Back to the grind

Winnipeg grindcore heroes Head Hits Concrete return from an extended hiatus

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Head Hits Concrete is officially back. The Winnipeg grindcore band, which gets its name from the Misfits’ song “Bullet”, plays short compositions that punish your ears and flabbergast your mind.

Formed in 1999, the angry, political, humorous, instrumentally skillful and poetically gifted group went on an extended hiatus after releasing Thy Kingdom Come Undone in 2004.

“It wasn’t until we were offered a show with Brutal Truth [an American grindcore outfit] at Manitoba Metalfest a couple of years ago [in 2010] that we decided to take it seriously enough to write enough new material to warrant playing live again,” 41 year-old drummer Brad Skibinsky says about the now more focused reunion.

After partnering with local group Cetascean for a Western Canadian tour this year, they set two Winnipeg dates, one at the Windsor Hotel on Feb. 21 and one at Frame Arts Warehouse on March 15.

HHC is currently composed of Skibinsky, vocalist Mike Alexander (Swallowing Shit, Putrescence) and guitarist Darcy Bunio (Prague, Big Trouble in Little China).

“Brad and Darcy and I, we’re this three-piece that works so well together. Musically, it’s the best, and currently only situation we would consider,” Alexander, 39, says.

Without Craig Boychuk or Justin Ludwar returning on bass, Bunio, who builds his own custom guitars, plays through a bass cabinet, and has changed his riffs to include more bass notes.

Last year, HHC released a seven-inch record titled Hollowed Out Human Husk on Mercy of Slumber Records. A four-song cassette tape of new compositions went into production on Feb.12 and will be available at the band’s upcoming Winnipeg shows. The songs “Binaries”, “Blood Quantum”, “Cascading Systems”, “Failure” and “Colony Collapse” can also be heard at headhitsconcrete.bandcamp.com.

“Taking a break for five years was good because it gave me a break to not write about the same things over and over again,” Alexander says. “It might come from the heart a little bit more.”

“We have this song ‘Phoenix’... my wife was Phoenix’s [Sinclair] aunt. The song caused me to think about the history and the nature of colonialism in Canada and we’ve written about this subject matter time and time again, you can’t help it… You sort of see how entire families get wiped out as a result of trauma associated with colonization.

“I’ve often wondered about the justice system, and how disproportionately people are represented in it depending on the colour of your skin, especially in regards to missing and murdered Aboriginal women… I can’t be cynical and nihilistic anymore. I think that’s a cop-out. I think it’s important to find the positivity that you can.”

Skibinsky sums up the importance of grindcore beautifully and brutally.

“When it is at its best, it is like having an epiphany while being dragged down a flight of stairs. It is unfiltered expression.”

Published in Volume 68, Number 21 of The Uniter (February 19, 2014)

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