Trapped Under Ice - Justice

JUSTICE: While the main purpose of our time off this summer was to spend time with our families, work, and do normal people stuff, we are still very much active as a band right now. We're currently working on a few new songs that we will demo out in early August, although that material might not be released for some time.

I think the tour accomplished exactly what it was supposed to: It attracted a lot of different people who check out bands they otherwise would have never. We definitely sold a lot of music and made a lot of new friends. I personally was skeptical about how a band like us would do on a tour like that, but it was more than a success.

We're planning a US tour starting directly from This is Hardcore Fest in Philly. I don't know if the line up for that has been announce yet so I shouldn't say anything. The tour is directed towards a more hardcore-friendly audience. That's always exciting for us. Hopefully, if everything goes to plan, we'll be seeing Europe and Japan this year as well.

The video was made by our friend Sean who played in another band with Brendan called ONE STEP TOO MANY. He's a smart guy, and we trusted him to do what he wanted. Of course he was open to any changes that we wanted made. The process was cool, a little different from your average hardcore show. FIRE and ICE and BRACEWAR both played normal sets. Then when it came time to film, we played \"Believe\" maybe 4 or 5 times total, with a few other songs thrown in. It was hot, for sure. I don't think I've even been to a hardcore show and not been hot. Sean had a legit ass film crew. People were great. It was a little too hectic at times, but I can't complain. Everyone is happy with the end result.

I hear the term \"family\" used a lot by record labels, but I don't think that's usually the case. With Reaper, we really are a family. We all talk to Patrick, who runs the label, almost daily, whether it be personal or band matters. It's huge to us. I love everything that Reaper Records represents, from the classic re-releases to investing a lot of effort into newer hardcore bands. We wouldn't be where we are without the label, and it will be a part of our band no matter what steps we take in the future.

MAXIMUM PENALTY! This band is so important to the development of hard music, and especially to TRAPPED UNDER ICE. The record \"Life and Times\" was without a doubt the best record released in 2009.

We're always writing. We write on the road, or any free time we have at home. Currently we have 5-6 new songs that were trying to perfect before we demo them out. We're not completely sure what we want to do with the songs yet, but were hoping to release another full length sometime in 2011. Maybe we'll do an EP or something beforehand? I love the feeling of writing music without any pressure at all. We don't have any deadline, just time to pinpoint exactly what sound we want to represent our band. It's always bummed me out when bands I'm into are like \"Here's some new shit\" and play the whole new record that they've written that I don't give a fuck about yet. Maybe we'll throw in just one new song to keep you on your toes, but nothing crazy.

For me, my favorite was seeing a DC band called THE AFTERMATH play a few songs with SET TO EXPLODE a couple weeks ago. Also, 86 MENTALITY did a song. Last summer we were in Europe with terror during the Black N Blue Bowl. Unfortunately I missed CROWN OF THORNZ. I would love nothing more than for them to do that again, only this time I'd like to see it happen.

I liked DEAD END PATH's demo a lot, although I like their new EP coming out a lot more. There's a new band from Baltimore called SACRED LOVE that just recently put out a very promising demo. rnThe new DEFTONES record that came out is so good. It's motivating for me to see a band still put out good music after so long of doing so. As far as the world of hardcore, I can't think of too many records that have done it for me. BITTER END is putting out a new record that I have heard, and it's fucking great. The new TERROR record, \"Keepers of the Faith\" has me excited to hear. Also, of course MADBALL is recording a new record. Be sure to check out all that. I'm heavily anticipating those releases.

I'm excited to attend any hardcore show. Since we took off most of this summer, I've been doing a lot of that. It's cool when you have no responsibilities but to have a good time.rnAs far as shows we're doing, I'm pumped on literally every show this summer. We play Black N Blue bowl with SUPERTOUCH, MADBALL, CRO-MAGS, SKARHEAD, and more. We're playing July 10th in DC with DAMNATION AD, STRIKING DISTANCE, and STOUT. \"Rainfest\" and \"Summer of Hate\" both have great line ups as well. This could be the coolest summer of my life.