Dead Man's Chest drops video for Hateline


As most of you already should know, Dead Man's Chest will be releasing new album on BDHW in Europe and Seventh Dagger in US. Peep the new video for Hateline below.

"Negative Mental Attitude is the crushing new LP from British HC/ Straight Edge heavyweights Dead Man's Chest, Featuring guest vocals from JonnyXplague (Winds Of Plague), JohnXmusic (XtyrantX/King of Clubz), Pelbu (Knuckledust/Bun Dem Out), Matt Spencer (Hometown Hate/Vow Of Hatred) and it also features an Integrity cover which features Integrity's own Dwid Hellion!! If you are a fan of bands like Cro-mags, Slayer, Discharge, Septic Death and Integrity, this is the record for you! Mixed and Mastered by Zeuss ( Hatebreed, Throwdown, 100 Demons)."

Seventh Dagger releases No Zodiac 'Population Control' on vinyl



The vinyl version of No Zodiac's "Population Control" is available at Seventh Dagger webstore. You can order your copy here. White is limited to 400, clear marble is 100 and the shirt package is 50 pieces.

No Zodiac 'Population Control" pre-orders

Seventh Dagger has launched pre-orders for the upcoming No Zodiac album 'Population Control'. You can get your copy here. There's even ski-mask/CD combo! Teaser for the album can be found here.

Trailer for Population Control by No Zodiac

No Zodiac has posted video trailer for their first full lenght album "Population Control" due out on xSeventh Daggerx. Release date for the CD is January 8th 2013. Check it out after the jump -

Listen to 'Life, By The Code' by Cleveland's Search Bloc

Life, By The Code is the title of new EP by Search Bloc. Four songs of that vicious Cleveland straight edge hardcore you either love or hate. You can listed to the entire EP here or after the jump. Life, By The Code is expected to be released on Seventh Dagger Records.



Listen to new songs from The Wrath!

The Wrath has posted rough version of the new songs on their Bandcame page. This new stuff sounds pretty bad-ass and definitely makes me hungry for the new album! More info about future release will probably drop soon!

Dead Man's Chest - Summon The Strength


New Dead Man's Chest video done by Frank Pellegrino. Seventh Dagger. Straight Edge. Hate.

GhostXShip - My Oath


Wrestling and hardcore come together in this new video for Ghost Ship.

No Zodiac - Chaos Reigns


If you're a fan of obscure horror movies, don't sleep on this one. And all you kids talking shit, you need to chill and don't take life so seriously.

One Choice - Forever War

For those unfamiliar, One Choice members have did their time in other prominent SoCal bands like Time For Change, Collision, Built To Last and Her Grey Earth. After debut Ep which came out at New Age records, this is their debut full length release. By the middle of the first track, the expectations from the rest of the album are set high. After short intro, Forever War sets things off with a damn catchy hook and hell of a chorus.

When Karl of Earth Crisis takes over the microphone, I really feel like these boys nailed it. It carries strong Trial influence, something which can be heard at different points throughout the album, but the band rises above your typical 90’-worship. The guitar work is awesome and the structures of the songs are tight and focused, but don’t lack melodies and plenty of exciting twists and turns. Being in hardcore band, it’s hard to inject emotions other that hate or urge for revenge into the music without sounding pussy. I dig the bands that know how to do that. And this is one of the things I like about One Choice – from personal pain to the disgust and disappointment with the world, they can get the feeling across to the listener in a way that it sounds honest and convincing. If those songs don’t move you, you’re a cold heartless bastard.

One of the standout aspects of the album is the number of guest appearances, which include Karl and Scott from Earth Crisis, Greg from Trial, Mike from Outspoken, Toby from H20, and Andrew from Strife. From Friendship Loyalty Commitment by 25 Ta Life I haven’t heard so many guests lending their vocals on a single hardcore album. All of these straight edge all stars contribute both to the songs, as well as give a short explanation in the gatefold of the album about what sober life means to them. The variety of people involved benefits not only the music itself, but shows that straight edge scene is still strong and vibrant. Pretty good move.

Highly recommended album. I’ve heard they plan to release something new this year, so keep your eyes open!

Review by Dloogi

Seventh Dagger, 2011

Blade signed to Seventh Dagger. New album in the works!

