Belgium's grindcore, powerviolence, fastcore, hardcore, political punk powerhouse, Travølta, have been taking the piss out of the plutocratic and patriarchal powers that be since 2015. The outspoken leftist band combines all the aforementioned subgenres into some snarky and searing blitz styled attacks that they have funneled into some four split releases and three full-length albums. They have been a staple in both the grind/powerviolence scenes as well as the social activism scenes in Belgium and Europe.
In the rising tide of right wing political tyranny, legalized xenophobia, open racial and sexual prejudices and budding fascism coming out of the U.S. right now, the politically critical music from bands like Travølta seems more necessary now than ever. They, and bands like them, put their politics where their mouths are and promote dissent and direct action. Travølta is one of those bands that has that egalitarian moral compass as well as their own satirical voice. I recently had the pleasure of bombarding the band's DM's and getting them to talk with me about what they have been up to lately, their thoughts on grindcore and their plans for the summer.
How's it going? I hope the new year is going well for you guys. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer a few questions for the Return to the House of Grindcore blog. I'll begin with the obligatory introductory question of who are the current members of Travølta and what do they do in the band?
Nico is the singer, he also writes all of our lyrics. Jonas plays guitar. Kevin handles the bass, artwork and recorded/mixed our upcoming stuff. Rik is the one throwing sticks. He also does most of the samples on our records. Nico and Rik are also the guys behind Loner Cult Records so they distribute the Travølta stuff.
How did each of you get into grindcore/powerviolence/punk and how did that lead to the formation of Travølta?
Nico: I got into hardcore/punk when I was 13 or 14 years old. From a time without internet so… It all started with tape trading in school, reading zines and writing letters to bands. After a while I got in contact with a bunch of local bands. When getting in contact with the people from Zero Positives and a bit later with Agathocles, I crawled way deeper into the underground. In 1992 I started my first little distro and a couple of years later I start playing bass in Outrage (political straight-edge hardcore), later on that band evolved into Reller (a grindcore band, the first band I was singing in.) After both bands broke up I ended up playing bass again in Vuur (raging hardcore violence) and KingTerror (fast-core.) Still wanna be singing, but It never happened until the Travølta kids crossed my path. 10 years later I’m still enjoying it so… Later on I’m also involved in a D-beat band called Arrogänt.
Rik: We all started listening to hardcore/punk when being teenagers. After discovering local hardcore bands, I delved into darker bands like Integrity, Damnation AD and Ringworm. All these hardcore/punk bands were gateway bands for even more extreme kinds of music. I guess no one starts with grindcore when being introduced to underground music or guitar oriented music in general?
Jonas was more into metal but couldn’t handle the meaningless lyrics and rock star attitudes of some bands so he got into old school 80’s hardcore (Black Flag and stuff.) He just likes angry fast music and powerviolence seems to fit his needs perfectly. Kevin has a Kill Your Idols tattoo, so I guess that band influenced him way back.
The formation of the band was with another guitar player. He and the drummer (that’s me) wanted to do a powerviolence/crust band. They contacted Kevin which they already knew for many years and shortly after Nico joined. During the first COVID period, the previous guitar player took a step aside and a few months later Jonas joined the band. We already knew this guy for many years and the fact that he also lived in our area made it even better.
The COVID period was a time of reflection and adaptation. Because a tree fell on our original rehearsal space, we were forced to rehearse somewhere else. That place got shut down for more than a year so our way of making music totally changed. We constructed blueprints for songs at home and exchanged files through the internet. Afterwards, when it was possible to meet, we started rehearsing those songs and a few jam sessions followed. This is how our previous full length Disco Violence Up Yours! was created.
What genres and what bands played the biggest influence in Travølta's sound and style?
Nico: For me I got inspired by bands as: Ripcord, Agathocles, Lärm, Crossed Out, Seein’ Red, Dropdead, Chokehold... I got inspired by a lot of outspoken and political bands. Genres? I always fell in love with the more gritty and extreme kind of our scene. When music becomes happy I’m off, I always look for real anger and passion in music.
Rik: At first we tried to mix crust and powerviolence. We always said Extortion and Disgust were our influences. I’m not really sure you can hear this in our first record but there are some parts more akin to crust or D-beat and some to powerviolence.
Nowadays we have less crust influences and more fast hardcore parts thrown into our eclectic mix. In Tinnitus We Crust had some old school death metal influences because our previous guitar player was getting more and more into death metal. When he stepped out of the band we wanted to make a return to old school powerviolence. Jonas’ songwriting has a more punky feel to it and you can hear it in our music.
I got into grindcore via leftist punk music. Travølta is a hugely outspoken political band and your lyrics obviously reflect that. How are politics important to the band and how are you using the band as a platform to promote them?
Nico: The same here… I grew up in the 90’s, a time when bands where all pretty outspoken. So the thing was that I wanted to join the band, but wanted to do more than just music. Especially ‘cuz no one talked anymore on stage… it all became just a music thing and that frustrated me so… I wanna do it differently. The lyrics are sometimes a bit sarcastic, but still clear enough to point out at things.
