NAME: Last Witness
THEY ARE: Metallic Hardcore
FROM: London, UK
FOR FANS OF: Knuckledust, Slipknot, Shattered Realm
LATEST RELEASE: 'Give Up' (Thirty Days Of Night/Holy Roar/Purgatory Records)
SONGS TO CHECK OUT: 'The Void', 'Green Eyes', 'Dreamland Welcomes You'
WHERE TO FIND THEM: Facebook Tumblr

Since the release of their debut album 'An Unfinished Life' in 2009, Last Witness have been on the up and up. Despite an initial lull in proceedings between the demos and the first album coming out, the band have been making up for lost time, churning out 2010's 'Give Up' EP, playing everywhere that'll have them and selling an insane amount of t-shirts along the way. The band are set to release their new full length 'Mourning After' on February 20, so Terrorizer caught up with vocalist Theo Kindynis to find out more.

How did Last Witness get together?
"The band originally got together in early 2006 in Croydon when we were 17/18. We split up for around a year from 2008 with an unreleased album, but eventually decided to release it for free. It got a crazy reaction so we though "fuck it", got back together to play a few shows live and then we started writing again. The lineup has changed a fair amount of times since then but it's always been me, [Anthony] Sykes [guitar] and Bobby [Daniels, guitar]."

How would you describe your sound?
"I guess this is our take on early 2000's metalcore; the major discernible influences are probably bands like On Broken Wings and Shattered Realm. Obviously countless bands have sought to mimic that style so we're trying to do something a bit different and find our own sound which I think we've achieved with the new album."

What bands inspire you?
"When the band started we were all wide-eyed newcomers to the UK hardcore scene so we were inspired by bands like 50 Caliber, Knuckledust and Awoken. I guess now that we're a little older our inspirations have diversified to include other genres and media, but there's still heavy music that inspire us. The first band that comes to mind is Bring Me The Horizon; they've consistently outdone themselves and brought a host of new ideas to the table in the process. Seeing some of our friends bands like Your Demise play to literally thousands of people is definitely inspirational, andBrutality Will Prevail have been keeping us on our feet recently too."

What can we expect from Last Witness in 2012?
"We're going to carry on writing so we don't have a huge gap between Mourning After and the next record, and hopefully we're just going to play loads of shows and do some cool tours!"

What's it like being part of the UKHC scene right now?
"It's insane; every show we go to it seems like more kids are turning out and bands are getting better and better reactions. The UK has some truly exceptional bands right now: More Than Life, Dead Swans, Your Demise, Brutality Will Prevail, Basement, Breaking Point, Grader, Prowler, Landscapes, to name just a few, and it's exciting to see younger kids coming through and getting stoked on hardcore. Obviously the scene is way more accessible now with the rise of the social networking etc. which can only be a good thing. The only bad thing is clothing companies and energy drinks brands trying to hijack our subculture and sell it back to us - fuck that shit!"