Blade, Belgian Straight Edge hardcore band, is now part of the Seventh Dagger family. The collaboration will result in the release of band's new album, "Armed with Abstinence". Blade describes its sound as "bleak, dark and aggressive hybrid of hardcore and metal, but still staying far away from the current metalcore style. In fact everything about Blade is influenced by the earlier, angrier days of new school hardcore." The band has so far released a split with the German band Golddust on Break Out records, and a 7” named “Lambs To The Slaughter” on Ugly And Proud records.

Ghost X Ship - Cold Truth

Good hardcore doesn’t have to be too fancy. All it takes is substance, sharp delivery and some hard-hitting lyrics. And that’s what Ghost Ship delivers with its debut release. Cold Truth contain all the necessary elements that make a solid hardcore album, from raging guitars to seriously pissed off vocalist to insane breakdowns, all executed with a vivid flow and passion. The album’s sound is loosely possessed of the early Hatebreed or Throwdown but for the most part they keep it pretty fresh and avoid clichés. With no unnecessary tricks, distractions and experiments, I guess it’s the realness and commitment felt in those songs which are essential to what makes it work as a whole.

My favorite songs must be Enough, with very well crafted arrangement and catchy hook at the chorus. Monster of a song! On the production level, the album sounds just as it should – not too much raw, not too polished either.

When you pick a Seventh Dagger release you basically know what to expect messagewise and Ghost Ship is no exception. They take a strong and uncompromising straight edge stance but are pretty creative about how they get the message across. While some songs are more on the positive side describing band’s commitment to living a sober life, other will take you to the depths of the dark world of addiction and degeneration. The aforementioned Enough reminds us that addiction is not only about drugs and alcohol but it can affect a person on many different levels. Especially when money is involved, mass media and big corporations will go out of their way to fill your head and body with crap. As a person who tries to make conscious decisions about what to eat and what to buy, I can totally relate to the message in this song. And if you’re ain’t doing it, maybe you should? Everyone got a right to live their live as they want to but being smart is probably one of the best options.

To sum it up, Cold Truth holds all the tricks that make a good hardcore album. If you’re into stuff that’s heavy and aggressive, but still does not lack passion, don't sleep on this.

Seventh Dagger, 2011

Review by Dloogi

No Zodiac debuts new song

New No Zodiac song, "Chaos Reigns", can be heard here. No Zodiac is a Chicago-based Straight Edge band, you can download their demos here. The band will drop "Population Control", their debut release for Seventh Dagger, sometime this year.

Barcadia has called it quits

Damn, I missed this sad news when in January the band has announced they called it quits. Here's the update from the band's official FB site: "It's been a hell of a ride since 2005 and a lot of people have helped us along the way and supported our every move but we're going to be calling it quits. I (Michael) don't feel up to doing the band anymore and the rest of the band didn't want to continue on without me. There are way too many people to thank but a huge thank you to all of Reno hardcore and Reno straight edge...you made us who we ...are and without this city and all of the people here we would have been nothing. And thank you to everyone who checked out RAINN.org and did their part to help out a great cause. Continue to support what Reno puts out because there are some incredible people here. Thank you to everyone who supported us." You can still get some of their merch here.

Ghost X Ship - The Comeback

Ghost Ship video for "The Comeback" featuring footage from their 2012 tour.

Dead Man's Chest - Hateline

The debut full length from the UK-based evil mongers, Hateline, picks up where band’s debut EP left off but first thing that hit me is how fatter and more forcing it sounds. First of all, the production is way better, giving these songs the beefy sound they deserve. The song writing is more complex, but still they focus on the right elements giving a music a vibrant and dynamic feel. The overall mood of the album is rather dark, which reflects best within the lyrics. Hateline explores themes of hate, contempt and disgust across ten songs of dirty heavy-ass hardcore. But instead of focusing on mental horrors and dramas, the band presents more down to earth approach in the lyrics which totally works for me.

The album sticks to mid-to-fast tempos most of the time and is proof that the best way to play hardcore is often by keeping it dirty and straight forward. This type of music is supposed to make impact by its sheer force not technical wankery, simple as that. That’s why I can connect to Dead Man’s Chest music, it’s abrasive and filthy brand of hardcore but far from generic or cliché. They take some influences from Clevo sound, but are far from just another band jumping on Holy Terror bandwagon. There’s also a surprising cover included as a bonus track but I am not going to spoil the fun, you have to check it for yourself. All I can say it’s probably the first band I hear to cover that track and they do the song a justice. Awesome stuff!

