01/2011 | HARDBOILED | hardcore webzine

Facedown Fest 2011 announced

Facedown Fest 2011 will be held at The Glasshouse in Pomona, CA on April 8th and 9th. Night one will be headlined by War of Ages and For Today will headline night two to close out the weekend. Facedown Fest 2011 will also feature Call To Preserve's final west coast show, as well as Overcome's first appearance at Facedown Fest since their one-time reunion in 2003. Doors open at 4pm each day and the ticket cost is $15 for one night, or $25 for a two-night pass.

Night 1, Friday, April 8
War of Ages
A Plea For Purging
Hands
Onward to Olympas
My Epic
Your Memorial
Hope for they Dying
Messengers

Night 2, Saturday, April 9
For Today
In the Midst of Lions
Overcome
Call To Preserve
A Hope for Home
Take It Back!
As Hell Retreats
Gideon
Saving Grace
The Burial

Call To Preserve is breaking up

Central Florida hardcore band Call To Preserve will be disbanding after playing several final shows this year. Formed in 2003, the group has released three albums, including their latest with Facedown Records.

Here's the official word:

"After eight years, three full-lengths and countless tours all over, Call to Preserve is calling it quits. For the past year or so we've done our best to keep functioning as a band despite losing members and having remaining members cut back their involvement. Now all of us are being pulled in different directions and our aspirations for our future have expanded much further than being on tour all the time. With some of us moving away, going back to school or starting careers, we just can't sacrifice our time to this band like we used to. It would be a disservice to ourselves to do CTP half heartedly, so instead we want to go out on a high note and enjoy our last few months as a band.

"We want to do our best to make sure those who want to can come see us for the last time. This April we'll be playing our last west coast show at Facedown Fest 2011 and in the coming months we'll be announcing our last tour dates, which will include a stop at Cornerstone Festival. Our last show will be near the end of July this summer in Melbourne, Florida. More details will be announced soon.

"In these final months we'll also be working on a few new songs that will be on a 7" coming out this summer on Facedown Records. We've wanted to put out vinyl for years and felt we had a few more things to say before we go, so this seemed like the perfect time and place to put out a 7".

"We never thought that this band would get as far as it did. We never thought we'd have the chance to travel so much and tour with some of our favorite bands and make such amazing friends from all over the world. We are eternally grateful for the chance we were given to play music and actually have people listen. We want to thank Jason Dunn and Facedown Records for standing behind us for the past five years, being some of the easiest people to work with and for just being great friends. We want to thank all the bands we've met and toured with who have become some of our best friends and we will miss the shows and the hangouts dearly. Finally we want to thank everyone who has supported us by coming to a show, buying a shirt, letting us sleep on your floor or feeding us. We are more thankful than you'll ever know."

Details on new Agnostic Front album

Official press release: The Godfathers of New York Hardcore, Agnostic Front, have revealed the cover art and track listing to their upcoming record entitled My Life My Way. Cover artwork was brought to life this time by artist Todd Hubber, who also works with vocalist Roger Miret on designing his street wear clothing line American Made Kustom.

"The concept was to capture the D.I.Y. ethic and crude themed artistry of the early punk flyers, with a nod to the era of crime and pulp comic themes of the early 50's. Society deemed those materials as having no social redeeming values, and as a contributor to youth delinquency. Similarly outcasted were punk and hardcore in the early day for its aggressive, anti-authority message, and dangerous aura. My Life My Way is a throwback to the early days, and Agnostic Front has proven that what society deems unredeeming, has been, still is, and will continue to be relevant."

My Life My Way track listing:

01. City Street
02. More Than a Memory
03. Us Against the World
04. My Life My Way
05. That's Life
06. Self Pride
07. Until the Day I Die
08. Now and Forever
09. The Sacrifice
10. A Mi Manera
11. Your Worst Enemy
12. Empty Dreams
13. Time Has Come

Agnostic Front have uploaded the first of several video blogs chronicling the making of their highly anticipated follow up to their 2007 release, Warriors. Check out the clip at the following location.

End of a Season / Many Men Have Tried - Split

End Of A Season hails from Italy and brings metalcore along the lines of Poison The Well, which means tons of metallic, technical riffing, heavy drumming, passionate melodies, complex song structures and multiple vocals ranging from heart-broken whines to full blown metal growls. Obviously, the most interesting part of their delivery is when things get hard and heavy, but since they’ve been around for over 6 years now and know how to handle their shit, fans of this type of hardcore should be satisfied.

Three songs from Austria-based Many Men Have Tried are less heavy sounding but still passionate and still on the emotional side of hardcore. I’ve heard a lot of people comparing them to Shai Hulud and there’s some truth about this statement. The vibrant guitar riffs, melodic drum patterns, and awfully pained vocals make up for some not that bad songs for those of you in search for touching, but not too whinny hardcore. They do Message in A Bottle cover by you-know-who and it’s pretty entertaining as well.

What’s the final verdict? This is definitely a type of music I prefer to listen in the form of short albums and only from time to time. While the bands are not as good as their influences, they don’t disappoint either. Hell, I can appreciate the good music when I hear it and I can sense honesty in both band’s delivery so they got my vote. Despite all that twisted, emotional shit going on, both band thankfully are not trying to push the hardcore genre to new places and keep it focused. If you’re into music played by guys who aren’t afraid to show their feelings, this is stuff you might wanna check out. Additionally, it’s important to point out that one Euro for each album sold goes to animal rights activism!

