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Hard
Pass is at least for me a relatively new hardcore band from Malmö and when I
heard their uncompromising music I had to do the first interview of
2026....January 2026
Photos: Mattias Persson (photo 1), Ove Wiksten (photo 2), Maja Daniels
(photo 3 & 4) Hi, I
bought your record a little bit on chance and was really happy, tell me a
little about the group, when you started and why?
Ronnie:Hello! Thank you for giving us a chance! Hard Pass rehearsed
for the first time in May 2023 after another band with the same members had
broken up, and they invited me to sing. Why did we start? Because we were
old friends who had been talking about playing together for a long time but
now finally all the planets were aligned. The plan was to play hard, fast,
raw hardcore and I think we have succeeded with that. Mathias:
Me, Magnus and Calle had previously played in a band called Sleet. When we
closed down, we were still eager to drive on. Ronnie is a good friend since
way back and we knew that he liked the same music and could scream in the
right way. It felt right from the first rehearsal, so it was just a matter
of getting started!
Hard Pass there are some groups that are called already, have they contacted
you? How did the talk go when you were going to fix a name for the band?
Ronnie: Hmm, I've found like 5 Hard Passes but none in our genre, so that's
okay I think. No one has contacted me either. I had a list of maybe 7 names
that we had brainstormed together and think we agreed that Hard Pass worked
best for us.
Mathias: I like the name and there were no HC bands around that had the same
name. We haven't heard from anyone but it will have to be Hard Pass A.D. in
that case.
Tell us a little about each member, band before and next to, instruments,
age and what else do you work with when you are not playing music?
Ronnie: I'm the singer in the band, turning 50 this year and have listened
to Punk and Hardcore since the early 90's sometime. Have played/played in
Pyramido, Burst, Man in Shackles and SlothPhantomMoth, always vocals. I work
as a lighting technician with bands like The Hellacopters and Graveyard.
Calle: I work as a personal assistant, like to ride a motorcycle on roads I
haven't driven before, I'm 38 years old and I play drums. I've played with
the vegan straight edge band Anchor in the past, and now I also have Manic
Ride here in Malmö in addition to HP.
Mathias: I'm 51 years old and play bass. On a daily basis, I work as an IT
consultant. Listened to punk/HC etc since like 86-87. Likes to skateboard
and play music. Have previously played in a few different constellations
including: Everyday Madness, Intensity, Satanic Surfers, Snifter, Revenge,
Sleet.
Magnus: 51 years old, plays guitar. I am a translator. Life is mostly about
music for me. I also play with Satanic Surfers and we tour a lot in periods.
In addition to Satanic Surfers and Hard Pass, I've played in Everyday
Madness, Revenge, Vile Act and Sleet.
You let go of Distorted eyes a while ago, have you done anything more
physical that you can get hold of?
Ronnie: We released Distorted Eyes 14 Nov digitally and then the vinyl came
out the week after. We have released a five-song demo cassette called
Hardcore 2024 in January 2024 which was then released as a 7" in May of the
same year. Then we have a song on the compilation LP Greetings from Sweden
vol.2.
Distorted eyes, any special thought with the name of the record?
Ronnie: It's called one of the songs and we thought it was appropriate as a
title. By choosing one of the song titles, we got an idea of how the cover
should look as well.
You
released it on De: Nihil and Quarantined, was that an obvious choice?
Ronnie: Since they released the 7" version of our demo, it was easy to ask
them first. Then there are good people who run the companies and both
companies are based here in Malmö.
Mathias: I think it's fun that the labels are run by people who have been
around for a long time and play music themselves. They are nice too!
Is it important to get your records out physically?
Ronnie: Yes! For me, they hardly exist if I can't hold them.
Calle: I really agree with Ronnie. There's something special about a real
record you can touch, instead of disappearing in the crowd in some playlist
on a disgusting streaming app that both makes the sound worse and takes all
the profit that they then invest in companies that are war criminals.
Mathias: Exactly, is it even a release if it is not released physically?
When you play live, what sells best of your merchandise? Is it records,
t-shirts or what?