I can’t not mention that the artwork done by Janusz Kozak from Gore77 is great as always and overall Hateline is a good example of how the CDs should be released. While the front cover is not that impressive, the booklet got all the lyrics, horror-themed artwork and high quality band photos put together in very stylish way.

Before I wrap up, some extra knowledge. I don’t think it’s that much important fact about the band but Dead Man’s Chest consist mainly of Poles living in UK, some of them previously active in couple of pretty decent bands back in their home country. Most notably, the bassist Michu used to play for 1125, one of my all time favorite hardcore acts. Drummer, Andy Edge, used to play in Pignation, probably the only power violence band I listen to. If hardcore from Eastern Europe is still exotic to you, you need to check out both of these bands.


Seventh Dagger
, 2011
Review by Dloogi

Domestic War - Ad Noctum

I highly recommend this. This album is fucking great. I admit that xSeventh Daggerx can get repetitive. And i do not love most of Facedown or Strike First, as they tend to get too metal - or too christian. Well, this is hardcore. Straight up and down. Just heavy fucking hardcore.

Thick, strong, no bones about it, Metallic SXE HC ("Put the fucking bottle down!")Lyrics are a bit more elaborate than typical SXE platitudes; but the subject matter is the same. Angry, vengeful, bitter, unapologetic lyrics. Killer, vicious riffs; fast to breakdown, kung-fu inspiring madness. I anticipate being scared at a show. And, amongst all these breakdown bands shoving Christian rants down my throat, i applaud Track 7 - decrying the ultimate crutch, that Jesus guy. Also, i like them reppin all 3 X's, and not letting that 3rd one slip. Calling out fools who do not abide to the SXE credo of self-respect. *("Fucking everyone you see. "Don't smoke, Don't Drink, Don't Fuck." - What is it that you don't understand?")

FFO:
More Next Step Up than Strife for song 2; but that goes away. Buried Alive. Path of Resistance on Steroids. xTyrantx and Seventh Star, obviously. Thick as Blood, Figure Four. Harm's Way.

Review by Hutch (Empty Hands blog)
Label: Seventh Dagger
Year: 2011
Band's website

Barcadia - Violent Means, Violent Ends

One thing that is obvious about Barcadia is that they got their own opinions and are not afraid to voice them. They’re clearly comfortable with their chosen, non-conformist lane and they are not about making compromises. Hate them or love them, many people have been waiting for Violent Means, Violent Ends to drop.The band has poured loads of attitude and confidence to this album. Compared with their prior record the music seems to be more mature, with much more twists, but still maintains high energy and high impact. The band mostly wanders in mid-tempos now, with lengthier, drawn out songs, but there's a good combination of different styles with some faster, straight up aggressive parts as well. Everything seems to fall into place musically. The album is filled with menacing and dark atmosphere it suffocates and scrambles the senses of the listeners. The sound quality is heavy, bur raw. It’s not a type of music that needs to be that slickly recorded and I dig that aspect as well.

The standout aspect of this album is definitely in the lyrics. Barcadia tackles every form of sexual abuse or act of violence against the innocent. It’s really surprising this problem is so rarely taken up by hardcore bands. As the band explained in the recent interview; “The more I looked into sexual assault and saw how prevalent it is, the more disgusted and pissed off I became. I decided to use my band as a vehicle to drive all of this information into the heads of people who might not be thinking about it or who might not know about it. I also wanted to be a band that lets anyone who's ever been sexually assaulted know they are not alone and there is at least one band, one group of people in this world who care and who actively stand up against what ruined their lives.”

Violent Means, Violent Ends is a good album for Barcadia. Both the music and the message maintain the high energy level and it makes each track a strong and powerful statement.

Review: Dloogi
Label: Seventh Dagger
Year: 2011
Band's website

Search Bloc interview

Search Bloc hails from the city of Cleveland in the great state of Ohio and their sound is fast and pissed off hardcore, totally in vein of One Life Crew or Confront, laced with tight grooves and heavy hitting vocals. Read the interview to know why they're backed by Seventh Dagger and what should we expect to come out of this collaboration in the future.
Search Bloc hails from the city of Cleveland in the great state of Ohio and their sound is fast and pissed off hardcore, totally in vein of One Life Crew or Confront, laced with tight grooves and heavy hitting vocals. Read the interview to know why they're backed by Seventh Dagger and what should we expect to come out of this collaboration in the future.
For those who don’t know, could you just give a short introduction of Search Bloc and tell us a little about your background?