Review: Dloogi
Label: Refoundation
Year: 2009
End Of Season / Many Men Have Tried

Custodia

How many bands from Ecuador do you know? Well, Custodia is here to prove that we all should pay more attention to what's going on in South America cause if we don't, we're simply missing a lot of music. The band has just dropped their first full length that they're giving out for free! If you can appreciate strong, honest hardcore this one's for you!

How many bands from Ecuador do you know? Well, Custodia is here to prove that we all should pay more attention to what's going on in South America cause if we don't, we're simply missing a lot of music. The band has just dropped their first full length that they're giving out for free! If you can appreciate strong, honest hardcore this one's for you!

Could you please introduce Custodia to our readers and tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

Custodia is a band 100% believer in God, we we respected, we tolerated, and we respected any type of belief, or creed. For us it is very important to see that in the world this culture of hardcore exists as it is the brotherhood, the union. We were born in the city of Quito-Ecuador year 2007, now we followed with our work, at the end of the 2010, we are ready to remove our first disc. We have touched inside and abroad, with international bands of great level, Bane, As I Lay Dying, Comeback kid, among others. We are a filled band of force and pure conviction.

What have you released so far? How would you describe your music in terms of sound and lyrics?

Well, Custodia has released a demo entitled "Fe y Conviccion", and then belong to a compilation in which we were the only Latin band, and to interpret the songs in Spanish, the title of the compilation is "LEGENDS STAND TALL. Our sound is unique, we believe we have a lot of Latin flavor, but accompanied by the strongest ingredient HARDCORE! As for the lyrics, as we speak simply of what we see, what we feel, what we love.

You’ve recently released a video for En El Corazon. Tell us something about the experience?

En el corazon, just can tell you that was hard work. In the band we say we live in dreams, and for that reason we must fight to get them.For us to accomplish to get to the point where we are has taken us to the unthinkable, but we know that the sacrifice has its rewards.Making this video has shown an enormous experience, and learned to take no time for games, what we do is real and pure in heart, work hard to get where we are. The video is not like either, the context speaks a lot and because we have to tell you that the video was made on the basis of inclusion, it is very important to know that we can all make a change, the revolution is in our hearts.Having disabled people around us have been taught to have much affection for life, and know that everything is possible, for us they are part of our inspiration, they are the heroes of our work, we see his perseverance saw that his heart is very strong, that's hardcore.Daily life. Just be strong and direct path to our dreams without fear, only with strength and dedication.

It is very professional looking. Did you spend much money on it?

Thank you very much, because the work has been nuts, everything has a cost, we have spent money but Chester is studying film, and he helped that price is not so high, is a very accequible, and we prefer not to say it is our effort having got this video. We hope you understand ...

Got any favourite music videos from other bands?

Of course, if the truth were many, but I remember most is that of Agnostic Front "Peace" Sworn Enemy "as real as it gets", Your Demise "The blood stays on the blade." We love these videos!They're amazing!

Does this new video means that we should be expecting new full length from you in the near future?

Actually yes, we are very happy to announce that ending December 2010 we will draw our first album has 10 songs loaded the purest hardcore Ecuador.

I don’t know much about the hardcore scene in Ecuador. Could you tell us something about the hardcore community in your country, what are the bands and labels to check out?

Ecuador is a country too small and unfortunately do not have a hardcore scene educated and therefore have very few bands, for us here are hardcore big PUNTO DE ENCAJE, NO TOKEN. We believe there is more bands who play hardcore as we know it, because here is confused with metalcore or deathcore. As for stamps, the hardcore truth we only with SANGRExLIBERTAD which is our own label creator for our band members is a label we've done with the intention of promoting hardcore in Ecuador, it is a producer here besides our has brought Alarma call hardcore bands, but have not fared well and they are dedicated to continue producing concerts of other genres. It is an honor for us to do and stay in ours but it is very difficult but not impossible.

And how supporting is the local scene for bands like yours – are kids coming to shows, mosh, sing-along?

The effort and perseverance has given its fruits, and we will show in every concert that we have called us recently, DEAD LIFTS funny term, saying that before we touch people's kids did not mosh, and when we started change, the place exploded! Sing our songs and we know that is not a simple chorus song is an anthem for that reason we feel it is too important to remain as is as we are so far.

How important to you is the internet and digital distribution for bands like yours as a tool for getting their music heard?

The internet has broken down barriers, has created an expansion, total ... We believe that our music should be heard around the world without any exception, so when the disc is in the network Download it and not pay a penny. When we travel there if you want to buy the original album would be an honor for us to know that someone is fed to our music.

What are your plans for the band for the upcoming months?

Well, thank God, since January reap the fruits of our effort and sacrifice, with tours in GUATEMALA, EL SALVADOR (where we'll play with AGNOSTIC FRONT), HONDURAS, NICARAGUA, COSTA RICA, PANAMA. COLOMBIA visit later in February. And yet, we know that in March we will be playing in PERU (with SICK OF IT ALL + COMEBACK KID), we plan to travel a lot, hope is in every city that has seen our work, you're interested, we will be happy to go and play for all its people, much love and respect.

Do you have any shout outs or anything that you would like to say?

First thank you for the interview, has been an honor. We want you to know that all those who identify themselves with video, music and so on, are always welcome to our family, we thank you for visiting our official website. We hope soon to play around the world, be part of their lives from now on. Custodia is by and for you. Stay tuned for our official launch of the album. Blessings, and take care ...

