We currently live in a society where everything around us seems to be either burning to the ground or people are just having their human rights stripped way for no apparent reason.
It is in these trying times that a lot of people turn to the subculture that we love in punk and hardcore for a bit of solidarity and rest bite from the shit which surrounds us.
This is exactly what Glasgow’s Test of Patience is hoping to achieve with their music, to use their place in hardcore to get their anger at the world out, but show that there is still fun and enjoyment to have.
Test of Patience vocalist Gem told Just An Insight: “Test of Patience as a name encapsulates a lot of what the music is about: life can be testing and difficult in a lot of ways and it can make you feel a lot of shit, and it can wear on you, so you need a release and/or a way to process it.
“For us, hardcore is that. We hope people feel the energy of the band whether it’s live or listening to the music, that it’s angry, it’s hard, but it’s also fun. We hope it can move them or give them a release in some sort of way.”
The quintet is yet another one of the powerhouse bands to come out of the thriving Scottish hardcore scene. Since the release of their debut EP in 2013 the band has gained attention from hardcore lovers up and down the UK as well as further afield.
It is a combination of a wide range of inspirations throughout the band as well as having a push to be inspired by the historic New York Hardcore Scene, which has pushed Test of Patience into a lot of people’s line of sight.
Gem continued: “I am inspired by hardcore bands that have a playfulness in their sound whether it’s vocally or instrumentally.
“For vocals, I love hearing the intonation, rhythmic delivery, texture and lyrics of bands like Killing Time, Breakdown, Think I Care, Outburst, Snapcase and then bands like Big Cheese, Echo Chamber, The Flex and many more.
“They have such a good balance of everything I enjoy in hardcore.”
By bringing in these influences, as well as pulling from bands like Irate, Code Orange and Renounced this is what gives Test of Patience their distinct identity in a Scottish scene which is growing and thriving right now.
But it isn’t like Test of Patience have come from nowhere to slot themselves into this scene it is building upon foundations of old bands and a mutual love for UKHC which has really allowed them to flourish thus far.
“Paul (guitar) and I were looking to start a hardcore band together, we had already worked together on a band called Vent which was more on the side of metallic hardcore, I was on vocals and Paul was drums for that,” Gem continued.
“Once that ended, we were keen to do a new band that was inspired by NYHC, and Paul jumped on guitar, and I was back on vocals again. We recruited our friend Keir on the drums not long after, which was his first hardcore band, then our friend Ewan on bass, we knew each other from going to local shows and hanging out and chatting away afterwards.
“We were practicing for a while as a four piece, but then we met Tom at a Splitknuckle show, and Gem and Tom both knew Splitknuckle guys. They were sat chatting away and Tom mentioned he was keen to do guitar for a hardcore band .. and that was that.”
Test of Patience join the list of bands like Despize, Demonstration of Power, Nothin’ But Enemies and many more in what is a blossoming Scottish scene right now. So much so that bands who are gaining worldwide recognition which is really putting eyes on Scotland.
Though Gem said that it is the hard work of everyone involved which has made the scene what it is, but things have definitely ramped up a bit post-pandemic.
She added: “The difference in the Scottish hardcore scene before and after the pandemic is beyond anything we could have imagined.
“Northern Unrest is thriving, and that has paved the way for a lot of opportunities for everyone here.
“We have a lot of great new bands coming through that are about it, shows are constant with great lineups, and there’s a lot of love and support going around.”
Having come south of the border for the first time last year, the five-piece said that getting out of Scotland and seeing just how much hardcore is winning across all of the UK is great to see.
And this feeds into what the band are planning for the rest of 2025, with a new release promised to be hitting our years at some point this year as well as getting out and playing more shows.
SHOUT OUTS:
Here at Just an Insight we want to learn about as many bands in our scene as possible, both in the UK and internationally. So as part of each feature we are giving the bands an opportunity to shout out some other bands to check out. Here is Gem’s recommendations:
“Shoutout to Bathed in Sin, Grand Slam, Heads on Pikes.”
Just An Insight 
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