First of all, what's up Hardboiled, thanks for the support and giving us this interview. Search Bloc started 5 years ago here in Cleveland, OH with the goal of playing that fast Straight Edge brand of Clevo hardcore along the lines of Confront, Face Value, and OLC. Back then, and even still now, bands are trying to play beatdown, and metal, and trying to out evil each other, but that's a bunch of crap, we like hardcore, so that's what we play. After numerous line-up changes, the current line-up is Anthony Jochum and Rich Millard on guitars, hometown anti-hero Frank McGhee on drums, Large Robert on bass, and I'm Chopsey and I sing. Anthony's two older brothers used to be in Integrity until recently, when I don't know what happened, maybe they wouldn't drink the kool-aid and Dwid kicked them out because of that haha, but in any case I'm name dropping Integrity so in case you like them, their younger brother's in our band and you can check us out.

Give us a rundown on your collaboration with Seventh Dagger,. How did it come about?

We have to thank Joe Riverside of Rhinoceros a lot for that. Back in 2008 he put us on the bill for Seventh Dagger Fest and put in a good word for us. He's a really good dude, and we appreciate him for helping us out always. We got to play in front of a lot of people, including Danny Sober who runs Seventh Dagger Records. He liked us back then, and now three years later, we reconnected and he asked if we'd be down to do some things, and we said hell yes.

Apart from the t-shirt, there’s also 2010 demo included in the Cleveland Confidential package. Are there any plans for future collaborations? Any chances to record a new full length with them?

Definitely, the Cleveland Confidential: The Final Report demo are songs we recorded in 2008 and 2009, Seventh Dagger re-released it to get the word out about us in anticipation of our upcoming full length we're putting out in 2011. We're currently in the studio right now working on it, it's gonna have 16 new songs of the hardest shit you've ever heard come out of Cleveland in a long time. It's gonna be all out, all Straight Edge, full on gas pedal to the floor with no brakes, and no spooky stuff, no sad shit, just the sweetest shit you're ever gonna hear. It'll be the best thing that Seventh Dagger has ever put out.

Cleveland has been a breeding ground to some of the hardest bands in history of hardcore. How do you think being from over there affected your song sound?

Well, if you've heard us you can totally tell we're ripping off the old Cleveland bands, it's what we like, and been listening to for years now. It's what we wanted to do, keep that style going.

What were the first records and bands that influenced you when you were starting Search Bloc?

Well, it more less came down to this idea, what if there was a Cleveland band, that was actually really Straight Edge, and sounded like OLC, but wasn't a bunch of hillbillies saying dumb, racist, homophobic, sexist shit to get attention? So from that, Search Bloc came about to fill the void.

There are a lot of great bands aiming for that evil Cleveland sound, but most of them are not even from the city or even States. Compared to the days when Integrity or In Cold Blood were around, does it feel like there is a strong scene in Cleveland right now?

Actually none of those bands that jock the holy terror sound are from Cleveland. We have the real people who are the architects and innovators of that style out here, nobody's gonna put up with second rate knock-offs doing their best "in contrast of sin" impression. Nobody really gives a shit about out of town holy terror bands around here. Seriously, we can just go see the real Ringworm instead.

For you, what year represented the best time in hardcore for Cleveland and in general?

Hardcore is never as fun, exciting, mysterious, and scary as it was when you first got into it. So the best time for me, and I'm sure a lot of people, was not a specific year or era, it was that very first show I went to. You're a little nervous, a bunch of sketchy characters there so you're a little intimidated, but then once the band played those first chords, and that big rush of pure energy hits you, there's no other feeling like it. It's a life changing moment, for a lot of us it marked the moment we knew hardcore was going to be the rest of our lives.

Is there anything in the current hardcore scene you would want to change or something you'd like to see get better?

I don't really care too much what the current crop of young kids are doing. Hardcore's for the young people though, so I just ask that whatever you do you leave the hardcore scene in a better place than where you found it, 'cause sure enough most of you are gonna drop out, and then there'll be a another group of young kids who are gonna come along and fuck it up even worse than before.

What’s on your wish list for 2011 and what do you hope to achieve?

In 2011 our new record's gonna come out, hopefully with Seventh Dagger behind us it'll get us more exposure. Get out there and play more shows in places we've never played before. Put us on the map, make sure Cleveland stays relevant, and just have fun and enjoy the ride, it's really not that serious.

Anything you want to add to people who haven’t heard of you yet?

