7 SECONDS

There is something truly remarkable about any band sticking it out for 30 years, but for a hardcore band to have made it from the birth of the form through three decades without much alteration to its ethos or any distinct breakup is really unheard of. Hardcore is a genre fueled and forged by the most caustic and unstable of emotions, the fury of youth, and it’s a damn-near impossible trick to remain sincere as an aging hardcore band. However, 7 Seconds has escaped the trap and managed to defy the odds in every way, and more over — it is a band that is as potent as it ever was.The seminal hardcore band has brought its punk-rock gospel to enough generations at this point to earn the distinction of being an institution in a genre where they really don’t exist, or at least not without some sullying of a legacy.

The straight edge heroes have recently returned to recording after nearly 9 years with a new album entitled Leave A Light On. The record displays a band in as fine a form as ever and a band that still knows how to pen instant-classic anthems of urgency, now refined by the new facet of wisdom that comes with the band’s frontman and lyricist Kevin Seconds‘ current station in life.

Now an elder statesmen of the scene at large, Seconds has remained an outspoken critic of the way hardcore handles itself. In an interview with Thebigtakeover.com, Seconds submitted that, in regards to the current state of the subculture he helped forge, “I don’t relate to it and I don’t feel the need to try. I’m 53 and I come from a generation of bands made up of people who were genuine troublemakers, activists, trailblazers, and never-give-uppers. I don’t feel like I need to ‘bro-down’ with youngsters or relate to what they’re doing with hardcore these days. I also don’t feel like I need to pretend that what they’re doing is innovative or dangerous. It’s neither.” Harsh, but important words to be heard for a scene that claims to revere its past as much as it reveres fresh mercy and hard pitting.

7 Seconds will be playing South Florida on Saturday, November 1st with The Interrupters, Between Enemies and Die Trying!, thanks to the fine folks at Idle Hands Presents. Tickets are $12 advance or $15 at the door.  |  RSVP
~Von Bader