Rik: We’re very glad that you are describing us as hugely outspoken. We all have kind of the same views on politics which are pretty leftist. Some people love it but also many people don’t like it when we preach while performing. You know the drill, less talking more music. We want to party and don’t want to listen to your messages.
We think hardcore/punk and in extent grindcore or powerviolence are intertwined with social messages and social critique, it’s part of the strength of the music. Lyrics from many bands that recorded records twenty years ago are still very relevant today. Personally, I also think that these messages add to the overall “value” of the music. For example, I do love the music created by Cannibal Corpse, but I honestly can’t really stand by the lyrics. I can headbang to it, I can enjoy the songs, but they don’t touch the heart. That’s where hardcore/punk, powerviolence and grindcore (let’s exclude goregrind… haha) come into play. The Smiths wrote a nice lyric about it which is a good comparison to what I’m trying to say: "Hang the blessed DJ, because the music that they constantly play, it says nothing to me about my life."
For us, the lyrical content is a very important part of the band. On our lyric sheet the lyrics are accompanied by commentary. We always get bummed out when we see a good band, but they don’t say nothing in between songs and just act cool and hip. We really don’t care if you wear sunglasses on stage or if you keep your leather jacket on when the temperature is rising. We care about your integrity and your message, fuck that rock star attitude! Be real, don’t act! Bands like Seein’ Red and Dropdead are good examples of how we like it!
What are some of the band's favorite activist groups in Belgium? Are there any political/human rights organizations that you support and that you think people should know more about?
Nico: We already played a bunch of benefits for human and animal rights groups. Going from medical aid for Ukraine war victims, aid for Palestinian refugees, law costs for anarchist prisoners, a dog shelter in Greece, [etc.] In our area you got some interested citizens movements like Hart Boven Hard (an organization that fights against injustice and asocial government laws.) You also have Straatsyndicaat in Antwerp, an organization that fights for a more humane policy for homeless people. You also got some activist and anarchist groups in the bigger cities. I always thought that the personal is also the political, so... I try to join manifestations once in a while... We also adopted our animals from an animal shelter called: Forest & Friends. We put up local shows in our area lately to get something moving in our area, also to get the anarchist/political statement out to a wider audience: I live a vegan lifestyle, etc, etc.
How is the grindcore scene in Belgium? Who and what are some of your favorite Belgium bands or labels?
Nico: Grindcore is always kind of strange in Belgium. People from outside of Belgium always think the scene is big and filled with bands with international fame: Agathocles, Intestinal Disease, [etc.] But the scene is kinda small lately. When we release brutal grind records with our label, we mostly sell ‘em outside our country. But you definitely have to check out the following bands: Parasite Circus, Head Of The Baptist, Verpest, Loathsome, Assur, Days Of Desolation, Monnier…
Rik: Well, when Napalm Death plays in Belgium (last time was with Pig Destroyer, Primitive Man and Wormrot) they can fill a venue with a thousand people. When a smaller international band plays on a Monday, you may have 10 people sticking around (or less.) You also have some labels backing up the scene here in Belgium. Loner Cult really does it’s part by releasing many Belgium bands, including grindcore. Other noteworthy labels are: Bringer Of Gore (true underground noisy grind), Halenoise (members of Days Of Desolation), Sick Phoque Records, BCR-30, [etc.]
Some interesting bands (yes, I forgot many bands but I can’t make this an endless answer.):
Verpest: They sound like Mayhem (Deathcrush period) playing grindcore.
Days Of Desolation: Ultra tight, crusty and technical grindcore.
Hetze: Hardcore/punk meets powerviolence.
Assur: If Mortician was created in Belgium, they’d call that band Assur.
Parasite Circus: Heavy hardcore/grind with a very good sound. Sometimes I think it’s Coalesce playing grindcore.
Head Of The Baptist: Crusty metal.
Plague Thirteen: Crust for fans of Tragedy and His Hero Is Gone.
Raw Peace: Crust spicing it up with that Japanese vibe.
Reproach: Trashcore, going wild on the live shows. Imagine Bones Brigade but based in Belgium.
Röt Stëwart: Oldschool hardcore for awesome people made by even more awesome people.
The list is endless: Dögmën, Serial Pissers, On Fire, Burning Kross, xINVICTUSx, xINCLUSIONx, Drudge, Sore, Visions Of War, BezetteStad, Toxic Shock, [etc.]
Songs for the split with We Sleep are starting to come out. How did this pairing come about? When can we expect the upcoming split to be released?
We played Dräschfeschd in Germany (Hamburg), it’s a grindcore/powerviolence festival in a school with only 15 minute sets. The fest is organised by Ralf, the drummer in We Sleep (Nico knows him from his days in Stack.) We got some sleep at his place (pun intended) and the next morning there was this idea of making a split record.
The record will be released in April on Loner Cult Records, Flower Violence Records, Give Praise Records, Rotten To The Core Records. Global Help Foundation is doing a CD version of it.
