Though there are still new bands around that make me all excited about hardcore, none of them manages to release a record that make me want to listen to only that one record for a week in a row. However great a record may be there are still enough other records I want to hear in a week.
Defeater is probably the exception to that rule. I have to admit that the first time I heard 'Empty Days', I was a bit dissapointed. After the 'Lost Ground' ep I expected the band to come up with ten versions of 'The Red, White and Blues' I guess and they didn't.
'Dear Father' is a song that could have been on the 'Lost Ground' ep but tracks like 'Empty Glass' and 'White Oak Doors' show a band that has progressed from their 'Travels' debut and dare to go further. Some parts of those songs remind me a bit of Touche Amore's 'To The Beat Of A Dead Horse' while other songs give me the same feeling as I had when I first heard American Nightmare's debut 7".
With 'Empty Days' Defeater probably released one of the best records of 2011 and one of those few classics that come around each year. If that's not enough there's also 'Sleepless Nights' four great acoustic songs which are as good as any material by Chuck Ragan or other punkrock singersongwriter hot shots. 'I Don't Mind' is a song that finds a place in your mind and doesn't leave for days.
Defeater might not appeal to everyone who's into classic hardcore, but if you're open to a band that has the courage to step outside the borders I doubt you will find anything better then these Boston boys.
'Start a band, do a zine, put on shows if you know what I mean.' Those words were written by Ensign spin off band Weapon X years ago and still ring true today.
To me a good hardcore scene has great bands, great shows but also zines. With the rise of internet less and less people seem to be doing zines. I understand why it takes a lot of effort and some money if you want you magazine to come out great. Not everyone has that much time.
The Outsiders is a new zine from Belgium done by some guys from Accept The Change. Issue 1, which I got my hands on at the Defeater show, features in depth interviews with rising stars Touche Amore and Midnight Souls as well as some reviews and columns (of which one is written by me, so yes I'm a bit biased here).
Besides all that the editors also managed to interview True Colors vocalist Packo right before their last show ever. He looks back on his time in True Colors which makes for a great read.
I suggest everyone to get in touch with the editors and get yourself this zine, be inspired and do one of your own.
Some records are hyped almost years before their release. Others quietly find their way in the world. Most hypes eventually lead to dissapointments whereas between those low key record releases gems are to be found.
There's a lot of talk about the new Defeater record on the other side I have yet to read the first raving review of a record that's already out: Mother Of Mercy's 'Symptoms Of Existence'. After a surprisingly good show in Tilburg at the end of last year I was pretty curious about this record and the band doesn't let me down.
If Mother Of Mercy was around in the nineties they would have deserved a spot somewhere between early Earth Crisis and Intergity. The band plays hardcore with metal influences but stays away from the often duplicated Hatebreed sound.
In fact Mother Of Mercy sounds more like a nineties hardcore band than let's say the latest Earth Crisis. The artwork by Paul Romano sets the place for a record that's not optimistic about human kind, but shows that people into bands like Undertow, Congress and Integrity don't have to rely only on the past for records of their liking.
Why haven't I heard from this band before? Which orgcore fanatic doesn't want other people to get into this Canadian four piece?
Carpenter is one of the many bands out there with members who've played in punk and hardcore bands before and who want to do something different. This usually ends up in either slow, boring shoegazing type of stuff or weird, out of this planet type of crap.
Carpenter stays away from all that and brings a record that's a melting pot of Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp and later Bouncing Souls and The Loved Ones with just a flavour of Texas Is The Reason.
Sounds good?
Well it is good. This is the kind of record every punk and hardcore kid in his thirties and with a side love for Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Bruce Springsteen will like.
'Sea To Sky' is a record for late nights, book reading and relaxing when you don't have to go to another show or the kids are finally in bed. This one will be definately be in my top 10 records of 2011.
After the more than good Together ep from I For Us Records, the label dropped another release in my mailbox. Looking at the artwork I expected one of those modern deathcore bands. You know the ones with flashy shirts, black hair and too small pants?
When reading that Fire At Will is from France my expectations for another solid release were even smaller. I still have to discover the first real good hardcore band from France.
Well in the end the first part of the title of this record is fortunately more true than the second part. Fire At Will aren't a terrible deathcore band with French accents. They're a modern Comeback Kid-esque band with some punk influences.. and French accents.
