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Agathocles is a band that honestly needs no explanation, they've been around for four decades and are still churning out releases. On this occasion, I asked Jan (vocals/bass), who delivered his honest answers at the speed of light. Now scroll down for the latest news and of course a list of upcoming releases.
Hi Jan! To celebrate the band's 40th anniversary, a special compilation album titled "40 Years of Mince Core (1985-2025)" will be released soon. What do we need to know about this upcoming 12" vinyl and the label that will be releasing it? Oh, and when is it expected to be released?
This 12" LP will contain 1 song from each year from 1985 until 2025, so it is like an overview of 40 years of Agathocles. Recorded in different studios, different line-ups, ... This album will be released by the German label Extreme Noisi Production who have also released the Agathocles/Restbrull split 7" EP in 2025. I think the LP will be released in March 2026. There will be 2 versions of this LP, one version will come in a nice Agathocles bag. There will also be a booklet with tons of photos, flyers and a long talk about 40 years of Agathocles. This album will later also be released on cassette and on CD.
How do you personally feel about your four decades of continuous presence with Agathocles? Did you ever think you'd make it this far? Not to mention the hundreds of releases you've managed to release, the countless relationships with bands, labels, promoters and, most importantly, fans, that have earned you a well-deserved cult status in the grindcore scene. In a nutshell, how do you evaluate your achievements from today's perspective?
40 years is a long time, but it has passed very quickly, looking at it back now. I would have never expected when we started that we would make so many records, do so many tours, play all over the world, meet so many people, ... It is all amazing. And all this is only made possible thanks to the worldwide network of friends and likeminded people, thanks to tape and record trading, thanks to the DO IT YOURSELF-movement. Big thanks to all of you.
To celebrate four decades, are there any plans to perform special live sets at club concerts or festivals? If so, please talk more about these plans.
No, we have not planned any special gigs or tours for the 40 year of Agathocles. This 12" LP on Extreme Noisi Production is enough to celebrate. At the moment, we just continue working on new releases. I still need to finish many new recordings which we have done, but they are still missing vocal lines. So I need to record vocals for a lot of new recordings.
Since Agathocles is a hyperactive band in terms of releases, I would like to ask what other releases are planned in the near future? Is there a chance of a new full-length album for 2026?
Yes, there are plans for a new full studio album. Most of it is already recorded, but I need to find the time and energy to record the vocals. At this moment, we have just released Agathocles/Unholy Grave "Agatho-grave part 2" split 12" LP, Agathocles "No Use/War Scars" 12" LP, Agathocles/Dirty Harry split 7" EP and Agathocles/Drogato split 7" EP. For 2026, we have plans for other new releases such as Agathocles/Noise Nihilist split 12" LP, Agathocles/Psykoosi split release, Agathocles/Ate split 8" and many more. Also some old studio albums such as the "Thanks for Your Hostility" album from 1996 will be re-released on 12" LP and CD on Selfmadegod Records from Poland.
The Agathocles line-up has been stable since 2012, which is a good thing. How often do you rehearse and meet up with Koen and Nils? How do you guys come up with new songs these days? I mean, do you jam during rehearsals and spontaneously come up with new ideas, or do you come to the rehearsal room with ready-made song ideas and later arrange them together?
Koen and Nils are not playing in Agathocles anymore for quite a while. Now I am playing with other members. We don't rehearse a lot. Mostly, I write the songs before rehearsal or just in the rehearsal place and then we work everything out. It's more like a spontaneous process. I like to record fast and not spend too much time on recording which I think is boring and stressful.
Speaking of lyrics, do you still find fresh inspiration in your surroundings to write new lyrics? What topics are you drawn to lately? What books or events had a big impact on you this year?
The lyrics depend on how I feel at the moment and what I see happening around me. The lyrics mostly deal with politics/human behaviour. We are all heading for total annihilation for sure. Not much hope left at all. All politicians at the top are a bunch of money grabbing narcissistic dicks and cunts who don't give a shit about the future of our planet or the people on it. Nazism/racism/homophobia/climate change deniers/poor versus rich are becoming standards and are being normalized again. People vote for useless politicians, blinded by their lies and opportunistic ways of tricking people. Useless voters who do not show any high intelligence either. I am disgusted by those ideologies and to be honest, I am disgusted by nearly all ideologies, because I still think that humanity is a species of shit... I can say that after 4 decades writing lyrics, I have become much more darker in my thinking and have become more and more nihilistic and misanthropic, refusing any kind of ideology. Mankind will stay a piece of shit species, doomed and born for self-destruction.
Since playing in a band certainly doesn't cover your living expenses, I guess everyone has a steady job. So what kind of jobs do you do these days?
Ha yes, Agathocles is surely not a "job", in fact, it costs me money. For a living, I am working as a social worker. I have been working as a social worker for more than 30 years now. Some other members are working as sound engineer and things like that.
How does the grindcore scene look like in Belgium now? Is it very different from when you started in the 80s? I mean, if you compare the attitude of fans and bands back then and now. Are there any new bands that you would highly recommend listening to and paying close attention to?
In 1985, there was nothing like grindcore here in Belgium. We were the only band doing that kind of noise. But there were killer fast punk/hardcore bands such as Zyklome A, Moral Demolition, De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig, Koyaanisqatsi, Capital Scum, Wulpse Varkens, Vortex, No Debt, Sponky Business, The Dirty Scums... And there were a few nice and very interesting zines, labels (Hageland Hardcore and Punk Etc.) and underground distros with excellent stuff. Back in those days, nobody really liked Agathocles. We were not accepted by any scene, punks hated us and metalheads hated us... But that all changed when "grindcore" became more popular around 1988. In the 1980's, we have played with Belgian bands such as Capital Scum, Ear Damage (ex- Zyklome A), Distress (the Belgian one), Tyfoon, Chronic Disease, Extreem, Reign of Terror, ... Capital Scum is still alive and kicking and doing gigs. They are one of the oldest still playing Belgian hardcore bands. Agathocles released a split 12" LP with Capital Scum on the German label Power It Up some years ago. And next week, Capital Scum and The Dirty Scums will play together not far from where I live, so I am going to see them.
I've always been interested in which format is closest to you, i.e. if you had to choose between cassette, vinyl and, for example, CD, which one would you personally choose as your favorite? Please motivate your choice.
My favourite formats are vinyls and cassettes and then CDs. For me, "music" is much better when it is released in physical format, not on a computer file floating in cyber space. With better I mean "more authentic", more creative, more thought provoking, ... In many ways. Nowadays it's all mostly computer recorded and computer released without soul. Put in some data into artificial intelligence tools and you have a band/record now. All has become quite "empty", "without soul" and flat.
Now that we have come to the end of the interview, what would you like to wish to the Ukrainian fans of Agathocles? The last words of wisdom are all yours.
Cheers Kornel, I really don't have any last words of wisdom, I am not a wise guy. But thanks so much for this interview and for giving us space in your zine. Good luck with all your work and thanks for your help, interest and support. To all readers, keep on supporting DIY-bands and create an alternative for mainstream commercial music business. I know we all can do that, if we keep on creating networks of friends and likeminded all over the world. MINCECORE FOR PASSION, NOT FOR FASHION! UP THE RAW NOISE PUNKS AND KEEP ON SPREADING THE NOISE.
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