörhead were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precursor to the new wave of British heavy metal, which re-energised heavy metal in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Though several guitarists and drummers have played in Motörhead, most of their best-selling albums and singles feature drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor and guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke. From 1995 until the band's break-up in 2015, the group consisted of Lemmy, Mikkey Dee (drums) and Phil Campbell (guitar).
Hardcore punk is a punk rock subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk scenes in San Francisco and Southern California which arose as a reaction against the still predominant hippie cultural climate of the time. It was also inspired by Washington, D.C., and New York punk rock and early proto-punk. Hardcore punk generally disavows commercialism, the established music industry and "anything similar to the characteristics of mainstream rock" and often addresses social and political topics with "confrontational, politically charged lyrics".
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Trapped Under Ice is an American hardcore punk band from Baltimore, Maryland that was formed in 2007. Since then they have released an EP and three full-length albums. Taking influence from New York hardcore, the band has toured all over the world and was signed to Reaper Records. On August 11, 2013, Trapped Under Ice played its last show at Philadelphia's The Electric Factory at This Is Hardcore Festival 2013. The band announced their reunion in early 2015. In 2017 they released their third LP, Heatwave, on Pop Wig Records.
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