Fire At Will isn't a bad band, but the songs aren't above average either. Plus I got pretty tired of the whole production of the record. It sounds too clean and polished for my taste.
'Take Control, take a stand, take the world in your hand'. Ever since getting the new No Turning Back record at the record release show in Tilburg these lines keep popping up in my head.
I have never been the biggest fan of No Turning Back, though I prefer their later records over the early more beatdownesque stuff. I've seen this band grow and do things not many other European hardcore bands have done before. For example the 'Stronger' world tour which brought them to all continents except for the North and South Poles.
Unlike most bands No Turning Back never went for a drastic change in the music they play, they always keep things within the bounderies of hardcore.
'Take Control' might therefore be received as an another No Turning Back record. If you hear one, you've heard them all. If that's your opinion, you're not really listening. Play 'Damage Done'(probably the best NTB record to date) and after that 'Take Control' and you'll hear the subtle differences.
'Take Control'is in a way similar to Terror's 'Keepers Of The Faith'. There are hooks and guitarmelodies which make the songs more melodic without resulting in a melodic hardcore record.
If anything 'Take Control' is as much about anger (Justice) as it is about looking back (Always Will Be). It's the comfort of meeting up with old friends, discovering not everything has to change over the years (Strife).
'Take Control' is a new milestone in the discography of No Turning Back and shows a band that's cool with what they've acomplished so far, yet still eager and hungry to take things to the next level.
Here's some footage of the record release show in Tilburg:
When first hearing the bandname Together I expected a band inspired by Insted and Youth Of Today. After seeing them at the Midnight Souls release show I knew I was wrong, yet I was also hooked. The band played a great set of Defeater/Verse like hardcore with great melodies and lots of energy.
But as everyone knows there is often a difference between the live performance of a band and their recorded material. Based on the six songs available on 'The Odyssey' I have to say Together manages both tasks pretty well.
Songs like 'Love.Sinner.Thief' and 'The Odyssey'are as good as most material by Defeater. Which is in a way is also the only negative thing I can say about these Germans; they should work a bit more on their identity.
All in all Together is one of my favourite newcomers for 2010.
Berlin is a city with history. I guess living there you're always reminded about certain aspects of the past. Events that have cast their shadow on the whole world as well as decisions made elsewhere that scarred the city.
Out of that Berlin comes At Daggers Drawn, a band often compared with Modern Life Is War, Life Long Tragedy and La Dispute.
Anyone who has been to Berlin recently will see a city of change, a city that is looking towards the future. At Daggers Drawn doesn't seem to be the band that symbolizes that Berlin. They might look at the future, but they see things in a grim light. The mood isn't full of hope. Things are looking bleak and desolate in At Daggers Drawn's Berlin.
The music is slow, dragging yet with lots of melody. Lyrics are spoken, shouted, echoed out of the gutter.
Berlin is a city of change. It's the variation of the city which I miss so much on this record. There are no real highlights, it just goes on and on. At Daggers Drawn is a band still set in the Eastern part of Cold War -era Berlin. Everything is grey, all buildings are the same. There's tension in the air and no hope in the minds.
Antillectual has been spamming punksites for the past couple of months, streaming one track of their new record once a week. To be honest based on those streams I expected a record that I would enjoy less than 'Testimony' their previous full length. Well I guess I am an old fashioned 'album guy' because hearing all the songs together has made me change my thoughts.
If you don't know who Antillectual are, they're Face To Face with the political mindset of Propaghandi and borrowing the acoustic guitar from Tom Against Me! once in a while. Or you could say they're a bunch of Dutch leftwing punks who listen to nineties skatepunk, contemporary emo and sometimes grow a beard to appeal to the recent orgcore crowd.
Today the Obama government has lost a lot of votes to teadrinking, conservative, crazy Republican candidates. You kind of wish everyone of those voters who made this happen received 'Start From Scratch!'. Antillectual seems to cover part of the election topics being the crisis ('Every Crisis Is A Moral Crisis') and the fact that the US is not longer the superpower it used to be ('Chinese Takeover').
