Tripalium 4: The Putrefied Issue. NUCLEAR PUNISHMENT

Cavite's own party animals.(2004)

When and how did Nuclear Punishment started?
Coni: Nuclear Punishment is Rommel & Paolo on guitars, Timothy John on drums, Mike on Bass and me, Coni on vocals. We all come from different bands.
Rommel is from H.O.H., Pao is from Feud, John is also from Feud and has tons of other bands, Mike from A.O.D. and me from Y.F.C.& Verum X.
It all started when we, John, Mike, Paolo & I used to jam to Heavy metal songs back then when we were all in high school. But it was last September 2003 we officially started Nuclear Punishment, it was then called Nuclear Termuloid (but due to some Shit, some people never really got our name right on gigs, how frustrating?) it all happened really- really fast. Mike’s younger sister Cookie of 15 Minutes of Shame lined us up for a gig at freedumb bar. We haven’t had songs then, we don’t want to play covers so we made 4 songs a day before the gig, it was fucking fast. Rommel was the only guitarist then.
Paolo had other things on hand, but eventually he joined in and made the music more heavy ever since. I could say the line up now is like a tight fist ready to bash your brains out. Every gig back then, the band’s name was always pronounced wrong. We got pissed and decided to change it to Brutal Punishment. But we got a hint that the name was already taken by some other band, crap! So we decided to change it again, brainstorming with some veggie spagz we decided to combine the name Nuclear Termuloid and Brutal Punishment then we came up with Nuclear Punishment. And so Nuclear Punishment was christened.
During our 1st year we got to play in many places, Batangas, John’s Place Marikina, M.A.I.M.’s anniversary gig in Recto (that was unforgettable for it was the1st time I played in Recto, lotsa scenesters) and yes, we’ve been around our hometown Cavite, in Dasmarinas, Binakayan…. We all love playing live. So we tend to come to gigs and events whenever we’re lined up. We love to play and if we get a chance & the money we’ll do a tour or sort so we can play at different places and scenes up north or Visayas and Mindanao. Right now were on our 1st year and we tend to hang on to our reputation to be (one of) the heaviest band to hail from Cavite.

What makes NP different from your other bands aside from the music?
Coni: Well I guess it’s our attitude towards music. We all don’t get hooked on trends and the shit that’s being around lately. Aside from that, we all come from different bands, styles of music and lifestyles. 4 of the guys are straight edge, some are vegetarians. But me, I’m completely the opposite; I’m the only one who smokes, drink & takes drugs. But they don’t mind me being like that and all. We all understand each other and accept anyone’s fuck ups. It’s the desire to play live that makes this great band work & the force to be different (not greater) from other bands that fuels our passion to play better. We just don’t get intimidated by other bands.
And I assure you NP will never sell-out unlike those other crappy bands that like to get a taste of the limelight, playing clone styled shit just to get attention. Fuck those Bands!!!
Mike: NP is a “Metal Core” or “Mechanical Core cross over w/ a little bit of Speed metal”. I don’t know what you may call it but I’m sure my other band A.O.D. is trash/Grind core, they’re both fast but NP is more on metal, I think?...

Musically what are your influences?
Coni: My dad had Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Beatles records that I used to listen back then when I was still a small fry. Thanks Dad! Then after that I was into Sepultura (Before they got fucked up), Pantera, Metallica (before they fucked up too), Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, Venom, Carcass, Testament, White Zombie, S.O.D., Nasum, What Happens Next?, Charles Bronson, Spazz, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains & Anthrax to name a few.
Back then I had no money to buy tapes so sometimes I get copies from fortunate friends that had great records and somehow never knew some of the band’s names. Sucks to be poor! I listen to a lot of H.C./punk/crust/grind/ it all depends on my mood and trip. My Greatest influence now is Catharsis. Damn good poetry & the music are inspirational. And let’s not forget my other bands YxFxCx and Verum X. Mike: Well, I like Hardcore an stuff but I’m still a metalhead since my younger years so Pantera, Slayer, Testament, Cannibal Corpse, S.O.D., Anthrax, Kreator, Obituary, (old) Sepultura, Midas Touch & etc. are my main influences.
Rommel: Pantera, Slayer, S.O.D., SkyChurch, Cannibal Corpse, Sepultura (up to the Chaos A.D. Years)

