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Music

Bandung's Kidsway Is Classic Hardcore at Its Best, Gang Vocals and All

The supergroup's latest is a politically-tinged ripper sure to bring back those warm feelings of Bandung's 90s hardcore scene.
Photo by @anggraboktaviandri /courtesy Kidsway

No one is holding it down like Bandung's Grimloc Records. This label, the brainchild of Homicide's Ucok, is known for releasing some of Indonesia's hottest underground hp-hop, as well as some heavy as fuck hardcore.

Grimloc recently released the sophomore album by Lose It All—a metallic crossover act that captures the sound of 90s chugga-chugga hardcore perfectly. And now, the label is back with another mosh-heavy hit with “Estafet Seruan Gombal Moshpit,” by Kidsway. The band's roster reads like a best-of list of 90s Bandung hardcore, with members from Balcony, Full of Hate, Savor of Filth, and Asia Minor.

Kidsway is basically a reunion project, which always comes with its own baggage. It's so easy to romanticize the scene of years gone past, especially when it comes to the kind of big breakdowns, gang vocals a-plenty hardcore on display here. But “Estafet Seruan Gombal Moshpit,” isn't all nostalgia. It's a song about the death of tolerance and about how arrogance will only lead to our eventual demise. Pretty relevant when you look at the situation today, don't you think?

Kidsway’s debut album will be out on Grimloc Records on 20 Dec. 2017.