Diploid: Battling Emotional Vultures and Isolation on “Denial Defensive” (Track Premiere & Interview)

Since 2010, Diploid have been making ripples in the Australian underground with their chaotic and violent sound. Hailing from Naarm (Melbourne), this trio delivers a relentless assault of grindcore, powerviolence, sludge and noise that feels like a punch in the gut. Their searing vocals and rapid-fire instrumentals create a dark, intense experience that leaves you unsettled for good.

As one of the hardest working bands down under, Diploid have nearly 20 releases under their belt already. Their upcoming EP Mantra will be the latest addition, and in just 10 minutes, it showcases their mastery in blending brutal, aggressive influences with surprising turns that make their style totally distinct.

DIY Conspiracy is thrilled to premiere Diploid’s new single “Denial Defensive” from their upcoming face-melter of a release, which drops on July 1st and is now available for pre-order at Rope or Guillotine. To get the inside story, we spoke with the band’s primary songwriters, Reece Prain (bass/vocals) and Mariam Benjemaa (guitar/vocals).

Brace yourselves, because this band doesn’t let up!

I’ve heard that when you started Diploid, you were aiming for the dual vocal approach and aesthetic of ’90s bands like F-Minus, Nausea, and Hatred Surge. Now that your music has become so diverse, incorporating elements of hardcore punk, metal, and noise, can you discuss the evolution of your sound?

Reece: It’s kinda hard to sum this all up, the band started when we were in high school and was more of a fun project to do with friends, to be creative and to keep my mind and hands occupied due to my terrible mental health.

We weren’t hung-up on what direction the band’s sound was going or what bands we were taking Influence from, the band just kinda became a thing from the encouragement of others. I was kind of expecting to be done doing bands by my early 20s.

F-Minus was the first band I heard with the dual femme and masculine vocals, which made me look for other punk, hardcore, or powerviolence bands with dual vocals. I ended up finding Nausea, Hatred Surge, Agoraphobic Nosebleed and Despise You. I wanted to make a band that was fastcore/hardcore/grind and heavy with dual vocals.

I had also found In/Humanity. I think they are credited as the first emoviolence band, and to me, it sounded like a mix of powerviolence, black metal and noise. This also got me onto Combatwoundedveteran, The Locust and Jeromes Dream. I was (and still am) crazy about the Melbourne/Australian DIY music scene. Local bands like Extortion, Agents of Abhorrence, Pathetic Human and Suffer became huge influences, and all four bands are still huge influences now.

These bands were sort of the baseline for Diploid, but we were always open to incorporating other sounds from the bands we were listening to. Mariam and I were/are big music fans, and we both are always looking for something new to listen to and incorporate into the band. Throughout the years, we started to be influenced by bands like Iron Lung, The Body, Discordance Axis, Death and Slayer. The noise aspect of the band was heavily influenced by Masonna and Merzbow, as well as the local experimental noise scene (shout out to Make It Up Club).

We are always open to bringing in more sounds and instruments. We just want to make angry/sad music and to be creative. 

DIY Conspiracy is premiering the song “Denial Defensive” from your upcoming EP Mantra, can you elaborate on the lyrics and feelings you are trying to convey with the track?

Mariam: The irritation and aggression that emerges when people in your life encroach on your behaviour. When mental illness becomes all-encompassing you fail to see the very real consequences that it has both in your relationships and through your body.

Sometimes when people reach out to you, you feel as though it’s an attack. Loved ones become emotional vultures. In retaliation, you combatively shut down any form of emotional connection with anyone by withdrawing from any form of meaningful communication or vulnerability.

I can feel, eyes on me. I see no change. I’m not sick. I know what I’m doing. I don’t need your help. Doesn’t matter how you show it It’s, wrong! You just hurt them and you. Stay away I’m not sick. I’m not sick. I’m not sick. Leave me alone!

Mariam, you wrote all the lyrics, created the artwork, and developed the main concept behind Mantra. Can you tell us more about this concept? What inspired you musically and what did you try to change from the previous recordings?

Mariam: The health and fitness world is filled with sayings and phrases. “No pain, no gain”, “Just do it”, “Calories in, calories out” etc. Similarly, when going through the recovery process, you are met with taglines and mantras that circulate the “eating disorder recovery” community—one being “trust the process”. You may feel like you’re doing the wrong thing, it may be uncomfortable but trust the process. I have a love/hate relationship with this type of mentality—especially when you find it hard to build trust in the first place and said trust is established on the concept that you are worthy of life. Mantra is the suffering of “I don’t deserve to eat”.

Reece: The music for the EP came from about 15 songs I had roughly put together. The tracks picked for the EP would be inspired by Despise You, The Body, Extortion, Slipknot (yes, I’m serious), Insect Warfare, and Idylls.

We wanted to avoid making the first track a moody intro song, because we’ve done that for the past two LPs.

The last LP was the first to have three vocalists, but this time we really tried to introduce it more equally. Which meant Scarlett got to do a lot more vocals this time around. We also wanted to do a bit more doubling up on the vocals.

With Australia’s history of colonization and Mariam being of Amazigh/Tunisian descent, is decolonization and supporting liberation movements a major focus for the band? Is Islamophobia an issue in Australia today?

Mariam: I believe it is important to respect and recognise the original custodians of the land we live on in so-called Australia. A lot of my childhood was spent camping, I was lucky enough to experience the tropical beauty of Kaba Kada (Daintree Rainforest) with green tree frogs hiding in the campsite sink or barreling through the blistering heat and vast horizons of Munga-Thirri (Simpson Desert) while keeping a look out for arnkerrth (thorny devils). From a young age, my parents instilled the importance of understanding that Aboriginal people were here first—it was the British who arrived on boats, stole the land, destroyed cultures and demolished the environment to make way for farms. We as first-generation Australians owe so much to the Indigenous people of the lands we now take space, and form our own families and cultures on in freedom.