I do doubt if conservative Americans would like to hear a catcy song about America as a negative role model ('America's Worst Role Model') and that eating meat isn't all that good ('Some Of My Best Friends Are Meat Eaters'). Well I guess the band would be missing their reason to exist if they didn't fuel the left wing fire here and there.
'Start From Scratch!' is the most melodic Antillectual record to date. The band tended to get lost in their own music on previous releases thus making their songs less catchy than they could have been. This time however the band has succeeded in writing a record that balances their political views with enjoyable punksongs. The additions of guestvocalist like Chris Hannah from Propaghandi doesn't add that much to the song ('Out The Ground From Under Our Feet') but it's cool for any band to have a person they are inspired by cooperate on a track. Then again the extra vocals from the lesser known Heleen from Midnight Menace ('Buyer's Remorse' and 'So Much More') do add that extra flavour.
This record is a new highlight for the Dutch punkscene and together with The Real Danger they are the leading force not only in The Netherlands but in the whole of Europe. Both bands are as good as any of the bigger US bands.
'Start From Scratch' can be downloaded from music.antillectual.com but I suggest you head over to the Shield store because the artwork is amazing enough to get the 'real' thing.
The German masters of hardcore, style and great shows are back. 'Kissing Pavement' is the new two song 7" from one of the best hardcore bands around in Europe at the moment. Exaggerating? Just put the needle on the A-side of this 7" and hear a band that comes close to the quality of The Hope Conspiracy without truly emulating said band.
The song ' Greenest Meadows' is somewhat faster than the songs on Ritual's previous full length 'Beneath Aging Flesh And Bone'. Whereas the song on side B ' Kissing Pavement' has the same tempo as the songs on 'Beneath Aging Flesh And Bone', yet bring new structures, melodies and great guitarwork to the Ritual sound. Almost making it sound like a mix between The Hope Conspiracy and Refused.
This ep is a teaser of the new Ritual full length which will be released next year. It shows that these Germans have grown and it makes anyone into this kind of hardcore want more.
The 7” is packed in a big fold-out poster consisting of six photographs demonstrating the yin and yang-metaphor that lies within the songtitles 'Greenest Meadows' vs. 'Kissing Pavement' - natural vs. urban elements.
If you're still looking for the next best thing in hardcore, don't look further. Ever since the release of their demo in 2008 this Los Angeles based band (which is on the road all the time) have been bopping more heads than any other new band in hardcore around right now.
Whereas some people were very quick to categorise the band as a second hand Modern Life Is War or American Nightmare, I beg to differ. There are many similarities between the three bands, yet there are as much if not more differences.
Ofcourse singing about 'going to Morrissey to answer my questions, because Ian Curtis has left me hanging', does place a band in a certain section of the hardcore scene.
And the raw emotion in the voice of Jeremy Bolm does bare some resemblance to the sound of Modern Life Is War singer Jeffrey Eaton. Yet you only have to listen to 'Always Running Never Looking Back', on which Eaton does some guestvocals, to hear these are frontmen with different styles.
At first I wasn't that much into the sound of the whole record. And I remember even having a discussion with Rob Moran (bassplayer of a certain band) about it. In the end I have to admit he was right. The sound of ...To The Beat Of A Dead Horse is different from what is considered the right sound nowadays. But it's also refreshing, when you have warmed up too it, to hear something different than another Kurt Ballou, Jay Maas or Bill Stevenson production. It adds a flavour to the band.
You got to admire the fact that besides starting a career as a soccerhooligan for Roda, updating the Asice show section, becoming one of the best new tattooists in The Netherlands and growing hair the four members of Cracks In The Wall found the time to tour Eastern Europe, the UK and play some really great shows in The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. On top of that they even managed to release a new seven song 7" that shows they've grown a lot musically the past year.
Recorded in a day this 7" gives that on stage feeling that lots of records nowadays lack. Overproducing can kill a good record and Cracks In The Wall show that to release an ep of fast songs doesn't mean you have to sit in a recording facility for weeks. One day is enough to get the job done right.
Opening song 'State of Distress' is a prime example of how much the band has grown as musicians. Before joining the band I don't think drummer Willem ever sat behind a drumkit. Years later this song proves he drums as fast and solid as any band in the genre can hope for.