This Summer has Travølta embarking on a European tour with Meth Leppard in July. Will you be returning to the Obscene Extreme Music Festival? What are your favorite experiences at Obscene Extreme?
Rik: We’re not playing Obscene Extreme this year, but Meth Leppard are. We’ll be joining them after the weekend for a two week tour across Europe.
We played on Obscene Extreme in 2023 and it was a great experience. People seemed to like our music and lyrical content, so we’re very happy about that. Saw many old friends, made some new ones and saw many great bands!
Nico is going to Obscene Extreme, but the rest can’t make it. Here are his top bands to check out: Lack Of Interest, My Minds Mine, Bas Rotten, I Scream Protest, Eraser, War//Plague, Odio Social and Meth Leppard, of course.
How did a Summer 2025 tour with Australia's Meth Leppard come to fruition?
We co-released the first 7" of Meth Leppard. On an earlier tour we also played one show together. So I guess it’s helping each other out, pure DIY style!
Strictly speaking grindcore/powerviolence, what bands are you guys currently listening to? What bands or albums would you consider essential listening for fans of the genre?
Nico: There are some really interesting bands around in the underground lately. I think about bands as Dögmën, Hetze, Raw Peace, Teigne, Crippled Fox, Lady Gaza, LilyxElbe, Possible Damage, Failure, Plague Thirteen, Jodie Faster, So Close, Gummo, Tael, False, LMDA, The Prim, Martø, [etc.]
Check out Skiplife, they always deliver with their old school powerviolence sound, but also check out the [music of] Loner Cult. All these bands deserve a lot more attention and they’re all worthwhile to check out.
If you want me to drop some oldies, definitely check out: Neanderthal, Siege, Crossed Out, Avskum, Fuck On The Beach, Deathtoll 80K.
Rik: Some of my favourite powerviolence/grind releases of last year:
Failure: Obstinate
So Close: Painkiller Mentality
Trigger/LilixElbe split 10"
Brodequin: Harbinger Of Woe
Horsebastard: Horsebastard
Archagathus/Assur split
ACXDC: G.O.A.T.
Completed Exposition/Maxxpower split
Tael: Self-titled
Convulsions/Civilian Thrower split
Turtle Rage: Curse Of The Mutants
Final Exit: Born In Hell
Eraser: Harmony Dies
Favourite all-time grindcore/powerviolence records:
Infest: No Man’s Slave
Extortion: Degenerate
Siege: Drop Dead
ACXDC: Self-titled
Fuck On The Beach: Power Violence Forever
Discordance Axis: The Inalienable Dreamless
Napalm Death: From Enslavement To Obliteration
Misery Index: Dissent EP
Antigama: The Insolent
Hellnation: Your Chaos Days Are Numbered
The Locust: New Erections
Unholy Grave: Grind Killers
Agathocles: Theatric Symbolisation Of Life
Wormrot: Dirge
Iron Lung: Sexless // No Sex
Spazz: La Revancha
Nasum: Human 2.0
Psudoku: Deep Space Psudokument
Gadget: The Funeral March
Other than the upcoming We Sleep split and Meth Leppard tour, what's next for Travølta?
Rik: We’re doing a new live split record with Slutbomb from Cincinnati. We got some recordings from a show and thought they captured our essence quite well. It’s rawer and even sometimes faster than the stuff on our studio records but we liked it.
We’re also recording music for a new split 7" and have blueprints for another split 12”. Gotta stay busy, haha.
Any last words?
Thanks for letting us speak up on your blog, keep up the good work. People mostly forget about all the hard work people like you put into this underground scene. We aren’t anything without people who set up gigs, do artwork, do labels, do zines, blogs, etc. It’s because of people like you that the D.I.Y. scene is this fantastic place to be in! Keep up the good work and hopefully we’ll all meet somewhere on the road. Cheers.
It has been a pleasure. I cannot thank you guys enough! I really appreciate you taking the time to answer all my not-so-inspired and redundant questions. And thank you for all the kind words about the blog. I can't wait to check out the upcoming splits. I'm especially eager to give those new live tracks a listen.
As I am stationed stateside, I can't say that I'll catch the band on tour this summer, but European readers be sure to catch Travølta on tour with Meth Leppard. I'd hate to miss those dates if I were you. Once again, thank you so much to Travølta for their words and time.
For everyone else, you can listen to Travølta and grab some merch on the band's Bandcamp page: https://travoltakvlt.bandcamp.com/
Also be sure to follow them on Facebook for news and info: https://www.facebook.com/travoltaviolence/
Also check out all the great bands and releases on Loner Cult Records on the label's Bandcamp page: https://lonercult.bandcamp.com/
More links to good things:
Hart Boven Hard (Belgium): https://hartbovenhard.be/
Antwerps Straatsyndicaat (Belgium): https://www.facebook.com/people/Antwerps-Straatsyndicaat/61553933445779/#
Forrest & Friends (I think this is the correct organization, Belgium): https://forrestandfriends.be/
Doggybag Crew (Belgium/Greece): https://www.doggybagcrew.org/
