Robbie is a regular in the shop and it's always such a joy when he comes in. Always curious about new and old music, and so excited about the current wave of hardcore. He is a real central figure in all the shows, up front going wild in the photos that get shared around after each show. When he said he was starting a band, it was a simple choice to fire off some questions before their first show (this Saturday, get tickets here. We asked them to play the record store day instore with a really mixed bill of Gudgeon and The Haters (see the flyers at the end).

Anyway, enough of the intro. Let's go.

Main photo by Moonriot. It's Robbie singing with Street Suffer.

BAD HABIT: Hello Robbie from Psychlone, what’s shakin? Right off the bat, I want to get to the big issue on every one’s mind. Rick Ta Life just started following the Psychlone page. What are the range of emotions you've experienced from this event? Should hardcore allow old people to be involved?

Robbie: Hey Borgy, thank you for having me in and getting my opinion. I thought that was the most hilarious way to start the day, waking up to a follow request on my personal account, literally just thought “that’s so fucking random, is Rick ta life discovering SCHC?”. Had to message you about it as we were only just talking about him recently and now here we are doing this.

Anyway, enough about that, of course old people should be allowed to be involved, hardcore and hardcore shows are about inclusivity, and it’s based on a community around that. On that though, sometimes there can be a bit of a clash of cultures; the classic ‘old drunk metalhead vs hardcore kid’ scenario, and that comes down to a lack of understanding of that culture and community. Hardcore is a place about inclusivity, but also it’s about respect, and as long as everyone’s respecting each other, everyone should be welcome. 

BH: Chatting with you about the band, it’s become clear to me that talking about and dealing with mental health is a real focus for Psychlone. Can you talk about that a bit? What is your history with mental health issues, how does the band and punk/hardcore help (or hinder) the issues? How are you now? 

R: Mental health has always been a big thing for me. I grew up in an environment which had a lot of drug abuse, physical abuse, trauma, grief and many mental health issues, which then led me to suffer from mental health issues myself; severe depression, anxiety, alcoholism, drug abuse, and other underlying trauma responses and negative coping mechanisms. I have always been passionate about the education and awareness of men’s mental health, not only from seeing those patterns in myself, my father, my brothers and even my friends growing up – once I became aware of it all, I noticed it seems to plague a lot of the Australian population, especially in men.

We live in a culture that normalises these toxic behaviours, drinking your problems away and ignoring your emotional needs, or even just the lack of education and knowledge to give people the skills needed to become self-aware of these behaviours, which only leads to even worse problems. In Australia, domestic violence is at an all-time high, over 100 women have been killed by the hands of men since the start of 2024, the highest cause of death in men is suicide or stress-induced heart attacks at an early age, alcohol related deaths, everything… and to put it bluntly, it comes down to a bunch of grown-ass men not knowing how to express or deal with their emotions.

Music has always been a big part of my life, it along with video games and movies were always an escapism for me from even a young age. As a kid, I grew up with a lot of rock, rap and like classic heavy metal. I was 10 when my dad passed away (from before said stress-induced heart attack) and I was inconsolable, but never had the chance to process it, as I had to step up and support the rest of my family. That was when I first discovered heavier music, at about 11-12. I stumbled upon this song called “Guns for show, knifes for a pro” by Parkway Drive. My mind was blown, I had no idea what they were saying but I connected to the raw emotion and intensity, it was how I was feeling with the world.

I hate to sound corny but music has quite literally saved my life on multiple occasions through my life. I’ve had a lot of low depressive points where I was thinking about ending it and music has pulled me through each time, the first time being discovering Parkway. When I was about 14-15 I was wanting to commit suicide, and that’s when TAA brought out Chasing Ghosts, which had themes of mental health and suicide in the lyrics. I connected and felt understood, that was the second time.

I then spent a lot of my later teenage years neglecting heavy music. I fell into alcoholism and partying, which then of course sent me into another deep depression by my early 20s. That was when music saved me again – my mate started dragging me to shows post-Covid and it gave me a reason to live. I started replacing going out drinking with going to shows, spent all my time trying to find more and more local bands and then that was when I discovered the Brisbane band Crave Death, that was the next band that did it for me. They showed the dark side of depression and abuse, which I connected to even more than previous said bands.

I feel like music has a strong power to allow people to feel connected and understood through shared experiences. That’s what we want to go for with Psychlone. We’re hoping we can help people who are suffering with mental illness, just like music has for us. Not only that, but try to help people, especially young men, become aware of some of these patterns and behaviours so they can start their journey of healing.

We want to reframe these toxic masculinity narratives and behaviours into true masculinity. We want to encourage men to be vulnerable, to understand and express their emotions healthily. We want to encourage men to protect others who may not be able to protect themselves, and to fight for what they believe in.

We’re planning a five-song demo that briefly touches on that young, unaware arrogant side; the realisation that running away from your problems only makes them worse; delving into the trauma that caused those behaviours; and reframing the way you look at that trauma to heal and rise above.

For myself however, I feel like I’m doing well. Mental health is an ongoing battle, sometimes you have triggers you aren’t aware of yet and sometimes you can slip back into negative coping mechanisms. There’s a lot to it, I’m aware of what I used to be like, and I’m aware of where I’m at now. I’m still learning healthier ways to communicate, but I feel like nowadays I can say I’m proud of myself for how far I’ve come and I’m excited to be able to use this band as a platform to help others.

I’ve wanted to do something like this since I was a teen but never had the support and completely forgot it was a dream until now, and now that it’s happening, I feel like I’m exactly where I’ve always wanted to be. If Psychlone can just make at least one young man more self-aware of these things, I’ll be happy with that.