I am proud of my Amazigh/Tunisian heritage, for me it represents the closeness and love I have for my dad. While I don’t speak Arabic and have only been to Tunisia once, I still feel a sense of mourning for the lost culture and traditions of my family’s Amazigh history, my grandmother being the last Benjemaa woman to receive traditional tattoos on her face and body. I believe Islamophobia is still very much present in our society today. People generally still associate practicing Muslims with religious extremism and terrorism. I personally do not encounter Islamophobia in my day-to-day life as I am not identifiably North African-looking, though this just means sometimes people feel as though they are in good company to drop a few remarks about “Mohamed’s” blowing up tobacco stores and then immediately feel awkward that I mention my dad is Mohamed, and that my name is also taken from the Qur’an.

When the conference Ecosocialism 2024: Climate Action Not War, taking place in Australia later this month, was announced in April, it sparked widespread outrage in the country due to the invitation of iconic Palestinian militant Leila Khaled to speak. What’s your take on this?

Reece: I don’t want to speak for all Australians here, but I feel a lot of people would be all for her speaking at the Ecosocialism conference. Not only is she very relevant right now in this day and age, she is just an interesting historical figure for Palestinian freedom and revolution.

Our large media outlets are Murdoch owned, which means a lot of everyday Australians are exposed to pretty far right wing and pro-Zionist propaganda. We are kind of like the USA, in that our “Left-wing” government is still pretty right of center.

Our news media has got people who probably never even thought about Israel and Palestine before, being pro-genocide and pro-colonization. 

Ultimately, I’m against Leila being censored.

You toured Europe last year, but like many other bands you mainly played UK and German shows, along with festivals like Obscene Extreme and Fluff Fest in the Czech Republic. Are you concerned about the recent string of cancelled shows in Germany for bands supporting Palestine?

Reece: I was unaware this was something that happened. But that is alarming to think shows being cancelled because the bands oppose genocide. We’ve also had a lot of support from people in Germany, it’d be a shame to not be able to go play over there again.

Back in 2016, I was really struck when I received Rohan Thomas’ documentary The Other Option to review; the film talks about Australia’s isolation and the strange case of only a handful of bands touring Southeast Asia for a really long time. Things seem to be a lot more positive these days, but I would love to hear your insights on this…

Reece: I really loved the documentary, I was actually talking about it recently, I wanted to watch it again.

Most Australian DIY bands head to Southeast Asia for their first international tour.

Australia’s major cities are so far apart from each other that a week-long tour is not practical. The travel time between Melbourne and Sydney is roughly about 10-12 hours by car, depending on how often you stop. The costs are also quite high (accommodation, petrol, van/car hire) and we don’t have many places to play. Depending on where you’re heading, you’ll probably be in the car most of the day.

Southeast Asia is always welcoming to bands to go over and play. You don’t need to have a massive following to get some shows booked. It’s also our closest neighbors, with a higher population, shorter travel times, and typically a cheaper option for Australian bands.

This “Other Option” is a way for us DIY Aussie bands to tour like real touring bands, as you can just travel from city to city for a couple weeks, playing every night. Which just isn’t usually a thing down here in Australia.

Scarlett [Diploid’s drummer] taking a break due to health issues is a real setback for the band. Can you talk a bit about your upcoming shows? Will she be back for the tour with Full of Hell and Thou in August?

Reece: It was a setback, Scarlett is an amazing drummer, vocalist and songwriter. 

Her health comes first though, and she couldn’t be putting immense pressure on her shoulder. We aren’t really sure if she’ll come back on the drums, but the door is always open for her to be involved in some way.

She will be joining us again but on vocals for a show in July. I imagine she’d also contribute to the band in some way down the track. She’s been helping out the band since before she was in it. She recorded a lot of our early material (first EP, Human, Canine/Diploid split).

We’ve been able to get our friend Rohan from Sydney’s Maggot Cave to fill in on drum duties for the time being. He will be on the drums for the Full Of Hell/Thou show as well.

We’ve also got our friend Josh from my other band Tumour filling in on bass for a show in Sydney. I unfortunately have to take up the drum duties for that one show, haha.

Australia and Aotearoa have been producing an abundance of excellent bands in recent years, and I would definitely put Diploid up there with favorites like GELD, Enzyme, Encierro, Jalang, Unsanitary Napkin, Cherish, Szkło, Territory, and many others. Can you talk about the scene in your area and its political and queercore aspects?

Reece: All those bands are amazing, although I have never heard of Territory, so I’ll have to check them out.

For me, it was the scene I happened to be a fan of and got involved in when I was very young. Which meant I ended up meeting a lot of LGBTQ+ people and making lots of friends from that community at a pretty young age. Previous to that, I only met one openly queer person, which was my neighbor growing up.

As a band we’ve always tried to be as inclusive as we can, making shows/gigs as accessible and safe as possible. 

Hardcore and heavy music is very male dominated and with hardcore especially, can have a violent culture. I’ve never really been about that, so it is great to be able to play with bands like Canine, Cherish, Outright, Jalang and Encierro where you can have a boogie and jump around, even do a stage dive and not get a fist to the face from someone hardcore dancing.

These bands as well have a political message and will play to raise money for different charities and are all round, just trying to make this music accessible to people from all walks of life.

Find Diploid on Bandcamp, Instagram and Facebook; check out Mariam Benjemaa’s art at Very Loud Art + Design. New EP out July 1st on Rope or Guillotine and Life. Lair. Regret. Records.