BALKAN HARDCORE COLLECTIVE

1. Thanks for joining me for this interview! In the interests of full transparency for the readers, I am wearing my Sofia Hardcore Tattoos shirt as that seemed most appropriate (I will have a Balkan Hardcore Collective one in the near future!). Would you please introduce yourself and tell the readers where you’re from?

Thanks for inviting me to do an interview, it is the first time I am being interviewed and I appreciate it. Shout out to my brother Alex from Last Hope who is one of the owners of Sofia Hardcore Tattoos. My name is Alen and I am from Čakovec, north Croatia

2. Tell us a little about the Balkan Hardcore Collective—when was it founded, what void(s) were you looking to fill, what is its purpose, etc.?

I was looking at all these US/UK pages on Instagram and thinking how there is nothing similar for this part of the world and how it would be cool to have a hub where bands, music, shows and everything else that has to do with hardcore can be promoted in one place.

3. There’s definitely a difference between being into something and being an active participant. What made you want to take that jump?

Well, there is a story behind this - in my city we have a venue and I used to get drunk and cause problems and break things and whatever, fortunately they did not ban me but instead the president of the club, Tena, decided to get me busy and told me to organize a show, so I organized a show and that is how it all started - the bands that played were Killing Yield (Zagreb HC Punk), Odpisani (Slovenia HC Punk) along with Slovenia hardcore heavyweights Reach A.D. and metallic hardcore Survived By Nothing. Shout out to all these bands who are also my friends for making the first show special. With time, I started loving hardcore more and more and got more involved.

4. Tell us about the current merch drop—how can folks get it and what projects are the proceeds going to fund?

The current merch drop is the coolest one so far in my opinion. We have a usual Balkan Hardcore Collective design, a Balkans SXE design and a new Balkan HC Collective design with a map of the Balkans on a crosshair on the back with the text "TERRORIZING EUROPE SINCE FOREVER" - the idea is from the vocalist of Athens hardcore band Malignant, we were texting late at night and he came up with it. In my mind, this design is a nod to the problematic history of our region, also known as the powder keg of Europe - but also a nod to the stereotypical reputation people from the Balkans have in western Europe, many people out there call us criminals, thieves and whatever else.

I remember when I was working in Austria I was refused a haircut from a local barber because she said she "doesn't do Yugos" and another incident where an Italian guy said he "isn't a thief like you Balkan people." I did hear a lot more stupid shit in my life but it never really got to me that much - anyway I am not trying to shed a bad light on western Europe, these are stupid people and we have many of those over here, too, and I am glad to be able to say I have friends all over the world from the US to the UK, Japan, France and everywhere in the world else thanks to hardcore.

The proceeds are going into funding a Balkan hardcore cassette compilation, as well as a Balkan hardcore zine as well as some other things.

5. What further details can you provide without any spoilers about the compilation cassette and the zine?

It will feature 8 hardcore bands from the Balkans with 2 songs each, it is not going to be the last as we are going to release it through a new record label we are working on and it is our intention to make this and other stuff like that more often in the future. One of the bands that will be featured is Overpain - a heavy hardcore band from Salonika, Greece. I am trying to keep my mouth shut about all the other bands so this is all I will share but whoever knows Balkan hardcore can probably guess a few anyway.

6. I know it was a while ago now, but I think it was an important event more folks should be aware of. While Edge Day owes its roots to and is generally associated with Boston, it’s celebrated worldwide and there are shows across the globe to commemorate it. What were the highlights of the Novi Sad Edge Day in 2025?

It was the first time I X'd or X-ed up or whatever you call it, it was a very special show and one of the best DIY shows I have ever been on. The hightlight were the bands and the general community vibe, as getting to know many people from Balkan hardcore for the first time. Shout out to the organizers.

7. What are some recent releases from the Balkan region that you think are particularly good and people should check out?

