Ironfist are a punk hardcore band from Bayonne in the Basque Country. The band just released their latest EP Down & Dead which incredibly only took three days to make. They believe in the saying ‘Live Long Die Young’ and if the band keep playing like this, the punk hardcore scene will certainly live long.
You can stream the EP Down & Down below!
We managed to catch up with the band as they talk about the EP and more!
How has the release of Down & Dead gone down so far with fans?
It was a good surprise! When we recorded it in late may, our line up had just changed from our 1st EP. We only wanted to record some new stuff to book some shows
Tell us something about the EP no one knows
This EP was made in only 3 days. It’s a short time 6 tracks (10 min), of fast punk. Most of people like the influences they can find in it, it goes from old school punk hardcore, passing by bands like bad religion, to thrash and heavy metal bands.
What is your favourite song from the release?
It’s probably Down & Dead: it’s a simple and straight ahead song. It sums up our lifestyles!
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
Personally I really fond of Suicidal Tendencies! I love their mix of Thrash and punk hardcore! It grooves also so bad!
What do you get up to in your spare time when no making music?
We all work beside the band. We got different hobbies; in one hand Julman (our drummer) and I, always go to surf and skate with other friends; in the other hand, JB our singer loves to go on holydays in naturist camps! His little pleasure for a better life!
Would you say the punk scene is very much alive in France?
In France there’s a lot of really cool punk and hardcore bands like Gasmask Terror, Dead Toys, Kuma no Motor, Bombardement, Rodeo Idiot Engine, Le Mutant, Stupid Karaté, Verbal Razors and many more, but the most famous is certainly Los Cojonudos!
What’s the live music scene like in Bayonne?
In Bayonne it’s really hard to play there compared to 10 years before. There’s only one 200 places venue named Le Magneto; all the bars who organized shows before are closed now. It’s due to sound regulation of the public authorities.
There are not a lot of punk or hardcore bands in Bayonne, the most you can find here play some garage / rock’n’roll. You can find more punk shows in Bordeaux (2 hours north from bayonne) or in south of the basque country (Donostia, Bilbao).
Will you be touring at all this year?
As often as we can!
Would you ever consider a tour in the UK?
We don’t have contacts at all except a Tom a friend who plays in Shot a punk rock band in Camden. Book us if you like what we do!
Is there likely to be new music this year?
We are now writing new stuff, maybe for spring 2018, I let you know!