On their new EP, ‘Diagnosed’, tech metal bruisers Borders deliver a short but abrupt mix of djent riffs, unrelenting vocals and blasting drums. Lyrically, the quartet take on various issues; mental health, corruption, media manipulation and pharmaceutical companies, with complete conviction. It’s 18 minutes of vicious and raw metal that sees Borders embrace a sinister side to their sound.
With a rising profile within the tech metal community, we asked the band about their hometown of Lincoln. The cathedral city in the East Midlands has its roots in the industrial sector, and more recently, for its tourism. The Christmas market, Lincoln Castle and Lincoln Cathedral are just some of the attractions the city is known for. While its football team, Lincoln City, has just been promoted back to the Football League.
Borders told us about Lincoln’s music scene, how the city has influenced them and more.
The City:
We are from Lincoln. Well we are the proud hosts of the sausage festival, it doesn’t get much better than a Lincolnshire sausage roll!
Its People and Culture:
It’s most well known for its incredible cathedral and deep history surrounding it. The people are probably known as typical Northerners! Cobs, ‘duck’ and farming.
The Music It Inspires:
Because it’s seen as a Northern, more working-class city, there is a lot of rebellious music like punk and rock/metal. The genres which give people a voice when they are angry about the way the world is ran.
The Local Music Scene:
Lincoln is a punk city. Punk bands still play all the time, even after the popularity of the scene has died down somewhat.
Its Most Famous Musical Sons and Daughters:
Lincoln has given birth to Blood Youth (Ed Note: via Harrogate) who are just plain awesome. All great guys and we see them around occasionally.
The Venues We Visited:
We grew up at The Duke of Wellington. It was a really great venue which always put on upcoming bands, they even had Bring Me the Horizon and Biffy Clyro there before they took off. Unfortunately, its now closed and there isn’t much of a venue for upcoming bands in the area.
The Venues We Played:
The Engine Shed’s platform. It really helped us to connect with the student scene in the city, as the venue is on the campus. Having access to that audience really helped us spread the word.
The Influence Home Has on Our Songs:
We would probably write something with a nostalgic feel. Lincoln is where some of us grew up, and with people moving away and times changing, it’s a rather melancholy feeling when you look back. It’s a small city with a tight-knit community so you tend to know most people around, you can make a lot of friends and that would definitely be a strong theme of the song.
‘Diagnosed’ EP by Borders is out now.
