Violence Approved - No Free Rides

Violence Approved has been already eight years in existence and through all this time they stuck to the concept of delivering straight in your face, no frills hardcore. Their style is all about pure old school sound in vein of Agnostic Front, Only Attitude Counts or Backifire. You basically know what to expect – irresistible hooks, easy-to-sing gang vocals and impossible-to-forget choruses with dirty aggressive guitars and pounding rhythm section all over. The band delivers sharp as nails performance and approaches each tune with a sense of mission to give listener what they want. They also bring a sense of unity and hardcore family with guest appearances from Agnostic Front, The Warriors, Anticops, Dead End Tragedy and Bleed Into One. All the guys laying down the vocals fits pretty well with the vibe of the album and basically do the great job.

My only gripe with this album is that I don’t really hear anything new or particularly innovative here, and with little diversity between the songs, at the end of the album the energy start to burn out. Don’t get me wrong, I am usually the last one to expect hardcore bands to be original or creative. This specific style of hardcore has been done million times before and I know playing good hardcore is not about reinventing the wheel, but it never hurts to keep some of your own personality and style in the music. On the other hand, it might not be memorable or awe-inspiring classics, but they still deliver that rawness and energy hardcore album should have.

Overall, this is a worthwhile release that though not the most ground breaking you will ever hear, still delivers some nice dose of an unrelenting power and intensity.

Review: Dloogi
Label: District 763 Records
Year: 2011
Band's website

Look My Way

Look My Way was born in the summer of 2010 with the goal to create heavy, blood pumping hardcore with origins based in classic east coast hc bands such as Agnostic Front, Judge, Madball, MerauderR and newer bands such as Death Threat, 100 Demons, old Hatebreed. Each member of Look My Way comes from different kind of background and bands (Another Victory, Kill This Dream, Cheap Thrills etc.), but everyone shares the passion for grassroots hc, it was just a matter of time until they found each other to do this band..

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

LMW is a hardcore band,no gimmicks,no bullshit,no silly pants,no metrosexual hairdos!we play the music we love and not what may be the next big thing!

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

The actual lineup exists since september 2010! i knew tommy from local shows.tommy and low met rene in summer 2010 and started rehearsing.they were looking for a singer,i was kinda frustrated with my project at that time and gave it a chance. micha joined the band on 2nd guitat in september,we recorded the demo in november!yo

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

We are still a very young band so still we got hard times,struggle and strife ahead of us haha. we got some good shows in the future and so on. ask me again in a year or something haha

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

Heavy metallic NYHC with lots of old school influences..sounds a bit odd but yeah,i would describe it that way.people brand us as "tough guy" hardcore,well..it could be worse haha

What have you released so far?

A demo on save my soul records.the tapes are sold out but we repressed a couple cds to sell at shows.you can download the demo!check the link on that webzine

Who are your strongest musical influences and why?

We all listen to different kind of stuff but mostly east coast hardcore bands are our biggest influence, madball, sick of it all, merauder, judge,agnostic front,some metal stuff, punkrock, oi!, we are pretty open minded. we are combining all these sounds with a modern approach

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

- most of my lyrics have a rather negative vibe cause i see my band as an outlet for my personal issues i have to deal with!real life issues!that`s what it`s all about.fuck the world before it fucks you!

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

Kids loosing their shit,punching people in the face,throwing chairs and tables at people,retards moshing with sleeveless soul crew shirts,timberland stomp,ignorant mosh in general and so on..hook us up!

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

A couple of weekends to play,playing some fests,death threat weekender,some more.we will record a lp in summer,maybe a split release with another band. we wanna stay busy

Any closing thoughts?

Thanks for the interview and supporting the band! we really appreciaite it! look out for save my soul records putting out the sweetest records in 2011!and remember: bands who pay to play suck and are NOT hardcore!DISEMPOWER!!

Circle Of Death - Immutable

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!

The Platoon - Birth To Box 7" coming soon on Save My Soul Records

The Platoon will put out Birth To Box 7" on Save My Soul Records. You can listen to peek preview of new tunes here. Those guys have been around for a long time now and still manage to get better and better with each release!

Turn Away - To The Open Sea

At first I didn’t know quite what to make of this album. I mean, ‘Just a Little smile on your face, could save my day’ is not a best line to open a hardcore album. It helps that the band displays some decent skills, the music is detailed and the songs are well crafted, but it still seems poor and lacking in bite. Each time I have feel for some exciting material it never happens.

Even if some of the songs sound decent, they never follow through with some strong hook that would strike an emotional chord in me. This isn’t helped by the fact that the songs rarely stand out from each other. It might have something to do with the production, which is way too polished in my opinion. The vocals are also disappointing, both in charisma and effectiveness. I mean, even if some of the lyrics are well written, the way they are delivered is pretty much disappointing. I am not into hardcore because of the self pity, I’m here because I angry and I when I pick up a hardcore album I want to hear the kids who are as mad at this world as I am.

