Rock Monsters Romania

The one-day mini-festival “Punk Apocalypse” will take over the stage at Quantic Club, featuring Grinder, Brainwasher, Pârnaie, Berzerk, and Scuzeerambeat. On February 9, we celebrate freedom of expression and the local punk culture alongside them!

We spoke with Grinder, an underground band from Constanța, founded in 2019, that blends raw energy with a fresh Ripping Hardcore Metal sound. In 2024, they released their latest EP, New Steel, featuring five crushing tracks, including Kiokan, which also debuted with a powerful video, solidifying the band’s evolution and maturity.

To help the public get to know you, what is one thing people should know about you before reading this interview?

We’re just five dudes playing heavy music and having as much fun as we can while doing it. No rockstar bullshit.

“Punk” has had different definitions over the years. What does “punk” mean to you?

Punk is freedom. The freedom to think for yourself and to act like yourself.

The scene you are part of seems to have a strong sense of community. What is it about this particular genre that makes the fan base so socially interconnected?

It’s probably because this kind of music is not popular by Romanian standards. Take a quick look at the YouTube trending page, and you’ll find Romanian music with tens of millions of views, maybe more. Most radio stations either play the same old songs they’ve been playing since before we were born or assembly-line “hits” from who knows what record label. So it’s natural that when people discover this little scene and enjoy it, they want to be part of it. After a couple of concerts, they get to meet a lot of the regulars.

In what way do you think musicians addressing political matters influence society? Should more artists do it? Why?

We think it helps bring politics to people who would otherwise be impartial. Messages stick better when they’re spoken by your favorite artist, from the heart, rather than by some dressed-up guy whose job is to lie and deliver speeches that say nothing. So yeah, more artists should do it.

How do you see the Romanian Punk/Hardcore scene evolving in the future?

We’re no fortune tellers, but we think some exciting times are ahead. The rise of hardcore moshpit videos on social platforms is probably making a lot of people curious.

You’re starting the year in full force! What other plans do you have for this year?

Shows. Weird transitional periods are coming up in our personal lives, so we want to play as much as we can.

What advice would you give to young artists or bands looking to succeed in their careers?

Same as always—play a lot of shows, practice hard, and party hard.

Use this as a shout-out zone: which underground bands with a similar style to yours would you recommend to people who might enjoy your music?

Check out Take No More, Burialsite, and Escalate!

Would you like to send a message to the people reading this interview?

Take it easy, folks!

Interview by Radu Mihai and Eduard Istrate