BH: My wife works at the uni and she’s mentioned before that an ongoing concern with a lot of the staff is the reluctance of young men to engage with any community on campus. And there's a real allure for young men towards the online world of pretty shitty attitudes towards women and minorities. It got me thinking how the local hardcore/punk/independent is a community (that has its flaws) that provides a path that is inclusive and accepting and not "toxic", for young men. I wanted to ask your thoughts on all this and the Andrew tateification of the anxieties of dudes.

R: First of all I just want to talk on the reluctance towards community, I find that one quite interesting. I feel like speaking from experience, a lot of young men don’t want to engage with community due to anxieties. I was never given the chance to speak my mind or let me be myself (going back to the guys not being able to express themselves), and I think that led to a lot of social anxiety. I used to go to uni briefly, studying Animal Ecology, and I struggled to connect with people, I felt like everyone was better than me, I didn’t go on multiple field trips because of social anxiety and that led to bad grades and giving up on myself.

It's funny though, even outside of uni I've spent a lot of time looking into history, philosophy, spirituality, psychology and even things like evolution to try to make sense of everything. Humans are a species that evolved to work together, not as lone wolves, and I think deep down on the inside, everyone craves some level of community and connection, even if you think you don’t. But I think it’s a lack of courage in being able to express yourself healthily that leads to this exclusion.

I think that's there when social media comes into it, adding to these toxic narratives of misogyny and bigotry. You have these influencers like Andrew Tate who prey on young men and their vulnerable egos. These guys are isolated, without the tools to acknowledge a lot of these things, who harbour hateful and angry emotions towards the world because they feel misunderstood, and that’s where they connect with these toxic narratives, giving them a false sense of community.

Then you have the other side of social media, where it almost seems like living a street life has become appealing and cool. Australia also has massive issues with youth crime, you have teenagers in street gangs stealing and assaulting people, but in reality it's that deep need for community that brings them together. I also think porn is a big problem too. I have nothing against sex workers, I respect it in fact, but it creates a whole other narrative of sexual expectations in young men, most of them not actually even knowing how to talk to women.

I personally think that’s why AA shows are so so important, it gets the kids off the streets. I know damn well that if the Sunshine Coast had an AA scene while I was growing up, I would be a very different man to what I am now. I was lucky enough as a teen to find that sense of community from playing sports – I was in a rugby team – it was great for that and kept me off the streets mostly but even then, it still reinforced a lot of the before said toxic masculinity and drinking behaviours.

That's where I think AA hardcore shows are amazing. They give that sense of community to not only young men but everyone, and hopefully that inclusivity leads to a place where everyone can be themselves, without judgement. There's also the straight edge side of hardcore, which I respect so so much, giving young people the reassurance that drugs and alcohol aren't always the best way to cope.

BH: A tension that often comes up in conversation, especially with older heads, is the modern beatdown dancing. The energy is sick, and it's such a centred part of modern hardcore, but I often have some pearl clutching thoughts about how it's only a matter of time before it leads to some serious injury for someone I care about, or a lawsuit from some kid with rich parents bringing on some sort of reckoning for "the scene". I wanted to get your thoughts. Does hardcore just have a built in self destruct button?

R: Ah, once again back to the classic “old metalhead vs hardcore kid”. I originally came from a metal background so I feel like I can see it from both sides. On one side you have the push pits, and on the other you have the “karate in the pit”, and both sides think they’re right. Once again though it comes down to that lack of understanding. You’re absolutely right about the energy being sick but I think there's so much more behind it than just the energy, I think it's all part of the expression side.

People connect with this sort of music because they generally connect with the emotion and intensity, and I think the “beatdown dancing” goes in the nature of that, it feels like a better release than just a push pit. Theres more expression and style to it, you can add your own flair to the moves and make it your own. You are right though, there is certainly a reason to be concerned about it, just because I love it personally, does not mean everyone else does, especially “crowd killing”.

I know for myself and a lot of my friends, we try as hard as possible to be aware of our surroundings when moshing, I think that's important, but at the end of the day, when you have shows that have this chaotic energy, accidents are bound to happen. That’s where we need to have a better understanding from both sides once again, people who are new to the scene need to try to keep an open mind, and maybe moshers need to be a little more aware.

Most of the moshing moves are generally okay, you might cop a kick or a windmill in the pit and that’s all part of it. It's mostly the crowd killing where people need to be more mindful. I can't talk on it without sounding hypocritical, but at the same time, I know I try to be mindful with it, only really going for my mates (mostly). I can't talk for everyone, but I know that’s the case for myself.

BH: Ok Robbie, saying goodbye can be so hard, but we'll see each other again (April 5th and April 12th if not before). Any last words? Anything you want to add? Can we expect an RTL feature on a Psychlone release?

R: Hahaha only time will tell for future features Borg, I'll leave that one a mystery to the universe. Just wanted to say thank you again for having me, it's not often I actually have these discussions and let my opinion be known, so thank you for giving me a platform to let that out. To anyone who's taken the time to read this, thank you, I feel like I’ve rambled on a bit much, but also know this could've been far longer too.

We are so stoked about being able to make music and contribute to the local scene and it still feels surreal that it's happening. I personally want to thank everyone in the scene for their support already also, I’m still trying to wrap my head around it but it means the absolute world for the boys in the band and I, and it gives us even more motivation to keep it going.

To the young men out there, learn to be vulnerable, tell your mates you love them, have a sook with them, call out your mates on dodgy behaviour, and let's fuck off this tall poppy syndrome that plagues the country and try to heal ourselves together.

True masculinity is having emotional maturity and protecting people around you who might be vulnerable – it's time to start embracing that rather than giving in to the toxic masculinity rhetoric that society and social media encourages. I truly believe the way to heal the world is to have open, raw and honest conversations, as hard as they may be.

Psychlone are playing this Saturday at the big Street Suffer show and 12 April at Bad Habit for record store day.