What about non-musical inspirations? What makes NP so heavy?
Coni: Being pissed-off & my damn sleeping disorder? (causes me to write stuff.) Well if you look around and see how fucked up things are you’ll get to a point you want to focus out and pour your frustrations out. My outlet was and still is music. You see/hear/read violence & brutality from Mass Media. I’m really pissed at the government and society, being so fucked up, rotten & decayed. Facing the harsh reality that you’ll get imprisoned for just smoking a joint. As for the band being heavy. it’s the company of friends playing your own shit and sharing ideas. My band mates are my greatest inspiration; it gives me the force to write better & sing better.
Rommel: Iraqi militants, personal experiences & my band mates cause they taught me a lot. If I’m doin’ a riff I always think & visualize painful but funny things like sucking the brain thru the nose (I think it’s funny) & create the right soundtrack for it and somehow come up with riffs. I Remember a few months back when the Iraqis slashed the head off of that American and broadcast it on the net (bet u saw that one in the news) after seeing the whole video it somehow inspired Mike to do a riff for that and we ended up making a new song, Chemical Ali, but the but the lyrics is far beyond that incident. It’s weird how we do our songs and I’m surprised cause everything sounds so heavy.

Tell us about the recording of your demo.
Coni: we recorded the demo at Imus, Cost us about a measly P250 for 2 hours. 6 songs. Then ripped it to Paolo’s P.C., using his technical skills cutting it and mixing it a bit. It wasn’t really for distribution, it was for personal pleasure at first, but friends insisted copies so burned a couple and gave it out just with a lyric sheet so they could read along the songs and understand it. It was really raw and not that too tight, some of the songs have different versions now. I’m really happy and pleased on how it all worked out.

Aside from the songs off the demo, have you written new materials for future recording? What are your plans in the near future?
Coni: aside from the six We have 4 new songs. One is called “Raped, Termulated Dead Body” it’s a song about a rapist and what’s going on inside its head. I’m not really into rape and such but it’s a reality that at some point love turns into lust, lust to aggression and leads to a violent trip. I guess rape is only done by masochist losers who can’t get a fuck. Next is Called “Turbo X” wrote it after watching a war movie, Mike came up with the title. It’s a Song for those mindless soldiers following orders from their superiors just to find out later the hell they would experience, the torment of the trauma of war. The other one is titled “Chemical Ali” it’s title was inspire by the beheading of that American by those Iraqis, but the song basically is a bout me being imprisoned a couple of times just for smoking pot and hangin around with friends. A fuck you song for the police! I’ll get even you fucking bastards!!! The 10th song is called Metal Engineering, I love slamming and moshing in the pit and this is an ode to all of my friends that share the pit with me and not letting anyone down with his face on the dirt. It’s music is inspired by good ol’ Speedmetal/thrash. By the time your reading this it’ll be polished out. We’re planning to record all the songs by November, then release a full length, D.I.Y. style! Hope it pushes thru. And we promise to give a very brutal ep. Clean, polished, very tight and very fucking brutal!

Knowing that an indie band can make a decent record with a decent sound without spending much, how come a lot of our bands, despite the talents that they have, would rather just play live and never mind recording their stuff?
Coni: All bands have the desire to play live. Playing live is really the life of the band. Makes you feel more alive and fulfilled. Feeling the intensity of the crowd and the loud amps, it’s music to the ears. Some bands don’t want to record their materials for lots of reasons. One is the financial problem, it really cost that much to do a studio recording. Some bands can’t even afford to go to far away gigs. Next is the accessibility to the studios and equipment. It sucks not gaining informations and connections to those good recording studios. But there are many ways to record your stuff one is doing it D.I.Y. in your local rehearsal studios, set up a cassette recorder (Borrow one if you have none), a good one, that can record in stereo, and place it in a good spot on the rehearsal area. And alas! You got a DIY recording rig.

