FOR a band with a relatively short history, Hacktivist have already come a long way.The five piece’s fusion of metal, grime, hardcore and hip-hop has created a sound that has already helped them cross genres and reach a growing audience.Now they are celebrating with the release of a mini-album to coincide with their first full UK headline tour (with special guests The Algorithm), which brings them to Rock City, in Nottingham, on December 5.The ‘EP’ release collects and remasters their debut mini CD (which quickly sold out) and adds bonus tracks.Bass player Josh Gurner says: “When it first came out it almost did too well. We were a new band so did a limited press which had sold out within 30 days. Which means we have had no CDs to sell for six months.“We were astounded at the response of people coming to see us live or hearing about us.”Hacktivist hail from Milton Keynes which Josh says is a ‘fairlrly boring place’.Although only formed in 2011 the band members all knew each other from the local music scene and almost inevitably came together.Hacktivist’s music is a mix of all their influences and is hard to pigeonole.Josh says: “People ask what genre we would put ourselves in but we say that you have to listen and form your own opinion. We always wanted to progress beyond just the metal scene and hit the heights of bands like The Prodigy.”Hacktivist’s growing following is latching onto the fact that they are a bit different.This summer’s Download was one of a string of festivals that grew that fanbase.Josh says: “It was the highlight of all of our careers. The Download set was amazing.“We got to hang out with Limp Bizkit and a few other guys.“There were so many faces we have grown up knowing and suddenly we were in these backstage areas with them - you are sharing toilets with your childhood heroes. It’s very surreal.“We made a good impression at the festivals and they covered a diverse range. Download is a world capital of metal and getting to play there we knew we would have a solid following.“But there were some small festivals where we were sitting next to ska bands or appearing after chilled out electronica and thinking ‘we are on in 10 minutes, are they going to want to get up and have a bounce?’ - but suprisingly they did.”The band is now planning to write as much of their debut abum as possible over Christmas before heading to a music festival in Australia in February then it’s back to the UK for more gigs.The new mini album and tour details are available by visiting the band’s website at www. hactivist.uk.com.
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