SORE - Cursing, Screaming, Falling Down Stairs ! (Belgium - HardCore/Power Violence - Interview with Björn).

Hello ! Can you introduce yourself and tell us how it all began for you - your encounter with this musical universe, what appealed to you, what fascinated you and what made you want to get into music? 
Hi, my name is Björn and I play guitar in Sore. My dad introduced me to rock music when I was really young. Bands like Deep Purple, Kiss, AC/DC,… In high school I got into metal. A real turning point was when a friend of mine lent me his TOTAL DOOM cd by the crust band DOOM. I entered a whole new world of music and I love it still. 

What if I told you that you have to leave for a desert island in 5 minutes—you have no choice… except to take three albums with you… which ones, and why? Would you say that these were game-changers at some point in your life?
I would say DEFTONES – S/T, because this is one of thé albums in my life. Bought it when I was ‘bout 12 years old and fell totally in love with it. It’s a real heartbreaker of an album.
Second would be BL’AST – BLOOD! which is an extensive remaster of the original IT’S IN MY BLOOD album. Got to know it about a year ago, bought it at a record fair because I thought the artwork looked really cool and was blown away when I put it on my turntable. Interesting song structures and rhythm patterns, thick ass sound and just a high energy hardcore punk record! Last I would pick the latest SUNN O))) – S/T album, it’s a real experience this one and I’d  blare it really loud on a deserted island when given the chance.
 
Tell me about the band... How you met - the current line-up - past experiences - and above all - WHY the need to form THIS band?
We go way back actually. We all know/knew each other from high school, youth clubs, bars, concerts etc… all in our early 20ies. The band started out as ILL in 2012 and we just goofed around and tried to make hardcore, hc punk music but none of us were really good at our instruments ( I was the drummer ) at the time, haha. We rehearsed for a while and then it fell apart ‘cause of drama with girlfriends and stuff. That was split number 1. A little while later we switched some personel and started again under a new banner, SORE. I really wanted a classic powerviolence band à là SIEGE, INFEST, SPAZZ,… but could not! find a drummer. So, I gave it a go myself and I sucked, haha. The thing I was trying to do was way above my level but we did play some concerts and it was pretty great actually. It sounded like a trainwreck but we did give a 100%. Lots of spit, blood, ruptured vocal chords and broken instruments. Then there was some kind of drama and we split for a second time, this was 2014. Some 2 years later we got back at it again after some shifts in line up. We got a drummer and I switched to guitar. We did a demo and a decent amount of concerts in Belgium and split ways with our drummer in 2017… Then came a big shift. We found our current drummer (Arthur) pretty quick and also a second vocalist. Arthur is a beast on the drumkit and for the first time ever we actually got to play fast hardcore/powerviolence ánd sound good! We played some shows in Belgium, France and Germany and had a great time doing it. Then we split up, again! We did record an ep called SORE IS DEAD, LONG LIVE SORE postmortem tho. Recorded in 2019. Then came 2023 and we got back with all the same people from the last line up for our 4th reincarnation and here we are.

Describe your sound and explain why I should listen to YOUR band at all cost ?
We sound like a bunch of angry men falling down the stairs with all our instruments plugged in, cursing and screaming as we go down. 
You should listen if you like other peoples pain.

Lyrical and musical inspirations/influences ? How important are the lyrics for you ? Are there any specific messages or thoughts you try to develop and share through your lyrics ? 
I did not write the lyrics on our latest EP but I can tell you that it is about the tragedy of the basic human emotions. Love, lust, pleasure, pain….
All the samples on this record are from the movie CALIGULA and capture the mood of the songs and lyrics. I don’t know all the lyrics by heart but I do find it important to know what it’s about.
Some musical inspirations  on this record are DESPISE YOU, I listened to their record MY WEST SIDE HORIZON a lot while writing riffs for this ep. EYEHATEGOD, our bassist is a real sludgelover so that’s pretty obvious. SPAZZ because I like their frantic songwriting. And many more bands offcourse….

About the band's discography... Imagine someone who doesn't know your band at all and wants to get interested in.. Which release would you recommend to start with, and why? 
The S/T ep. It’s our best and most complete ‘till now. 

About your latest release ? 
It was recorded in one weekend mid april 2026 at the mighty HEARSE STUDIO in Heule, Belgium. The lyrical content is as described a few questions ago ;). The artwork is  a painting by Anaïs De Haas, a belgian artist. Its her own take on a reneissance painting by Bronzino called ‘Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time’. She took the darker figures from the background and created a version with just these characters. The original painting by Bronzino and it’s meaning are a mystery, but there are clearly elements of love, lust, jealousy, insanity... present. That rhymes really well with the concept of this EP.

Future plans ? 
Got some ideas cookin’ for a new record, play some shows here and there.
 
Your most insane dream with the band would be ?
USA! USA! USA!

Your BEST & WORST concert - as a band - and why ? 
The best for me was in 2018 in a tiny, crowded cellar in Regensburg (Germany). Moshing, crowdsurfing, microphone grabbing, drumkit smashing fun. That was a wild one.
The worst must be Fast Open Air Fest in 2016 in the belgian Ardennes. A very, very drunk and poor performance, ouch.
 
Next live-appearance(s) ?
Some talk about a concert in The Netherlands in 2027, but nothing else in the books for now. We hardly play live at the moment.

Some words on your local scene - bands you're friends with and you'd like to name ? 
PLAGUE THIRTEEN for your dark crust, DRUDGE for some unhappy sludgy hardcore, EBDB for filthy death metal, SHAOLIN to get your mosh on and many more offcourse.

What’s the question you’ve always dreamed of answering but have never been asked? Just a heads-up: I’m also waiting for the answer that goes with it...
Haha, no idea!

Well, the interview is coming to an end… Is there anything else you’d like to add? Anything I didn’t think of? Something important, funny, silly… It doesn’t matter!
Got some bad jokes and fancy quotes but won’t bother you with them. Thx for the interview!

Credits : 
Band photo : Stephan VERCAEMER. 
Live photos : Bart SALEMBIER.