Thin Ice: German Hardcore Band Discusses Their New Release, Upcoming Debut LP

Calling Schweinfurt, Germany their homebase, Thin Ice is a hardcore band formed back in 2019. "Tobias (guitar), Lukas (guitar), and Michi (drums) had already written a few songs from our demo when my brother Julian (bass) and I joined a few months later," vocalist Simon told No Echo via in an email last week. "We just want to play as many shows as possible and have a good time."

As far as the Thin Ice sound, drummer Michi wrote: "We’re influenced by '80s punk/hardcore bands. We see us as a hardcore band." Simon also added his thoughts on this: "I would add that besides hardcore, there are definitely rock, metal, and punk influences in our sound. I think that comes from the fact that each of us has a different musical background. Lukas originally comes from classic metal/rock.

"Michi, Julian and I listen to a lot of punk/Oi!, and Tobi actually listens to any form of 'hard' guitar music. I think you can hear the different influences in our songs, even though hardcore is clearly the foundation of our sound."

Thin Ice's latest release comes in the form of a three-song drop called No Friends Promo. "It features two new songs and a re-recording of 'Less Talk, More Action' from our 2019 demo," Simon told No Echo.

"We will then enter the studio in the spring of 2023 to record our first full-length. The promo tape will be released through Farewell Records like our last EP, Keep It Alive, again. For this release, we were again with Jason Rowe in his studio, who also produced the songs. The songs were mastered by Beau Mckee in Australia."

"Lyrically speaking, we're dealing with personal stuff. 'The Easy Life,' for example, is about all the assholes who live for work and therefore think they are the best in the world. 'No Friends' is about people who find fault with everything just to make themselves important."

"Once again, our man Daniel Ehrlich was responsible for the artwork and he killed it again, check out his work!"

With Thin Ice's new promo out, and their debut album coming later this year, No Echo asked Michi and Simon about the hardcore scene in their region. "Unfortunately, our area has not much to offer when it comes to music and hardcore bands," Michi answered. "Simon is doing the Stäbruch Fest every year, that’s a highlight for the region."

Simon continued: "The most important venue for us is Stattbahnhof Schweinfurt. There are regular hardcore and punk rock shows there. The most famous band from our region is surely Rawside. If you like early '80s hardcore punk in the style of Fear and Consorts, check out Deathjocks. 

"In Nuremberg, it looks a little bit different with bands like Stolen Mind, Cold Fury, Fragment, Falsetrip, and Curselife. There are also more younger concert groups organizing small hardcore shows again, which is cool!"

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No Friends Promo is available everywhere digitally, and cassettes are up at Merchpit.com.

Thin Ice on social media: Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp

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