Fil-Italian hardcore crew, the Seeker, releases split record

Fil-Italian hardcore crew, the Seeker, releases split record

by rick olivares

Filipino-Italian hardcore punk band The Seeker recently released a split record with German power violence crew, Arno X Duebel. The Seeker’s split side of the record is titled, Parusa, and follows the heels of last year’s blistering album, Malaya.

The opening track, “#SleepTonightRevolutionTomorrow”, begins with the line, “What do you like in music? I like fast music.”

And the Seeker delivers the pain all right. Parusa features seven songs all performed in breakneck speed. The carnage all over in four minutes and 45 seconds.

It just doesn’t end there. The album cover is striking and features an old photograph of a man being tortured with a garrote perhaps dating back to the Philippine-American War.

The Milan-based the Seeker is composed of Filipinos Michael Dee on guitar and Eddu Jan Lapitan on bass. Andrea Covaz, the drummer, is Italian while their vocalist, Dominik Dominak, hails from Slovakia.

“We were on tour when we met these awesome German lads,” said Dee who founded the band. “Arno X Deubel opened for us in Berlin and after that packed show, we got heavily drunk and the magic just happened. A split record was proposed and we said yes.”

Dee describes Parusa as being “Faster and more chaotic.” As for the Filipino titles of their records, the guitarist says the rest of the band doesn’t mind. “The language may be different, but the message is the same,” clarifies Dee. “We all think and feel along the same lines. We all strongly believe in it.”

The band doesn’t shy away from politics in their native Italy or even across their borders. Their songs rail against fascism, corruption, and injustice. In fact, one of their songs on last year’s Malaya railed against extra-judicial killings in the Philippines.

As for his home country, according to Dee, the Seeker has Southeast Asia and the Philippines on its tour radar. However, they need to work on logistics to make it happen. Said Dee, “Maybe in a year or so we can perform in the Philippines.”

The split record was funded by the Philippines’ very own underground label, Delusion of Terror, Germany’s Knochen Tapes, and Italy’s Here and Now Records as well as Zas Autoproduzioni Records.