Thrice, H2O, Turning Point, Oathbreaker, Ignite, He Is Legend, Petrol Girls, Bent Life, Skinny Lister, Tim Vantol, and AJJ are the latest names heading to Meerhout in April.

They join headliners Deftones and Parkway Drive, as well as Pennywise, Underoath, Cock Sparrer, Anti-Flag, Deafheaven, Strike Anywhere, Stick To Your Guns, and more fantastic bands.

Groezrock 2017 takes place on April 29th – 30th, and tickets for the event are available now from the official Groezrock website, along with all other relevant details. See you there!

‘A War Against You’ was released 10 years after your previous album, ‘[Our Darkest Days’. What have you guys been up to over the last few years, and what influenced the decision to come back now?

We originally started working on new songs back in ’07-‘08 but then some things got delayed in the process. Zoli joined Pennywise for three years, myself and the others in Ignite were playing in bands like Into Another, Strife and Nations Afire. But there was always the intent of writing, recording and putting out the next Ignite album, we just didn’t know when we were going to be free enough to put the necessary work in, to make the album the right way.

We started writing songs again in early 2013 once our schedules kind of cleared up and we entered the recording studio in May 2014 and finished recording the new Ignite album last year.

You’re known for being very socially and politically conscious, what issues did you want to address or highlight with ‘A War Against You’?

I would not say that the album is a concept record or anything like that, but there are themes that have some consistency with our previous work. The lyrical content on Ignite albums generally deal with issues involving personal, political, environmental and social topics. If you know Ignite songs from the past this is very clear.

This album, I would say follows pretty close to the categories that I just mentioned, but we delve into a lot of new issues and current events that are going on in the world like the worldwide immigration issue, bullying, decimation of land for profit, racial issues, etc… There is never a shortage of issues to write about on the planet that we live on.

Issues such as the environment and vegetarianism have featured quite prominently on previous records, what do you think the real pressing issues are in the current climate?

You said it. Climate. There needs to be even more awareness of fossil fuel use, the rise in the earth’s temperature/climate, clean water. Do a little research yourself, read some environmental blogs, check out Earth First, Sea Shepherds and groups like that if you want to hear about some stuff that major media doesn’t touch.

You’ve used your platform to support several organisations and charities in the past, how important do you think it is for musicians to use their platform to raise awareness of these organisations?

For us it is important. However, we believe if you put in the years of work to be in a touring band then nobody should tell you what you should say or what message you should spread. Some bands are just out the to have fun and party.

For Ignite however that wouldn’t work, that’s not how we are wired. We feel we have been given the opportunity to share a positive message to people around the world, to inspire people and to possibly help open the eyes of people on subjects and issues that maybe they haven’t heard of or haven’t thought about.

What do you think about the current state of punk rock and hardcore? What new bands have you come across that you feel are really flying the flag for the genre at the minute?

That’s an interesting question. I think harder music is getting more and more popular every year. When we started Ignite, the big Green Day & Offspring explosion was happening, which opened a lot of doors for punk and hardcore bands. At the same time metal bands were getting bigger and bigger with the mainstream success of Metallica and bands like that.

All of that has helped make metal/punk/hardcore more accessible to everyone. It seems to continue to grow all around us which in turned has helped Ignite grown along the way too, without even putting a new album out in 10 years.

We have enjoyed listening to and playing with bands like Wisdom In Chains, Turnstile and Broken Teeth.

What are your plans for the remainder of 2016?

We just finished a European Tour with Terror, H2O, Wisdom In Chains, Iron Reagan and a bunch of other great bands! We are making plans now for the rest of the year, I’m sure we will get over to Europe for some festivals and hopefully get out on a US tour soon.

‘A War Against You’ is the band’s first studio album since ‘Our Darkest Days’, released back in 2006.

Ignite will be playing a one-off UK show at the Underworld in London on the 26th January 2016, following their mainland European tour with Terror, H20 and Iron Reagan.

JANUARY 2016
13 WARSAW, POLAND Progresja*
14 BERLIN, GERMANY Astra*
15 HAMBURG, GERMANY Grosse Freiheit 36*
16 OBERHAUSEN, GERMANY Turbinenhalle*
17 TORHOUT, BELGIUM De Mast*
18 PARIS, FRANCE Gibus*
19 PRATTELN, CZECH REPUBLIC Pratteln – Z7*
20 SAARBRUEKEN, GERMANY Garage*
21 MUNICH, GERMANY Backstage*
22 WIESBADEN, GERMANY Schlachthof*
23 DRESDEN, GERMANY Alter Schlachthof*
24 UTRECHT, NETHERLANDS Tivoli*
26 LONDON Underworld
28 BUDAPEST, HUNGARY Barba Negra
29 BUDAPEST, HUNGARY Barba Negra

*w/ Terror, H20 and Iron Reagan

Tracklisting is:
Side A: “Nothing Can Stop Me”
Side B: “Bleeding” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday” both taken from their “Our Darkest Days Live” DVD

Pre-orders (from Germany to save hefty US to UK postage) are up now.