Cavite gigs are always DIY. Would you accept if you were asked to play in bigger gigs, especially in Metro Manila area? Please explain your answer.
Coni: We all want to play live, may it be a DIY gig with crappy equipment or a hardcore fest with less crappy rigs and equipments. We don’t care. We always want to play. So whenever we got a chance, we go there and brutalize the place. We don’t mind if we play at small events or bigger gigs. Our passion is to play live and to let other people know that we have a brutal band from Cavite. We are proud about our band and the shitty place we come from. Now, we are looking forward to play at events with more metal bands. The more gigs, the better! I think it will make us more mature, more experienced and more brutal. We also want to have correspondence and be acquainted with other bands. Communication, cooperation.
Mike: Why not?! We love to play everywhere as long we’re all available, even if it’s a birthday party or whatsoever. Just text Coni and we’re there.
Rommel: A big YES! As long as the is still underground cause we all want to check the scene in other places and play with other bands we’ve never played with before. Honestly, I really don’t know what’s happening in other scenes outside Cavite. Hope you can help us find gigs in Manila (hehe) we’ll be glad to play anywhere.

And speaking of playing live, a lot of kids in the scene don’t seem to care about new bands whether they have the talent or not. They always seem to give full support on well known bands.
Coni: some kids think of it as one big fashion show, that’s the fucking influence of Music videos and Radio. Cant blame em’ for being ignorant but tell me how can a pierced pinhead mosh in a pit? Donning a crappy band’s name on his t-shirt, Supporting fucks that is basically made famous by the fucking radio and not for their crappy music. Music is art, not a fucking popularity contest like the government and politics is. All that sucking up to shit. There’s a fucking mentality that if you hear a band from the radio the band plays good music. But they are all cashing out on the mainstream bandwagon. Branding them selves as hardcore but not knowing what hardcore really means. Some fucks, when they hear this foreign band, fussing rap into their shit, copy it’s style, then you hear em in the radio cause some shithead thinks they sound like this or that. Then thinking them as a great band, then other bands copy their style again. Fuck them bands no fucking originality. It’s all shit!! Fuck Trends! It’s all a fucking sheep mentality crisis!!!
Rommel: I also see it that way, it’s a mentality I guess? And I’m hoping things will change and younger generation will have a more mature outlook on that.

What can you say about bands who would rather play covers rather than writing their own songs and recording them?
Coni: How can you express your emotion & passion if you play other people’s music? Its all right to have cover up songs when you start out, but the songs you come up with your own that counts. Playing your own songs makes you feel more alive. Then you’ll understand the joy of playing your own materials up there infront of People.
Rommel: in starting a band it’s normal to cover songs but if the band dosent have a plan of doing their own stuff. I think it’s a waste of talent. It’s really more challenging to come up w/ your own songs rather than playing covers.

Back to your demo, what are your lyrics all about?
Coni: we used to call the songs by the number we made them. I don’t write titles for the song, the guys make stupid titles and sometimes those stupid titles stick to them songs. Lyrics? I write Mostly all the lyrics for the band. Words drawn from an intoxicated yet sleep deprived shithead. Words Shaped from violence, depressions, and personal disputes. “Inject the Paintstripper Up Your Ass” tells of an un contented fuck up blowing out his brains out just to be fulfill his hearts content. ”Oportyunista” is a song about infidelity. Remember how you fucked a friend’s girlfriend when he was out on a field trip? Not everyone you know is your friend, even your closest friends stab your backs once in awhile, that was the inspiration for “Castrated, Bleeding, Dead”. I hate fucking backstabbers, they all are a bunch of pussies!
My Personal Favorite is our first song Called “Brutalized Nuclear Termulation” we didn’t had an intro for that one then. All it was a sudden explosion of noise mixed with the excitement to blow off people’s brains off. The words deals with mans everlasting search for a god that does not exist. Religion Poisons the Minds of unwilling victims, churches feeding children their lies of deception. There is no universal truth, only ones’ self. I’m sorry if some of you religious bastards got offended. But prove there’s a god, and I’ll blow my head off for you. Last track off the demo is “Poke a Knife in Your Eyes”. It deals about how blind people really are people who just look away from their problems not noticing how the world is fucked up and not doing shit about it.

