Interview: Winnipeg Sun July 24/2003

Playing Politics: Local grindcore gods Malefaction fight the power on their new CD
By Rob Williams

A lot of extreme music is devoid of political thought. But for Malefaction, there would be no music without a message.

"We could play pop-punk and have a larger fan base possibly," admits vocalist Travis Tomchuk. "But the metal scene is almost totally apolitical anyway - and I think we need to be there so there is a political voice in a genre devoid of that kind of content," says Tomchuk.

Malefaction have been blasting out extreme grindcore since 1991, when Tomchuk and guitarist Clint Chiarella hooked up. The line-up has remained the same for the past seven years, ever since drummer Cory Koss and bassist Mike Klassen completed the line-up.

Over the years, the band has been destroying the ears of local music fans and become one of the heaviest, tightest and live acts in Winnipeg. Tomorrow, they take another step forward with the release of their fourth album, Where There Is Power There Is Always Resistance. The album is their second for local activist label G7 Welcoming Committee and was produced by Propagandhi's Chris Hannah.

The majority of the 14 tracks on the CD deal with a number of post-9/11 issues - government corruption, human rights violations, war, racial profiling, oppression and individuality.

"I think most of the record is about the last couple of years, and I think it's almost like a concept album," says Tomchuk, who split lyrical duties with Klassen.

While topics like geo-politics and the struggle against fascism aren't exactly typical rock lyric fare, for Tomchuk, they're a natural extension of his life and belief system. Currently working toward his masters degree in Canadian labour history at the University of Manitoba, the singer believes everyone can make a difference if they have a goal and start working towards achieving it. For instance, he cites grassroots efforts that spurred recent changes to same-sex marriage legislation in Ontario and British Columbia.

"People have been working for that for years and look what happened," he says.