Soundtrack to My Life: Angelo Munro from The Bleeders

Angelo Munro, frontman for NZ hardcore band The Bleeders

Each week we ask music lovers to share seven songs that have shaped their life. This week it's Angelo Munro from New Zealand's punk rock favourites The Bleeders. Darkness Falls, their first single in 12 years is out now and their new EP Delusions will be released digitally and on limited edition vinyl next month.

Lucretia My Reflection - Sisters of Mercy
Growing up in the punk and hardcore scene I was never a Goth kid but I liked all the post-punk stuff. I got into Sisters around 1999, before The Bleeders. I was like 19 or 20, so by the time we started The Bleeders I was deep into that stuff. There's just something about this one, it's definitely my all-time favourite song.
I saw them last time they came to New Zealand. There was a whole lot of dry ice. It was insane, you could hardly see them but it was still cool. I love the band so much I was wrapped up in the concert, singing along and enjoying it. After, I reflected on it with some people and they were like, 'How bad was that?' I was like, 'Really? It was great!" I'm seeing them again in a couple of weeks in Melbourne.

Welcome to the Jungle - Guns N' Roses
I remember seeing this on RTR Countdown. I was 7 years old. When I saw the video with Slash with his top hat and Axl doing his little shimmy, I knew they were a dangerous band. Possibly if I hadn't seen the video I might not have liked them as much but the song would have still grabbed me. It's such a cool song and he has such a unique voice. It's just rocking.
It was the first record I bought and the first band I truly fell in love with. They had attitude. They had angst. When I heard the swearing all over it, I thought, 'Wow, what the hell? This guy's cussing in every song.'

Out of Step - Minor Threat
I got into punk when I was 13 or 14. Minor Threat is a big influence because I turned straight-edge. It's been a lifestyle choice I've had for 22 years now and Minor Threat taught me about it first. They're the first punk band that said, 'We can't be fighting the system and standing against the status quo if we're buying into that culture.' Not that I feel that way about people who drink, do drugs or smoke or whatever, but Minor Threat really grabbed me in my mid-to-late teens and resonated with me.
Some people didn't understand it but I already felt like I didn't fit in anymore and that I didn't want to drink and do drugs or hang out with certain crowds at school. But I also didn't feel like a nerd. I loved music and loved being active and into the punk scene so it really resonated with me.

Destroy the Machine - Earth Crises
Earth Crises were a straight-edge band but they also were a vegan band and this is their quintessential track. The whole album is so ahead of its time. They're talking about the planet, deforestation and global warming back in the mid-90s. These guys really turned me on to animal rights. I don't call myself a vegan anymore, I'm a vegetarian who doesn't eat dairy. There was a period of my life when I was vegan but I got burnt out and went back to vegetarian. I'm too old now to worry about it. It's all about doing your best. Life is about doing what you can, playing your part and doing the best you can to be as good a human as you can be. I'm certainly not as wrapped up in it as I was when I was a teenager. When you're young and looking to belong, you find a crutch and really run with it.
Life changes and you mellow out as you get older. These songs really meant a lot to me. They fuelled the fire. But now I'm older I still love political music and love music to have a message but at the same time I'm more than happy to just listen to a pop tune. There's a time for stuff that makes you feel good. You can't have a frown on your face and be pissed off all day, every day. That music served a purpose in my teens but now I'm older, it doesn't matter as much. I try and turn that angst into positivity now. I'm more into being positive and happy and trying to do things the right way rather than being an angry little brat.

End of the Line - Travelling Wilburys
My best friend, his partner and their baby were killed in a car accident in the beginning of 2005. It was a real tragedy. He loved, loved, loved the Travelling Wilburys. It reminds me of him whenever I hear it and makes me smile. It doesn't make me sad anymore. It makes me reflect on how lucky I was to have such cool friends, even for that short time. This song made me happy, made me remember them fondly and cheered me up early on when it was tough.

Room on Fire - Stevie Nicks
This is cheesy but this is a song that my wife and I really love. It was our song at our wedding. Every time it comes on it reminds me of that. It's me being a little soppy now but it's a special song that my wife and I share. At the wedding I just improvised on the dance floor and I am a terrible dancer. It was embarrassing. Just embarrassing.

Pain - Boy Harsher
About a year ago this came up on a Spotify playlist and I was blown away. Its a funny thing; when you get into Goth music when you're young you slowly start getting into industrial, then new wave, then synth pop and then all of a sudden you're listening to stuff that's pretty much just dance music. This is a banger but has that dark feel to it. I can't get enough of it. It gets me in the zone and gets me moving, even though me dancing is not a good idea ...

*As told to Karl Puschmann