Tell us about your song “Proud to Commit Suicide”.
Coni: I really like this song. And all our friends love it too. Always a requested song when we play. It was an instant song we made back then. It had had a great riff transition and decided we should start the song with a brutal opening. Then the only thing in my head was “Why don’t you kill yourself?”. Singin along, I wrote the words that was flowing from my angry brain. Thinking of all those shit I’ve been through all those years and those Fucking bands who are no more than clones of their shit idols. The song came out great and we agreed that this song will be “song Number 6”. The song deals about depression and being pissed off at life itself. Being fucked up sometimes drives people to do all sort of crazy shit. But sometimes we must be proud of our actions. It’s our life and no one can dictate you of how your life should be. And if you decide to kill yourself, don’t pity yourself. Be proud of decided actions. At least you’ ll never hear your friends call you a loser again.
This song’s advice applies to trendy, lifeless, brainless losers et al. Vae Victus!

And speaking of suicide, the younger generations of today sees it as the only way out whenever they face a problem. What’s your take on that?
Coni: Problems are only problems if you let yourself be bothered by them. One must think of other possibilities of improving one’s life. Using your brain isn’t that hard. Pushing yourself in a downward spiral only makes matters worse. Kids should think positive. There’s more to life than blowing out one’s brain. Only cowards and losers do it.
Rommel: Suicide is like an escape to reality. I see it this way, if a person can’t cherish the beauty of life, don’t want to deal with his personal problems can’t be happy to what he have and want to die, well yes it’ll be better to commit suicide. But only losers do that!

Just last night (Aug. 31) a man was shot dead in front of my house just across the street. The reason, they said, was because the gunman was punched in the face by the victim and in return, he shot him 4 times point-blank with a .45 caliber pistol, scream obscenities at his dying victim before shooting him once more. The gun-man escaped. What can you say about such act of violence?
Coni: Violence only produce more violence. It’s a vicious cycle of hate that the end point is only death. Shove one, you get shoved back, punch em’ and you get punched back. It only ends when one of the guys end up dead in a body bag. Well this is Cavite, I think every household here have a gun. I love violent music and movies but that’s that. I’m not a violent person, unless provoked. I use my brain. And if someone does get violent with me, I’ll get violent.
Mike: Damn… that bastard! He should’ve fought without a gun.
Rommel: Personally I condemn such acts of violence and it’s really not right.

I don’t consider myself a violent person but I guess simply putting criminals who has committed heinous crimes like child molestation and murder-rape in jails isn’t enough. Killing them would be a better option, just as long as they really are guilty. No more trials and shit. What about you, would you rather feed those fuckers with your or your parents’ tax money than spending a couple of bullet in their head?
Coni: I think a bullet is enough for those scumbags. It’s better to kill them in one shot than letting them rot in a stink infested area. But that’s for those heinous crimes. I think drugs should not be that treated as a major crime. Its those fucking rapists, corrupt politicians and killers that should be really punished.
Mike: Yeah killing them is a better option.
Rommel: I agree with that “ eye for an eye, tooth for the truth”

Enough of violence, hehe. Tell us about the scene in Cavite and the Southern Tagalog scene in general.
Coni: The Cavite scene? Well it’s kind of a mix of all sorts of scenesters. The bands here are diverse. But the majority is in the HardCore/Punk kids. In gigs you see metal heads playing with HardCore/punk kids and Punk rockers sharing the pit with crusties. In our area there are a bunch of bands that play different kinds of music and genre. The only problem with the scene is the drunk fucks who disses new bands just because they come from an old band or he’s an old schooler. Saying he is more punk, but who cares, they don’t really contributes to gigs, they are the fucks who just trash gigs and start fights. The other is the typecasting that’s been around, people not appreciating other band’s music just because they don’t play their kind of music or when some kids don’t dress up like them. That causes fights at events and ruining the gigs. Shallow minded fucks should read a lot and use what’s left their dead brain cells.
Mike: They are active!
Rommel: As I see, more kids are getting involve which is a good thing and it will reflect on gigs so let us see…

Are you also aware of the scenes from other provinces like Cebu, Tarlac and Davao?
Coni: Cebu? Clyde of YFC go down south every once in awhile, Gado kasi! He sometime go to gigs there and he says there is a great diversity of bands there the majority being ska/punk bands. About Davao, a webzine called “Sullen Seed Project” is the only thing that keeps me informed about the Metal and punk scene there. Wish we could get around. That’s the problem with being poor and not having money to spend to visit those places.
Rommel: I heard that there are good and healthy scene back there in those area especially Cebu. And if ever our band is given a chance to play at any of those places we won’t hesitate, we will do our best to be there.