If you like hardcore, check us out. Up The Straight Edge, fuck sell outs.

http://www.facebook.com/searchbloc
http://www.myspace.com/searchbloc
http://www.facebook.com/seventhdagger
http://www.myspace.com/seventhdagger
http://www.seventhdagger.com

x Barcadia x

xBarcadiax is one of the most uncompromising straight edge bands with fierce sense of integrity and fearlessly outspoken. Their main focus of their brand new output Violent Means, Violent Ends is domestic violence and sexual assault, a topic that has been ignored by many bands. This is time to take a stand!
xBarcadiax is one of the most uncompromising straight edge bands with fierce sense of integrity and fearlessly outspoken. Their main focus of their brand new output Violent Means, Violent Ends is domestic violence and sexual assault, a topic that has been ignored by many bands. This is time to take a stand!
Could you tell us something about Violent Means, Violent Ends? What should we expect from it and when it will finally drop?

We approached everything with the attitude of "if we like it, we don't care what anyone else thinks". A lot of the music was influenced by bands we love like No Retreat, Built Upon Frustration, Grimlock. Lyrically, I wanted to bring things I think are important to light. There aren't too many "heavy" hardcore bands who confront rape, child molestation, human trafficking. I don't understand why that is.

So it’s coming out on Seventh Dagger. Is it important for you guys to be on the label that is backing up your message and promoting the same sober lifestyle?

I think it's important for people to realize they can get a lot more done if they are sober. We have stayed with Seventh Dagger because Danny has always been really awesome to us. I can call him up any time with any problem or question and he's always there with a solution.

The album’s running theme is the sexual assault, domestic violence and life trafficking. What prompted you to touch this import ant topic? Were there any specific stories or people that influenced the lyrics on the album?

A while back a really good friend of mine was raped. I would say that's what set me off. The more I looked into sexual assault and saw how prevalent it is, the more disgusted and pissed off I became. I decided to use my band as a vehicle to drive all of this information into the heads of people who might not be thinking about it or who might not know about it. I also wanted to be a band that lets anyone who's ever been sexually assaulted know they are not alone and there is at least one band, one group of people in this world who care and who actively stand up against what ruined their lives.
Members of this band have also had to confront sexual assault head on. One of us was born out of a rape. What we are about isn't just some front or some way for us to get a pat on the back. I used to wake up every day sick to my stomach because of the horrible shit human beings do to each other. We are actively participating in a fight against sexual assault and those who would violate others. This band is just one part of that fight, a weapon, a tool.

Are there any new insights into this topic that you've gained when you prepared for this album? What do you think the biggest myth is about domestic violence?

I have always tried to get some sort of understanding about the effects of sexual assault. I am always reading stories from woman who survived brutal rapes or children who were molested. The thing that got to me most is how fucking damaging sexual assault is to people. It tears them to pieces. It fucks up so many different aspects of their lives.
I think the biggest myth about domestic violence is people who are abused thinking it is in any way "acceptable" or "okay". I wish people could understand that people who love you do not hit you and if they do, you deserve someone better, someone who won't hit you.

What do you think is the most critical helping factor for someone who has fallen a victim to sexual violence?

Just being there for them. It is their decision whether or not they want to report it or come forward. But I think standing by them, being there are much as humanly possible with love and support can help them through it and help them get the justice they deserve.

Your “Zero Tolerance” t-shirt is strong. What is your view on a capital punishment for a violent sexual crimes?

I think convicted rapists should be killed or locked away until they die. And if locked up, they should not be afforded anything other than the minimal amount of food and water needed to survive. They should be treated like the fucking filth they are. Child molesters, child pornographers, pimps...these "people" should be castrated. I don't care if it's barbaric or inhumane. And fuck chemical castration which requires ongoing injections. Cut their balls off. The worst offenders should be killed without any of the appeals bullshit red tape that costs everyone so much money. These assholes deserve to die. The words "repeat offender" should not exist. And if the law won't do it, there are people in this world who will and there are ways to do the necessary things without being caught.

Have you received any controversy for this t-shirt?

No. Everyone I've seen with one always says that people agree with it and are all about it.

So, after the album hits the streets, what’s next for the band?

Most likely us stealing a van and going on tour until the police stop looking for us. Hopefully that includes Mexico and Europe.

Any final thoughts that you'd like to share?

Thank you for the interview. If anyone has any questions they can contact us. If anyone needs help or wants to help, they can go to www.rainn.org or call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE

More on Barcadia here.