by Oliver Sheppard
This is an interview I did with World Burns to Death in 2003. It was something I originally meant for a paper zine I was going to do, but I ended up putting it on a website I started (and which no longer exists). CVLT Nation is a good home for it, at long last.
You probably know who World Burns to Death are, but in the event you don’t: World Burns to Death existed from 2000 until 2009 and were not only one of the best American hardcore bands of that period, but, some would argue, are one of the best hardcore punk bands ever. (And I would be very tempted to agree with anyone who would argue that!) Hearing the band back in 2002 shook me out of a growing apathy I had at that time towards hardcore; the band singlehandedly reignited my interest in punk in a very powerful way. 9/11 had just happened, Bush was quickly growing frighteningly tyrannical, and American culture — especially here in Texas — became reactionary and oppressive over night. This mattered. Enter these genuinely scary-looking guys right in the belly of the beast — Austin, Texas — belting out aggressive hardcore songs about US warmongering, highlighting who the real terrorists were, combined with profane graphics of President Bush, coming out to play on stage with black raccoon eyes (and a fog machine!) and a kind of disturbingly intimidating demeanor — I thought it was brilliant! I still do.

So here’s the interview. It was done in April, 2003 so some of the questions seem dated, especially the stuff about Bush and the then-recent Iraq invasion. Interviewed here are Jack Control, vocals; Zac Tew, guitar; and Jon Guerinot, drums.

OLIVER: Iย put on The Sucking of the Missile Cock 12โณ LP and was blown away! A lotย of references are made to Japanese or Swedish hc influences in reviewsย of the album. Are those the primary influences (musically) of the band?ย If not, what is?
ZAC: Older Japanese and Scandinavianย hardcore is probably our main influence. (I could dish out a list aย page long.) We all draw from different inspirations; some have strongย roots in old metal where others could give you an entire history ofย classic rock.
JON: For me, yes. There are others: Discharge (ofย course). Although I think everyone has a little of their own tasteย thrown into the mix as well.
JACK: Well, yes and no โฆ those are some of my ownย personal influences. Finnish, Swedish, and Japanese hardcore have beenย an obsession of mine for almost 17 years. But I think WB2D is its ownย animal. Some of these elements do indeed shine through, but a lot ofย it, I feel, is uniquely WB2D.
ZAC: No one philosophy guides any of us.ย Itโs safe to say weโre all anti-nationalist, anti-military, andย absolutely apalled with U.S. foreign policy. Being well-read dependsย upon your interest. We all have our strong points.
JON: My political philosophy that guides me is based onย what goes on around me. The painfully obvious. When I look outside andย see all the bullshit going on in this country and all of the bullshitย that this country causes others, it pisses me off. Every time youย blink, the U.S. has either turned its back on someone, lied to itsย people, or started another fucking war.
JACK: No, not everyone in the band is well-read. I wouldย not even go so far as to say that I am well-read. The lyrics do haveย some pretty esoteric and even obtuse references and sources, and I haveย had to do a lot of reading over the years to dig this up, but I willย leave it to the individual to decide whether or not Iโm โwell-read.โ As far as a guiding political philosophy, we do not have one that Iย would say the entire band adheres to. We are individual people, withย individual ideas and experiences. We do agree on the individualisticย anarchism of Max Stirner, and the nihilism of Nietzsche. Though weย cannot agree on what is appropriate to eat or wear. But โฆ war bad,ย punk good.
ZAC: To put it plainly, these nationalists have nothingย to do with punk. Apparently corporate media and music have watered downย the ideology of punk to the point these jaded assholes are convincedย they have something to do with it. Fuck โem.
JON: I have no fucking idea. More and more โpatrioticย punxโ are showing up in our scene now more than ever. It makes me soย goddamn sick to see a so-called โpunkโ waving a flag, joining theย army, and shouting anarchy at the same time. I donโt get it at all.

