Band: Justify
From: Detroit x Toronto
Their formation story:
(Harold, drums): "I was talking to Norm, our guitarist, in late 2023 about starting a new band together and I began writing some songs using some riffs I had in my head for a while. The demo was all written by the start of 2024 and we filled out the lineup quickly thereafter.
"We were offered a spot on More Reality Hardcore Weekend in Toronto as our first gig which gave us an extra kick in the pants to get the demo recorded and released. Since then, we’ve been full speed ahead."
Their sound in their own words:
"We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel or anything, but I’d say when I’m writing Justify songs I’m just trying to pay homage as best I can to bands like Outburst, Breakdown, Raw Deal, etc. while trying not to rip anyone off but instead to make it sound like us.
"Another record worth mentioning that never stops inspiring me is the Against the Wall 7”. There are some current bands/records that really inspire me as well: Burning Lord’s LP from earlier this year still blows my mind, Big Cheese from the UK is one of my favorite bands going, as well as the Collateral 7” everyone knows and loves."
Latest release info:
"Run and Hide was written over the summer of 2024. Typically, I demo new songs at my home in Detroit and send to the guys and we hammer out a final version when we get together to practice in Toronto, which is how all of these came to be.
"We started playing a couple of these songs live in a slightly different form at some gigs over the summer. We enlisted the help of our good friends Dan and Jake of Mil-Spec to sit in on a practice as a kind of hardcore focus group and to help make some final tweaks before hitting the studio with Mitch Courtois in Welland, Ontario.
"We recorded the whole thing in about 24 hours. I tracked all the drums late Friday night and then we spent probably 14 hours on Saturday doing everything else. I’m big on keeping up momentum and anyone who has recorded with me knows that I’ll keep working as long as we’re allowed to. One thing I’d like to highlight about this recording session is that Justify owes many thanks to the one and only Niagara Falls Guitar Thug for loaning us all kinds of guitars, heads, and cabs to use on this record. It just wouldn’t have sounded the same without his generosity.
"Norm and I used this 7” as a springboard to start our label called Total Supply (lots coming, keep your eyes peeled) and I was approached by my friend Ray who runs Extinction Burst to go in on pressing it on vinyl together. As of yesterday at the time of writing this, the order is at the pressing plant and expected to ship late 2024."
Future plans:
"In the very immediate future, we have a couple of gigs on the books in Toronto and Chicago. Besides that, I’d simply like to keep writing more songs, playing anywhere we can, and maybe make a cool t-shirt or two. We’re a bit geographically disjointed with myself living in Detroit and the rest of the band in Toronto, so we’ll never be the world’s busiest band, but I’m up there a lot and we’ll continue to make time to do our thing."
What other bands from your region(s) should we check out?
"Norm and I have another band called Pluto’s Kiss and we just finished recording a 7” that will be out very soon. Everyone should check out BFD from Niagara, they have a new record coming soon and it kicks ass. King’s Command from Detroit just played their first show and has a demo coming on Total Supply this year, they’re the new wave of Detroit hardcore.
"Shout out to our friends in All 4 All and Street Hassle from Syracuse. One Track Mind from Montreal just finished recording some new stuff that you’re gonna love. There is an abundance of cool shit going on right now if you know where to look."
Run and Hide 7" available now via Extinction Burst.
Justify on social media: Instagram
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