This issue of Distort is about class warfare and cult hardcore. A piece about the origins of UK fanzine CLASS WAR by Bryony Beynon. Interviews with the new wave of cult Australian Hardcore: Prostate, Perspex, and Oily Boys. Plus a full color spread of fanclub t-shirt designs hand drawn during the pandemic by NYC’s Sam Ryser (Dripper World, Murderer, Crazy Spirit) and a chat with Sam. Cover artwork by Renee Jaeger. 40 pages, half size.Our take: The fifty-eighth issue of the long-running Australian zine Distort is out. I’ve been reading Distort for a long time (since close to the beginning I’m sure), and I’ve always admired this zine’s unique voice. Where a zine like My War takes a documentary approach to hardcore punk, DX at Distort (true to its name, I suppose) seems to delight in making things cryptic and slightly illegible, in keeping with his emphasis on what he calls “cult hardcore.” The band interviews are impressionistic and brief, but always leave me with a curiosity that sends me back to the music. This time around there’s a retrospective on the UK magazine Class War, interviews with Australian groups Prostate, Perspex, and Oily Boys, and (my favorite part of this issue) a feature on artist Sam Ryser about the one-of-a-kind band shirts he makes with magic markers. This piece includes color photos of the shirts along with Sam’s brief but interesting reflections on the pieces. Distort consistently pushes back against the rote and the conventional, and I’m always happy to see the current punk scene refracted through DX’s unique lens.
