Charles Maggio From Rorschach

We thought it might be interesting to talk to Charles Maggio, head yeller of seminal hardcore punks Rorschach, since, you know, their brutal melding of hardcore and metal pretty much altered the trajectory of punk music in America and all that jazz. It turns out Charles is pretty much just your average Joe who just so happened to front the best band of my lifetime with a voice that could embarrass banshees. He also threw in some cancer surviving for shits and giggles, and he could still kick your ass while balancing his twin baby girls in his hands. What a letdown it can be to get to know your heroes.

Vice: What were you up to when Rorschach started?

Charles Maggio:

WSOU at Seton Hall?

Speaking of angry guys, how did the lyrical topics come into focus for Rorschach?

Yeah I was going to ask you about that—I’m glad you opened the door instead of me. When was that in the trajectory of the band?

Remain Sedate

Maybe it’s my very pedestrian understanding of the disease, but that’s kind of stunning.

I’d imagine even if you could recover physically relatively quickly, being that young with a potentially terminal illness had to take a hefty toll mentally.

So cancer was no biggie in the band’s progression, but still, Rorschach had a relatively short turn that we all wish lasted a bit longer. What happened?

And now?