Few bands possess a thematic core as focused, powerful or startlingly true as Regional Justice Center. The L.A. powerviolence four-piece were created by Ian Shelton (now of Militarie Gun fame) as a response to the incarceration of his brother Max Hellesto. Across the eight years Max spent inside, during which he was in constant communication with Ian (his voice appears across the band’s previous full-length Crime and Punishment) the ferocious project served as means to excoriate the penal system, whilst also digging into the brothers’ past and using these themes as philosophical springboards for visceral existential musings.
While RJC are, on paper, a powerviolence band through-and-through, you get the sense that, rather than utilizing the howling intensity and short, sharp aggression of the genre for just blunt-force mosh worship, the band’s approach arises from deeply real wells of emotion that materialize as potent bursts of heaviness. See the first track of their 13-minute latest Freedom, Sweet Freedom, out this month via Closed Casket Activities, for proof. The 72-second opener begins with Max’s blood-curdling scream of “freedom!” It hits staggeringly hard, as do the rest of the lyrics, which alternate between Max’s deeply personal stories and Ian’s broader observations. Their voices shift back and forth, as though trapped in the void and searching for a way back to the light.
Because, for all of its gnarly brutality and tough-edged philosophizing, a sense of optimism pervades RJC’s remarkable latest album, which is the first to feature Max as a full-time member following his release two years ago. As the following conversation with Ian and Max details, the band (rounded out by long-standing bassist Alex Haller and prolific guitarist/producer Taylor Young) possess a deeply-human determination to rise above their circumstances and better themselves. It makes for a uniquely hard-hitting collection of music and one of the best heavy albums you’ll hear all year.
Treble: I love the cover of Freedom, Sweet Freedom, can you tell me what the image is trying to convey or represent?
Ian Shelton: To me it’s a two way image. It can either be a piece of trash ascending to heaven, or it could be someone being buried under the weight of something. A huge part of what we’re trying to say with this record is that the only true freedom is in death. I like to think of it as an ascension, but it could also be a burial, which I think is fitting.
Treble: You’ve referred to this album as the third part of a trilogy. What arc does this trilogy follow and can you explain why it is now concluded?
IS: So the first record was all about the inconvenience of being held accountable for your life. Crime & Punishment was about cause and effect and how we ended up here. Now Freedom, Sweet Freedom is me handing the baton to Max to tell his own story, with me taking a zoomed-out world view surrounding the topics that Max is talking about.
Max Hellesto: This is just the best way to end the trilogy. It feels full circle. You’ve heard the other ways of thinking about these subjects and how they affect everyone else, now we can have it where the main person who went through these events can explain how shit felt back then and how it feels now.
Treble: You mentioned your split in lyrical duties. What are the different perspectives that you each take on the album?
MH: My perspective is more hands-on and very, very personal. If someone who’s been through similar experiences latches on to it, that’s all I can ask for. When I write, it’s hyper-focused on me, I’m not talking about other people.
IS: A song like “Moral Death Sentence” is talking about the things surrounding Max’s situation. The song is talking about a culture of preying on people’s mistakes and how it can be entertainment. It’s a jumping off point to also talk about the broader prison system and no one being allowed to move on from mistakes.
Treble: Max is now a full-fledged band member, how do you go about recruiting other new members whenever RJC returns?
IS: RJC has gone through many lineups and I view everyone who’s played in the band as still a member, we just gain more members on stage. But with Taylor (Young, guitars) we have such a great creative relationship and when we were making the record he started writing with us and it just seemed like the right move.
Treble: To what degree does the finished album resemble the thing you imagined when you were writing and recording it?
MH: It passed every expectation that I had. This is my first time being in a band of this scale, so being able to see everything roll out, down to the colored vinyl pressings, I couldn’t be happier. It’s always been a goal to work on something like this with my brother. We always said that if this isn’t better than the last thing we did, we wouldn’t release it, but it passed all my expectations.
IS: We were willing to walk away from the project. We felt like we had things to say, but it had to be the right record. We could have done this two years ago when Max first got out, but we ended up taking the time to let the passion rise in order to make a record suitable to put out. Like Max said, I couldn’t be more proud of it.
Treble: On that two years; your vocals are so good Max, was developing your voice a big part of that time period?
MH: Thank you. When I would listen to the tracks we’d demoed I’d force feed all my favorite aggressive bands and try to assemble a collection of influences. Being able to guest with Militarie Gun whenever they were in town also helped me gauge it. But it was mostly just a case of being a nerd over a handful of my favorite bands.
Treble: I was also really struck by the song “Curse.” It’s a great rap verse and just so striking, what’s the story behind that one?
MH: We’d played with the idea of me writing an interlude for the album. I have another project where I rap, under the name Vatican Moss. So we were trying to figure out a way of incorporating that. I wrote about the album’s concepts and aimed for a track that makes the record so much more dynamic.
IS: A huge priority of the band is recentering Max and everything he’s trying to say. I couldn’t be more proud of that song. I was on tour when he made it but when I heard the line “my mum was an addict, my pop’s was an addict / so fuck it I’ll pop a few Xanax” I thought “that’s so hard,” and one you seldom hear in the hardcore space.
Treble: Do you think American hip-hop is able to touch on some of the stuff RJC explores better than hardcore and heavy music?
MH: The justice system is so deeply embedded into rap music, it’s a consistent topic. So many people are touched by it.
IS: I think hip-hop is struggle music in the same way punk is. In its best form it’s about overcoming something. The aspirational nature of hip-hop is something we’ve really identified with, coming from our background. Our goal isn’t to pretend to be broke punks, it’s about trying to do something with our lives.
Treble: Do you have ideas for the project going forward? I’m intrigued by the ways you could thematically develop the band. Or do you only think of right now?
IS: I have an album title that would be good, which is where a lot this usually jumps off from. But it’s all about whether or not we can write better songs. Max has a lot to say and I’d like to see an album where he handles most of the vocals. I don’t think I’m going to sing live in the band anymore, most of that will be handed to him.
MH: Everything would have to fall in place. It’s about not trying to rush or do something in the moment, there has to be a thought-out plan. Ultimately, the music has to pass expectations. Ian and I have also talked about making a mini documentary, as another outlet to push what RJC is about. The door isn’t closed, it just has to make perfect sense.
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