I guess whatย I am trying to say is that most of the people within any scene reallyย have no strength in their convictionsโฆ whether it be a nazi skinhead,ย or a rich, white, p.c. โpunkโ kid. Itโs all a fashion pose and/orย another way to get laid. To expect anything more from these people, orย more importantly, from the punk world as a whole, again, is naive.

ZAC: Another meaningless saying that seems to get a realย rise out of the public. Kind of like โthe power of pride.โ What theย fuck does that mean? Itโs disturbing they can print up these goofyย phrases on bumper stickers, show you their best footage on Fox Newsย concealing the things they donโt want you to see, and the next thingย you know 7 out of 10 cars on the road are sporting these slogans.
JON: All that phrase is doing is asking people toย support the unlawful murder that it going on in the Middle East. Inย case you or anyone else reading this didnโt know, this war is not new.ย It started long before March 20, 2003 or September 11, 2001. โWar onย Terrorโโwhat a fucking joke.
JACK: The phrase is a cop-out. The left use it as aย justification for an anti-war stance. Begging for permission. So as notย to be labeled anti-American. World Burns to Death does not ask forย permission. We are anti-American. Fuck the troops. Bring them home inย body bags. Fucking brainless murderers.
JON: I donโt personally care what the fuck people lookย and dress like in the scene. Just think about it this way: they couldย all be dressing the exact same and listening to Skrewdriver and otherย bullshit bands like that.
ZAC:ย You can really look at it from twoย entirely different viewpoints. An optimistic way would be that hardcoreย is reaching a broader audience and that more people are aware of theย message, if any, that is being relayed. Of course another way ofย looking at it is, as earlier stated, that itโs been worn so thin thatย any old frat boy is at the shows chanting the slogans.
JACK: Two things: There was never a time in the historyย of punk where there was a consistently admirable set of values. As aย kid who grew up within that world from 1983 to the present, I canย assure you that while there were attitudes present at that time thatย said โfight war, not warsโ, etcโฆ there were also just as manyย reactionary bigots and warmongers within our ranks to temper these moreย noble attitudes. I suppose punk was more for the freaks and fags then. I was one of them. But at the same time, these freaks and fags broughtย the same values as their parents. Just like now. To say that you longย for the old days of the punk scene, when there were more admirableย values, conveniently ignores or glosses over the existence ofย reactionary elements that existed then, more so than nowโฆ such asย nazi skinheads, gaybashing, and random violence.ย At the same time, I feel that what has become the โpunkโ scene now isย completely alien to me. I cannot relate to it at all. I like a lot ofย the kids who are of this generation of punk, but I have trouble makingย any connection to the culture that I came from. Sometimes, it does seemย like nothing more than a collection of rich, white, GAP models whoย discovered โpunkโ through an article in their girlfriendโs Sassyย magazine, and their dry, activist politics, through the lyrics of aย Rage Against the Machine record. When I was a kid, a lot of kids gotย into punk through Minor Threat. Now you have kids getting into โpunkโย through Fugazi. And this โpunkโ has become a fucking abomination.

JON: Jack designed the cover of the LP. Prettyย appropriate. The symbols are Hebrew but are just phonetic. It spellsย out โWorld Burns to Death,โ but in real Hebrew it is โgibberish.โย Which reminds me of a story: Some asshole is standing behind me and myย wife, who was wearing one of our shirts, in line at a Wal-Mart. Heโsย staring at the back of her shirt. He looked so distressed, like he hadย forgotten how to read Hebrew or something. His friend came up and askedย him, โWhat does it say?โ He replied, โItโs gibberish. It says nothing.โย I laughed so fucking hard on the way out of the store. He looked soย disgusted. Gibberish, just like your fucking religion, you bastard.
ZAC: We let Jack take care of most of the artwork. Heย never lets us down. We take care of the music.
JACK: I did the cover. The characters are Hebrew. Theyย say and mean nothing. It is a letter-for-letter translation of theย name. The symbol corresponds with the โwโ character on my keyboard inย the Chaya font. However, the symbol is also used by the Israeliย military on their munitions, and also as the symbol for politicalย demonstration. So, it is nonsense, it is symbolic, and it isย provocative at the same time. I decided to use this imagery because Iย knew it would make people ask questions. And it does. And that, I feel,ย is very important.
JON: The music is evolving. Which, contrary to popularย belief, is not always a bad thing. Amebix and Motorhead are bothย excellent bands and have been around a long time. Most bands areย together for a few years, release a couple of records, and then breakย up for some petty reason.
ZAC: Itโs something I havenโt put alot ofย thought into. Evolution may be a good term for it. Iโve just alwaysย liked darker chord progressions; they seem more aggressive.
JACK: It is hard to paint an apocalyptic picture withinย a pop song.