1) Primitive Dread's (Macedonia hardcore) new single - "Nema Dno"
2) Reach AD's (Slovenia hardcore) last ever single - "Bound By Nothing"
3) Grinder's (Romania hardcore) new single "COMPLICIT"
4) Weaponized (Athens hardcore) new debut EP - Hell on Earth, a fresh new band and worth checking out

A few more worth mentioning is a new metalcore band from Sofia called "like june sky" and they also recently released their debut EP; also the new split EP by Belgrade hardcore bands Zastava and Ukor. That's as far back as I want to go right now but there have been many good releases in the past year.

8. For folks who may not be as aware of the “lay of the land” of the Balkan scene, would you be able to provide a brief snapshot of bands people should be paying attention to as well as any major figures and/or venues that are central to the scene?

Basically the strongest hardcore scene is in Bulgaria, with Romania close behind and then the other countries. Croatia and Slovenia are kind of falling behind with bands but we are working hard locally to get things going. There are good bands in every country, and lots of venues as well. Some of the biggest events of the year are: HC Xmass in December in Sofia, the most stacked Balkan hardcore fest, as well as Heavyweights and Mayday fest in Sofia. There are three decent festivals in Romania as well: Burning Bridges fest in Bucharest, Stomping Grounds in Cluj, and xbucharestx DIY fest in Bucharest. There is also a hardcore festival in Croatia called Moshfest which I am working on with two friends and it’s in its third edition this year. There are a few more but I  can't remember everything off the top of my head right now. Athens has a hardcore fest every year around the same time as HC Xmass organized by Apostolis from Worlds Appreciated Kitsch, as well as Salonika having some decent shows and fests in general. I am sorry for not mentioning every fest but I genuinely cannot remember everything off the top of my head. Hit me up if you are interested and I will find out for you.

9. How did you get into hardcore in the first place? What bands were your gateway?

There were a few bands I knew since childhood - Hatebreed, Sworn Enemy and Death Before Dishonor stick out. But I did not know what hardcore is. I think I listened to Sworn Enemy - "As Real As It Gets" as early as 6th grade of primary school so I guess I was 12? I remember playing Battlefield 2 and some guy was blasting it on voice chat, then I discovered Blank TV when looking for that song and also found some other bands.

I remember the Hatebreed music video for "Live for This" when I was in detention in school when I was in the last grade of primary school.

I never really went to shows until I was like 21 because I had no idea that I even like going to shows. I started going to local shows and there were always some metal or hardcore punk bands, never any real hardcore shows - over time as I became part of the "alternative community" I realized what hardcore is and started listening to more bands and did a deep dive, especially Terror and First Blood at the time were favorites, and eventually I went to my first hardcore show in 2023 (not that many happend in Croatia at the time tbh) and immediately fell in love with it. The band Reach A.D. played a show in Zagreb and a show in Slovenia the next day, and my friends and me followed them to both shows and that was it for me, I fell in love with hardcore and I felt like I finally found where I belong.

So yeah, three years later I have been all about hardcore music and culture. The more shows I went to and the more people I met, the more I loved it - and to this day my love for it keeps increasing.

10. If you were stranded on a desert island by yourself and could only have five albums with you to listen to, what would they be and why?

That is not easy to answer.

Outlaw Anthems by Blood for Blood
Watch Me Bleed by Missing link
Satisfaction Is The Death Of Desire by Hatebreed
Not Through Blood by Pain of Truth
Conditioned for Demolition for Haywire

11. Any shout-outs or last words for the readers?

[On July 10th] it will be the first anniversary of the page. One year of Balkan Hardcore Collective. Shout out to all my friends who have been there since day 1, and all those I met along the way. There have been bad times but also good times, I am glad most of us are still here for it.

It is also soon the first anniversary of the death of a close friend of mine, and whoever is reading this - whatever you are going through, it is temporary and it will pass, keep your head up and stay strong, you are meant to be here and you deserve to be loved and respected.

Thanks.