Now that Corehammer is a certified internet success (in your hearts and in our heads), it’s about time we introduce you to the peanut gallery.

Kev Walsh

A/S/L
32/M/Liverpool

What got you in to gaming?
When I was a kid I knocked about with this lad who’s step-dad was really into running roleplay games. He introduced me to MERP, Runequest, Cyberpunk, D&D, Pendragon etc. At the same time, there were some lads from my estate who went along to Sunday gaming sessions at the local Games Workshop (which at the time was up on Lord Street). I used to get the train in with them most weeks, and they’d show me the ropes of 40k. I decided I wanted a World Eaters army. This was before there was a Codex: Chaos. So I started putting them together, managed to get myself some Berzerkers and a Bloodthirster. I never played seriously, I just liked the cool models. I got a copy of second edition, and that is when I started reading the fluff properly. I read a background story on Dark Angels in one White Dwarf, and have been a loyalist ever since. I took a break for a few years when I thought I was cool and played in bands and stuff, but that didn’t last long and I came crashing down on Terra once again in about 2006.

How did you come to be a part of Corehammer?
A good bunch of guys who are all now part of the Corehammer project all got together on Feb 16th this year for a trip to Warhammer World in Nottingham, then came back to my place in Liverpool for some gaming, some laughs, some shit talking and some food. On the journey home, Boardman, Nate and myself, after a heavy few hours discussing Horus Heresy fluff, started discussing two overwhelming points:

1) Most gamers are fucking tools.
2) There are more hardcore and punk guys that are into this stuff on the sly than we ever thought.

Those two facts combined, we started talking about how good it would be if hardcore punk guys who happened to like tabletop gaming had a resource that covered both of their interests. We started the list a few weeks later and there was plenty of interest, and we met some good guys, started talking about it more, and thanks to Stevie, who is shit-hot at all this internet stuff, we managed to make it a reality.

What gaming systems do you play?
I don’t play much, but I love a game of Warhammer Fantasy. I don’t play 40k at all much anymore, and have only managed to play one game of this edition. I also love to roll D20s in D&D. I was part of what was the best campaign I have ever played up until about a year back when it started to dwindle, and while I would be up for more RPG’s in the future, I’m not really interested in small scenarios. If I’m going to play I want to do it properly and jump into a big campaign again.

What are your armies?
Dark Angels in 40k, Dwarfs in FB, but my Tale Of Gamers profile will cover my new Orc army. Cleric in D&D, Paladin and Rogue in World Of Warcraft.

How did you come to be in to hardcore/punk?
I came to be into punk by much the same road as gaming. It was a pretty organic process that started with my love of metal. After a while I dug out a Biohazard record after seeing the video for Punishment and thinking it was the coolest thing in the world. This was before I had any kind of internet connection, and would look through thanks lists, look at the shirts band members were wearing or the stickers on their guitars. I eventually came to Scratch The Surface by Sick Of It All, and ended up skirting a lot around the Roadrunner hardcore kind of stuff for a long time. In 1999 I think, I went to see Sick Of It All play with Ensign, and Indecision. After that I was rooting out zines and more bands, and eventually started going to a few local hardcore shows, and it all spiralled from there.

Have you ever done bands or zines or a label?
I played in Down And Outs for about eight years and left in October 2012. Prior to Down And Outs, I was in The Last Chance and sang for Seconds Out.

List the five miniatures that blow your mind the most

• The mounted Nurgle Chaos Lord. Every single thing about that sculpt is beautiful.
• The Green Knight. I was lucky enough to be given an old metal one of these from Nate a while back. Simple, perfect.
• The Mourngul. Absolutely nightmarish and its pose, its base and its screaming maw are all so well done.
• The older version of Asmodai. It was one of the first dynamically posed miniatures I came across years ago and thought it looked great. It was also the first robed marine I ever saw. Blew my mind.
• The Incarnate Elemental Of Beasts. Primal as fuck.

List the five punk records that blow your mind the most

• Minor Threat Discog Obviously.
• Count Me Out – Permanent.
• Judge – Bringin’ It Down
• Dillinger Four – Midwestern Songs Of The Americas
• The Wildhearts – Earth Vs The Wildhearts.

