Zine Review: Immortal Weapon #5

Immortal Weapon is a straight edge hardcore fanzine that debuted in 2023. Though it appears to be digitally produced, the layout and content is a total worship of ’90s straight edge zines, attempting to replicate their cut-and-paste style with snippets of text over collages of overexposed photos from shows with stage dives and Xed up fists everywhere. The first issue came out around May of last year and was quite simple in layout, featuring the famous 1989 Seattle band Brotherhood photo on the cover. This first issue had the classic vegan straight edge fanzine vibe, featuring interviews with members of bands like Moral Law, Life Force, Truth Be Told, and others, as well as short articles about veganism and hardcore records.

The standout issue of Immortal Weapon so far has been issue #3, an Edge Day special released on October 16, 2023. This issue was more substantial than the previous two and proved a true dedication to straight edge music and lifestyle. It featured interviews with some of the best current bands, such as Anklebiter, Inclination, XWEAPONX, TimeXHeist, Legendary Weapons, and Spit My Rage. Since the beginning of 2024, two more issues have been released (which I somehow missed until recently), with the fourth issue published in January and the fifth in May 2024, marking one year since the debut issue.

While Immortal Weapon includes short writings on typical straight edge topics, best records and labels to check out, its primary focus is band interviews. Each interview since the first issue starts with the author Luis Ramirez asking the interviewee how they discovered hardcore and straight edge, a fitting question for a zine centered on a specific style and attitude. The interviews are personal and reflect the author’s strong connection to this music and its message.

The fifth issue features interviews with mid-’90s Orange County Straight Edge legends Excessive Force and current bands like Statement of Pride (Florida), Firestarter (Los Angeles), Adrienne (Massachusetts), Monk (Los Angeles), and the extremely productive label owner Carter Holmes of From Within Records. This issue is particularly solid; while interviews with bands like Excessive Force and Statement of Pride were nice to read, the highlight for me was discovering Monk, a band I hadn’t heard of before, with two members of the band discussing their devotion to Buddhism among other things. Although the band is based in LA, it turns out that both Monk members interviewed are originally from Canada, and some of them even played in Career Suicide.

For fans of ’90s straight edge zines, Immortal Weapon offers a lot to appreciate. It also keeps readers updated on current bands and record labels within the US straight edge scene, ensuring you won’t miss out on some recent developments.

You can find all issues of Immortal Weapon on their website and follow the zine on Instagram.