Reason To Fight

Beer and hardcore is the main influence for Reason To Fight. They're from Providence, Rhode Island and bring anthems of working class life, Saturday brawls and ups and downs of life to the sound that pays homage to the roots of hardcore and punk but is more than capable of standing on its own terms. Their split with Chesty Malone And The Slice'em Ups has been released just recently so make sure you check it out!

Beer and hardcore is the main influence for Reason To Fight. They're from Providence, Rhode Island and bring anthems of working class life, Saturday brawls and ups and downs of life to the sound that pays homage to the roots of hardcore and punk but is more than capable of standing on its own terms. Their split with Chesty Malone And The Slice'em Ups has been released just recently so make sure you check it out!

Would you like to introduce yourselves to the readers who may not have heard of you, as well as a brief history?
We are Reason To Fight from Providence, Rhode Island USA. We play a mix of OI/Punk/Hardcore, which is what we grew up on. We have been playing up and down the East Coast for almost 10 years. Our current line up is Fuzzy on Vocals, Dylan on drums, Josh on Guitar, and my name is Greg and I play bass.

So the split with Chesty Malone And The Slice'em Ups has been out recently. How do the new track compare to what you did at your debut album?
The first CD was written over the first five years. We had only done a few Comps and a split EP with our friends the 86'ed until then. So we took the best of the rest of the songs we had recorded and put them on BLOOD & GLORY. The 2 songs on the new EP are from our next full length BLUE COLLAR PRIDE, which will be released in early 2011. We just kind of wrote what came to mind, trying out some different style riffs and beats. They were all recorded at the same time in the same studio, so the overall quality is better.

How did you guys hook up with Chesty Malone And The Slice'em Ups for the split?
We play in NYC any chance we get and we have been working with Dennis from UNITED RIOT RECORDS for years. So when he mentioned a split with these guys we were definitely down. We are planning to do some shows together in the near future.

Can you tell a bit about the lyrics and which themes you have touched this time?
Dying Breed is about the living your life by your rules and hold on to your roots. If you really believe in something, that feeling should last for ever. We got to teach about pride and not getting caught up in trends. Don't let anyone tell you what you should believe. Follow your heart, no one can take that away.
Hard Workin, Hard Drinkin, Hardcore is just what it says. It goes out to everyone who does everything they can to make the lives of those who depend on them better. And when you work hard you usually play hard, I know we do.

You describe yourself as a working class hardcore. Can you expand on that further?
We all grew up in working class families and met each other going to Hardcore shows. I am a Plumber, Fuzzy works in a rubber and plastics plant, Dylan installs overhead doors and is part of the stage crew at one of the bigger clubs in RI, and Josh is an electrician. We all work hard to play hardcore. But Hardcore doesn't pay the bills. We do this because we love it!

And how do you feel about hardcore bands who are more about fancy haircuts and heartaches then everyday struggles?
To me the whole emo scene is kinda like the glam rock scene in the 80's. All these guys wearing skin tight clothes, make up and taking an hour to do their hair before shows. I don't get it. And luckily we don't play too many shows with bands like that. I guess if mom and dad are paying the bills, there is no struggle to sing about.

Could you tell me about what or who got you interested in hardcore/punk?
I got into this through skateboarding. I used to hang out at this Ramp when I was like 12. This guy down the street had a sick spine ramp in his yard. On a good day there would be like 30 kids there, They'd be blasting bands like Minor Threat, Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies, DRI, Misfits and Dead Kennedys. Some of the older guys were in local bands. So we would go see them play at The old Living room and The Skate Hut. My first few shows were Suicidal, The Ramones, Fugazi, Exodus and Murphy's Law. That was it. I was hooked. I would wash dishes on the weekend and spend all the money on music and skate stuff. By 14 I played my first show in a band called Big Mistake. I'm 35 now and I'm still doing it. I used to go to Club Baby Head like 3 times a week. Providence is between Boston and NY, So every band would play there. Sick Of It All, Judge, Cromags, Burn, Slapshot, Sheer Terror, Burn, Madball, 7 seconds, Slapshot, Fear, The Meatmen, Murphy's Law would play about 10 times a Year. One of my favorite shows was The Bruisers opening up for Agnostic Front on Tuesday night.
Everyone in the band used to hang out there. So we all kinda knew each other before we started the band.

Your music is mostly influenced by good old hardcore bands, but what are your favorite current bands?
I'm loving Wisdom in Chains, we just played with them and DRI a few months ago. Bullet Treatment, The Bronx, Fed Up, Olde York, Cheech, Death Before Dishonor. Rival Mob. The new Madball is sick.

What is hardcore scene in Rhode Island like?
Our scene comes is going strong lately. Right now we got a good Hardcore/Punk scene going with bands like The Usual Suspects, The Doosh bags, The Paraplegics, The McGunks, Soul Control and a bunch more i'm probably forgetting. Last night we played with H2O at Club Hell with a great RIHC band Unsung. That show was packed. H2O tore it up. Club Hell and a couple other clubs will still let us do Hardcore shows without a big headliner, which is rare these days. But as long as people keep coming out for the local shows, it can only get better.

Tattoos are important part of hardcore. What's your favorite tattoo style?
I'm into boats and fishing, So I'm all about Sailor Jerry and traditional with a little new school shading and color. Fuzzy's got a sick Bio-Mech sleeve. Josh has a couple sleeves, Some old school and black and gray work. We all have alot of different style work. And always wanting more. One more addiction to add to the list.