“Fuck it. I’m putting Earth Vs The Wildhearts in there”: Kev

“What have you got to prove at this point? You’re posting on a fucking Warhammer blog. You could have Aqua in your top 5, we’re finished regardless”: Nate.

List five awesome books

• Terry Brooks -The original three Shannara books.
• Charles Bukowski – Post Office.
• Aaron Dembski-Bowden – Night Lords books
• George R.R. Martin – First three SOIAF books.
• Michael Moorcock – Anything relating to Elric.

Owain Cooke

ASL
30/M/Cardiff, originally London.

What got you in to gaming?
A present from my Uncle and Aunt one year was the Space Crusade boxed game, which absolutely enraptured me. When I then saw White Dwarf No. 166 (Second Edition 40K launch issue with free Space Marine on the cover) in my local newsagents, I was lost to their worlds forever.

What gaming systems do you play?
The universe/s of 40K and WFB are too engrained in me for anything else to appeal as much, although I did just pick up a bundle in the Deadzone kickstarter.

What are your armies?
Too many to list, especially when I don’t play or paint with them. Blood Angels will always be the special ones to me though.

How did you come to be in to hardcore/punk?
Listening to Helmet led me to bands like Quicksand and Snapcase. I then started tracing their peers and predecessors and haven’t really stopped since.

Have you ever done bands or zines or a label?
Night and the City and Detournement Records, Ironclad and the recently re-deceased Ark of the Covenant. Currently Natural Order, Rose Youth and Atonement Records.

List the five miniatures that blow your mind the most?

• Blood Angels Captain from John Blanche’s Second Edition cover art (something that as a child I dreamed of converting as per Mike McVey’s White Dwarf article, but was far beyond my skill level)
• Wood Elf Lord with hawk and bow
• Inquisitor Gideon Lorr
• Wolf Guard Terminator set
• Ogre Kingdoms Maneater Ninja/Paymaster

Five punk records

• Damnation AD – No More Dreams of Happy Endings
• Disembodied – If Only God Knew the Rest Were Dead
• Crown of Thornz – Train Yard Blues
• Breakdown – ’87 Demo
• The Wrong Side – The Wrong Side of the Grave

Five books

• Fatherland – Robert Harris
• The Man in the High Castle – Phillip K. Dick
• Moneyball – Michael Lewis
• Evolution of a Cro-magnon – John Joseph
• Check the Technique – Liner Notes for Hip Hop Junkies – Brian Coleman

 

Nathan Bean

A/S/L
36, Male, Feet/Leeds, Soul/Thanet

What got you in to gaming?
Used to be this head shop down Arlington Arcade in Margate called Legend. Sold Ghurka knives, Furry Freak Brothers comics, poppers, incense, statues of Shiva, all that caper. I was a nervous kid and always rode my bike past it extra fast because it looked scary and weird. One day I spied a Judge Death t-shirt in the window. I was probably about 11 years old, but already a devout 2000AD disciple, so I had to have it. I eventually plucked up the nerve to go in to the shop, it was dark and dingy, and the cloying stench of patchouli incense hung heavy in the air. I asked the lady behind the counter for my shirt and as I peered around at the arcane and obscure my wide eyes fell upon a huge stack of colourful boxes behind the counter, beyond that…..row upon row of blister packs, full (this was the 80’s after all) of model monsters and elves and dwarves and all that. I was sucked in. On our street, the kid who lived next door to us’ Dad had died when he was little and his mam spoiled him rotten to compensate for it. He always had plenty of cash and we were poor so I duped him into springing for the Warhammer 2nd Edition box set and we spiraled into a chasm of lead poisoning, hair metal and financial ruin from there. Joined up with some older dudes at school and played D&D after school in the science lab and Bloodbowl at lunchtime. Our DM was my science teacher Mr Oakey, explosives enthusiast and legit wildman, a big influence on young Nate.