The new self titled 7" is more balanced than the previous endeavour, the sloppyness that was a charm on that one is gone and traded for a tight and gritty sound. To me it reminded me a bit of the 'All My Heroes Are Dead' sound of Amendment 18 (how good is that record) though I'm probably far off since both bands don't really have a lot in common. Yet the feeling of the songs is somewhat the same.
The songs 'See Through You' and 'Rot Away' combine Black Flag guitarparts with the rage of Negative Approach, and should be able to set anyone into fast eighties hardcore on fire.
With songs these good and live performances to match it up it really is time to give these guys some more recognition. They are one of the best fast hardcore bands in The Netherlands and deserve a spot next to Citizens Patrol and Reproach.
'And I curse every streetlight Run away and find myself at the gates of Leon's old factory Where my father used to work Before they fired him The economy takes its toll old man Here's your check now raise up that chin'
Belgium's Midnight Souls have already made quite a name for themselves in their own country. With 'Colder' they show that they're ready to take the band to the next level.
There's no denying the band is influenced by the school of American Nightmare and Modern Life Is War. Especially vocalwise it could be Jeffrey Eaton behind the mic every now and then.
But to put the band aside as merely a clone wouldn't do them any justice. Midnight Souls bring their own history in the mix. Hence the lyrics about growing up in a Miners town on 'Black Lung Disease'. Much like the way Modern Life Is War described Marshalltown, USA on 'Witness'.
Songs like 'Black Days' and 'River Town Rains' show that Midnight Souls aren't afraid to step out of hardcore borders on their way to a style of their own. Though they aren't there yet 'Colder' offers five angry outbursts of life in Belgium. People into American Nightmare, Modern Life Is War, Touche Amore and The Hope Conspiracy can definately add this 7" to their collection.
And yes the artwork is done by Linas Garsys (known for his work for American Nightmare, Count Me Out, A Fire Inside and a dozen other bands), so you know it's good.
I have a white copy. Reflections also released a black version.
Apparently I wasn't joking when I wrote that Dutch based Shield Recordings had no intention to slow down. Almost out of the blue (if you don't count endless Facebook messages by the labelowners they had big news to announce soon) probably the best European punk label around announced that they were going to release a new three song 7" by one of the most talked about bands of recent years: Dead To Me.
Let's make one thing clear. Like everyone I love the Cuban Ballerina and Little Brother records. But boy, did I have a heard time digesting the African Elephants full length. Was this band going to get back on track? Or were they lost to uninspired reggae and grunge? Who would have thought a Dutch label would be the first with all the answers.
After African Elephants the band apparently shifted bandmembers once again and a revatilised line-up brings some crushing new songs to the Wait For It 7".
The titletrack is a return to form sounding melodic and catchy yet somehow gritty. Here the band stays on the good side of the Clash discography. 'Attack Form' features those Jam inspired vocals which were my personal highlight on the African Elephants record. Closener 'Paystub' is a more experimental, harsher song which takes a bit longer to sink in, thus being the right 'crossover' between the material on African Elephants and a new full length to come.
Dead To Me shows a return to form on this 7" and it's awesome that the band joined a lesser known label to spread that word.
Anyone who has ever done either a fanzine or an e-zine must be familiar with the fact that besides those cool records you love to write about, every now and then you also receive a package from an unfamiliar label containing records from so far unfamiliar bands. I've been saving up those packages for a while and here is my first blog entry of very short reviews:
Analena - Inconstantinopolis cd
Analena is a female fronted band from Slovenia and Croatia which plays music in the vein of Yaphet Kotto and Submission Hold. Posthardcore stuff with lyrics about consumerism, indepence and social networks. Though Analena are very good in what they do. This record, released by Moonlee Records, is just a bit too much for my taste. I like my punk a bit more simple.
Bernays Propaganda - My Personal Holiday cd
Bernays Propaganda have somethings in common with the aforementioned Analena. Both bands have Slovenian roots and are on Moonlee Record. Like Analena Bernays Propaganda also is a female fronted postpunk band with political lyrics. There are lots of differences though. For instance Bernays Propaganda is more melodic and their sound pays hommage to bands like Gang Of Four and LCD Soundsystem. This is a band that could easily play for a very broad audience and fill big clubs and stages on festivals.
