Dutch thrashers Ancestral Sin first formed back in the 1980s influenced by the contemporary underground British and American hardcore and grindcore scenes. But over 30 years later, the Leeuwarden collective are back – coming at us heavier and more ferocious than ever.
Ancestral Sin halted in 1996, as its members went on to play in various bands like My Minds Mine, Blood I Bleed, Room#13 and Molosser, but the original lineup reunited in 2018 and began playing gigs again. Four years later, in April 2022, they transported us back to the good old days with 16 tracks of grinding thrashcore power violence in Social Hate Speech. And on the sound they bring to the table, they told us: “Old school grinding thrash core in a slightly modern production, it’s brutal, fast and uncompromising.”
The band recently backed up that return with a new dose of powerful thrash goodness with the four-track EP NEXT OF SIN, which was released at the end of last month. It opens up with the breakneck title track, which launches straight into a wild riff and heavy drums, which intensify as they launch into an intense verse. Chugging guitars continue under a spinning lick before launching back into huge vocals that bring the track to a close.
On the track, the band told us: “We already had a lot of positive feedback on it from playlist pitchers, podcasters and what have you. New listeners should be expecting a relentless kick in the face ’til the very last second.”
There’s more short, sharp thrash intensity in Vulgar Display of Wealth, which opens up with spoken words and launches into powerful vocals and guitars. A big drum roll ushers in a cool stabbing riff, then piercing guitar noises tee up a heavy ending. That’s followed by the brilliantly named Hardcore Woke Cop, which opens up with a cool riff and big rolling drums under huge vocals. That sets up a vicious chorus, which drops into drawn-out guitars that drop into chugging guitars and a cry to arms before a lively outro. And the EP goes out in style with the excellent, typically intense Whistleblower.
The Ancestral Sin sound has been influenced by fellow thrashers like Slayer, Heresy, Ripcord, Napalm Death, Infest and Terrorizer. And what inspires them to write music, the band explains: “The world we live in is full of hate spreaders and warmongers. They came come in all shapes and sizes and we can’t stop or ignore them. So we write about them and the results of their actions.”
A band that began in the 1980s and reformed over 30 years later isn’t our usual go-to, so we asked the band to compare the process of recording then and now. “Nowadays, recording is a lot easier, thanks to all the new technology. We used to record on 16 track tapes which left no room for errors. A fuck-up meant; start all over again. Today’s digital recording is far more relaxing, a fuck-up can be fixed quite effortlessly. We prefer the modern way of recording.”
Ancestral Sin just finished up recording a four-track split release EP, which will be released on vinyl in May, when Next Of Sin will also be released on EP. You can see the band play a release party in Arnhem on 1 February and they’ll be going on a mini-tour across Czechia in September, in conjunction with For/All Fest.
You can follow Ancestral Sin on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp and Apple Music.
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