Originally conceived in late 2019 by Barker and his long time friends/wrong ‘uns of London’s infamous Dripbgack, The Toxic Twins Wez4 and Lee Kitchener (son of “Oi” legend Arthur Kitchener of The Last Resort) and later Pierre Mendivil (Knuckledust/Bun Dem Out) added to the fold.
Bringing together an uncompromising blend of punishing NYHC-meets-U.K. HC/Punk/Oi, adding a little Spanish flavour lyrically here and there into the mix paying homage to Pierre’s Peruvian roots.
With the addition of second guitarist Jamie Hunter (Mordhau/King Of Pigs) in April the line up was complete.
Barker comments:
“I’ve wanted to do a NYHC style band for a few years but nothing ever came to fruition sadly, until one day I happened to mention it to Wez and Lee (Dripback) who totally jumped on the idea with overwhelming enthusiasm, immediately suggesting Pierre from Knuckledust!
“My love of HC/Punk stems way back to my early teens in the mid-80’s when I discovered this style of music from the thrash bands I listened to at the time. Reading the Thanks lists on so many vinyl inner sleeves discovering all these new bands and music I’d never heard of before… It changed my life forever!
“Coming from a Black/Death Metal background this is something new for me and I’m excited to share it with the world.”
Pierre:
“During the peak of lockdown in UK Lee and Wez mentioned to me they were starting a new band and asked if I’d be interested in singing with them. As my other bands we’re not in the position to start writing new music and I needed an outlet for the frustration I felt from dealing with working on the frontline during this pandemic, it didn’t take much to get me onboard.
“I’ve worked with Lee and Wez in the past on Dripback tracks and know they live for this, so I feel very honoured to be involved in a band with them and after meeting Nick and Jamie, Borstal instantly feels like family.”
Borstal will enter Monolith Studios in London with producer Charlie Wilson in September to record a 6-track EP featuring a cover of The Last Resort classic “King Of The Jungle”.
Borstal are:
PIERRE MENDIVIL – Vocals
LEE KITCHENER – Guitars
JAMIE HUNTER – Guitars
WEZ4 – Bass NICK BARKER – Drums
Find out more about the band via their Facebook
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