In Blood We Trust - On Thin Ice

In Blood We Trust - On Thin Ice
FWH 2009

This album can come as a surprise for everybody familiar with band’s previous work. They definitely picked up a pace this time and the music overall got more of this classic hardcore feeling. This new formula is obviously working for them giving the songs a certain freshness and vitality. You can hear some good hooks and groove parts coupled with harsh and cocky vocals and a lot of gang action.

On Thin Ice uses a lot of different kind of structures, from fast parts to beatdown breaks, and somehow it all flows naturally. The foundation of their music is still based on chugging riffs, massive bass and breakbeat style drum breaks and even if there are many ‘I’ve heard it before’ moments here, as long as they keep it fresh it’s fine with me. What I also like is the fact that In Blood We Trust are obviously having more fun this time. The feeling of the album is still of posing tough but they coupled it with more of a laid back approach and that’s what scores the points here cause if you gotta punch somebody in the face at least have fun doing it. It’s something making the whole delivery much more entertaining for sure, even though the lyrics hit all the standard clichés like revenge, backstabbers or staying true to your crew. The production is flat and too raw for this type of music which perhaps is the biggest minus. A lot of things they do over here seem to lose all of the impact it would have with a more fat and balanced sound. It has its ups and downs, but the more I think about it, the less there is to criticize about this record. They are definitely going in the right direction.

Author: Dloogi

IBWT at Myspace
Filled With Hate Records

The week wrap-up

"What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist." —Salman Rushdie

Some stuff you might find interesting:

Muslims Not 'Free of Being Mocked,' Danish Cartoonist Says - FoxNews.com

Europe’s Socialists Suffering Even in Downturn - NYTimes.com

Photoshopped Images Could Carry Warnings in France - Physorg.com

Oxfam launches East Africa appeal - BBC

Nestle milk link to Grace Mugabe - BBC

Iran Says It Test-Fires Longest-Range Missiles - Fox News

What Is Iran Afraid Of? - Slate.com

What's "Unlawful Sexual Intercourse"? - Slate.com

The Polanski Uproar - NYTimes.com

A Primer on Racism - Slate.com

China Is Wordless on Traumas of Communists’ Rise - NYTimes.com

China's Online Censors Work Overtime - BusinessWeek

A Human Rights Breakthrough in Guatemala - Smithsonianmag.com

The Fatal Consequences of Counterfeit Drugs - Smithsonianmag.com

Stigmata – The Wounds That Never Heal

Stigmata – The Wounds That Never Heal
I Scream 2009

This CD contains two albums by now defunct Stigmata, Hymns For An Unknown God (1994) and Do Unto Others (1998) and if both of them ain’t classic, what is?

Stigmata is surely one of the bands that have left something that will stand the test of time. The band had a knack for confident and hard hitting song writing coupled with sharp lyricism. Their metallic hardcore with heavy thrash/crossover influences was one of a kind combining skilled guitar work with a rather unique vocal approach. I like this raw feeling of 90’ East Coast hardcore feel to it if you know what I mean.

Lyrically, this is the dark and pessimistic documentation of the human condition at the end of the 20th century. It’s about seeing the things as they are and trying to find your way in this hopeless and cold world. I wanted to write down some quotes but there are so many throat grabbing lines on these two albums that it’s hard to decide which is the most representative. Anyway, to really connect with Stigmata’s music and get the real feeling of this albums you need to listen to it from the start to finish.

If you’re sick and tired of hardcore getting too soft and too nice nowadays and want to take a trip down the memory lane when it had this feeling of something raw and dangerous, I suggest you pick up this record. If you are a real hardcore fan, then The Wounds That Never Heal has all you could ask for. There is just something so real and honest about these albums and it just gets better and better as the years roll by

PS. The reason why I Scream Records put out this record is the 20th anniversary of the band. Although they officially stopped performing in 2001, they’re doing a few reunion shows this year. Unfortunately. I’ve got no info about any plans of them doing a tour in Europe.

Author: Dloogi

Stigmata at Myspace
I Scream Records at Myspace

Wolverine

Band’s name: WOLVERINE

Location: Long Island NY

Active since: June 2008

How do you define your overall style?
Hard Style like heavier hardcore

What’s your goal with this band?
To have fun, make music

What do you have recorded so far?
2 ep's and a demo

What do you think about the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie? Did it turned out to be like you wanted it to be and do you think your band could provide a good soundtrack for this flick?
Personally, I feel it was a little bit let down, it could be much sharper and brutal for my likings... Im a pretty big comic nerd at times and this movie was such a let down, like it didnt follow the comics at all and as the movie went on it just got worst like what they did to deadpool made me throw up a little in my mouth. But as for us on the soundtrack i dont see why not i feel like heavy music and action movies go hand and hand

So when you were coming up with the name did you have this Wolverine in mind?
When coming up with the name of course the super hero was involved but the animal is a badass to i mean youtube wolverines they kill things like 5 times there size


Do you think this character represents the most what you as a band are about?
Yeah pretty much i mean wolverine is hard as fuck and were a pretty hard band and the dudes all about fighting which i dont mind either

How did you lot get together in the first place?
Funny story about this i (the singer steve) am the only orginal member, were on our 6th and one of our best drummers nick who used to play bass in backtrack, fishy our 2nd guitarest who used to be in the partisan turbine, kirk our 3rd bassest, and brian who we needed a 2nd guitarest and added him and i would say this is our strongest lineup and i dont see any of these guys going anywhere soon so get used to there ugly mugs.

