Kent’s hardcore metal band Cove caught up with us to discuss their new E.P., the hardcore sound and their live performances.

Interview by Jane Howkins.

You recently released an E.P. called We Were Once Lost. What can you tell us about this?

The EP was released last month and it’s our debut! The EP was written towards the end of 2015 and recorded mid 2016, it’s been a lot of hard work to get it out but it’s been great and we’re all really happy to have it finally released!

Do you have any plans to release a full-length record in the near future?

We’re working on a follow up at the moment but we’re not aiming for a full length just yet, the next release may have less songs on it than WWOL. Our goal with the next release to have quality over quantity. We want a record where we struggle to chose just two singles.

 Your lead single is called An Honour. What can you tell us about that?

It was the last song to be written, we actually booked in an extra day to demo it in January of 2016, the rest of the guys had to learn the song after we recorded it as only me (Pete) and Jack (our drummer) knew how to play it at the time! The song was written so easily, I don’t think I’ve ever had such a stress-free writing session, when it came to demoing the song as well me and Jack ran the song twice before demoing it, and then he completed the demo drums in just two takes, I feel the song just gelled with us all naturally. It’s also one of the only songs we have that has a distinctive chorus, this is something we want to focus on more in future.

 You’re originally from Kent. What is the hardcore scene like down there? It isn’t an area you hear of much in terms of music!

The music scene is actually really good in Kent, not only for hardcore but other genres such as emo, punk and grunge. There are many independent record labels and venues in the area, it has a strong DIY scene, which is great. Other bands we’ve been a part of in the past have been involved in the London scene and I feel the scene in Kent is a lot stronger for smaller bands.

 How did you originally get together as a band – were you all friends beforehand?

Me, Ben (Guitar) and Charlie (Bass) all went to school together, me and Charlie even went to the same primary school. We met Sam (Vocals) and Jack (Drums) through an audition post online out of pure luck, both of them were looking to join a heavy band in our area and were exactly what we were looking for!

 Your sound could probably be described as being more along the lines of the new hardcore sound that has emerged in recent years. Is that something you purposefully tried to include?

 I think the new hardcore sound is what we’re all a product of, especially in our late teens when we were all really getting into music. I wouldn’t say it’s something we’ve purposely done, but there are certain bands in that genre we look up to. We’ve tried to distance ourselves from the bog standard “Metalcore” sound that people normally think of even though our sound has elements of both metal and hardcore.

Are you guys fans of the original hardcore punk music that started emerged in the 1980s?

For me, yes, some of the other guys not so much, but we all appreciate the roots. I’ve always been interested in the roots of hardcore punk music due to being straight edge and it’s ties to the genre.

Who/what would you say you are most influenced by, and why? Anyone you can recommend to us?

We’re influenced by good riffs, we can go to a show and see a band live and a certain part of a song kicks in and we all look at each other and give them “that” look. That’s the kind of stuff that influences us, nothing gets us more inspired than going to live shows!

 Why do you think people should come and see you live, and what can people expect from a Cove show?

We recently played a show in Camden and I jumped into the crowd and accidentally clocked someone with the headstock of my guitar, so you should expect/watch out for that. We just like putting on a good show, it’s about enjoying playing and getting a reaction out of people, we love seeing people two step and get some movement going, or just smiling and bobbing their head at the back.

 Any last words for the fans?

Thanks to anyone who’s supported us, said nice words or bought a shirt, it means a lot to us!