Whether it’s the onslaught of “Born From Pain,” the violent bounce in the opening riff of “Deliverance,” or lead singer Karl Buechner’s poignant lyrics about animal mistreatment, everyone who listens to Earth Crisis’ Destroy the Machines remembers it. Now, 20 years later, Earth Crisis is poised to reinvigorate the masses with their latest EP The Discipline. For this release, the Vegan Straight Edge crusaders re-recorded two songs from their classic 1995 release and two previously unreleased demo tracks. I had the pleasure of chopping it up with guitarist Scott Crouse a out The Discipline, Destroy the Machines, and of course – Vegan Straight Edge.

Every song on Destroy the Machines is timeless. How did you decide which two songs to re-record for The Discipline 7 inch?

It really came down to picking an anthem for each of the main focuses of this band, Straight Edge and Veganism. We realize we have beat people over the head with those topics, but that is who we are, and it made sense for us to choose two songs that really drove those points home the best. Also, we felt like The Discipline and New Ethic were still pretty relevant musically.

You’re also including two demo tracks on the 7 inch. What are those songs about and when did you first write them?

Those songs were written around the same time as the Firestorm EP, I’d say 1992, and were included on the original 8 song demo we recorded that helped us get signed to Victory Records. From what I can tell Behind The Mask is a song about feeling let down, and betrayed, by someone once viewed as a comrade. Time Of Strife, I think the title sums up. It’s about a world that seems to be going mad.

It definitely takes discipline to maintain the vegan straight-edge lifestyle that Earth Crisis does. How have you and the band been able to uphold those values in today’s consumer driven world?

It’s not hard for us because we truly believe this way of life is best for ourselves, our families, animals, and the environment. I believe whole heartedly that the reason we have had the success we have is because this ideology is real to us, and we have conveyed honesty and integrity through our music. There is no catering to an audience with us, we have worked from the heart and I believe it shows in everything that we have done.

I was only eleven when Destroy the Machines came out, so needless to say, I had no idea what hardcore was at that time. However, from all the research I’ve done, I can’t find any bands that promoted Vegan Straight Edge like EC did. How much resistance to your message did the band face back then?

I believe we were the first band to use the term Vegan Straight Edge. There were bands like Vegan Reich, Raid, Statement, but they were operating under the Hardline title, and that was an ideology that we couldn’t 100% support. Before we completely understood what Hardline was all about, we had talked with the record label about releasing something for us. Of course, that discussion branded us early on as a Hardline band, so we were met with a lot of resistance in certain circles. Most of the, what I call “let’s all be friends,” straight edge bands had a problem with us. We were also much to metal sounding for the Straight Edge scene of the time, so we got a lot of attitude about that as well. I think overall people were confused by us at first, we didn’t really fit a mold so no one really knew what to do with us.

I decided to go vegetarian because of Destroy the Machines, and a number of other people have followed similar paths because of your music. Did you ever think EC and Destroy the Machines would have the impact it has?

I think we hoped it would light a fire, but I think that fire exceeded even what we expected. To me, Karl writes the best lyrics in hardcore, and the lyrics on Destroy the Machines are rock solid testaments to animal, earth, and human liberation struggles. The way they are written is very hard to argue against. I think if that album is someones first glimpse into those realities, you’re going to be thinking about those words days later like it or not, and that was absolutely his intentions.

Musically, Destroy the Machines has had a major impact on the hardcore and metal scenes. Did you realize the influence that record would have on countless bands?

We get credited often for creating “metalcore,” but I’m not sure that’s fair. We were not very influenced by hardcore at all. We were drawing influence from bands like Corrosion of Conformity’s Blind album. Believer, Carcass and Slayer. The most hardcore influence around us at that time was the band Conviction, and they were very outside the realm of hardcore themselves. It was really just us injecting those more metal elements into a scene that wasn’t very familiar with them, so I think it seemed like we created something. I guess other bands liked what they heard and tried their version. There were a few bands doing that already though. Overcast from Boston was extremely metal influenced hardcore. Zero Tolerance from Buffalo was also a huge influence on us at the time.

How do you think the hardcore and metal scenes have changed since 1995 when Destroy the Machines was first released?

I think around 1997-1998 is when every show started having 5 bands on the bill that all sounded identical. Before that you’d have a band like Burn play with Turning Point and Supertouch. All very different sounding bands, but it made for a great show. Even our early tours, Earth Crisis, Snapcase and Strife, all very different sounding bands. It wasn’t all so 1 dimensional. Nothing seems heavy anymore after 5 bands in one night are all doing the same routine.

How has Earth Crisis as a band changed since the release of Destroy the Machines?

Sadly, not that much at all. It’s the same ideas, the same old jokes, but it’s all still a good time so we keep at it.

Why do you think Destroy the Machines has stood the test of time?

I mentioned this earlier, but I think it’s because it’s honest. The lyrics are coming from a very real place, and so is the music. It wasn’t written to try and achieve fame, it was written out of true frustration and disgust for what we view, still to this day, as some of the biggest pitfalls of humanity.

What does the future hold in store for Earth Crisis?

Honestly, we don’t really have much of a plan. We enjoy playing still, and we still have a good time together, so we just do things when it makes sense for us right now.

Lastly, I want to thank you for your time and for putting out some great music. Earth Crisis was one of the first hardcore bands I ever got into and because of that your band will always be special to me.

Thank you very much, and it’s honestly an honor when someone credits us for influencing them to go vegetarian. That’s always been our focus, and knowing that we accomplished that a few times, really makes us feel like our years of riding around in a van were well spent ones.