On the bright side, the songs that grabbed my attention are Leaving The Town and Second Chances, both with its nice riffing and decent melodies. If only they had spiced it up a little it would be dope.

To The Open Sea is a standard effort that very rarely seems to take off. I hope that with the next album they will be able to craft a more aggressive songs. They got the skills, but they need to ante it up a bit.


Label: Lucifers Legions Record
Year: 2010
Band's website

Misanthropy, new album from Go For It!, out soon

The Oldschool-Hardcore outfit from the Ruhrpott area in Germany will hit the studio from 08. – 14.11.2010, to record the subsequent album to the debut "Reading between the front lines" from 2009. The album will be entitled "Misanthropy" and deliver enough explosive content with a total of 14 songs. Go For It! raised the Punk line in the song writing process in favour of melodic-weight-bearing moments, up to atmospheric-depressive arrangements perceptibly drawn.

Furthermore, Bud from SCORE THE SETTLE and Cindy from ALL FOR NOTHING will appear on “Misanthropy” as a special feature. Under which label GO FOR IT! will release the album, is not clear yet and up to this date GO FOR IT! keeps covered about a concrete
date and co-laborations.

Edge Of Spirit sign with Demons Run Amok

Demons Run Amok Entertainment and Lucifers Legions Records offered bigger distribution to Japanese hardcore band Edge Of Spirit who recently signed with Lucifers Legions, and the band re-signed with Demons Run Amok, that caused release date change from October 27th into December 1st. The album titled Edge Of Spirit by Edge of Spirit will be released through Demons Run Amok Entertainment on December 1st, 2010 in Europe. The price will be 12EURO. For more infomation about the release, visit www.demonsrunamok.de

Feet First - Heaven Home Hell

To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to their previous album but I remember it being heavy and harsh with pretty much straightforward approach. Now, three years later, we get ‘Heaven Home Hell’ and while it obviously follows the same script, you gotta give them a credit for working hard to make their music more dope and vibrant.

The tone of the album is intense and heavy hardcore, always from an attack position. Dual vocals work pretty well for them and backed by skilled musicianship, it makes this CD pretty enjoyable. Musically, it is well sequenced and while the music doesn’t necessarily switch too much, the emotions and dedication they put into these songs make it a good ride throughout. Feet First has managed to stay relevant by not chasing trends. Compared to their previous album, they didn't change the recipe that much: you can still expect tons of hardass beats good for kick-boxing. This is a type of band that can incorporate metal into their music and still manage to maintain a hardcore attitude. With songs like Your Churches Still Burning or Widerstand Feet First comes out swinging with powerful hooks and neck breaking mosh parts, but they also got a knack for more old school flavored songs like Beast From The East. Is Heaven Home Hell by any means a classic album? No, but it is dope and heavy and is going to be a good piece for your collection if you like when hardcore makes you wanna break your bench press record or just punch some Nazi in the eye. Approved!

Review by Dloogi
Label: Demons Run Amok
Year: 2010
Band's website

Bravestar - Barricades

Expectations are high for this German band which released "A Warriors Heart", a mighty fine debut I reviewed some time ago. Bravestar is one of the bands that try to bring some fun back into hardcore and you gotta appreciate their effort. Their newest album entitled Barricades is constructed over the themes of fun, hardcore, partying and BBQs. So, is it any good?

Yes it is! Bravestar does not make any dramatic breaks with the previous album here. This new output is filled with energetic and pretty much straight forward hardcore with some memorable hooks and slick breakdowns. The music itself sort of reminds me of bands like Death Before Dishonor or Blood For Blood, but obviously with more laid back attitude. The songs flow with a natural ease and nothing is forced here. This band is real tight and actually shows some talent for shelving out catchy tunes and crazy sing-alongs. I imagine their shows must be one hell of a party. These guys obviously love what they do and it comes across to the listener. From songs about partying to songs about giving a middle finger to this fucked up society, every song on this album is guaranteed to put you in a positive state of mind. I guess many of you can relate to tracks like Fat But Cool or Always Hardcore! Personally, I dig lyrics for Barricades and Strength Through Actions the most cause they speak about the unity in the scene and keeping hardcore on the streets not on the catwalk.

Overall, this album is well played, recorded, produced and their style of positive (in a fat, BBQ way) comes across very clearly. The CD is very nicely put together with cool artwork and all the lyrics so you know what you’re paying for!


Review by Dloogi
Label: Marked For Death Records
Year: 2010
Band's website

New In Blood We Trust merch

German moshers from In Blood We Trust updated their webstore with couple of new items. Make sure that you check them out on the upcoming tour with Punishment and Cold Existence.