How did you come to be a part of Corehammer?
I guess it naturally evolved from late night conversations between me, Kev and Boardman on the way home from some road trip or another. It was clear there were a handful of punks around that were into the same stuff that we were: gaming, metal, RPGs, big dinners and ripping the piss out of everything, so we started the email list to connect the dots and bring people together. The list really took off, and it soon became clear that we were sitting on a resource of previously untapped potential. I suggested we put all that knowledge to good use and try and offer the gaming community an alternative to some of the more poe faced blogs and cleanshirt forums out there. Thanks to the combined efforts of the lads involved, our website has grown out of the same DIY approach we all subscribed to in the punk and hardcore scene and has recieved a lot of support from both the hardcore and gaming communities. We’ve plans to take this further and incorporate other media assaults, so that our guerilla transmissions reach as many disenfranchised gamers and nerd punks as possible. You can’t stop us.

What gaming systems do you play?
I’ve always been more of a reader and collector than a player, but that’s starting to change now that we are building a small community of like minds, I’m ready to step up to the table again. So I’m just fooling around with 40K and Fantasy Battle right now. Aside from that, I dig on the Arkham Horror series, a little Talisman and would love to get into a Cthulhu roleplaying campaign. There’s a local Bloodbowl league starting in Bradford which I’m thinking about joining up with, we’ll see.

What are your armies?
For Fantasy battle gamers tale, I’m putting together a Dark Elf army and have already got a Skaven army on the go. As for 40K, I run Space Wolves (13th Company/Pre-Heresy colours) and I’ve also just started my Raven Guard army up too. Feral Astartes with shamanic/totemic influences are my spirit animal.

How did you come to be in to hardcore/punk?
Lonely, disenfranchised, small town outsider. Can’t relate to music on the radio, zero relationship with parents. Works a shit job in a Lord Of The Rings theme restaurant by night and attends vocational printers college by day. Gets screamed at often. Drinks himself to sleep with cheap lager in a flat on Northdown Road and develops a seething resentment for life. Discovers Black Flag. Shaves his head, knocks the booze on the head and starts screaming back.

Have you ever done bands or zines or a label?
All of the above. Been straight edge for almost twenty years and involved with HC and punk since I was about 17. Over the course of the last two decades I’ve tried my hand at pretty much everything and sucked at 98% of it. Corehammer is my attempt to try and suck at something new.

List the five miniatures that blow your mind the most
I thought long and hard about this and there’s not really one specific model that blew my mind, but rather an approach to re-imagining standard models and telling new stories with them. Lets talk about John Blanche, a man whom I consider to be the Alan Moore of Fantasy Miniatures, or the sculpts of Trish and Ally Morrison (along with the Perry brothers) whose style, characterization, humour and imagination captivated a generation. There’s too many favorites to list, but I’m still really fond of the second wave of Regiments Of Renown, particularly Ruglud’s Armoured Orcs, The Nightmare Legion and the package artwork for Skarloc’s Wood Elves.

List the five punk records that blow your mind the most
I’ve gone for old favourites that I never tire of.

• Judge – Bringing It Down
• Integrity – Those Who Fear Tomorrow
• Cro Mags – Age Of Quarrel
• Minor Threat – Discography
• Black Flag – Damaged

 

List Five Awesome books

• Mark Chadbourne The Dark Age/Age of Misrule/Kingdom of the Serpent Cycles
• Tolkien – Lord of the Rings
• Nick Cave – The Ass saw The Angel
• Edward Abbey – The Monkeywrench Gang
• Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury

Chris Kaye

ASL
36/M/Nottingham, originally from Milford Haven.

What got you in to gaming?
I was 14 and noticed some friends in school with a box of plastic miniatures, which turned out to be the 1st edition of Space Marine and Adeptus Titanicus. It didn’t take long before I was devouring dog-eared back issues of White Dwarf and absorbing everything. I was hooked!

What gaming systems do you play?
Space Marine was the first love. 40K and WFB soon followed. Even had brief flirtations with Man O’ War, Mordheim, Necromunda and Gorkamorka

What are your armies?
Dark Angels for Space Marine. Eldar for 40K. Dwarves for WFB

How did you come to be in to hardcore/punk?
Bands like Biohazard, Madball, Helmet, Life of Agony and Quicksand opened the gate, and the Revelation Records CD sampler In-Flight Program led me down the path.

Have you ever done bands or zines or a label?
Cape Canaveral and Bumsnogger. Currently throwing money away putting out music on my label Witch Hunter Records

List the five miniatures that blow your mind the most

• Eldrad Ulthran
• Treeman A
• Dwarf Slayers
• Epic Ork Great Gargant
• Grey Seer Thanquol & Boneripper

List the five punk records that blow your mind the most.