Dowzer - Not As Plant cd
Dutch based Dowzer play their punkrock with great harmonies and remind me of bands like Teen Idols and Screeching Weasel. Funny lyrics and a good sound is basically all a band like this needs to gain the right audience. Especially in Belgium and Spain there should be enough punks who like this kind of sound.
Losing Must - Reclaiming Yesterday ep
Danish band Losing Must are the last band in this blogentry. Their 3 song ep reminds me a lot about early Satanic Surfers and Pennywise records. Fast skatepunk with some catchy parts. Good stuff.
It's amazing what Shield Recordings has accomplished ever since their first release (which was an ep from my old band Heartfelt). Not only have they managed to release some of the best more recent records by Dutch bands as The Real Danger, Said and Done and Smash The Statues, they also worked with bands from Slovenia (In-Sane), Sweden (Atlas Losing Grip) and the United States (The Fake Boys).
Having grown so much these past 5 years doesn't seem to slow labelowners Gert and Fieke down. Besides putting together an European tour for The Fake Boys in October (they still need help on some dates), releases for Antillectual and After The Fall are already scheduled as well.
New York's After The Fall is the latest addition on the Shield roster. The band already gained quite some popularity with their 'Fort Orange'lp. This October a new full length entitled 'Eradication' will be released.
To tease fans of aggressive punkrock a bit Shield Recordings recently put out the 'Collar City' 7" containing three of the fastest and most furious punkrock songs I've heard in quite some time.
Titletrack 'Collar City' is all about working hard to get your band going just to give it all up after a while to lead a normal life.
'Coaster' seems to be all about NoFX not being the band they used to be (just check the lyrics: I was that kid who used to buy your records on the day that they came out. And I went to every show I could. I used to care but things have changed. I'm not the only one who feels this way, this shit is played out and really fucking lame. I still remember the first time hearing The Decline. I even placed some bids and won your first seveninch, the pmrc can suck on this (but I sold it). I just want to let you know that I'm giving up , and it's about time you do the same.)
The last song 'Comatose' is a personal song about expectations and love.
As said earlier this 7" is aggressive and hard. Don Fury did a good job getting an in your face sound for this band that soundwise kind be described as Propaghandi without the trashmetal, or a less melodic version of New Mexican Disaster Squad.
As a teaser for the upcoming full length 'Collar City' sure does its job. I for one am really curious how the new record, recorded by Jay Maas and featuring guest vocals from that guy from Make Do And Mend, will sound.
There are hectic times, well at least in my personal life. Being an editor in chief does come with responsibilities, meetings, deadlines and what not. Therefore sadly enough other things sometimes slip through my hand. Writing a review for the debut ep of Dutch punkers Sweet Empire for example.
Yet I won't make it up to them by stating this is the most life changing piece of vinyl ever since the release of the first Minor Threat 7". Nor is Sweet Empire the best punk band around in the Netherlands right now (that is The Real Danger).
However I do am glad that after creating soundpollution with Pantherland (an akward attempt to mix metal and hardcore) vocalist Rowald is back to his love for punkrock and hey, the guy can actually sing!
Sweet Empire, based on these 4 songs, are the junior version of Descendents ripping it up in a New Jersey basement while not forgetting they originally liked Black Flag a bit more.
Especially the B-side of this 7" shows Sweet Empire is something more and can be something better than your average local punkband. The band is touring all over and eager to take a next step in their existence. Black Death Records did a good job giving this band a chance. Can't wait to hear new material and be in awe of Rowalds' Hypnotoad tattoo.
Let's talk about the zine first. Voice Of A Generation #3 features a lengthy interview with Abusive Action singer Rob. This is an interesting read as Rob is very clear about the history of Abusive Action and his current view on hardcore.
The zine also features an essay on Bold, two pages of record reviews and lots of great pictures of legendary bands.
The main reason for most people however to pick up this zine (as I don't think lots of people are still into reading zines) is the Abusive Action demo on 7". These songs were good then and still hold true today. Fast aggressive straight edge hardcore. Very straight forward.
Voice Of A Generation is made by Peter Hoeren, also known as the man behind Crucial Response Records so you know layout and all is of high quality.