If you were on death row what would be your last meal?
I make a nasty Chicken stuffed chicken Parm. I split a chicken breast thin, pound it out. Then take Prociutto, Spinach, Ricotta cheese mixed with about 4 other cheeses then wrap the whole thing in a huge piece of breaded eggplan. Bake it, Throw some Mozzarella cheese on top. Serve it with some pasta and red sauce. Yeah, that's want I'd want. But, hopefully I'll never be in that situation.

Ok, thanks for the interview. Anything you’d like to add? Any plans for the rest of 2010 we should be aware of?
We got a Christmas show on Dec. 17th at the Hour Bar in RI. We'll be playing Brooklyn on January 29th, and we should have our full length CD out by March. We have a big Record Release show planned for that. And if all goes as planned we should be hitting the road for a weeks in Late summer/fall of 2011. For booking or merch or any questions about the band, you can check us out on Myspace or facebook.

Soldiers to release Hit The Bricks Ep

After a brief hiatus Soldiers is back and more fierce than ever with their new 5 song ep “Hit the Bricks” to be released as a 7” (with download) early 2011 on Long Islands own State of Mind Recordings. Unrelenting and unapologetic hardcore from Long Island stalwarts. Soldiers has once again drawn the line in the sand. You can stream and download a new track from the ep “Never Short on Enemies” for free here. Features key members of This Is Hell and Incendiary. For fans of: Merauder, Sick of it All, VOD, Biohazard, All Out War.

Expire to release "Suffer The Cycle" 7" on SFU Records

"Suffer The Cycle" is the new 7" from Expire on Six Feet Under Records. Recorded at Young Brothers Studios with Taylor Young (Nails), Expire has put together 4 songs of straightforward, heavy-hitting hardcore. Members of Expire live in different parts of the midwest and the band seems to draw influences from the east and west coasts, finding a happy medium with heavy grooves reminiscent of the NYHC style and fast parts that are worthy of a good 'ole California circle pit. If the best of both worlds sounds good to you, see Expire on tour, mark your calendars and get ready for "Suffer The Cycle." It'll be a great way to kick off the new year. The new track "SLEEP LOST" is up on the SFU home page We have an Expire shirt up in the SFU Webstore right now and pre-orders will launch very soon for this release.
They will be touring the US this winter and throughout most of 2011. Check posted dates here: (more coming soon)

w/ Grave Maker, Expire
2/19 Waterloo IA @ Amvets Post 19

w/ Wisdom In Chains, Grave Maker, Expire
2/20 Chicago IL @ The Beat Kitchen
2/21 St Louis MO @ Fubar
2/22 Cincinnati, OH @ Fogarty's
2/23 Cleveland OH @ Peabodys

w/ WIC, GM, Backtrack, Expire
2/24 Windsor ON @ The Blind Dog
2/25 Toronto ON @ The Hard Luck Bar
2/26 Montreal QC @ Underworld
2/27 Quebec City QC @ Cafe L'Agitee
2/28 Gatineau QC @ The Warehouse

w/ Grave Maker, Expire
3/01 Timmins ON @ Victory Tavern
3/02 Thunder Bay ON @ Black Pirates
3/03 Winnipeg MB @ TBA

w/ Expire, Agress, Steppin' Stone
3/04 Moorhead, MN @ Gio's Event Center
3/05 Minneapolis, MN @ The Beat

Demons Run Amok records got some exciting plans for 2011!

First of all, Risk It from Dresden / Germany will release their first 7" on Demons Run Amok! Check these guys out if you are into Trapped Under Ice, Guns Up or No Warning! You can preorder the limited coloured vinyl now here. Spider Crew is signing over to DRA and will release their upcoming full length "Still Crazy But Not Insane" at the end of Februar/ beginning of March.Be careful these are their best songs ever. Powerful NY Styled HC. Alcatraz - yes that's right - will release thier debut full length "Smile Now Cry Later" throughout Demons Run Amok on vinyl and CD in early March. We are so glad to work with these guys together! Incarnate is coming Up with their new album "Hands Of Guilt Eyes Of Greed" in March. Incarnatebrings you music with the intensity and power of Hatebreed, the thrashing riffs of Slayer and the heaviness of Crowbar. Lasting Traces from Germany will release their upcoming full length in May. This is melodic Hardcore in the vein of Killing The Dream, Verse or Betrayed. Check them out on their tour with Midnight Souls in March!

Roadrunner

Roadrunner has spawned from the crowded Massachusetts scene but hold their own when it comes to dropping some seriously heavy hardcore. The band brings some awesome grooves, all big drums and down to life lyrics; 'I want kids to hear our music and realize that life is tough on all of us in all different ways, but eventually you will overcome any obstacle...'

For those unfamiliar with the band - what do you want people to know about the band and your music or message?

This band means a lot to all of us, I feel this world is a rough place and you often think that your alone in your struggle, but the truth is your not alone. I want kids to hear our music and realize that life is tough on all of us in all different ways, but eventually you will overcome any obstacle.

Massachusetts has a strong scene with a tons of good bands around so it must be hard to get your name out. How has the local hardcore scene treated you so far?

Your right, getting your name out there is a tough thing to do for a new band like us. The Merrimack Valley scene has always been a great thing. Josh Hynes runs a great venue Anchors Up! in Haverhill, MA where we have played quite a few times.

What's the toughest struggle for the band like yours? What's the biggest wall to get over?

