Spanish hardcore band Teething to sink their teeth into Manila

Spanish hardcore band Teething to sink their teeth into Manila

by rick olivares

The hype sticker on Spanish hardcore band Teething’s first full length album, We Will Regret This Someday says, "Spain's Most Obnoxious Cratediggers." 

So much for promoting a song. Let it be known that Teething has not lost their collective sense of humor. Yet, it is both a nod to hip hop DJs who coined the term “cratediggers” and the members of Teething’s mania for digging for vinyl in shops everywhere.

And the band has been rather prolific releasing 11 different extended play records in the past seven years. And later this year when Teething hits Manila, Filipino fans will get their first taste of this band’s brand of pummeling and crunching hardcore/grindcore/power violence. 

Furthermore, it will be a triumphant homecoming for the quartet’s vocalist, Luis.

“My mother, who is not with us anymore, is Filipino and my father is Spanish,” bared Luis. “I was born in Manila and lived here for a bit then briefly stayed in Taiwan. Eventually, we moved to Madrid, Spain. But I try to visit as often as possible, especially since I have a lot of family who I dearly love here.” 

Luis discovered the music of Metallica, Soundgarden, Korn, and Corrosion of Conformity from an older brother. When he hit 15 years of age, he discovered hardcore punk and all its sub-genres. “There was no turning back for me at that point,” Luis said of his musical epiphany.

Teething was formed by Luis, guitarist Antonio, drummer Alvaro, and bassist David, who all had similar interests, goals, and tastes in music. “We knew each other from our previous hardcore bands so we knew we could play our instruments hard. That is how we got started,” related Luis of Teething’s origins.

“Teething is actually a stupid name,” admitted the Fil-Spanish vocalist who also designs the band’s album artwork and merchandise. The band’s album art and merchandise – done old school cut and paste -- are an integral part of the band’s identity. 

“We needed a name quick as we had our first show booked three months in. The whole visual aspect of the band – our mascot Ralph (who is like British heavy metal band Iron Maiden’s rotting corpse mascot, Eddie) with rotting teeth was born after choosing the name. It was like an accident waiting to happen.”

However, it is no accident that the band’s songs feature a lot of references to the Philippines if not make use of Filipino words. Songs such as “Filipino Violence” on We Will Regret This Someday, and “God Has Forgotten the Children of Manila” and “White Cross Impyerno” on their latest EP, The Night We Regret.

“All Teething songs are 100% autobiographical,” noted Luis. “The tunes are listed as regrets instead of tracks because I like to walk on thin ice with my lyrics. I speak my thoughts which has gotten me into to trouble before. I make a conscious effort to always leave the studio thinking, “Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.”

To date, Teething has toured Europe five times. The upcoming tour of Southeast Asia is being planned along with local promotions outfit, Sleeping Boy Collective.

Summed up an excited Luis, “We have toured outside Spain many times and we’ve been all over Europe five times. It’s time to finally go to Southeast Asia, this is in the works as we speak.”

When that homecoming finally happens, Luis says his family – aunts and uncles as well – will join the mayhem in the mosh pit. 

It will be one heckuva homecoming.