Give me ten of your favorite local bands and tell me why you like them.
Mike:
Sky Church-10 yrs ago until now they are my fave. They are damn good talents.
Half the Battle & Feud – hardcore youth crew bands. They are pretty good , especially the composers.
Y.F.C. - totally hilarious.
L.O.C. - They are damn good (scary).
P.O.T. – I personally like this band, they sound like no other in local rock music.
A.O.D. – it’s my other band of course.
Mutiny – Old but classic.
Datu’s Tribe, The Youth

Rommel:
A.O.D.- simply because Mike (our bassist) plays drums on this band, Hehe. Songs are fast & Brutal. Darwin’s voice sounds so angry w/ low tuned, distorted strings and turbo blast beats/drum beats everything is heavy and intense. This is grind.
Beauty of Doubt- I also love to listen to HxCx/Punk bands and this is one band in particular. They got a lot of catchy but brilliant riffs and lyrics that caught my attention the riffs and lyrics that caught my attention the 1st time I saw them play.
YxFxCx-Holy Shit! Drigo writes lyrics that is “In your fucking face.” But it’s really funny. They play simple riffs but in a fast manner that makes everything sound so heavy and crazy.
Feud-this is straight edge vegan band who stays true to their roots. Feud (for me) pioneered HxCx/punk here in Cavite w/ lyrics concerning to veganism, schools, abortion, politics and a lot of things. I like their ideology and they get a lot of respect from it.
End of Man-2 words “Power Metal”! This band reminds me of the 80’s metal.
K.N.K-Good musicianship, brilliant song writing skills what else could I say? Oh there was one time I saw this band played a freestyle/instrumental set on a friend’s b-day and blew our fucking ass all away. All of them are equipped with loads of exceptional talent.
Sauna-“Alah Eh” lot o people say that Sauna sounds like Converge, I agree w/ that but Sauna is not a clone of Converge. This band is the first of its kind here in the south. These Batanguenios is not afraid to experiment on their sound and it’s cool cause it’s a bit math core. Expect chaos from this quintet on live sets.
Religious Nightmare-I never seen anyone abuses the drum set like Gil does. He is a machine. From those machine gun inspired blast beats to those drum roll that sounds like a collapsing building it’s insane. Added w/ heavy guitar grinding and Rallye’s distorted singing everything’s chaos and for me “Machinegun Supremacy” is my personal fave.
L.O.C. -it’s Gil again but his playing style here is totally different the cymbals produce these ear shattering dissonance and it’s really fucking incredible. Their songs bruising and they have this distinct grin sound.
SkyChurch-this band inspired me the most and I want to share the stage with them these guys play aggressive and heavy songs w/ message on it, w/c other new bands fail to do. Cause some new bands out there concentrate on the tunes and riffs and make it heavy shit like that and write lyrics w/c are empty, lame and tells you nothing but half assed crap. every time sky church hits the stage ”gera na”

