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Oliver (CvltNation): Who came up with the name “Bellicose Minds” and what is it supposed to mean? In other words, is there any particular story behind the name?
Nick Bellicose: Finding band names is hard with so many good, obvious ones taken. You can either spam the button on the name generator web site or draw words from a hat. We didn’t want that. It feels heartless and cheesy. We really wanted a name that had a meaning, and said something about the band. There were some ideas thrown around, but I ended up coming up with The Bellicose Minds. The rest of the band liked it. It reflects our attitudes towards life and society, to be in a state of agression and warfare. Non-complacent, driving forward through the sea of shit we live in.
Oliver: I really like the vocals – they have a classic sound but also don’t really sound like many vocals you actually ever hear bands having any more these days. They remind me a little of Vex (the UK postpunk band) or later-era The Dark after they got gothier (“Shattered Glass”). Are those conscious influences on your vocals’ sound, or the band’s sound as a whole? If not, what is?
Nick: It’s easiest for me to sing in a lower register. I always liked the way Jim Morrisson and David Bowie sang when I was a kid. That was music I heard from my parents as a very young child. I started finding my own music to listen to at the age of 9 or 10, and always looked for extremes. I love extremes. I listen to a lot of hardcore punk and anarcho-punk from the late 70′s and 80′s. I draw from the aggression and provocation in many of the lyrics from those styles of music. Darker punk/post punk bands definitely have a big influence on how I forge the lyrics and sound in our songs. Singers such as Mark Burgess, Adrian Borland (RIP), and Mic Jowger (Pink Turns Blue) are huge influences because they all had their own style, and felt their words. At the end of the day I always try to come up with my own style and ideas — my own voice. Influences are important, yet it’s important to respect them for what they are and not become a rip off.
The Bellicose Minds likes to keep the music dark, and sinister, always throwing cynical thought to the foreground. Flowing with a dark, early-‘80s Gothic rock edge citing influences from The Chameleons, The Sound, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and Danse Society, and of course the rain the Northwest continually brings, The Bellicose Minds has toured in the US and played at key underground punk festivals in Canada since their incarnation in 2008. While the band has sustained multiple lineup changes, it has always at its core been AJ on drums and Nick on lead guitar and vocals, and the current lineup sees bassist Mira joining the founding pair.
The Bellicose Minds have exposed the rock underworld to a variety of self-released demos and independent releases over the years including two tapes, a self-titled 7” EP, and most recently their first LP, The Spine, released earlier in 2013 via Blackwater Records. One of the act’s seminal releases is 2009’s The Buzz Or Howl Sessions, initially self-released only as a 500 copy run on dubbed cassettes. A389 will now officially re-release the long out-of-print The Buzz Or Howl Sessions for the first time ever on vinyl, the initial masters completely remastered by Audiosiege and artwork and layout to feature a full redesign. It’s coming together to see release late this Fall with a confirmed street date to be announced shortly.
Additionally, The Bellicose Minds is currently in the writing process for their next LP which will also see release through A389 later in the year alongside the band’s first European tour this Fall and additional regional and stateside touring.
Links:
The Bellicose Minds