Ronnie: We haven't played much out yet, 11 gigs at the time of writing and
it's probably t-shirts we sell the most of I think.
What else is the best thing about playing live?
Ronnie: Energy that is released, the interaction between us in the band and
(hopefully) the audience.
Calle: The best thing is that you can handle one more week with all the
madness in the world without completely losing it after you have finished
playing. Now it sounds like I'm half psychotic I understand that haha, but
what I mean is that when you play or go to a gig you get a boost from what
you do in the punk scene doing some kind of good or actually making a
difference. Ideas are exchanged, contacts for new bands and activist cells
are created, and you simply have to let out the steam you have inside you in
a constructive way. In today's situation, it's more important than ever to
have gigs so you don't perish from all the abominations in the world you
can't change.
Mathias: I think everything is connected, rehearsing, recording and playing
live. It would have been a bit tough to just rehearse. We haven't played
that much live but it's been really good so far. We did a turn with Alarm in
the fall of 2024 that was awesome.
Magnus: Playing live has always been what I like best about being in a band.
That's when you get paid for your efforts in some way, after all the hours
you've put in the rehearsal room and in the studio. It's always fun to meet
new people and hopefully make them feel something, happiness or anger, or
even make them think a little.
Your lyrics are of course political, which is your most apolitical song?
Ronnie: Hmm it's probably Distorted Eyes and No Love Lost I think... depends
on how you interpret them. They are written about specific people.
Who writes the lyrics?
Ronnie: That's me.
Is it difficult to write a text that doesn't sound like everything else,
because a lot has already been written?
Ronnie: I think it's really hard to write innovatively. But it doesn't
always have to be, just that the feelings that I put into the lyrics go
through in music and song. I'm rarely 100% satisfied with lyrics but, but. While
we are talking politics, what do you think about the election later this
year, will we get rid of the Tidö parties? Ronnie:
It's going to be a shitshow, I think, I hope we get rid of them anyway. Calle:
Guaranteed piss and shit like in the rest of the world. People are driven by
fear, and that's the only thing that blue-brown villains are good at. And
right now, people are very afraid of everything except what you should be
afraid of, namely that the richest elite will get even more money and power. Mathias:
Hopefully we will get rid of them. But you never know. It feels like
everything is moving to the right these days. Magnus:
We really have to hope so. We'll see if people finally realize that the Tidö
parties are only dedicated to dismantling welfare and culture, as well as
pitting people against each other. Are
you politically active yourself or is it enough to be so through music?
Ronnie:
Everyone in our band has opinions on things and different political issues
that make us in our everyday life make decisions that affect the situation
we are in. Which is participating in demonstrations, telling your work
colleague that what he says is racist or telling your uncle that it's not ok
to talk like that about women, or the like... Just being a nice fellow human
being goes a long way. Calle: I
believe in demonstrations, grassroots activism, active boycott through
consumption, etc. We all have different amounts of time for activism but I
think we are all convinced that punk bands that don't take a stand are
plastic. Mathias:
Maybe I'm not so politically active, but I think it's a lot about being a
good fellow human being and punk is a good foundation and school for that.
Most people who have been in the scene for a while often bring with them a
basic attitude and attitude that permeates everything they do. At least
that's how I feel.
Why do you think that SD is not so big in the big cities, are we more
intelligent there or what is the reason for that, are people more
narrow-minded in smaller cities/communities?
Calle: I think that sparsely populated areas/the country in general is a
better breeding ground for dehumanization precisely because you don't have
any contexts or daily integration with people who are not like yourself.
Then you fill in with your prejudices and let others form an image of, for
example, immigrants that is often wrong. When you live in a big city, you
meet all kinds of people and get a fairer picture, which is not poisoned by
lies and prejudices.
Mathias: I think that many people outside the cities end up in a bubble that
can be difficult to get out of. Everyone in the band comes from smaller
towns and I remember how narrow-minded it could be there. Perfect place for
SD and the like to fish for votes. But there are rotten eggs in the larger
cities as well.
When you play live, you do some covers then, if you have done so.... Which
songs?