• Cursed – II
• Black Flag – My War
• Iron Monkey – Our Problem
• Drakthrone – A Blaze In The Northern Sky
• Converge – You Fail me

List Five Awesome books

• Game of Thrones
• Lord of the Rings
• Night Lords Trilogy
• Discworld
• Horus Heresy

 

Paul Mawdsley

A/S/L
32, Male, Manchester

What got you in to gaming?
My mum reading The Hobbit to me as a baby, when I realised there was a whole world of models to suit the high fantasy books I’d been reading since then, that was it.

How did you come to be a part of Corehammer?
Kinda there at the start, after it became apparent there were a few of us lurking about in HC.

What gaming systems do you play?
40k, and by play, I mean I paint models and get told how to play it by the resident rule geeks. I’m dipping a toe into the Fantasy Battle pond as well with the Tale of a Gamer series of articles on here, I have a half-finished Escher Necromunda gang, the Daughters of the Aesir, and a Malifaux gang I’ve not even taken out of the box.

What are your armies?
Tyranids, Emperor’s Children and a burgeoning Fallen army for 40k. Wood Elves for WFB, Escher for Necromunda, Lady Justice for Malifaux.

How did you come to be in to hardcore/punk?
I used to listen to a fair bit of 70’s punk as a kid, but after a long and winding road that took me through whiny Post-Hardcore in the mid 00’s, I thought f*ck this, and started listening to the root. The rest is history as they say.

Have you ever done bands or zines or a label?
Put on bands, never played in one, not done a zine, but started a label. Argued about what bands we wanted to release.. The other band decided they were splitting up, ended up never releasing anything.

List the five miniatures that blow your mind the most

• The new Citadel Vortex Beast. Pure Cthulu, wasn’t expecting such an amazing model to come out of the blue..
• The Kurganova Sisters by Raging Heroes. Kick ass female commissars.
• The original Citadel Commissar Yarrick. That curved claw, good memories from the halcyon days of yore.
• The 1990’s Citadel assassin model in the jump suit with the sniper rifle. It was just an amazing sculpt.
• The Forge World Chaos Dragon. Just look at it.

List the five punk records that blow your mind the most

• The Ataris – So Long Astoria.
• Converge – Petitioning the Empty Sky.
• Nibiru – Demo.
• November Coming Fire – Dungeness.
• The Clash – London Calling.

List five awesome books

• Neuromancer – William Gibson
• Perdido Street Station – China Meiville
• Deverry Cycle – Katherine Kerr
• Sandman – Neil Gaiman
• Ghost in the Shell – Masamune Shirow

 

Mark Breadman

A/S/L
37, Gent, Madchester

What got you in to gaming?
I got into gaming because I always loved playing with toy soldiers as a kid. I used to set all my little Airfix plastic men up on the table and get my mum to take photos of them! I discovered Warhammer through a kid at school’s older brother when I was about 8, and it just snowballed from there.

How did you come to be a part of Corehammer?
It’s the lads innit. I’ve known some of these guys for 20 years. We have literally been all over the world together.

What gaming systems do you play?
40k mostly these days. Just started Fantasy. Would love to start playing Shadowrun again, as well as World War II stuff.

What are your armies?
Tau, Ultramarines, Skaven and Dwarfs.

How did you come to be in to hardcore/punk?
Because I’m out of step with the world.

Have you ever done bands or zines or a label?
Did a distro for years. Have done a few bands over the years too. Never done a zine myself, but have helped a few along.

List the five miniatures that blow your mind the most

• The whole set of Encounter at Khazad-Dum from the original Citadel produced LOTR range back in the mid 80’s still blows my mind. Got it as a Christmas pressie back in the day.
• The Wulf Sternhammer figure from Strontium Dogg figure pack from the Judge Dredd game has always been a fave.
• The Solitaire from the first Harlequins box set always has a special little shelf in my heart too.
• Then it’s a Space Marine called Brother Grimshade from White Dwarf 93 sculpted by Aly Morison I think.
• Then probably my bestestest is a combination of Imperial Trooper Gaxt and trooper Brock from White Dwarf 98. Both have got autoguns. Gaxt is a beatman trooper and Brock has long hair and shades. Love em!