The band have also confirmed a one-off appearance in London on the 26th January 2016 at the Underworld. It comes shortly after their mainland EU run with Terror, H2O, Iron Reagan, Twitching Tongues, Wisdom In Chains and Risk It. What a line-up!

JANUARY 2016
13 WARSAW, POLAND Progresja
14 BERLIN, GERMANY Astra
15 HAMBURG, GERMANY Grosse Freiheit 36
16 OBERHAUSEN, GERMANY Turbinenhalle
17 TORHOUT, BELGIUM De Mast
18 PARIS, FRANCE Gibus
19 PRATTELN, SWITZERLAND Z7
20 SAARBRUEKEN, GERMANY Garage
21 MUNICH, GERMANY Backstage
22 WIESBADEN, GERMANY Schlachthof
23 DRESDEN, GERMANY Alter Schlachthof
24 UTRECHT, NETHERLANDS Tivoli
26 LONDON Underworld*

*Not part of the EMP Persistence Tour 2016 w/ Terror, H2O and more

There’s no label announced and there’s no release date yet, but Ignite have said they entered the studio yesterday to begin the loooooonnnng awaited follow up to ‘Our Darkest Days’, which came out in 2006. And, when you consider that they’ve only done two albums this millenium, it’s high time. We at PT will give you all the updates we can on this, Zoli’s first vocal effort since the awesome Pennywise album ‘All Or Nothing’.

https://www.facebook.com/igniteband has details of European tour dates over the summer – sadly no UK shows, although a few but a mere uncomfortable Ryanair seat away.

Today’s announcement:
Hatebreed, Ignite, Walls Of Jericho – OFFICIAL PAGE, We Came As Romans, The Black Dahlia Murder, Bury Tomorrow, The BONES, Thy Art Is Murder, Atlas Losing Grip, Heart In Hand, The Charm The Fury, A TRAITOR LIKE JUDAS, Risk It, ALL FOR NOTHING, DESASTERKIDS, Science Of Sleep, To the Rats and Wolves, WE NEED GUNS!, Anchors & Hearts, Gravity Lost, The Gogets, Choking on Illusions

https://www.facebook.com/mair1festival

Ignite
Architects
Murphy’s Law
The Toasters
Templeton Pek

This makes the full line up (so far) as follows:

If you wanna see why we loved the 2013 edition so much, check out our documentary below. 20 more bands will be announced for the festival.

http://www.punkrockholiday.com

The more I?ve gone to shows on the mainland the more I realize that UK shows start outrageously early. In the case of the Underworld they get their shows done and dusted as early as possible so that the club night can start smoothly. Why am I telling you this? Well, as a result, I missed 1000 Hertz and Burn The 8-Track, who have been making a name for themselves of late. I was a little bit livid about this, but I think I was still at work when the doors opened. That is the price of punk rock in 2008.

Anyway, c?est la vie and all that. I got there in time at least to see a short but sweet set from Boston?s very own Death Before Dishonor. The problem they had was that their drummer had broken his foot the night before in Peterborough. Which is definitely a stumbling block when you plan to play the drums. A lesser band would have pulled the show, but they played half a dozen songs anyway, using the other drummers on the tour. Craig from Ignite did the last 3 songs, and did a great job. DBD are nothing new, but they are a bit special. You can see exactly why they are at home supporting Terror and Agnostic Front. Most of the crowd had no idea about any of their tunes, but they got a pit going all the same.

Despite impressing me massively, DBD were eclipsed in EVERY way by the band that everyone in a sold-out Camden Underworld had come to see ? Ignite. I didn?t expect anywhere near as big a crowd, but word of mouth about exactly how good ?Our Darkest Days?, Ignite?s comeback 2006 album, actually is has spread far and wide. And I would estimate that half the crowd knew every word Zoli melodically shouted.

Almost the whole set was from ?Our Darkest Days? and 2000?s ?A Place Called Home?, which is testament to the band?s rebirth from its 1990s routes. It?s plain enough to see they are not the same band these days. They are hardcore for the Rise Against generation ? a position I think they probably stumbled across but are happy to take up. You could see the delight on the band?s face to see the crowd shouting every word back at them. They rewarded everyone with a ferociously tight set and the odd joke about how England failed to qualify for Euro 2008. Ever sticking to their morals too, they interrupted their set to let a spokesman on saboteurs of Japanese Whalers say a few words. It?s great to see a band using their position to help things along.

A couple of acoustic songs towards the end of the set sealed the deal for me ? this band know how to write songs, and don?t just hide behind a double pedal and triplet guitar work. Everything about them oozes class.

Here?s to Ignite going on for a fair few years yet.

Mike