Sounds Of The Street

Vigilante may be a new band but at the same time it's something of a hardcore super group with its various members having already done time in local institutions such as Last Nerve, Ill Brigade, Bad Blood and The Dead Walk. “A lot of us were at a point where our previous bands had finished up but we still wanted to do stuff and had some songs left over,” says Immerz. “We all knew each other from as far back as the late '90s and we thought why not do a project for fun – and Vigilante was born. It was pretty simple, really.”

The ease with which Vigilante came together is echoed in the band's hard-hitting debut release. Quality Of Life is one of those records where not a second is wasted and no note is superfluous. According to Immerz, Vigilante had a simple aim – to make a record that honoured hardcore's history while at the same time acknowledging its ongoing potential. “We're all huge fans of the late-'80s, early-'90s New York sound – Agnostic Front, Cro-Mags Leeway, Crumbsuckers – as well as the stuff released on Revelation records. I think those influences really come through on Quality Of Life, although at the same time they have our own mark and represent the scene we come from. We wanted the songs to be memorable and really hard-hitting and I think we got the sound we were looking for.” Lest one think Quality Of Life is yet another straight-up hardcore record with no deviations from the norm, check out tracks like Society Dub, which as the name suggests is a straight up dub track. “We're all huge fans of Bad Brains who [have] those kind of tracks on all their albums,” laughs Immerz. “We thought we'd include something a bit leftfield – not only was it fun to do but it also gives the album some diversity and texture.”

Just as the sound of Quality of Life represents street-level hardcore so does the band's lyrical approach. No middle-class navel gazing or pop punk whimsy here; Vigilante concentrate on themes of urban decay, social disorder and the plight of the economically disadvantaged. “The decision to call the album Quality Of Life was heavily influenced by an old WNYU radio set from a band called Altercation who would talk about what was going on in the late 1980s on the streets of New York,” says Immerz. “We realised while things are very different now... many of the same issues and problems still exist and we don't have solutions for them. When I sat down to write the lyrics I really wanted to provide the same sort of social commentary. I'm lucky in my life – I've managed to avoid a lot of the negative things that can trip people up. But I've worked in various government departments relating to social assistance and the court system and I both saw firsthand, and read about, the challenges that a lot people are facing – especially those who are economically and socially disadvantaged. I took inspiration from this experience and the frustrations that are out there on the street for the lyrics on the record.”

Twenty-five per cent of door receipts from their album launch will be donated to the charity The Station. “The Station is a Sydney charity which doesn't have any religious or political affiliations. They've been feeding the homeless since 1978. So come down and check out the album launch... you'll be supporting a great cause.”