Urgent Kill: Dutch Youth Crew Returns With ‘It’s OK To Be Kind’

Tony Raven is a hardcore lifer from West-Friesland, Holland. A family man, barber, and cancer survivor, Tony is known for making his passions apparent to all. He’s curated his look to showcase his love of barbering, American sneaker culture, and of course, hardcore merch. If you’ve ever seen him, you know he stands out—towering at 6’4” (193 cm), which is unsurprising, as he hails from the country where the average height for men is 6’ (182 cm) tall.

In 2022, Tony started the youth crew band Urgent Kill. The band were a perfect fit for his label, Positive And Focused Records, who specialize in putting out primarily fast hardcore bands, and are known for their long running Youth Crew Compilation series. That same year, Tony was diagnosed with stomach cancer, which threw a wrench in the works for the band. Uncertain of the band’s recorded and live future, he decided to put the band on hold.

After receiving surgery later that year, Tony received a cancer-free diagnosis and is officially in remission. Ever the restless creative, he went back to work as a barber, continued running his label, and got back to being on the mic with Urgent Kill. The band continued to play some shows in the first half of 2023, spreading awareness for cancer treatment and spreading their brand of PMA-focused hardcore through benefit shows and merch fundraisers. But then, Tony’s body began responding to the stress of performing and organizing gigs in a way that caused him to reevaluate his involvement with music.

However, Tony’s body was no match for his determination and commitment to recovery. In the last year, his label has released music for Hometown Crew, Step By Step, and Swell, in addition to the 2024 Youth Crew compilation, which featured Tony’s other band, Right On Time. At the beginning of this year, he knew it was time to get back out there with Urgent Kill and rode the wave of inspiration, which took the form of some spontaneous live gigs, and the band’s new 9-song record, It’s OK To Be Kind.

Here’s what Tony had to say about Urgent Kill in 2025.

What’s the latest in the Urgent Kill camp?

After a brief hiatus, Urgent Kill is back. Due to work, raising families, and my cancer recovery, a new line-up had to be formed. I’m still on vocals. Alex (16 years old) handles both bass and guitars on the new recording. Mick (15 years old) is a very talented drummer who played the spontaneous live gigs, but is currently focused on school, so he couldn’t do the recordings. Thankfully, Premnath was available for the recording, because these songs had to be recorded. They need to be heard, especially in these crucial times.

We’re currently speaking to several people for a steady live-act.

How did you link up with Alex?

Sometimes things are quite a combination of circumstances. In July 2022, Alex’s mother served food at the venue where we played with Tomar Control and Dying For It. I gave her a record and she passed it on to her son. Fast forward to 2025, I got a little video of Alex and Mick playing Urgent Kill tracks at the music room of their school. This is the same school my son goes to. The rest is history.

Tell us about the spontaneous live shows.

The first one was at the cultural night of OSG West-Friesland. I got a text message asking if I could sing that same night without ever having practiced together. So I went to the soundcheck and found out Alex and Mick were really tight and we rocked the stage later that night.

Alex and Mick also play in Brain Remains and when they played a local venue, I was asked to do some Urgent Kill just five minutes before they went on stage, so that was the second one. Some great pictures were shot that night and we used those for the album artwork.

What can we expect from you lyrically on this record?

“Urgent Kill”—Instinctively, we were given the ability to sense what’s wrong and what’s right yet modern life doesn’t look too bright in the light of current events. That’s why we must build bridges and connect. Stop your toxic habits and start all over. So despite the aggressive title, it’s more about positivity.

“Who Rules Who”—A typical straight edge song that tries to urge you to think about your substance abuse and whether it was your own choice or peer pressure.

“D.E.I. (aka Tolerance)”—Minorities are being ridiculed and marginalized all for a foul agenda of people that want nothing but total power. WE NEED EQUALITY!

“Mental”—Coming from a dark place where I had to fight cancer, this is about trying to break free from negative thoughts.

“Mr. Raven (aka Non-Existing Family Pictures)”—This is a heavy one and deals with a relative of mine that had a lifetime struggle with his dad. Parents should love their kids unconditionally.

“Your God”—Religion…not a fan…especially with people that have a mouthful of scripture but a heart full of hate. If you insist on joining any kind of religion let it revolve around love like Mariann Edgar Budde.

“What We Need”—I would rather look back on a life well lived, well traveled, and well cultured than live inside of a box, confined to one country with an isolationist viewpoint, and have a belief system that is full of uneducated hate for any other person or creed.

“Regaining Strength”—We need to find our strength again and use it for the good. Whether you’re being bullied because you’re different, come from another background, or you are fighting an illness, we need to protect the vulnerable and marginalized.

“Straight Outta Hardcore”—The album ends with a Good Clean Fun cover, because Good Clean Fun is what we need so badly.

Any final words to leave us with?

Will you choose the simple options in life or will you take that extra step to make this world a little better–better for yourself but more importantly: better for those who need help?

If you doubt that your actions matter… Well, they do! Doing nothing means you’re being played by capitalist big companies who don’t care about anything other than profits.

Where do you start? Look around you, enjoy nature, rethink your diet, buy from local shops, talk to your neighbor, participate in a charity, stop feeding your addiction, listen to music, create, and BE KIND!

It’s OK To Be Kind is available for pre-order through Positive and Focused and Coretex Records in Europe. Postive and Focused releases available in the US from RevHQ. Find Urgent Kill on social media.