Active Minds

"The road to fame and fortune is an easy one to take - the door is always open for those who are on the make. If you're dumb enough to stick your head's in corporate mouths, they're ready to chew you up and spit you back out." are the opening lyrics of the song "The road to fame and fortune", a bright piece of "guidance" in my youth years. Active minds were one of my favourites bands of my childhood and they still are, so let's see the reasons why.

It seams that some people stick so badly to their opinions and have the willing to express it, a fact that always attracted me. Those brothers from scarborough have express their views to all the fucking topics that a human mind could ever think about. Like the above mentioned track they do a hard but true critic to all that bands that beginning from diy ethics did the crossover and signed contracts with major labels and multinationals of the music industry, bands like chubawamba and the blaggers. They had the strenght to say "dis is getting pathetic" in a time that more and more discharcge clone bands popping up (still do) or with the whole crap the hardcore scene appears to be, pathetic, apolitical and stagnant. They wrote lyrics about the animal exploitation, the human stupidity (they had a serious theme with metal bands with stupid lyrics (do you remember "stupid lyrics - why bother?'or "at war with satanists")), the straight edge or the alcoholism problem.

this is the backside from the "dis is..." 7''. I love the "put your name here" style

My personal favourites are "The natinal lotta E" and "I'm not atourist..." seveninches. It's so amazing what can do only two persons with a guitar and a drum-kit, full of dreams, ideas, views, and love for what they're doing. Even if you think they are "puritans" i higly recommend to give'em a good listening 'coz here we have some some shining hardcore diamond moments. check out for example "insomnia" with that "hyped-wannabe" rhythm that gives spins to your head.

"What sort of a world are we living in where people are discriminated against for their colour of your skin?" from "Sick world" seems to be the soundtrack of modern life in the centre of athens with so many racist attacks lately. They also run Loony Tunes records and i don't what else to say...

download part 1 : The national lotta "E" & I'm not a tourist
download part 2 : Dis is getting pathetic & Lunatics have... & Capitalism is a disease

also check out a very interesting interview here : part 1 & part 2