List the five punk records that blow your mind the most

• Side by Side – 7″
• Floorpunch – both 7″s
• Youth of Today – all
• Minor Threat – discography
• Cro Mags – AOQ

List five awesome books.

• Andy MacNabb – Bravo Two Zero
• Andy MacNabb – Bravo Two Zero
• Andy MacNabb – Bravo Two Zero
• Andy MacNabb – Bravo Two Zero
• Andy MacNabb – Bravo Two Zero

Stevie Boxall

A/S/L
30, Male, Northampton expat in Staines.

What got you in to gaming?
As a youngblood, kids down the way, guys in armour shooting and stabbing each other. What’s not to like? As an adult, pretty much the nostalgia of guys in armour shooting and stabbing each other.

How did you come to be a part of Corehammer?
Occasionally peep on Twitter about some geek stuff and share it about, Nate asked if I want in, I said yes.

What gaming systems do you play?
Warhammer Fantasy and Bolt Action. I have some Space Marines that just sit in a box of shame.

What are your armies?
Ogre Kingdoms & US Army.
For the tale of gamers I am starting a Tomb King army.

How did you come to be in to hardcore/punk?
Kerrang gave Sick of it All – Call to Arms a bunch of Ks, I bought it and was blown away. I already like Pennywise, NOFX, Pantera and Sepultura, the combination of punk and metal just made sense to me.

Have you ever done bands or zines or a label?
I did a single issue of Get x With x The x Program zine around 2005/6. It featured When Tigers Fight, Ceremony, Set Your Goals and Have Heart. Not a bad line up, as this was just before they all got hyped (well, not When Tigers Fight). I was in an unknown Bournemouth hardcore band called Hack the Bone, check out the crappieness on Myspace. Most notably, I ran a distro called Trusty Chords, mostly trading to Bournemouth, Southampton, Portsmouth and London shows. Lasted a few years, made some good friends and I like to think I got some people into good shit.

List the five miniatures that blow your mind the most

• Ogre Kingdoms Stonehorn
• Ogre Kingdoms Yetties
• Forgeworld Chaos Dwarves, all of it!
• Forgeworld Chaos Milita kits, so Mad Max
• Pretty much any Forgeworld Land Raider

List the five punk records that blow your mind the most

• Hot Water Music – Fuel for the Hate Game
• Cold World – Ice Grillz
• Jawbreaker – Dear You
• Justice – Justice
• Above Them – A Blueprint for a Better Time

List five awesome books

• Robin Hobb – The Liveship Traders Trilogy
• Dan Abnett – Gaunt’s Ghosts Series
• David Simon – Homicide
• David Simon – The Corner
• George RR Martin – A Song of Fire & Ice series (cop out answer)

 

David Ager

A/S/L:
26/M/The North

What got you in to gaming?
Fitting in with older kids & John Blanche artwork.
How did you come to be a part of Corehammer: A mutual appreciation of fiction & good hardcore. Plus a shared resentment for the human race.

What gaming systems do you play?
40k & Necromunda

What are your armies?
Death Guard, Crimson Fists, Van Saar

How did you come to be in to hardcore/punk?
Through the Beastie Boys when I was 13.

Have you ever done bands or zines or a label?
Several hardcore bands; the most notable being Rot In Hell.

List the five miniatures that blow your mind the most

• Cypher The Fallen Angel
• Space Marine Damned Legionnaires
• Imperial Guard Commissar with Power Fist
• Imperial Assassin Vindicare
• Imperial Assassin Eversor

List the five punk records that blow your mind the most

• Integrity ‘Systems Overload’
• Negative Approach ‘Tied Down’
• In Cold Blood ‘Hell On Earth’
• Last Rights ‘No Guts, No Glory’
• Ringworm ‘The Promise’

List five awesome books

• Fuck anyone who doesn’t like Tolkien.
• Douglas Coupland ‘Microserfs’
• George Orwell ‘Down and Out in Paris & London’
• George Orwell ‘Keep the Aspidistra Flying
• Alfred Bester ‘The Stars My Destination’
• Dan Abnett ‘Eisenhorn