The only negative thing I can say about issue 3 is that I would have liked more pages filled with photos and interviews. I heard issue 4 is in the works.
Oh here is some footage of Abusive Action doing a Judge cover:
Let's go back in time somewhere in '97 I think when the Ieperfest was still an indoor festival in a old ramschackle shed. Youth Crew was still on it's way up and kids were eager to see Eyeball and Mainstrike perform.
During that festival I met a guy called David who was the singer for a Spanish band called Refraining. He visited us in smalltown Nieuwkuijk and accompanied us to the Guiding Line release show.
Fastforward to 2003. I was on a holiday in Barcelona and met up with David. Catching up on old times and talking about our current bands. (Afterlife for hime, Heartfelt for me)
Last year Crucial Response Records released Statement the new 7" of David's current band The Defense. It's great to see that almost fifteen years later Im not the only one who stuck to his opinions and favorite music to play. Just like Refraining and Afterlife The Defense is a melodic youth crew band with insightfull lyrics.
'Answers' the first track reminds me a bit of early Trial stuff where as ' The Process' and 'Hard To Find' are two solid youth crew songs. However ' EVP's' is the standout song on this 7". David really sings on this one and the music is one of the most melodic things the band has written. If you like Good Riddance you'll surely love this song as well. The 7" ends with ' Statement' which is a bold and strong song on still being straight edge and believing in choices made.
Though this 7" is pretty good I can't help but thinking that The Defense should concentrate even more on the Good Riddance sound of 'EVP's' because that is a sound in which they standout from most other bands in the genre.
As this is a Crucial Response ep you just know that layoutwise it's looking impressive as well. Nothing original, yet really good.
A part of the underground hardcore scene seems to be in one big mindtrip back to the roaring nineties. Bands do reunion shows, new bands pay hommage to the nineties sound. Yet there was one thing missing. What I also remember about the nineties (besides baggy pants, sweatbands and the Rain On The Parade - Full Speed Ahead 7") was that there was a big fanzine trading culture.
Every kid and his mother seemed to do a zine at the time. There were zines about the local scene like the H8Zine in Belgium. There were the professional looking ones like I Stand Alone, Value Of Strength and Tension Building. And there were the more arty, in-depth zines like Sculpture and It's Raining Truths.
Zines were made by people in bands, people who just found out about hardcore and people who had seen it all before.
I loved zines back then, did a couple myself and through that got in contact with other zinemakers from all over the world.
Nowadays we're all stuck behind the internet doing a blog here, reading an e-zine there. Some people still make zines, but it seems a dying profession.
Zinemaking inspired me to go and study journalism and I know at least three other guys who made a 'career' out of something they started in the hardcore scene.
So you expected to read a review of HRVST: Death the first book put out by Reflections Records and wonder what the above ranting is all about? Let me explain.
Zines were a platform to educate, advocate, promote and get things of the editors' chest. Some articles were emotional, others political or full of activism. (And you had the interviews with bands saying their new record was the best they had ever made).
HRVST: Death is a book, not a zine. But it gives me the same feeling. It's a collection of stories around one topic, this time death. Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), Chris Colohan (Cursed), Mark McCoy (Charles Bronson/The Oath), Wes Eisold (American Nightmare/ Some Girls/ Cold Cave), Steve Brodsky (Cave In) and Rob Moran (Unbroken) are amongst the contributors.
That's an impressive list. But all these people are known for the music they created. Not for winning a Pulitzer. There are also stories by less well known people with interesting thoughts about death.
Most of the stories in HRVST are heartfelt, well written and touch a nerve here or there. Personally I like the non-fictional stories better about how persons deal with death, their first experience with death or how they try to avoid it. The more non-fictional stories I find harder to grasp.
HRVST isn't a zine. It's a book that inspires, makes you think and gives me that feeling a good zine did back in the nineties. It's also a work of art with a great lay-out.
I first got in contact with Reflections when it was just a zine, later they started releasing records as well and got the imprint words|music. The past years the label seemed to mainly focus on the music part and I'm glad that words are back in business as well.
Since this is HRVST 1 I guess and hope more issues will follow around other topics and with other contributors. Just to inspire a new generation of hardcore kids and get the message across that it's still more than music.