Ronnie: Yes, it has absolutely happened and it will happen again. We
have played:
Poison Idea - Cop an Attitude
Anti-Cimex - When the Innocent die
Infernöh - The House of the Abyss
Calle: And we usually do some little snippet from some Black Sabbath song,
just because it's always too damn good with a little Sabbath.
Mathias: We are always on the lookout for new covers!
You play hardcore, which is the group that you are most often compared to?
Ronnie: In reviews it has been described as some mix of Disrupt and
Totalitär, which was flattering... but maybe a little Poison Idea too...
maybe.
Mathias: Some riffs are a little bit more melodic, maybe that's where Poison
Idea comes in. But it feels like the right company to be in.
Have you got any really weird reviews with this band or anything else you
have been in? Do you get sad if you get a bad review or do you just laugh at
it (I don't play myself so I don't know)? Ronnie: No, not that I can think of right away but
that's just someone's opinion... Magnus: Someone called us "arenacrust". It was a bit
strange, but I didn't cry about it. What does punk mean to you, lifestyle, or is it just
a word or a style of music? Ronnie: A way of thinking, a way of behaving towards
others and the world, some kind of guideline that has helped you find your
way in the world... Calle: If you have listened for more than a couple of
years and continued to be curious about the music and everything around you
are probably punk in soul for the rest of your life I would think. You have
learned an incredible amount of things and got to see the whole world thanks
to hardcore and people you got to know all over the planet who can not be
bought with money as well. DIY to I die! Mathias: A bit like I wrote earlier, it permeates most
of what I do. Magnus: Punk has always felt like a kind of freedom to
not have to be exactly like everyone else. Not that I'm particularly
radical, but somehow there is something to it in how you live your life. The
solidarity and fight against oppression that exists in the philosophy of
punk should appeal to most people, but unfortunately it doesn't look like
that in the world. Is there any really good bands/artists that you want
to highlight? Ronnie: There are so many good bands right now but
there are some anyway Sistema Obsoleto Slan Nagasaki The Hell Manic Ride Alarm! Strul Calle: Swedish bands: Voodus Hellbutcher Obnoxious Youth Dream warriors Vidro Modern Guilt Feels like heaven Foreign bands: Punitive damage Castle Rat Bad nerves Mathias: Dream Warriors Larma Ten favoriterecords all time? Ronnie: Right now it is these: Poison Idea - Feel The Darkness Bad Religion - No Control Agnostic Front - Victim in Pain Entombed - Left Hand Path Final Conflict - Ashes to Ashes Youth of Today - Break down the walls Circle Jerks - Group Sex Black Sabbath - Paranoid Discharge - Why? Anti-Cimex - Raped Ass Calle: Black Sabbath- Sabotage Judas Priest - Screaming for vengeance Iron Maiden- Killers Sepultura- Chaos A.D. Wasp- s/t Minor Threat- s/t Cypress hill- Black Sunday Dismember- Like an everflowing stream Regulations- s/t Rainbow- Rising Magnus: Bad Religion - Against the Grain Judas Priest - Unleashed in the East Terrorizer - World Downfall Youth Of Today - We’re Not in This Alone RKL - Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare Songs:Ohia - The Lioness Entombed - Left Hand Path Union Carbide Productions - From Influence to Ignorance AC/DC - Highway to Hell Propagandhi / I Spy - I’d Rather Be Flag-Burning Mathias: Poison Idea - Kings of punk Entombed - Clandestine Napalm Death - Mentally murdered Nasum - World in turmoil Drop Dead - S/T 1993 RKL - Rock n roll nightmare Roky Erickson - The evil one Townes van Zandt - S/T Judas Priest - Sad wings of destiny Black Sabbath - Vol. 4 The first record you bought or got? Ronnie: Europe - The Final Countdown was an early one I
remember. I found a bag of vinyls on the farm where I grew up, and a record
from there that I remember was Black Sabbath - Vol.4 Calle: Absolute Dance 6 I got first and then I bought
the Glenmark Eriksson Strömstedt album on CD which I played to pieces. Mathias: I think it was Kraftwerk or Yazoo. I had a
short synth period when I was like ten years old. Magnus: Depeche Mode "Speak and Spell". The album that changed your life? Ronnie: Maybe Bad Religion - How Could Hell be Any
Worse which was like my 5th record I bought with my own money. Calle: I would probably say that it was Killers by Iron
Maiden, because that was my introduction to tough music. Mathias: The first punkrecord I bought was The Clash -
Give em enough rope. It is still special. Otherwise, it was a lot of Asta
Kask before I fell into Skatepunk, Crust and Death Metal in the late 80's. Magnus: Bad Religion “Against the Grain”. It was the
first record I heard with BR and it made a big impression. I had listened to
punk for 4-5 years, but when it came out in the winter of 90-91 a whole new
world opened. Last album you bought? Ronnie: Reissues of the Lip Cream Discs! Really good
hardcore from Japan Calle: Johnny Paycheck Biggest Hits on vinyl. All the
gems from the old outlaw token are included. Mathias: Impurity - The eternal sleep Magnus: Bought an Anti Cimex box with the 7"s as a
birthday present for my twin brother and bandmate Mathias. I never buy any
records otherwise. Mathias: Thank
you! The album you're ashamed of?
