Forming in 2020 and featuring members of Wardomized, Cursed Sun and Neamhní, Frayed Ends BC have been tearing up stages and eardrums with their brutal form of Belfast City Hardcore (BCHC), with a recent gig in Mandela Hall going down in legend.
With a debut LP due out next year, it was time to speak to the guys in the band about their history, their intentions and their passions.
Please introduce yourselves.
Steve Martin: Hey Chris, we’re Frayed Ends BC and we play hardcore with elements from the old school to the new. We take influence from so many different types of music and the lyrical themes typically revolve around personal struggle, social injustice and observations about the state of the world today.
When did Frayed Ends form and what did you want to do differently from other bands you had been in?
SM: Frayed Ends started over lockdown by Eddie and Robbie (guitars but drums at the time) with the intention of putting a bunch of songs together to have their friend’s guest on. By the end of summer 2022 the first live lineup for the band had come together and we set about writing the first full on EP, Strive.
The main thing was to take our experience from the various bands we’d been in and use it to avoid making common mistakes as well as writing music that we found interesting more than anything else. We don’t really limit ourselves to just straight hardcore because you’ll notice elements of death metal, crust and everything in between in our material.
Your first gig was supporting Unsane. What was that like?
SM: Unsane flew by in the blink of an eye. It’s always the same when you’re debuting though and it’s typically the biggest learning experience for a band. What songs worked, what ones didn’t, what did we enjoy playing, what can we do better etc. It’s always good to do your first show to a decent crowd because it really helps gauge the reactions to the material as well.
Please elaborate on the concept of BCHC and how is it different from what has come before?
SM: BCHC hasn’t ever really went away to be honest, but I think it’s fair to say that it’s having a bit of a moment right now. There were bands doing this way before we did like Spittin’ Teeth, By Any Means and on the more punk influenced side Divisions, 1000 Drunken Nights and countless more.
There’s always been D-Beat in Belfast’s veins though and parts of our music reflect and pay nods to that, and with that inherently comes the urge to be on the right side of politics. Whether it’s standing against genocide, defending women’s rights, addressing the homeless crisis, living with Autism and ADHD or speaking out in support of victims of racial abuse we find it important to use our platform to stand up for those who need it and that tends to go hand in hand with our friends in the scene too.
I’d say overall that the hardcore sound is a little more modern now but that just comes naturally with time. We also have more active hardcore bands in Belfast now than any time in recent memory and they all have a unique flavour to them whether it’s groove, melody or outright heaviness.
You recently recorded your debut album ‘Nothing at All’ in Dundalk. Tell us about the recording process, what we can expect and what guests you have on it.
SM: The process was a trip for sure. We wrote it all by the start of the year and had planned on doing a very DIY affair for the record but that’s just not how it worked out. The short version is that we were approached on Instagram by a publisher / producer from San Diego who believed in what we were trying to achieve and wanted to make a record that would be able to go toe to toe with any major release coming out at the moment. We didn’t really believe it at the time, but we soon realised he was the real deal.
The studio was called Black Mountain Studios in Dundalk. We didn’t know it at the time, but a lot of the equipment was provided by one of Muse’s touring sound techs. It was engineered by Scott Halliday who was at one point the guitar tech for Prince. It’s a weird combination on paper but we’re very happy with how it sounds because it’s all organic feeling. We played all the instruments in a kitted-out barn in front of each other with the amps in the room next door so there’s a real live feel to how it and the vocals were done when we had music takes in the bag. The cherry on top was getting it mastered by Anthony Burke (Burke’s Dungeon) in New York who has put out some of the best modern hardcore doing the rounds at the moment. His finishing touches really added another element to the sonic puzzle.
The guests are something we’re really proud of. We got some of our friends here on the record like Paddy from If It Bleeds, Kalem from Lost to Life and Brian Harrington that did his time with Jenova and Congenital Abnormalities. Over the next while though we were lucky enough to have Pelbu from Knuckledust and Jay from Bayway guest on the record which was pretty mind blowing.
Supporting acts like Fentanyl, Ratos de Porao and If It Bleeds must be one hell of a buzz. How would you describe it to someone?
SM: Honestly? It’s a privilege. Ratos are one of Eddie’s favourite bands on the planet so that one was really special. Fentanyl are doing some amazing work at the moment and hanging out with them, chatting about their experience on the road and soaking that up was great as well.
I think we all agree though that doing Mandela Hall on the big stage with our friends If It Bleeds and Shortest Straw really felt like a turning point for us. Proving that Belfast Hardcore deserves to be on a big stage and seeing a great turnout full of people having a great night is as humbling as it is exciting. It’s kind of like how athletes talk about that “big match energy” but the second you get up there the instincts kick in and you just get to work.
When is the album due to be released and will you be putting it out yourself?
Eddie Cross: We were planning on releasing at the end of this year, but we were forwarded to Blackout Record’s in New York who are interested in helping to release it digitally. The first single/music video Disowned however is gonna be released in January. So, it’s been pushed back a bit but all in good reason.
Are there plans for touring on the back of this?
EC: We have a couple of Belfast shows to support the album already in place, but we have been planning to approach booking agents to help us with bringing the album shows overseas. Next summer is shaping up good we have an appearance on the DIY stage at Tolminator 2026 in Slovenia being announced soon and an appearance at Cramond Festival in Scotland being announced next year.
With punk in NI nearly reaching the half-century mark, it’s been a fascinating journey seeing how the scene has changed, sonically and attitude wise. Who would be your top 5 GOATS of Belfast punk/hardcore and who would be your top 5 of current bands?
EC: GOATS:
Deathgrip, By Any Means, 1000 Drunken Nights, Lawfucker, Running Riot. If we are gonna say Dublin for our hardcore influences I’d say Lost to Life, Bitter Pill, Strong Boys, Goon and Frustration.
Current:
Rats Breath. Embrace Execution, Takers and Users, If It Bleeds, Adrenochrome and I just have to throw Rant in there too as a bonus.
Frayed BC will release their debut album ‘Nothing At All’ later in 2026.
You can catch them live at the Oh Yeah Music Centre on Wednesday 11 February 2026, playing Enough is Enough, an ALL AGES show with all proceeds going towards the The Sophie Lancaster Foundation.