ZAC: The โsceneโ is pretty divided these days. Mostย D.I.Y. shows I went to when I was a bit younger always had Earthย First!, Anti-Racist Action, and Food Not Bombs operating at them. Iย know shows can be centers for activism but I donโt want to beat issuesย to death every time Iโm out watching a band play. Thereโs no reason toย preach to those already aware of the issues. I feel hardline politicsย donโt really have a place at the shows, the way nationalism shouldnโtย have a place in punk.
JACK: I think a lot of the politics that exist withinย the punk scene are contrived and boring. I do not want a rich, whiteย college kid telling me how society should be, when he cannot even takeย out his own garbage. Punk used to be a very individualistic thing. Forย me, it still is. Politics of self. The revolution of everyday life.ย Threat by example. Yeah, I suppose punk shows could become vehicles forย community activismโฆ but I donโt really want to go to those shows. Youย have to understand that political activism is infested with obnoxious,ย repulsive people. This, more than anything, is to blame for why moreย punks are not following the party line. I will not make excuses for theย more ignorant elements that exist within โpunk.โ But I want no part ofย a revolution led by these chumps.

ZAC: Weโll all be smart enough to oppose Bush I wouldย hope. I wouldnโt waste any time voting. We all saw the electoral voteย mishap in Florida last election.
JON: If they are registered, sure. Vote none of theย above for all the puppets that are running. It is so funny to seeย people actually believing the lines of crap that these assholes feed usย when they are running for office and then the same people look soย surprised once the same assholes get elected and turn around and sayย something completely different.
JACK: No. Itโs a fucking donkey show that holds noย relevance to your every day existence. Take the poison or starve.ย Neither, thank you. And fuck them for presenting this charade as ourย only option. You should know better.

JON: I think it just needs to be takenย with a grain of salt. Just donโt involve yourself in things you see asย distasteful. Iโm not going to pretend I havenโt done my fair share ofย terrible and juvenile things in the past. Just donโt surround yourselfย with things you donโt support. Iโve witnessed a number of things Iย could call disturbing and Iโm sure Iโll see plenty more.
JACK: Yes. Ridicule. It is always the best weapon.ย Whether this situation, or a Nazi skinhead. Reasoning does not work. You cannot argue with ignorance. These people do not know their ownย history or argument, much less yours. Violence makes them moreย steadfast in their ignorance, although violence can be both funny, andย gratifying. But if you make people like these feel insecure with theirย opinion and identity, if you make them feel embarassed of what and whoย they are, this more than anything, will make them change. People areย dumb. People care about what other people think about them. That is whyย they are who they are in the first place.
JON: Not for me. Although, Zac and I have been talkingย to James (the original other guitarist before Brad joined) about aย โside projectโ. [This would become Kegcharge –ย Oliver]
JACK: A full time band. A way of life.
ZAC: Hardcore Holocaust usually keeps all of our stuffย in stock. From T-shirts to records. โThe Art of Self Destructionโ 7โณย was just released on Prank and I believe you can contact them directlyย for ordering. The split 7โณ w/Sick Terror (Brasil) was released onย Terrotten records and you can also order it from them. Hardcoreย Holocaust will be releasing another 7โณ called โNoย Dawn Comes โฆ Night Without Endโ soon in the near future.
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You can, and should, buy World Burns to Death’s records and other merch at the Enormous Door webstore, here.
