It is going to be another H8000 related post, but I live in the the mecca so I have access to the best of the records and the information through the friends / people of the scene. And I was drenched in it as a kid!

This week in my mailbox were something different than records, namely two fanzines reporting the then big and active scene here in the province of West-Flanders. I have taken the time to read the first zine and it was very entertaining and sometimes even interesting. The zine I’m talking about is issue #3 of the Yoda fanzine.

In this zine you have first of all an interview with Strain, a Canadian band that sprouted in the 90’s. The interview was taken on their European tour in ’97. Unlike any other band in the zine they are more critical. They deliver critics on the crowds from their live shows, with the accent of the fashion show attitude of the kids.

Another interview is with Deformity who actually play metal instead of hardcore. And to their opinion there isn’t a single H8000 band that plays real hardcore. But this is in my opinion a bit exaggerated and wrong because I think that HC isn’t all about the sound. But about the attitude and the way of life. Having principles about your consummation habits, about human and animal rights ethics, etc. is in my opinion more hardcore than playing a certain sound similar to the early 80’s American hardcore punk sound. Another great and very important part of HC is the DIY behavior and the we-feeling from hanging out with and helping out friends. This isn’t a definition but more like an approach to what is HC. No one has ever defined it but an insider can notice.

Okay, furthermore is an interview with Sektor. A true Edge-Metal band were all the members are sXe and that toured Europe alongside Vitality. Interesting about this interview is the technicality of their songwriting that they explain. Namely the two sides of riffing they had as a band and comparing these with each other, and so creating a more rich sound. And yes, it is confirmed that the band name came from the Mortal Combat character Sektor. Personally I always liked their fuck off attitude, with one-liners like “Walk if you wanna walk, but don’t get in my way!”

Speaking of Sektor’s tour with ODK’s Vitality; Yoda fanzine editors also interviewed these coast skaters for this issue. I come to the conclusion that the main driving force behind the band (and also the other ODK bands) was Bob. He was the manager of the band and probably was and still is the initiator. And of course there is a part humor in the interview, but that’s always the case with Vitality; they are doing it for the money, haha!

Furthermore in this fanzine are some pictures of awesome skateboarding tricks, reviews of records, a vegan recipe, zines and even a girls section. They shoot at the girls with some questions and yes, they have other meaningful things to say. Yoda’s conclusion: “Girls Kick Ass!!”

My thoughts upon collecting fanzines for the first time was; why spent dozens of euro’s on records if the zines are way more than the short and little information you get on the insert of a record? Reading old zines is in a way more satisfying to me than reading the lyrics or the thanks lists of the inserts. And it is mega cult. And that’s what I like sometimes.

I have to say thanks to the makers of this zine whoever you are!! Also to the German trader who sold me this zine. He has a small label called Stormstrike Records.