How did I get into hardcore? It was 1995, I was 14 and heavily into rave and hard trance. That sound swept through Germany, it was essentially mainstream—much more popular than trance or house is now. Hardcore was a part of it, but unlike the happy rave sounds, it was boycotted by the TV and radio stations (which unlike today were the main source for new sounds.) I asked my rave friends about hardcore, and most said two things: “Good for dancing, not so good for listening” and “Terrordrome is better than Thunderdome”.
Then, one night the following happened. MTV’s Party Zone was on. Some guys I’ve never heard of—Alec Empire and others—were talking about a label I never heard of, Digital Hardcore Recordings. They played the video for Atari Teenage Riot’s “Speed”, which took place inside a squat. I instantly knew that was where I’ve always wanted to be, and the sound I’ve always wanted to hear. There was no return.

A few months later, I got internet, and found out more about this DHR. The DHR webpage mentioned labels like Fischkopf, Napalm, GTI, and Bloody Fist. I was thrilled. Fischkopf was a hardcore label in the city I lived in! How exciting.

I was 15 by this point, and and started to learn more about the gabber side of things. I learned that Mokum was one of the most respected gabber labels around, so I bought Cyberdrome Alien City Part 1, one of their compilations. It introduced me to artists like Wavelan, Speedfreak, and Chosen Few. I knew now hardcore was the thing for me. The next compilation I bought was Thunderdome 12, and then Industrial Fucking Strength. That one really hit me hard. When DJ Skinhead came on, I was legitimately frightened . I had to take the CD out of the player before it was finished!

More compilations followed, and I became lost to hardcore and gabber. I finally picked up something by DHR—Alec Empire’s Destroyer Album. I was surprised how “dark” it sounded compared to the more upbeat Mokum and Ruffneck stuff I listened to. It took me six months before that album really grew on me.

I found out Fischkopf was run out of a techno store in Hamburg called Container Records. I headed there, went up the stairs to the store, and entered paradise! A wall with “hardcore” written on it (next to some fancy skulls) and full of underground hardcore CDs. The full section of hardcore vinyl was categorized by labels, sublabels, and in the case of Fischkopf, even by releases (one folder full of Fischkopf 12, for example). I bought Ec8or’s self-titled album and a Fucking Hardcore 5 CD. The former, again, took a while to grow on me. The first vinyl I bought was Fisch 14, Eradicator’s Agit Prop LP. When I heard the first track on it—with the “everything is war” intro—I fell in love.

So that’s how I got lost in hardcore.