Five for Five with Rejection Pact

The current breed of hardcore is absolutely insane at the minute. I admit, i slept on Rejection Pact (and to be honest, a whole lot of other good shit) due to my inability to stop listening to their label-mates Time & Pressure's new album, but holyshit, are Rejection Pact immense. Taking influences from mid-late 00's hardcore bands like Carry On, Modern Life Is War & Youth Crew in the vein of Battery & Gorilla Biscuits they've managed to carve out a unique niche in the scene. It sounds fresh. It sounds pissed off. It sounds amazing. The guys absolutely went in on their answers. Do yourself a favour and check them out here .

You can buy the 7" here : https://www.heavyweight-music.com/search?q=rejection+pact

1. If you were to introduce an extraterrestrial to music with FIVE records, what would they be?

Devin: 

1. Deftones "Around the Fur"
2. Terror "One with the Underdogs"
3. Have Heart "The Things We Carry"
4. Nirvana "Nevermind" 
5. Moving Mountains "Pneuma" 

Ralph:

1. Weezer "Blue Album"
2. Rage Against the machine "S/T"
3. Green Day "Dookie"
4. Beastie Boys "Ill Communication"
5. Drug Church "Hit Your Head"

Nathan:

1. Paint it Black "CVA"
2. Bad Religion "No Control"
3. Comeback Kid "Wake the Dead"
4. Kid Dynamite "Shorter, Faster, Louder"
5. Verse "From Anger and Rage"

Hunter:

1. Metallica "Master of Puppets"
2. Queen "Night at the Opera"
3. Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here"
4. Rage Against the Machine "s/t"
5. Sublime "S/t"

Charlie:

1. Manchester Orchestra "Mean Everything to Nothing"
2. Limp Bizkit "Significant Other"
3. Tool: "Ænima"
4.  The National "Boxer"
5. Earth Crisis "Destroy the Machines"

 2. Are there any bands, past or present you wish gained more attention?

Totally. Obviously there's tons of bands from the past that have been over looked or maybe didn't quite pop like they should have, but let's focus on current bands since they're the ones that truly need attention. Some bands that come to mind currently that deserve attention are Pain Strikes, Faim, Gunpowder, Lower Species, Juice, Kind Crew, xReignx, Pummel, Riot Stares, Crafter, Dying for It. These bands are all doing really cool things whether it's sonically, lyrically, or how they approach their band and conduct themselves. Big fans and if you haven't given those bands a listen, check em out, you might like what you hear.

3. Threats Of The World tips its hat to the golden era of Youth Crew meets 00's HC (in my opinion) reminding me of bands like Battery & Youth Of Today. Would you say that era had an effect in shaping your sound?    

Devin: Yes I would. For me, Battery is a big influence and I always loved their clear vocal delivery as well as subtle melodic leanings without going full Dag Nasty. Collectively, we’re fans of older H.C/youth crew; especially Gorilla Biscuits, Sick of It All, Chain of Strength, but I’d say the mid to late 2000’s has had probably had the biggest influence on us sonically. 
Much of the earlier Bridge 9/Deathwish roaster as well as Rivalry records and the early React Records roaster are big influences for us. Bands like Go it Alone, Carry On, American Nightmare, Trash Talk, Modern Life is War, Allegiance, Keep it Clear, that sort of thing.
Realistically, the early youth crew influenced most of that too so it’s all a big ass cycle where everyone’s paying homage to the bands before them.  

4. What's the rest of 2019 got in store for Rejection Pact?

Honestly, not sure. Playing locally, if we can figure out a weekend run or something that would be sick, but everyone's pretty busy at least for the time being in their personal lives, so it's hard to say. We’re also going to record a cover and put out a limited 2^nd run of our demo w/ the cover on it, I think.

We're also starting to write new material for the next release. Also going to start mapping out/booking an east coast tour for next year. Also, looking into throwing some sort of local showcase/fundraiser type show, not exactly sure when that'd be but something we want to do. 

5. a) Favourite show you've played and why?

Devin: San Diego @ the Che Cafe. That venue was really cool, the vibe of the show was rad, kids went off during our set, turnout was cool, the bill was kinda diverse sonically but also made a lot of sense. It was a good time.

Charlie: Our record release show/ Drug Church. They're one of my favourite bands and being able to play with them while also releasing our record on vinyl was just a really cool feeling. 

Ralph: Seattle w/ REAL, Envision, Ecostrike, and Magnitude. That show was bonkers the moment it started and ended early which is perfect cuz I’m a dad. 

Nathan: It's a toss up between the two times we've played the 333 in Vancouver. When people pop off at the first note, you know it’s gonna be a great set. Vancouver shows have a great energy, vibe, and crowd reaction. 

Hunter: San Diego @ The Che since it's the coolest venue I've ever played, but we also got to play with some really sick bands. 

    b) least favourite show you've played and why?

I mean some shows are better than others, but I don’t really think it’s fair to single out a show because it’s like you don’t appreciate it, and honestly, anyone taking the time to book us, come see us, etc is super appreciated plus that spot/city could have just been an off night or maybe we go back and next time it’s way better ya know?

I’ll say the shows that aren’t as cool are the ones where you can clearly see people don’t give a shit and are just waiting for you to finish so they can see the headliner or whatever, but that’s fine too, maybe we can win some people over, and if not, oh well fuck it. Who cares ya know? Can’t please everyone.