Big Cheese is an English

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

band from

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

. They are a part of the

New Wave of British Hardcore Hardcore punk in the United Kingdom (often abbreviated as UKHC) began in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the second wave of punk rock in the country. The scene produced many successful and influential hardcore punk bands throughout the 1980s ...

. In an article for ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

'', Jimmy Wizard included their song "Rotter" in his "essential hardcore mixtape".

History

The band formed in 2016, when guitarist Maegan Brooks (who then-played in Rapture) and vocalist and then-bassist Tom "Razor" Hardwick (formerly of Obstruct, Fade, Violent Reaction and Shrapnel) began living together. After developing some of the songs Brooks had written, the pair decided to recruit Louis Hardy and Alex Wizard of fellow-Leeds hardcore band Higher Power to play guitar and drums, respectively. On 22 October 2017, they played a sold-out show at the

Camden Underworld Camden Underworld is a music venue in Camden Town, London, England. The venue is a part of the World's End pub, situated in the basement of the building. It has a capacity of 500 people. History Over the years The Underworld has become t ...

with

Trapped Under Ice Trapped Under Ice is an American hardcore punk band from Baltimore, Maryland that was formed in 2007. Since then they have released an EP and three full-length albums. Taking influence from New York hardcore, the band has toured all over the wor ...

, Higher Power, King Nine and Chamber. As soon as they began playing live, Hardwicke handed bass duties over to Anthony Wheatley (formerly of Sheffield hardcore band the Pact). In June 2018, they played

Outbreak Festival Outbreak Festival is an English hardcore punk festival and concert promotion company founded by Jordan Coupland and Lee Follows in 2011. Beginning at the Broomhall Centre in Sheffield, the festival has moved between a number of different venues ...

in Leeds. In August they toured Europe with Illusion of New York. In October, they opened for

Turnstile A turnstile (also called a gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce One-way traffic#One-way traffic of people, one-way ...

on their UK headline tour. On 17 April 2019, they released ''Don't Forget To Tell The World'', a compilation of all their material released up to that point through Painkiller Records. This included their EP ''Aggravated Mopery'' and live tape from a NWOBHCFM Radio session. On 21 July, they opened for

Have Heart Have Heart were an American straight edge hardcore punk band formed in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 2002. The band recorded a demo that was released in 2003. In 2004, they released the ''What Counts'' EP ( Think Fast! Records), with their deb ...

on their reunion run at the

Stylus A stylus is a writing utensil or tool for scribing or marking into softer materials. Different styluses were used to write in cuneiform by pressing into wet clay, and to scribe or carve into a wax tablet. Very hard styluses are also used to En ...

in Leeds. In June and early-August, they began a European headline tour with Mere Mortal, followed by a European tour with

Culture Abuse Culture Abuse was an American rock band from San Francisco that was active from 2013 to 2020. History The band formed in San Francisco in 2013. The band released two full-length albums. The first album, titled ''Peach'', was released in 2016 ...

and Short Sharp Shock hosted by

Vans Vans (originally called the Van Doren Rubber Company) is an American apparel, accessories, and skateboarding shoes brand, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and ...

. In October, they announced that they would be entering the studio to record their debut studio album ''Punishment Park''. They released their first single from the album on 3 December 2019, titled "Write-Off". On 8 October 2021, they released the three track EP ''Anymore for Anymore''.

Musical style

Big Cheese play

. Their music is influenced by

New York hardcore New York hardcore (also known as NYHC) is both the hardcore punk music created in New York City and the subculture and lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle associated with that music. The scene established many aspects that are fixtures of hardcore ...

bands like

Warzone War zone or warzone may refer to a zone of war, or to: Film and television * ''The War Zone'', a 1999 film starring Ray Winstone * ''War Zone'' (film), a 1998 documentary about street harassment directed by Maggie Hadleigh-West * "War Zone" ('' ...

, Killing Time,

Leeway Leeway is the amount of drift motion to leeward of an object floating in the water caused by the component of the wind vector that is perpendicular to the object’s forward motion.Bowditch. (1995). The American Practical Navigator. Pub. No. 9. 1 ...

, Breakdown,

Madball Madball is an American New York hardcore band. Originated in the late 1980s as a side project of Agnostic Front, the band developed after Agnostic Front's vocalist Roger Miret would let his younger half-brother Freddy Cricien take the micro ...

, Rest in Pieces,

Sick of It All Sick of It All is an American hardcore punk band formed in 1986 in Queens, New York City. The band's lineup consists of brothers Lou and Pete Koller on lead vocals and guitars respectively, Armand Majidi on drums, and Craig Setari on bass. Sic ...

and

Crumbsuckers Crumbsuckers were an American crossover thrash band formed by bass player Gary Meskil in 1982 in Baldwin, Nassau County, New York. Crumbsuckers combined Thrash metal, thrash and hardcore punk sounds and themes, making an impact on the scene w ...

in addition to UK bands like

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

Charged GBH GBH (originally known as Charged GBH) are an English punk rock band which was formed in 1978 by vocalist Colin Abrahall, guitarist Colin "Jock" Blyth, bassist Sean McCarthy (replaced by Ross Lomas after two years) and drummer Andy "Wilf" Willi ...

, Ripcord and Voorhees. They often make use of drums grooves and metallic riffs. Author Freddie Alva described their debut album as "a love letter to the NYHC sound during the late 1980s". In an article for Hard Noise, writer Fred Pessaro described their style as "Melding Breakdown metallic brutality and Warzone-y groove".

Members

*Tom "Razor" Hardwick – lead vocals (2016–present), bass (2016, 2019) *Louis Hardy – guitar (2016–present) *Meg Mills – guitar (2016–present) *Joe Sam Williams – bass (2019–present) *Alex Wizard – drums (2016–present) ;Former members *Anthony Wheatley - bass (2016–2019)

Discography

;Studio albums *''Punishment Park'' (2020) ;EPs *''Aggravated Mopery'' (2017) *''Anymore for Anymore'' (2021) ;Demos *''Sports Day'' (2016) *''Tower To The Sun'' (2018) ;Compilations *''Don't Forget To Tell The World'' (2019)

References

{{reflist, 30em Musical groups established in 2016 English musical quintets Hardcore punk groups from Leeds Straight edge groups Underground punk scene in the United Kingdom 2016 establishments in England