Any group of kids with any musical talent can throw together a few songs, but I think the toughest thing is finding the chemistry between you and your band and getting comfortable with one another.

For those who have not heard anything from you how would you describe your band's playing sound?

Aggressive and Hateful. I've always been an angry kid, so it's good to be able to get on stage and just scream about what hits home the most.

What have you released so far?

We recorded our demo back in 2009(I know it's not too long ago, but damn it feels like yesterday). This past fall we recorded our new EP with Ryan Stack of Andrew Lanes Recording Company(Hammer Bros, Word For Word, The Effort). We have nothing but good things to say about him the cd came out great. You can download the 2010 EP for free on mediafire.
http://www.mediafire.com/?banm34bzglrypyc

Who are your strongest musical influences and why?

I'd say my musical influence comes from Glenn Danzig and Henry Rollins. The Misfits and Black Flag were some of the first bands that I heard that lead me to my future with hardcore/punk genre. With Danzig's dark lyrics and Rollin's crazy stage presence, it always made me want to sing for a band.

And where do you draw your inspiration from when it comes to the lyrics?

As corny as it sounds my inspiration comes from my hate of the world, the ignorance of society disgusts me. I find myself constantly writing about my anger towards others.

Tell me about band's performance element – what should kids expect from your live show?

Evil.

Tell us what you have coming up that we can check for. Plans, gigs and releases planned for the upcoming months?

We just recently parted ways with our original drummer Dan. Our friend Tom is going to be playing for us from now on. We're currently practicing and getting ready for the new year. 2011 is a new year for RoadRunner. Be on the look out for new tracks, merch, and news.

What is your favorite year/era of hardcore?

I wish I was born in the 80's. I would kill to have seen many of my favorite bands before their rise to fame.

Favorite Sheer Terror album?

I love that this was mentioned! Can't Hate Enough easily, nothing will top that in my eyes.

Any closing thoughts?

Keep your eyes open this year for us, we're hoping 2011 is going to be a great year for us. Thanks to dloo

x A Call For Revenge x

xA Call For Revengex fly the Straight Edge flag high in Mexico, which is not easy in a country so severely affected by the drug related violence. Hardcore comes from different places and bands like this one goes through a lot of shit to keep their local scene alive. So it's important that you support their shit - read the interview, check out their website, spread the word around!

For those unfamiliar with the band - what do you want people to know about the band and your music or message?

xACFRx’s message is quite contradictive in comparison with the “unity” premise that other straight edge bands promote. We do believe unity is very important, but our lyrics talk about the discipline to achieve your own expectations without relying on no one else but yourself, the willingness to fight your way through standing up by yourself without letting adversity overcome you, and assemble the strength to remain firm even when everyone had turn their back on you. We want to spread a message about the fact that nothing should be more important than committing with your own decisions and goals. If you’re pulled down during your way through and fall, you stand up and strike back with everything that you got.

How did you all meet and how long have you all been a band?

Originally xACFRx came up as a side project blending members from Wanted for Murder and xGeneracionx. WFM has been around for much longer than xACFRx and for a while I talked with my homeboy Lalo (WFM drums) about giving me a hand composing the drums for some ideas I had. The time seemed right to give the project a name when my hommie JC came from Merida (far far away from our city) to take the microphone duties, that’s how xACFRx started out in 2008. We had a couple of bass players that were really not working out, until one day we placed a bass guitar into our merch guy’s hands, and magic simply happened, that’s how Cesar came along.

JC had to move to Canada and the band entered some kind of recess for some months, until Alex came along to take the mic. I knew him from a couple of shows WFM played with his formed band. I talked with him just for a few minutes and immediately I realized he was perfect for xACFRx.

What's the toughest struggle for the band like yours? What's the biggest wall to get over?

Well, the hardcore scene in Mexico has been around for quite a while but no one outside Mexico seems to take it seriously, at least that’s my impression. I don’t know if maybe that’s because it’s something too local and people outside Mexico can’t really get it. Recently, some new school bands are taking off strongly, especially within their local venues. However, some of these great bands are not even noticed outside our country. As a Mexican band, it feels really difficult to get any attention outside our circle. We have no relevant labels in Mexico (mainly because the budget to start a formal label is none existent) and no international Labels seem to give the slightest credibility to Mexican hardcore, which is really upsetting man. There is a lot of heart in Mexican hardcore, what we do lack is production. There is not one single Mexican band promoted by any relevant hardcore label.

For those who have not heard anything from you how would you describe band's playing sound?

xACFRx’s sound is as raw as it gets. It comes out full of energy and almost instinctively, as a punch to someone’s face should be.

What have you released so far?

One single demo/promo, or as you wish to call it. There will be an EP coming out soon!

Who are your strongest musical influences and why?

We all got a great portion of metalheads inside us, so it would be fair to name Pantera and At the Gates just as much as Agnostic Front and Madball. We like lots of things old school and new school. Personally I would say Madball, the day I discovered that amazing band, and understood the attitude inherent to the music, I knew that was my thing.

And where do you draw your inspiration from when it comes to the lyrics?

Some lyrics deal with many things I learned serving in the IDF under Bislamach Brigade in Gaza Strip and Beirut. But mainly, more than inspiration, I would call it a raging derision for all this immeasurable decadence impregnated all over this city…. unrestrained impunity, corruption filtered in all branches of authority, kidnapers destroying innocent people life’s, drug addicts mugging people to buy more drugs……… and we’re sickened by the state of conformity around us. We are fucken tired of watching this crap everyday and we’re fucken pissed off.