Coni:
Aggressive Dog Attack – Boi is one great guy he makes up honest straight forward lyrics. A great inspiration to the YxFxCx kids. Mixes aggression with humor and information on the side. This is Crust as fuck! We all love to watch these guys play and slam to their brand of witty, funny& crusty songs. Always a pleasure having them around at gigs and playing with them.
Age Of Decomposition – Grind/Crust/metal in your fucking face!!! All the guys in AxOxDx are friends of ours. We love to share the stage with these guys. And sharing a smoke with Rallye.hehehe.
Dead Ends / THROW – ever since Emman, a friend of mine gave me his “Damned Nation” album I was hooked. Fast ,aggressive hardcore shit. But it sucked when I learned Jay Dimalanta died years ago. Fuck! I never had the chance to see em play. These guys are legendary. THROW on the other hand is Former Dead Ends’ front man Al Dimalanta’s new band, reminds me a lot of Dead Ends. Damn they even play those classic Dead Ends song. Love watching these guys play their brand of fast HC/punk. And that drummer is awesome. They had released an ep lately but unfortunately I still don’t have a copy yet.
G.I.+ the Idiots –. my old friend Emman gave me his tape of this band’s “wonderful world of garbage” and like the Dead Ends, I was sucked into their brand of fast noise shit. Had never watched em before in the 80’s, was too young then. And with luck years later, yes I had the chance to watch them play at John’s place in Marikina. WOW! Slammin and singing along to those songs. It was great. That was a dream come true.
Richard Collier – these guys may not be a metal band nor a fast HC/Punk band. Yet I support them for being original with their music. Not following those shit trends of those shit emo bands out there. Unlike those shitheads selling out their scene and friends, like that band Typecast for example. They were good then, playing at underground gigs now they are a bunch of shit covered in sugarcoating and selling out the scene and friends just to hook up with Chico SHit, (another shitty band who wants to blend in with the U.G.).
Richard Collier earned their respect from the gigs they played and not by riding anyone’s coattails. For me they are one of the primo bands that wrent affected by the trends and still one of the truest band around.
Dance of Decline / 15 Minutes Of Shame – Dance of decline is a Hard Hitting Hardcore band Fronted by the beautifully now wed mother, Beng. While 15 Minuites Of Shame is a fast Punk/crust outfit from Cavite fronted by the ever so cute Kookie. Makes a point that the scene is not just for Dickheads, it’s for pussies too…um ah, I mean Girls too! I mean girls should be active and get involved in the scene, like organize shit, zines, form bands of their own and not just be eye candies at gigs with their macho boifriends. As Boi Piodos pointed out, women have intelligence, the strength, the courage to fight the wrong system of society. Fuck Macho shit!!! Girls still kicks ass.
YxFxCx – is the only band that can smoke any other fucking band. Out Smoke em’ with weed rather. Formed by 4 drunk kids + a straight edge drummer = equals the fastest band to play at your local gigs. Lasting for 10 minutes on a single set. And every time you hear Vincent & Drigo’s alternating screeching voices will fuck up your brain. Like a sharp pencil thru your ears. Songs deals with drunkards, drug addicts, road kill, Marijuana, Paranoia, Politics and kicking the ass of a fucking drunkard manong who treated us with lotsa beer and not paying for it.
By Storm / Sauna – these bands were formed around the same time as Nuclear Punishment was formed. So we consider them Brothers-at- arms at gigs. By Storm is a great band blending Hardcore with metal having both metalhead guitarists. Dangie sings odes to the place he hails from, Manila. Sauna on the other hand is from Batangas, plays HC/Metal shit, can’t define it yet. Sometimes they sound like chanting, sometimes Real heavy music. Expect pure chaos from these bands when they play at your local gigs. By the time you are reading this their split will be out from Take 4 records.
Loss of Control / Religious Nightmare – Both are brutal, both are Fast and both band’s drummer Gil, kicks ass. I like em a lot to the fact that these guys smoke pot just as me. And thanks to Rallye we know that whenever there’s a gig here in Cavite they will be here playing with us.
FEUD / Half the Battle – both are positive bands playing fast songs you can mosh to with your friends. Both are my favorite positive bands. Nuff said!!!

That’s it for me. I hope NP continue on punishing the underground with more ear damaging noise. Thanx a lot for your time and stay insane.
Mike: THANK YOU SO MUCH MAN!!! HAIL TRIPALIUM!
Rommel: Hey thanx a lot for this interview, hope to read your honest comment on our music. And we’re all looking forward on meeting you to thank you personally. Yea you inspired us to write new songs hehehe ( watch out for that) Salamat!
Coni: Thank you so much for the great interview. I had a blast answering the questions. Looking forward to thank you personally. Thank you man! We promise you NUCLEAR PUNISHMENT will stay brutal. Shout outs to the bands everywhere who stays true to their music. You guys make the scenes more worthwhile. And to those who makes zines and webzines that keeps us posted on shit, keep up the good work. You know who you guys are!! ALL Hail METAL!!! ALL Hail Tripalium!!!

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