[Online exclusive] Walls of Jericho thrash tough-guy stereotype
By Vasiliki Marras
April 14, 2004 9:00 p.m.
Hardcore music has been a male-dominated scene since its
inception in the early ’80s, but Candace Kucsulain, 23,
vocalist of Detroit thrashers Walls of Jericho, isn’t going
to let that get in her way.
After a two year hiatus, Walls of Jericho are on the road to
showcase songs from its new album, “All Hail the Dead,”
and will be playing at the Knitting Factory on Sunday.
As its first album in four years, it has some pretty big shoes
to fill, considering the underground success of 2000’s
“The Bound Feed the Gagged.”
“The vocal patterns are smoother and catchier. It gets a
better response,” said guitarist Chris Rawson, 34, of
audiences’ reactions to the new songs.
“The last album, I was 18 years old when I wrote that
stuff,” said Kucsulain. “I’ve had a lot of
different experiences in the past five years. It’s way more
personal.”
Gaining credibility in the ever-growing hardcore music scene is
a difficulty in and of itself, and breaking the tough-guy
stereotype can complicate things even further.
“People immediately think, “˜Oh, it’s a girl, I
wonder what they are going to sound like.’ And right when we
start playing … anything they might have said negatively before
they got to see us play, they take it all back,” said
Kucsulain. “We play good music. And I have good
vocals.”
But being a woman doesn’t really affect the band because
members don’t make a big deal out of it, says a nonchalant
Kucsulain.
“If you make it a difference, there’s going to be a
difference,” she said.
And with a delivery style that makes people feel like their face
is about to be ripped off, along with equally intimidating lyrics,
most wouldn’t dare make it a problem.
“If anyone has something to say to me, I pretty much have
no problem telling them to f— off … and because I carry that
attitude with me, nobody messes with me,” said Kucsulain.
With the growing success of hardcore in mainstream music, (for
example, former Trustkill Records’ Poison the Well signing to
Atlantic Records and the growing popularity of Orange County bands
Bleeding Through and Eighteen Visions) Walls of Jericho are keeping
a level head about its music.
“I don’t expect to have ridiculous amounts of money
and that I won’t ever have to go home and not work,”
said Rawson. “I don’t know about (signing to a major
label), I have never really thought about it.”
Walls of Jericho will play at the Knitting Factory this
Sunday, April 18, with Martyr AD, Bury Your Dead, and 36
Crazyfists. Visit www.knittingfactory.com for tickets and
details.