Tell me about band's performance element – what should kids expect from your live show?

What xACFRx offers at shows is to convert the stage into a fucking battleground. We really take this seriously and we demonstrate it with tons of energy.

Tell us what you have coming up that we can check for. Plans, gigs and releases planned for the upcoming months?

We’re shooting a video for “Bringer of Deliverance” in December!! So be sure to check out our myspace and “upcoming” facebook pages, we’ll be posting news about the video and shows!!

Any closing thoughts?

Thanks a lot for your interest man, you have a great site running up. Keep up the good work and keep supporting the underground.

Check out the band at Facebook and Myspace

Blood & Ink will release Figure Four on vinyl

From the official press release: Blood & Ink Records is extremely pleased to announce we have started working on a vinyl pressing of FIGURE FOUR’s seminal hardcore album Suffering The Loss! Details are still coming together, but we plan to have the LP out in time for their planned reunion at Rain Fest 2011 in May, if not earlier. That’s right! They’ve announced plans to play Rain Fest in Seattle the last weekend of May alongside Trial, Madball, Most Precious Blood and many more awesome bands!

For those unfamiliar with Figure Four, the band still stand as one of the heaviest hardcore bands to ever come out of the Spirit-filled scene. Featuring members who would later form such fan favorites as Comeback Kid and Grave Maker, Figure Four were distinctly treading their own path with previous releases on Facedown Records and Solid State Records. Stay tuned for more details and pre-order information to be announced soon.

United Blood 2011

United Blood Fest 2011 will take place on Friday, April 1st and Saturday, April 2nd at Canal Club in Richmond, VA. Admission is $55 for a weekend pass, or $30 for an individual day pass. Go to www.thecanalclub.com to order tickets. Once they're gone they're gone. Bands announced thus far are as follows: Terror, Piece By Piece, Down To Nothing, H20, Bracewar, Backtrack, Foundation, Rival Mob, Swamp Thing, Death Threat, No Values, Dry Spell, Stick Together, Mother of Mercy, Alpha & Omega, Fire and Ice, Dead End Path, Heathens, Naysayer, Born Low, Rotting Out, Lockdown, Soul Search,
Take Offense and Mindset.

Mountain Man "Grief" pre-orders are underway

Get the limited vinyl before it's all gone! For the collector-nerds Think Fast! have discounted packages which feature all 3 of the colored-vinyl variations. All pre-orders come with a digital download coupon and a free Mountain Man poster!

Strike Hard - Demo 2010

I've posted an interview with the band couple of days ago and it's time to share their first demo now. There are 3 songs in total here with style that can be described as beatdown, but with enough twist to keep it interesting. The band acts in the mid-tempo range mainly with vocals spitting some hard and pissed off lines. There is some work to do in terms of songwriting skills and sound, but all the right influences are here and this demo is a pretty solid effort to get their name out there. Download it!

Hardside - Born To Lose

Here's the new Hardside song from the upcoming Crucified EP. This is the heaviest shit they've recorded so far and if you're into bands like Merauder or Biohazard, make sure you pre-order the new EP at at the Hellfish Family webstore.

Nervous Breakdown - Thrash FM

This is pretty fuck up mix of hardcore, grindcore, jazz and other stuff I can't even name. I don't know if I'm really this type of stuff but I'm sore someone might be. Nervous Breakdown are from Jakarta, Indonesia and already have released Never Green EP (2008) and God Save The Freak EP (2010).

Take Offense - Tables Will Turn

Here's some NYHC worship. A definite '90s Crossover feel - but more AF than Ludichrist. Leeway, Cro-Mags and Crumbsuckers nods. Then you get the '85 - '87 Suicidal Tendencies feel - direct emulation of M Muir's crooning and all. There is a SubZero influence; and the riff writing comes in straight off of an Inhuman Best "of...". So here is a band that loves its NYC Crossover. You can bang your head, you can mosh to it. All bases are covered.

All that said - you can think contemporary bands as well; Naysayer, Rival Mob, Trapped Under Ice, Alpha & Omega, Bitter End, Mind Eraser, etc. So the stomp is there. Big riffs to plod along to and a few straight ahead parts, but not two-step here *(short of a small bit in "Beware the Path" and "Can I Do It?") - fast parts are for circle pits abound! They can write a gang vocal cheer like their peers, so the kids will have a chance to finger point. But the focus is the gee-tar - with dive bomb squeals and lots of scrambling leads.

HIGHLIGHTS:
"In the Face of Disaster"
"Hand of Time" - especially with its breakdown. This is destined to be a classic.
"Beware the Path" - strongest song
"What Goes Around" Anthrax intro and all! Super tight riffing into big chords to chug to - then a solo.

FOR FANS OF:
Late '80s Crossover NYHC.
2010 American Hardcore bands that worship Late '80s Crossover NYHC.
Inhuman
Suicidal Tendencies (he sounds exactly like Cyco Myko - this is the album from 1987 that ST should have made to garner maintain HC kids' respect!)

BOTTOM LINE:
If Mike Muir sang for Inhuman.

Review by Hutch (Empty Hands blog)
Label: Reaper Records
Year: 2010
Band's website

I've Lost All Faith In Myself EP by Venia available at Blood & Ink

Venia’s “I’ve Lost All Faith In Myself” EP is now available on 7″ or as a digital download at Blood & Ink Webstore. All 7″ versions of the EP come with a download code for the four songs on the record plus one bonus outtake track as well. While there, check out new shirt designs available for Thirtyseven and Thin Ice, plus tons of new distro items (with more added almost daily)!

