Schizma

Throughout the years, the Polish hardcore punk scene has seen many interesting and important bands, but Schizma is without a doubt one of the most important ones. Hailing from Bydgoszcz, this band’s career spans over three decades filled to the brim with a hardcore that’s rabid, often fast and saturated with thickly suppressed riffs. To complete the package, there’s also the disappointment with the world (a constant for the sources of worry never seem to dissipate) and the propagation of tolerance and open-mindedness while they’re on stage. It’s hard not to love these guys.

History:

Founded in 1990 in Bydgoszcz, Schizma came to be as an offshoot of Kompania Karma whose bandmembers wanted to pursue the more aggressive and direct forms of expression typical for the punk rock aesthetic. From the earliest years (that is, the very first demo and the debut album “Energii” released two years later, in 1994), the band took a hardline approach to hardcore – their sound was fast, heavy, and as dense as possible.

Intense music came hand in hand with intense topics and the views proclaimed by the band permeated the band’s live performances, which were full of love towards the listener and simultaneously vivacious and aggressive. People also outside of the hardcore scene took notice of that, for in 1997 Schizma contributed to the first disc of the now cult compilation album “Muzyka przeciwko rasizmowi” (Eng. Music Against Racism). In the following years, the band toured intensely across Poland (and beyond), performing whenever and wherever they got the chance, and the subsequent records gradually built them an iron-willed fanbase, both among the young and the veteran punks.

Nevertheless, after releasing “Whatever It Takes, Whatever It Wrecks” in 2010, the band took a prolonged break from recording, only to come back in 2023 with Upadek released via Piranha Music. Schizma’s latest album was warmly received by the reviewers and the band easily filled out venues during the promotional concerts for the album.

Discography:

Studio albums:

Energia, 1994
Miejskie Depresje, 1995
Pod naciskiem, 1997
Unity 2000, 1998
State Of Mind, 2001
XIII, 2004
Hardcore Enemies, 2006
Whatever It Takes Whatever It Wrecks, 2010
Upadek, 2023

EPs:

Ostatnia odsłona, 1992
Voices, 1996
All But Hearts, 2001
Dla was, 2013
O nas, 2017
Nie Mam Czasu, 2022

Demos:

Ostatnia odsłona, 1992

Singles:

Coraz dalej, 2023
Tylko i aż tyle, 2023
Patologia, 2023

Splits:

Schizma / Tears of Frustration, 2000 (z Tears of Frustration)
International Chataigne, 2006 (z L’ Espirit du Clan)

Live albums:

Live in Toruń, 1991
Live, 1996