XInclusionX are a five-piece straight edge hardcore band from Limburg, Belgium, featuring current and former members of bands including Invictus, Devour, Justice, Slow Crush, Break & Enter, Head of the Baptist, Hemelbestormer, Disinterred, and Blade.
Following their All We Need demo in 2023, the band are preparing to release their debut full-length, Lasting Values. Three songs from the record are already out, offering a preview of an album that deals with straight edge, friendship, integrity, mental health, politics, and other issues that matter to the members of XInclusionX.
I caught up with drummer Steven, vocalist Rudi, and bassist Kevin to talk about Lasting Values, the band's history, and the Belgian hardcore scene.
Tell me a bit about your background and when and how you got into hardcore. What bands had a huge impact on you early on?
Steven, drummer: I’ve played drums for XInclusionX since October 2024. I joined the band after their drummer Alex decided to leave. I’ve known the guys in XInclusionX for a long time and have played with both guitarists before.
I got into hardcore in the late ’90s. I was 15 years old when I saw Sick of It All at a big festival, and I was hooked! It didn’t take long to get into more underground bands and shows.
I grew up in the Brussels area, in central Belgium, and got into bands like Length of Time, Wise Up, and Arkangel. Those guys used to skate around our school, so we kind of looked up to them because they were on Good Life Records and played some crazy shows back then.
In the early 2000s, I started playing drums in hardcore bands, starting with In Arm’s Reach and eventually ending up in Justice from 2004 until 2006.
So, on a global level, a band like Sick of It All had a huge impact on me. Also, I’m very grateful to the parents of a friend of mine who went to New York, walked into a record store, and asked which hardcore albums would make a nice present for kids who liked hardcore and punk rock. They brought Minor Threat’s Complete Discography and Bad Brains’ The Omega Sessions back home. We loved those albums, obviously!
What sparked the formation of XInclusionX, and how far back do you all go with each other?
Steven: The two most important sparks are our love for hardcore and friendship.
We’ve known each other for such a long time. I remember seeing our singer Rudi at the very first hardcore show I went to. I kept seeing him at shows, and we both had bands before. Rudi sang for Last Straw, a pre-Justice band.
I got to know Kurt and Jan, both guitarists, around 2012 or 2013 when I became the fill-in drummer for Jan’s band Blade. Around the same time, Kurt and I had our death metal band called Disinterred.
Both bands kind of stopped around 2016. Not long after, I started a new band with some old friends, and Jan joined. For the next two years, we both played in Slow Crush, which is currently on Pure Noise Records and touring worldwide.
Jan, Kurt, Kevin, and I also had a few projects after that, including XDragnetX, Still Nothing, and Burned.
Beyond the usual big-name influences, what lesser-known bands helped shape what XInclusionX is doing?
Steven: I guess we’d have to look at local bands in this case. One band always comes up when we hang out and talk about music, and that’s Kindred. They were big at the end of the ’90s and released a perfect ’90s metal-inspired hardcore album called File 01 on Good Life Records, as well as a split EP with Culture.
They were a straight edge band, played crazy shows, and unlike a lot of bands from that era, they weren’t from the H8000 area but from Limburg, where we’re from. Their music and shows had a huge impact on all of us.
Talk to me about Lasting Values and some of the lyrical themes you tackle on the album. What can you tell me about some of the tracks?
Rudi, vocals: I wanted to use Lasting Values as the title for the record. It’s one of the new songs we wrote, and on the surface, it’s a typical straight edge song, but for me it refers to so much more, be it moral values, animal rights, or social and political values.
Having known the other guys in the band for many years, with some of us going back over 20 years, we’re all on the same page when it comes to integrity and morals. To me, it was a no-brainer to make this the album title.
Other topics are mostly the things that worry and scare me, and I think most of us: the shit that’s happening all over the globe. The destruction of our planet and how it affects our kids, politicians screwing all of us no matter what your political stance is, the rapid growth of racism and fascism, depression and mental health, and, of course, some more positive stuff about our choice to be edge. I also wrote a song about my twin daughters and hope.
The songs on our promo single are “Cry for Help,” which touches on mental health issues and having dark thoughts; “Politicians,” a song about how “trustworthy” politicians are; and “Ignorance Is Bliss,” which is about how we like to deny the truth and dismiss science instead of trying to save whatever is left of our planet for our children.
The response to these songs has been great. Every time I go to a show, people come up to me to tell me how much they like the songs and how curious they are about the album. We revealed the artwork- props to Kevin, our bass player and graphical wizard- and people seem to love it.
We couldn’t be happier with how it looks. The insert looks sick as well. All of us are really proud and happy with what we’ve accomplished together. I definitely love this record!
Kevin, bass: “Stick Together” is about the way the world seems to become increasingly divided. Almost everything can become a reason to put people against each other: politics, identity, race, fear, social media. The song is a reminder that, especially in times like these, solidarity matters. We have far more in common than we’re sometimes made to believe.
“Keep the Faith” is a very personal song. It’s about my girlfriend’s battle with cancer.
It was very serious. It had spread, and I wrote this at the end of a five-year battle, when things weren’t looking good. Fortunately, it turned out OK, but it was an incredibly difficult, uncertain journey with major consequences for both of us.
The song is about trying to hold on to hope and to each other, even when you don’t know how things are going to end.
What have been some of the live show highlights for the band so far? I see that you played a gig with my friends in Berthold City.
Steven: This year, we’ve been very lucky to get some awesome shows. We got to play with Berthold City in both Antwerp and Paris. Both were great shows. Awesome band and great people!
The annual Break Down the Walls fest was a highlight, too. Sharing the stage with bands like Thrive, Destroy Babylon, and Morning Again was amazing. I can’t remember how many times we’ve shared a bill with Supernova from the UK, but we love them, and it’s always good to see them!
The shows with Time X Heist were cool, and playing the True Colors reunion show in Antwerp was pretty sick as well!
At least from an American perspective, it feels like whenever someone mentions Belgian hardcore these days, it’s usually H8000-related. What would you say about that, and what should people outside of your country know about the hardcore scene there these days?
Steven: The H8000 era was pretty wild, with great bands, awesome releases, and crazy shows and fests. The recognition that scene gets worldwide is definitely deserved.
When I started going to shows, it was at a peak! After that, I mainly saw the downfall: bands lost members or quit, released less popular albums, and shows weren’t that big anymore. But that was 30 years ago, and a lot has happened since then.
I guess you can say there have always been bands and scenes active over the past 30 years, with ups and downs. I was very present during 2003–2006, when I played drums in Justice. Shows were great again with bands like Dead Stop, Rise and Fall, True Colors, and Restless Youth. There were young bands, and both younger kids and older hardcore fans were into it. Unlike the ’90s, this was more in the Antwerp area.
But Belgium is pretty small, so if you’re really into a certain band or want to go to a show, it would take two hours max to get anywhere. Right now, some bands doing pretty well include Mindwar, Invictus, Listed, Kritiek, Skull Cock, Sicko, Head of the Baptist, Escape, Gull House, Loud Love, Misled, and Force. True Colors are playing shows again, too.
Anything else worth mentioning before we wrap this up?
Steven: Thanks for your interest in our band and the Belgian hardcore scene in general. Our album will be released digitally and on streaming services on October 1, with the vinyl arriving October 3!
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XInclusionX on social media: Instagram
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