If the digital route is more your thing, Blood & Ink has launched a Bandcamp where you can buy the new Venia EP, as well as most of the other B&I titles (all should be available soon). Or, if you’d rather, you can buy the EP on iTunes.

During a relentless tour schedule over the past year (including runs with Bitter End, The Mongoloids, Donnybrook, Grave Maker, and Call To Preserve), VENIA crafted 4 new songs of intense hardcore that once and for all prove their genuine tenacity. Drawing influence from the likes of Buried Alive, Madball, and Merauder, this newest taste of VENIA's musical direction will impress both fans new and old. Recorded by Mike Reaves (Swamp Thing, Bracewar, Down To Nothing), mixed by Chris Dowhan (Down To Nothing, Bracewar, See You Next Tuesday, Worn In Red), and mastered by Kim Rosen (La Dispute, Capital, Jeremy Enigk, Saints Never Surrender) plus featuring guest vocals by original Strongarm singer Jason Berggren.

Word For Word design from Joey South Side

Original description from the Arrest Records webstore: I am proud to finally launch the Joey South Side/Word For Word design! This is his interpretation of Word For Word; a angry skinhead, GT/VC banner, and our death bird logo redesigned. We hope you enjoy the design(and tees) as much as us! This shirt is available in Small-XL. Anyone who needs a larger size please feel free to message us and I will gladly accommodate you on our next merch order.

New merch at Bridge 9 webstore

Bridge 9 got some new merch in their webstore. Here's what to expect: "New shirts from H2O - as most of you know, due to inclement (to say the least) weather on the east coast the last couple of weeks, H2O had to cancel the shows they had planned there. Unlucky for H2O, they were stuck with a ton of merch they didn't get to sell. Lucky for you, we have it available on our webstore! New shirts from Polar Bear Club - some old designs and some new designs for your purchasing pleasure! PS we'll have some exciting PBC-related announcements for 2011 coming soon! New shirts from DYS - DYS! What more needs to be said? Scope the new shirt. I love it. I also love dogs.

New CDC record and Euro tour in 2011

PA´s one and only CDC is writing new songs for the follow-up of their 2009 MCD "Burn". On the second weekend in January 2011, the band will start with a practical recording session of the new songs. So far, CDC has written 7 new hard-hitting moshing anthems. Later the year in August 2011 CDC will return to Europe to play some bigger festivals for example Filled With Hate Festival. The booking of the tour will start in a few weeks. The feedback so far is awesome, so watch out for further information.

Defeater Announces Empty Days & Sleepless Nights - Available March 8, 2011

Official press release: Massachusetts-based Defeater is proud to announce the title and release date for their forthcoming album: Empty Days & Sleepless Nights, available March 8th, 2011 from Bridge Nine Records. The band's second full-length is a double LP, kicking off with ten of the heaviest and most intricately-written songs (Empty Days) Defeater has done to date. Following those ten tracks are four acoustic songs (Sleepless Nights) that sound a lot like Rocky Votolato and Ryan Adams.Guitarist Jay Maas said, "This new album was a very natural progression for us. We'd cut our teeth on an acoustic track on Travels ("Prophet in Plain Clothes") which is one of the most well-received songs we play live. And Derek (Defeater's vocalist) had written some lyrics that worked beautifully against an acoustic canvas so we decided to follow the heavier tracks on this new album up with these songs, resulting in a double LP release." Fans of heavy music should not fret - the first LP features 10 tracks that are incredibly dynamic and huge-sounding melodic hardcore songs. Maas continued, "Empty Days & Sleepless Nights is truly our most realized work yet. While we wrote this record, we really incorporated all of our musical tastes and creative talents. There are some surprises on this record for sure, but also plenty to love for fans of Defeater. We couldn't be more proud of how this album turned out."

Empty Days & Sleepless Nights carries on the narrative songwriting style the band has developed about a family set in post-WWII America in a working class town in New Jersey. We were first introduced to these characters in Defeater's debut LP, Travels, which was released back in 2008 and received great critical acclaim. The album was hailed with such bold accolades as "a new artistic peak for hardcore" (Punknews), "brilliant" (Absolutepunk) and "the perfect definition of modern hardcore" (Lambgoat). Travels was followed up in November of 2009 by the equally well-praised EP Lost Ground, which followed a man's (the "Prophet In Plain Clothes") journey from the military to post-war life. Empty Days & Sleepless Nights traces back to the family setting from Travels, but focuses on the older of the two sons and at times runs parallel to Travels, yet the events now unfold through the older sibling's eyes. Empty Days & Sleepless Nights is another chapter in the conceptual opus that is Defeater.

Empty Days & Sleepless Nights was once again recorded with Defeater's guitarist, Jay Maas, at his own Getaway Recording Studios in Wakefield, MA, throughout Fall of 2010. Maas commented on pulling double duty on the record as guitarist and producer by saying, "It's nice to be behind an idea all the way from it starting in your mind to actually shaping the way it will be heard as a final product. At the same time, there is an extreme level of stress that is reached when working so hard to both write AND record an album. But I wouldn't trade it for the world." Fortunately, Empty Days & Sleepless Nights has benefitted from such TLC and turned out to be an absolute masterpiece.