Ronnie: I don't think I'm ashamed of any record??? Calle: No, neither do I. But I think I have some cd
with some Ska band I bought when very young and stupid. Magnus: No, I don't think so. Modern Talking wasn't
that good, but I was only 10 years old. Mathias: There are probably some bad
records in the collection but nothing to be ashamed of. The album that makes Hard Pass sound the way it
does? Ronnie: Some Poison Idea record maybe? Calle: Probably
Poison Idea, but probably it's Discharge's first that everyone else later
copied and those tapes in themselves inspired us. I'm not a big fan of
Discharge myself. Mathias: I'm thinking that it's a mix of Poison Idea
and good 90's crust, like Disrupt and the like, that I have in the back of
my mind when I write songs. But it will simply be what it will be. The album that always has to be on the tour bus or
before you go on stage? Ronnie: Guess someone Black Sabbath, a band that
everyone likes. Calle: Sabbath guaranteed. Mathias: yes, Sabbath is a safe bet. The album that you would have liked to have played
on? Calle: Venom's Welcome to hell. Because then it could
have been really good, haha! Mathias: All records with Drop Dead.
Do you
buy a lot of records these days? Ronnie:
Way too many. Mathias:
Absolutely! Calle:
Yes. Will be a few every month on vinyl. Magnus:
No. How do
you listen to music yourself, is it CD, vinyl, cassette, digital or how do
you listen? Ronnie:
All of the above, a lot of vinyl when I'm at home, CD in the car, and when
I'm traveling digitally. Mathias:
Most formats. Calle:
Mixed too. At home it's vinyl almost all the time, because my CD collection
is tucked away due to lack of space. Magnus:
Digital. CD in the car. Your
opinion on Spotify? Ronnie:
Quite simply, a company. Poorly paid to the artists, advertising for ICE and
their profits are invested in the war industry. Calle: I
canceled my subscription for a few months because of what Ronnie mentioned.
Disgusting company that doesn't deserve to exist anymore. Magnus:
Worst. Robbing the artists and investing in the arms industry. Mathias:
Rubbish. Sad that a company with zero interest in music has become the
largest supplier. Treats the artists like crap and invests in anything that
can generate money.
Futureplans for the band?
Ronnie: Play more live! and drop a split 7"a with friends in Alarm!
For yourself?
Ronnie: Now relax a bit and listen to music! Later work and play
music!
Calle: Work less and be outdoors more.
Magnus: Play more music!
Mathias: One of my New Year's resolutions is to write one song/song idea a
week in 2026. So there will be some playing!
Words of wisdom?
Ronnie: HardCore,Distortion And Screams, Fight War Not Wars!
Calle: Go vegan!
Something to add?
Ronnie: Thank you for your interest
Calle: Awesome to be discovered by you and that you were excited for an
interview. Skrutt fanzine is old gold to say the least! Hats off and Keep on
keeping on. Mathias: Thank you! |
