Big Cheese is an English

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band from

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

. 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 available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

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

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 Higher Power is a term used in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other twelve-step programs. The same groups use the phrase "a power greater than ourselves" synonymously. The term sometimes refers to a supreme being or deity, or other conceptions of G ...

to play guitar and drums, respectively. On 22 October 2017, they played a sold-out show 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 the ...

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

Turnstile A turnstile (also called a turnpike, 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 human traffic. In addition, a t ...

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 was 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 debut ...

on their reunion run at the

Stylus A stylus (plural styli or styluses) is a writing utensil or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example, in pottery. It can also be a computer accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing more precision w ...

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, originally hailing from San Francisco. The band released two full-length albums. The first album, titled ''Peach'', was released in 2016 on 6131 Records. In 2018, Culture Abuse signed to Epitaph Records an ...

and Short Sharp Shock hosted by

Vans Vans is an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross teams. From 1996 to 2019, the comp ...

. 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

and

heavy hardcore Beatdown hardcore (also known as heavy hardcore, brutal hardcore, toughguy, moshcore, or simply beatdown) is a subgenre of hardcore punk with prominent elements of heavy metal. Beatdown hardcore features aggressive vocals, down-tuned electric ...

. 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. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Wa ...

bands like Warzone, 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. ...

Breakdown Breakdown may refer to: Breaking down *Breakdown (vehicle), failure of a motor vehicle in such a way that it cannot be operated *Chemical decomposition, also called chemical breakdown, the breakdown of a substance into simpler components *Decompo ...

Madball Madball is an American New York hardcore band formed in New York City, that originated in the late 1980s as a side project of Agnostic Front. The band developed after Agnostic Front's front man Roger Miret would let his younger half-brother Fr ...

, 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. Sick ...

and

Crumbsuckers Crumbsuckers was an American crossover thrash band formed by bass player Gary Meskil in 1982, in Baldwin, Nassau County, New York. Crumbsuckers combined thrash and hardcore punk sounds and themes, making an impact on the scene with their 1986 ...

in addition to UK bands like

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

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" Wil ...

, Ripcord and Voorhees. They often make use of drums grooves and

metallic Metallic may be a reference to: *Metal *Metalloid, metal-like substance *Metallic bonding, type of chemical bonding *Metallicity, in astronomy the proportion of elements other than helium and hydrogen in an object *Metallic color, a color that g ...

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 (2016–2017) *Louis Hardy – guitar (2016–present) *Maegan Brooks – guitar (2016–present) *Joe 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 Musical quintets Hardcore punk groups from Leeds Straight edge groups Underground punk scene in the United Kingdom 2016 establishments in England