Nothing Survives Time, Nobody Can Press Rewind

So last week Justice officially announced that they will be breaking up soon. They have a few more shows ahead of them (some sweet gigs in Belgium, England and Spain) and will be recording a final 12" in January, which should be out in time for their final show on March 8th. The 12" will include 5 brand new songs, "Creepy Eepy" style (know what I mean?) and I expect it be nothing short of awesome. Awesome as in truly great and inspiring, not as in "yeah I guess I'll buy it now so I can eBay that shit later".

Thinking of how one my favourite current hardcore bands is calling it quits and talking to some of the Justice dudes during the past few weeks has brought back a bunch of memories of this band that somehow always could be found in the eye of the storm. Every move they made was closely followed, cheered on by those who were into them and frowned upon by those that weren't or simply did not get it. No matter what, Justice always did exactly and exclusively what they wanted to, wrote the songs they felt like they had to and said what they felt needed to be said. I was lucky enough to see them live a ton of times in a ton of places, all over Europe and even the States. I roadied for them on a few tours and weekend trips (even managed to put on Bulldoze on one of those trips, much to Erik Tilburg's disgust) and can honestly say they were one of those bands whose live sets always put on a smile on my face and constantly renewed my faith in hardcore.

Honestly, when Justice got started I wasn't sure what to think of the whole thing. They were a bunch of weird dudes (in a nice way) whom I didn't know that well. They hadn't really done any notable bands before so I didn't quite know what to expect. However when they hit the stage for their first show (Edge Day 2003, Ghent) anticipation was high. I still remember being puzzled by the whole thing. Sure, Spoiler looked hard with that bass guitar but their songs sounded like such a mess, it was hard to tell what was going on. Not one to be taken aback by a sloppy set or a weary reaction, Filip busted out the craziest moves and said a couple of insane things inbetween songs. I remember thinking to myself that this dude was born to be a frontman.

When a little later their demo was released I was floored. You could actually hear the songs now and damn... they were good. Great even. Catchy as hell, simple and hard. On the way back from a show at the other end of Belgium we listened to that demo tape non stop. From then on things snowballed, Justice got better and better, more confident (surely Erik Tilburg joining their ranks helped a lot) and the response they got was getting quite enthusiastic to say the least. Dead Stop and Justice made 2004 an unforgettable year.

Later on that year, Geert Hollanders (aka G. Powered) and myself found ourselves caught in the middle of the Justice moshpit at Ninja Fest while everyone around us was losing their mind... We looked at eachother and knew right there and then that this band was pulling off something incredible. By that time their 7" had already found its way into the hands and hearts of kids all over. Though to some Justice was nothing more than a goofy, "mindless fun" sort of band it always struck me that no matter how much fun they had, they were dead serious about what they were doing and how they wanted to do it.

In early 2005 I roadied for Justice on their tour with Righteous Jams. Stief's leg was in a cast, as a result of Filip performing "the stampede" on it during the frenzy of the notorious Maasmechelen riot. Erik couldn't make it so Cedhead filled in for him. Michiel Dead Stop was there too, as a mental coach and to wake me up when I was steering the van and everyone in it in the direction of a sure death. This was the coldest tour ever and to this day one of my favourite tours ever as well. Other highlights include the chocolate milk and ice cream marathon, playing "guess the riff" in Oslo, one of the wildest shows ever in Poland and getting to say "relax buddy" on stage.

Not too long after Justice's first album came out (as self titled as it may have been, we all know it as "Elephant Skin") it became clear this band was gonna stick it out for a while. The album was full of well written songs, energy and spirit and made sure that those who hadn't discovered Justice yet, would do so now. Justice spent their summer that year touring the US and Europe with Mental, looking at that "Road Crew" shirt now I scratch my head and wonder how Spoiler survived those 2 months on the road on a diet of salted chips and Coca-Cola. Mind boggling.

After that summer, Spoiler left the band when he moved to Canada with his wife, to pursue a career as a promotor of hardcore and builder of the "Stage Of Quarrel". A little later Erik left the band as well, leaving Stief to handle the guitar department on his own. The changes in line up (what's up Hans Degryse) also brought with them a change or at least a further evolution in style, as displayed on the "Up And Down/Push It To Edge" 7". 2006 was as busy as ever for Justice, as it included tours with Underdog and Cold World. There was no stopping them and the new songs promised to show another side of Justice, a new direction and somewhat of a leap in the dark.

When "Escapades" came out in march 2007, once again and as always, Justice was the subject of many a heated debate. You'd be at a show and wouldn't be able to take three steps without stepping in on another argument about that record. The slower, groovier, heavily Supertouch influenced material seemed to be a bridge too far for some. To be honest, when I first heard the album I was convinced it was too slow. Sure it sounded great and new drummer Daan was rock solid, but it was almost like I thought someone had made a mistake somewhere along the line and slowed the whole thing down. However, upon listening to the record more it turned out that it was a "grower", full of well crafted songs, hooks and riffs. Who would've thought Justice would ever write a "grower"? Not me. I missed out on the record release show for this record, but was lucky enough to see a bunch of awesome Justice sets, consisting of a lot of new material and bringing some sort of different vibe with them. Different as in warm and welcoming... It could be old age though. Most notably the shows I caught at the end of the Blacklisted/Justice tour were truly awesome and will stay with me as what I remember "Escapades"-era Justice to be like.

I just noticed I got a little carried away. You are forgiven if you didn't actually read all of this. I feel fortunate to have been around while Justice was and would like to thank them for being the band that they are/were. Keep an eye out for Rhythm To The Madness and whatever Powered Records is up to next...
Peace, keep breathing.