Check out two songs off of Empty Days & Sleepless Nights by pre-ordering the Dear Father EP, which features one acoustic track ("I Don't Mind") and one heavy track ("Dear Father") from the album now on B9Store.com. This album teaser hits streets on February 8th while the ED&SL full length will be available everywhere on March 8th, 2011. Defeater will tour Europe in February and March with Carpathian.

Colors to drop new 7" on Irish Voodoo Records

California hardcore band Colors new 7" titled Constant Struggle is on sale now - pre orders are up at Irish Voodoo Records. This record will have five different cover colors and the vinyl color is random mix of light purple with black and light pink swirls, every record different. First pressing is short run of 100. If you order four records, you get the next one free, so you get all colors.
If you order the set, Irish Voodoo Records will throw in a free All Your Might 7". A CD of the songs comes in this package!

JSS Designs

JSS Designs is a new hardcore brand which was established in 2010 by Roman Laris aka xJesusx nickname. They've got some nice, old school tattoo inspired shit put in their webstore. Here's a short description from Roman of what they're aiming for: "I dont like all this Ed Hardy shit, JSS Designs are bringing this culture back to underground, keeping the prices low and keeping the punk attitude/message alive! Its all about art not money - even we fucking need the money haha, but they are not the driving force here." There is no bullshit behind it - those are designs for all the lonely wolves out there!

Bringing It Back For The Kids Fest

1981 Straight Edge Clothing have announced a two-day festival to "celebrate hardcore music and a hardcore lifestyle" this May. The festival, titled Bringing It Back For The Kids Fest, will feature roughly 30 bands and is scheduled to take place on May 13th and 14th at Rocketown in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Weekend passes are $30 while individual day tickets are $20 each.

1981's Cliff Wiener says: "We wanted to throw a fest with a positive atmosphere, great music and a variety of activities." Some of those activities apparently include a dodgeball tournament, spin the bottle, twister, and more.

Bands announced thus far include: Casey Jones, Close Your Eyes, Evergreen Terrace, Grenade Face, Harbinger, Hope For the Dying, Knock Em Dead, Know the Score, Remebering Never, Stick To Your Guns, Terror, The Mongoloids, Trapped under Ice, Your Demise and xBishopx (final show).

Embrace Destruction to release new album on Strikedown Records

Embrace Destruction has joined the StrikeDown Records Family to release their 3rd full length called "Reign Of Terror". The album will be recorded and produced by Danny Giordana (European sound engineer of Madball, Hatebreed) at One Voice Studio (Italy) and Stevan Van Neerven (ex Born from Pain) at Heart Work studios (Holland) in March 2011. Reigh Of Terror will be released in a Cd version by StrikeDown Records in mid April 2011. Embrace Destruction will be on Tour across Europe from April 16th to May 1st to promote the new Album. A large number of Release Shows and week end shows are planned all over Europe to reinforce the promotion of "Reign of Terror",to check the dates please visit: Strikedown website and band's Myspace

Rise After Defeat - Maieutica

I have always had a soft spot for the Italian hardcore - no matter if it’s Negazione, Wretched, Reprisal, Da Sect or whatever. It seems that no matter what style of hardcore, Italian guys almost always get it done right. Rise After Defeat is from Cagliari and aims for heavy, metallic sound that bridges the intensity of hardcore and a good amount of metal. Despite being around just since the 2008, they already have released a full length in 2009 which I reviewed some time ago on this website. Ok, so I wasn’t blown away by their self titled debut but I still wanted to give Maieutica a try.
This EP has been released in October and contains 4 brand new tracks. What is immediately apparent is that the band has made a big progress since their previous album. I’m glad to say they’re moving into right direction - Rise After Defeat finally delivers a solid piece of hardcore and gives a valiant performance throughout the majority of this short MCD. Their sound has much more focus this time, something that lacked on the previous material. Maieutica demonstrates some good ideas backed by a foundation of solid technical skills. Maybe it's thanks to way better production, but the music is sounding much heavier. The band crafted a fair dose of decent thrashing riffs, double bass, breakdowns and creative drumming. This is metalcore, but the type of metalcore you'd listen to when going to war not when going to buy tight pants or get a douche haircut. For the fans of metallic hardcore sound, this is generally a EP to check out. And all the vinyl freaks keep in mind this shit has been released on 7 inch format!

Review by Dloogi
Label: Strikedown Records
Year:2010
Band's website

Hold Down - Demo 2010

Honestly, I am pretty impressed by this demo. Hold Down is from Cologne, Germany plays hardcore that is both aggressive and very catchy. The band certainly has a flair for a proper hardcore sound without any cheap tricks. They stick to the basics of the genre but still keep it fresh and powerful. The guitar work is impressive and the rhythm section is tight as well. My favorite track would be Caught Inside - it sounds so good as almost taken from One Voice album. The quality and effort this band has managed to put into just their first demo is amazing and I can only hope they continue in this trend on their future releases. Download it!

Rehen - Bogota Beatdown

Bogota, Columbia is not the nicest place to live in so all the anger and hate that pours out of these songs is understandable. Rehen describes their music as beatdown and this is pretty accurate. There are a lot of metal influences and fast parts, which kind of stands out in breakdown-driven beatdown music of today. The songs are actually pretty well executed and there's a good balance and flow throughout the demo. Dual vocals also get the job done. Since all the info about the band is in Spanish, I don't know much about Rehen itself. They joined Myspace in 2007 and since this is usually the first things hardcore bands do nowadays when they form, I guess this is a year they started out. Download it!