Danish quartet Social Decline blend elements of hardcore, 80s thrash metal and punk in a lively sound packed with aggressive riffs and catchy choruses, which they describe as “raw, intense and honest.”
The Copenhagen band is formed of four middle-aged guys Esben, Bo, Christian and Jesper, who’ve known each other since childhood and have long been part of the underground Danish DIY punk scene. Bo, Christian and Jesper were previously in a punk band called King Carrot, which ended in 2019. They decided to harness a more metal-based “grumpy hardcore thrash” sound with Esben on board, of which they told us to expect: “Fast riffs, angry vocals and an aggressive sound.”
To give us a taste of this, they sent us Path of Fear from their new album Destroyer of Worlds, which was released last month. It opens up with cool guitars that intensify and build up to lively shouted vocals over driving drums and guitars, which feeds into a shouty chorus. A fun guitar lick bridges into another lively verse and chorus, which gives way to a delicious guitar solo before a big final blast of the chorus.
On the track, Christian told us: “It is in its early days, but overall, it has been good, and people seem to like it. It is a bit more melodic and catchier than our usual stuff, but it still has that gritty punky feel to it.”
The album is packed with more feisty punk goodness, including the lively opener Divine Lawmaker, the excellent The Cure, the romping anthem Wendigo, the feisty Reaper of Hate, the huge penultimate track Detonate, and the more melodic closing track Wind of God.
On the album, Christian said: “Very excited. This is our third album, but every time we release something it is special. We are very old school in terms of production and sometimes it takes years from a song is conceived until it is finally released. So that is always a very special feeling to release new music and see how people receive it.”
Social Decline’s members grew up listening to the great metal and hardcore bands of the 80s and 90s, taking inspiration from the likes of Slayer, Agnostic Front, Sodom, Metallica, Megadeth, Kreator, Sick off it All, Sepultura, Iron Maiden, Death, Carcass, Judas Priest and many more.
And on what inspires them to write music, Christian told us: “I guess we get a kick out of making our own music, where others are content doing covers. I have always, ever since I learned to play the guitar, been writing riffs and composing tunes… so I guess it just needs to get out of our system. Can’t help it.
“In terms of lyrics, it is mostly the stuff we are angry or dissatisfied with that inspires us. Occasionally, we do write a song about more personal topics, but we are not poets, and most of the time we write pretty straightforward lyrics about our views on political or social topics. Not that we have a specific political agenda as band, but that is our main inspiration… You don’t have to agree, so take it or leave it.”
Social Decline’s third album Destroyer of Worlds is out now, and the band are working on getting as many gigs into their calendar as possible to play it live.
And Christian added: “We are very much a DIY band, recording ourselves, booking shows ourselves and so on. Our fuel is the love of music and playing live, and we are very dependent on having and creating relations with other bands, bookers and venues to make things happen. So don’t be shy. Drop us an email or message if you like our music and let us do something together. See you out there.”
You can follow Social Decline on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
Listen to Social Decline and more new music on our Spotify playlists GigRadar Core, GigRadar Metal and GigRadar Nordic
GigRadar 