Since the beginning of December you can order a re-release of 'Far Beyond Our Depth', first EP by French war machine Providence at Rucktion webstore. The album has been sold out since 2010, so if you still don't own it here's your chance. The new version includes newly improved artwork! The other news from the band are that there's a new line-up: xReggiex of the 90' legendary Parisian band Drowning (BTB, RPP) joined as guitarist and Mika168 from Third Man Down( Hellsinki, Finland Hardcore) joined as bass player. Drowning is one of my favorite bands ever so can't wait to see the band live! And while you at Rucktion webstore, check out the CD version of King Of Clubz/Providence split! Other Rucktion news: South Wales heavyweights Chains Of Hate are teaming up with Belgium's hardcore veterans Surge Of Fury for a new split CD coming out on Rucktion very soon! Watch this space.
[From the mailbox] Borne out of the American punk scene of the late 1970s, hardcore music raged through the 1980s, spreading to towns and cities across the globe. The hardcore network spans all of Europe, and Balance visits every major node of it, opening the doors of the bars and dives that host Europe’s hardcore bands. Capturing the chaos of the mosh pit, the monotony of the office, and the sheer energy of the music, Balance pays homage to the bands, promoters, designers, and supporters who have made the decision to live a hardcore life.
Irish Voodoo Records have started pre orders for the new Wolf City 7" called "Better Days". The label is also selling 25 test pressings, hand stamped and numbered. If you're not familiar with the band: Named after the University of Nevada Wolf Pack, Wolf City was born in 2009. Calling Reno home, their sound is fast, mean, in your face, but not watered down.
Glasgow-based By My Hands is dropping new 7" on Purgatory Records (Broken Teeth, Brutality Will Prevail, More Than Life and others). It is called No Hope No Escape and contains three tracks of hard as nails hardcore: No Hope No Escape, Rust and Hollow, which features Jeremy from Lifeless. Check out their Stereo Killer profile to listen to new songs. The four-piece band has been around and this is their forth release after MCD and split on Zone 6 Records and full length Marked for Death records.
[From the mailbox:] Hounds of Hate from Braddock, PA has released their debut 7" with Katorga Works. Featuring current and former members of CREEM, Natural Law, and Pissed Jeans, Hounds of Hate play unrepentantly straight edge hardcore. Objectively leaps and bounds better than their demo, this 7" also is far more in the vein of late 80s NYHC, I would say particularly that of Sick of It All and Warzone.
After 15 years from our debut 7”, “Vessel of Wrath”, Purification’s legacy continues with the release of a brand new CD called “A Torch To Pierce The Night” due out February 2012, courtesy of the Germany based label Bastardized Recordings. The CD will feature: A spoken word by John Joseph (lead singer for the Cro-Mags); Artwork done by Dave Quiggle; New versions of Legion & Lex Talionis. For further news, merchandise & music, you can check band's Facebook page!
Memento Mori from Lleida, Spain consists of local scene veterans who've been playing in various bands since 1988. I don't know much about Nausea Pause, Diskordia, Totus Pus and their other projects from the past but I guess most of them didn't get much fame outside Catalonia and Zaragoza regions. Anyway, the current band Memento Mori was formed in 2010 and takes influences from classic hardcore bands like Agnostic Front, DRI, 7 Seconds with strong punk rock, and sometimes even rockish feeling. It's worth checking out if you're into that type of stuff, though I think the band would definitely benefit from heavier sound. But, since it's just a demo, I won't hold it against them. Download!
Ninebar at their best, with guest vocals by DBS (Injury Time, Kartel, Bastard ovechild) and Pelbu (Knuckledust, Bun Dem Out, Maldito, BDF)! 12 brand new tracks of heavy and original hardore for fans of Fury Of Five, Sheer Terror and Neglect, from one of London's longest existing hardcore bands, whose roots reach back into the late 1990's. LBU godfathers! "900" sees NineBar blend elements of speed and pounding heaviness with melody and groove, combining their trademark sledgehammer style with occasional rock, punk and metal influences, whilst retaining plenty of the chugging brutality and crushing breakdowns that have brought chaos to dancefloors around the UK and beyond! Out now on Rucktion.
Trends come and go but you got to have respect for bands that do their own thing throughout the years with no fucking compromises. And I guess Spider Crew never had it easy, just try to remember how not even long ago it suddenly wasn’t cool to wear your hair short or go to the gym or you were almost a social outcast for not reading poetry to sleep every day and your pants were not tight enough. In times like this, when hardcore scene is in danger and the forces of evil have already raised its ugly head, albums from Vienna bands like Spider Crew, Only Attitude Counts and their countless other projects are like islands of sanity. 
Sicker Than Most formed in a house in Trenton NJ and were brought together by a series of horrible events that made us what we are. Since then we've grown into one of the heaviest bands to come out of New Jersey. Some have moved on but the ones who remain, are dedicated to bring nothing but songs that turn the dance floor into a warzone, topped with crowd pleasing sing alongs of a message that comes from our hearts. Full length CD coming soon on Good Life Recordings. Expect quality beatdown hardcore featuring ex-members of Clubber Lang! Check out Where We're At featuring James Ismean aka Stikman from Fury Of Five! [from mailbox]
Lockdown represents Virginia hardcore scene with a heavy-ass sound which makes you think of bands like Bulldoze or Merauder. They already got pretty cool demo out, Born Guilty, which gives a good showcase of what they're capable of. Combined with some dark, but mean lyrics, you know it is worth checking out. We caught up with Matt, band's guitar player, to let us know the story behind Lockdown, future plans and other stuff typically discussed during hardcore interviews. Enjoy!
Alcatraz are back with their first Full Length! After releasing one MCD and a split 7” with Berlins very own Final Prayer, “Smile Now, Cry Later” will hit the stores 18.11.2011. Having an South America Tour and a short Europoean Tour with First Blood under their belts, “Smile Now, Cry Later” will be the next step on the Alcatrazs way to Olympus! Influenced by the likes of Death Threat, Ringworm, Integrity, Hoods and Buried Alive! “Fast, loud, aggressive, just the way we like it!” Pure and raw Hardcore without an placed attitude – but with passion and anger! Alcatraz featuring current and ex members of First Blood, Embrace The End, Execution Style, Allegiance, In Memoriam, Set Your Goals, and Breaker Breaker."
Bringing two energetic but diversified contemporary hardcore acts together in one pure and primal slab of wax, Nails and Skin Like Iron will collaboratively self-release a split 7” EP this January. San Francisco’s Skin Like Iron have already become a well-known entity in modern hardcore with nearly ten releases on such admirable dissident hardcore labels as Six Feet Under and React Records. The split leads off with two tracks of their melodic, yet abrasive hardcore, boasting an ambitious and emotive energy that many similar contemporary acts lack in severely.