On this tour we wanted to go to places we haven't been for the last record like Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Serbia, Bulgeria and Greece. So we had the first show in Strasbourg for a festival and then we're on tour for 5 weeks. So we have a brand new album coming out, it's call "The difference you'll never make" it's gonna be coming out in december or january on Age of Venus and we'll be playing new songs so that people can hear it.

About this new album, any words about it ?

It's called "The difference you'll never make", it's again 8 songs. There's a
new song that we're gonna play tonight which is entitled "Believe in me", "Question yourself", all brand new stuff. The lyrics are about being involved with Hardcore. I think this album is really different from the passed stuff we did. More melodic parts with really heavy break downs. I song more, I sing differently. It's a mixed up record so we're really happy about it.

Where did you recorded it ?

We record it at a place called "Audible images" up in Pennsylvania in the US.

This album is still gonna be on Age of Venus, how did you met them ?

We've been friends with them for years, just from coming on tour here. We started touring in Europe with bands like Stormcore, Kickback and then we started playing with Right 4 Life and became good friends with Oliver and John and Erwen, since then they did the label. So then they offered to do the record.
I know it's people I can trust. They're doing a really good job for us, I'm really happy.

We saw you at the Fury Fest last year, lot of kids discovered you at this show, what's your feeling about this ?

The Fury Fest was really good for us. We had a really good time. And on the last couple tour we did after that, there were lot of kids that told us they discover the band during the Fury Fest. France has always been good for us.

Do you think that today there is a new rise of old-school bands like Youth of Today, Madball who were at the Fury Fest ?

Oh yeah. I think that was special. Lot of kids got to see lot's of different bands. And seeing Youth of Today that was very special. They haven't played for years you know. That was cool that they could seem them. As well as Madball who hasn't played much and that's cool that they came back. And even 25 ta Life, that was our first european tour since a couple of years. This is our third european since then. We did a tour with Right 4 Life last November and December. Since then we've been touring a lot more over here.

What do you think about the new generation of hardcore bands like Hatebreed, Born From Pain, do they come from the Hardcore roots ?

It's more like, I mean, even 25 Ta Life we have like Slayer influences, Creator. There has always been like more metal Hardcore bands like the Cromags and Agnostic Front, always mixed hardcore and metal together. There's room for everybody, it brings lot more people to it, opens it up. They're really good bands. Hatebreed, the singer of Hatebreed has been envolved with Hardcore for a long time. He did a lot of work to help the bands. Now his band got very popular. It's good, it's one of the few bands, because in hardcore you're lucky if your band ever gonna get that big. But if you love the music, like the Fury Fest, it's one of the biggest show for hardcore you can play.

For France this festival is very important, it's the first time we get such a festival!!

Yeah, we didn't play the last but we're gonna play this summer. We're gonna come back next summer and do it.

We heard that you've got a new line-up for the band ?

Yeah, on the new record I've got one of my friend who's in a band from the west coast called Power House. He help me out with the record. But some people who are doing the record couldn't get back into Europe so they couldn't make it. When we did the last Californian tour, Erwen the guitar player for Right for Life flew over to do the tour with us. But the line-up keep shifted. It's hard to keep people. You know what I mean, because of work, family or just not being able to travel. Before this tour, before we came back to Europe, we did a lot of touring in the US. We did 2 and ½ weeks in the Westcoast and 2 and ½ week in Florida and then back to New York and then all the way back to Texas playing in place like Ohio, Milwaukie, Minnesota, Iowa and Mexico. It was a very long tour. Then we drove back up to do the Hell Fest in New Jersey. That was really good, we played with The Misfits, Agnostic Fronts, Life of Agony… There were probably like 6000 kids. It's maybe the biggest show that you can play in hardcore in the US, the Hell Fest. It was a really good time. After Hell Fest we went recording the new record and then come back here in Europe.

What do you think about the Bush politics outside and inside the US ?

Oh it's crazy men. He's really a crazy guy. But politics, you know right now it's really tough in the US. But I think he's gonna be voted out of office. When he won, it was because they made a mistake, the other guy won first, then the mistake, then he won, that's crazy. I don't ever remember that happened in the history. It's the same thing with the war, with the planes going through the World Trade Center, then we go against Ben Laden and he get shifted so we go against Saddam Hussein, that's crazy you know what I mean. It's a sad time !

So you're not going to vote for him ?

Oh no ! But you know, it doesn't matter for us, even if we do vote, I think that it's fixed, the guy cheats. If he wins this time, people gonna see it. People are gonna get crazy, because nobody wants this guy for president, nobody. Unless you're very rich, you got a lot of money, they want him because he's for the very rich and powerfull people.

What do you think about the european hardcore scene ?

As far as 25 Ta Life is concerned, we've toured in Europe a lot. Agnostic Front, Madball also come here a lot. This is the 17th time I've been on tour in Europe. We love it. We have a good time. It's rough sometimes with the long drives but I have a good time here. I want to keep coming on tour here. The bands are great up here, the kids are great. When I'm back home I talk to the kids about Stormcore, Out for Blood, the bands that we first played with. It's hard because a lot of european bands don't come over the US, so kids don't know the bands. Backfire came over, but there were a time where kids really wanted to see Stormcore, Kickback, but they don't tour in the US. But it's a lot of work to be able to come here and tour. There's not a lot of money envolved. When you come here for 5 weeks, 10 weeks or whatever you need to tour, financially it's not the best. You gotta go home and pay your bills. That's why over the year, certain people are like "eh, I can't do this tour, I can't get off work that long, I have to stay on my job". So I'm like ok I'll call somebody else so we can keep touring. It's difficult sometimes.

It's also difficult for european bands to come to the US, because you have so many bands that they don't care about european bands.

US is very commercial too. Here it's more underground. There it's a weird time for the US. The hardcore bands are going commercial. But hardcore is supposed to be underground like the anti-rockstars. The emo bands or whatever, to me it's still punk-rock. But now these bands are getting so big it's like pop, you know what I mean. Like New Found Glory and Good Charlotte and the guys from Madball they got the new band called Hazen Street it's more like a pop band. It's crazy. It's a really strange time. Here I think it set up better for the underground bands. It's better organized for the bands to tour in Europe.
We toured the US, and it's was a hard time. We've toured Europe, Japan,
I really wanted to do the US. But it was really difficult. But we did it. I lost a lot of money. But we had a good time, and kids got to see the band, they wanted to see us, so to me it was worth it.

Music is your life !!!

Yeah. But it's difficult. Money is big factor. You gotta pay for the van, gaz, hotel. We've been over like 12 years but we're still an underground band.

Find the tattoo's interview of Rick !!!