Who are your major musical influences?
all out war, merauder, fury of five, buried alive, madball, cro-mags, crown of thornz, 100 demons

As far as inspiration goes, where do you get your inspiration when you write your lyrics?
Just from life itself all the stupid shit that goes on in my life or in the society we live in today

What are your thoughts on the Long Island hardcore scene nowadays?
Its not bad it seems pretty divded right now but its still pretty good new kids popping up and some awesome new bands and we also now have more then like 2 venues so life here isnt terrible

Have you got any up and coming bands from your area you would recommend?
Shit man tons ill name a few: BROOKSITE, INCENDIARY, BACKTRACK, STRENGTH THROUGH SUFFERING, OUT OF STEP, PITFIGHT, SOWN IN TEARS, LIVE FAST, DIE FAST, CUTTHROAT ETHIC, SOLDIERS and tons more

What kids should expect when going to your show?
Good live show, bad jokes, lots of energy, nice guys we love meeting new people.

Do you have any good show related stories?!
This story's alright but we played albany once it was our first time playing there i didnt think anyone had heard of us before and then after the first song theres close to 100 kids watching us and all killing eachother during our set in this small tiny little venue it was pretty sick being that we were going up there thinking maybe a few kids would watch us.

Is there anything in the scene that pisses you off or that you'd like to see changed?
Yeah there is right now like i mentioned earlier our scene is kinda divided in the sense that its like kids who would listen to have heart go to there shows and thats it and then the kids that would come see us only go to heavier shows and then metalcore kids have there own seperate universe it seems but as of like maybe a year or two ago it was pretty much all the same thing in the sense we had diverse shows and everyone seemed like they were friends.

Gossip and hardcore: it seems no matter what you do, there’s always gonna be a person who likes to talk shit. Do you have any funny rumors or stories you’ve heard about Wolverine?
Yeah alot of the christian bands from around here hate us, because of what our songs are about and people try to say we shut venues down and what not but we have yet to close a venue or anything of that sort

What are your plans for the rest of 2009 and beyond?
just trying to play out of state more and new merch to come lots of fun stuff.

Is there a chance for a full length debut in the near future?
Yeah were hoping to have an 8 song maybe even 10 song cd out by either late january or early febuary

Thanks for taking your time to do this. Any final comments?
thanks again for the interveiw if you ever come around us let us know and will hook you up.

Wolverine at Myspace.

“A Nightmare On Elm Street” Trailer

Damn, this remake thing has been getting on my nerves for way too long and it breaks my heart to see all those great horror movies getting the remake treatmant to fit in today's weak standards of Hollywood. It’s just another lazy attempt to make a bit of easy cash with no regard to the true horror fans. Yep, I know I've said nothing new here, but just had to get it off my chest. So “A Nightmare On Elm Street” is next and the trailer is not looking very promising. The fact that the director Samuel Bayer's work experience is based mostly on doing music videos doesn't help either.

Ty Nitty - Life Lessonz

Revenge

"We also played a show with a bunch of posi/youth crew bands in the kitchen of a loft apartment in a warehouse somewhere in Brooklyn, the PA wasn’t working so I was just screaming at people and the posi kids lost their minds and shoved someone into a hole in the wall."

The thing that hit me when I’ve heard your band for the first time was that you music got this dirty and raw punk rock feel to it, sometimes even close grindcore sound, but at the same time it’s still hardcore. Was it something you planned and where do you draw your influences when writing music?
First off I just want everyone to know this is Dan. I can’t really answer for the rest of the band but I will do my best when I need to. I don’t think we ever really planned on our songs being what they are, to me this is a form of expression or a lashing out at the things I see as wrong or fucked up. We all listen to many many hardcore bands and sub genres of hardcore so musically we draw from a lot of places. Black Flag, Napalm Death, Integrity, Crossed Out, and Left For Dead are a few but it goes far beyond that. Lyrically as I kind of stated before; whatever is bothering me, whatever fucked up experience I had for the day, whatever problems I'm dealing with is what goes into my lyrics.

There has been a plenty of bands lately who name Integrity as their influences but you guys stand out somehow. What do you think it is about Clevo sound that have such an impact on the scene lately?
I think the attraction to the Integrity/Ringworm/Holy Terror/Clevo sound is that it is dark and angry. We are kind of hitting rough times so I think more people are upset and angry and may have dark things going though their heads.. also Integrity and Ringworm are amazing artists and deserve any recognition they get.

What is the meaning behind the religious themed artwork of the album? The cover art of your demo was based on Begotten, an experimental movie which, as many interpret it as so, also deals with religious issues with the main theme of the biblical story of creation. Was it something you planned and does it have any relation with the lyrics of the songs?
Well I have personal issues regarding organized religion and for the most part I see it as corrupt and disgusting. Too many wars, deaths, broken homes, and other terrible acts have been the result of organized religion. Its only natural to have similarly themed art work to reflect the content of our songs.

Talking about movies, what type of stuff you like and does it happen that some flick you see or book you read is an inspiration for your songs?
We watch a lot of different movies. I know that George happens to be a big fan of really fucked up and obscure horror movies. Movies and books don’t really inspire me to write lyrics that much. I did write a song very loosely based on Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, but it is a very very loose reference.

As you recall it now, what made you start a band in the first place? How do you think your attitude changed since then? Do you think you look at the hardcore scene somehow different since you started playing and get to know the scene from the this point of view?
I was actually not with Revenge when they originally started. They had another singer but he lived in New York. I was in this other band that wasn’t really working out for me, but it happened that the guys in Revenge came to one of our shows and asked if I would do fill in vocals for them afterwards. Things worked out so I ended up recording the demo with them and becoming full time vocals. We haven't been a band that long.. just under a year now.. I feel it would be pretentious of me to say how much the scene has changed since we’ve been around... so I won’t.

What is the hardcore scene like in Massachusetts? Any bands or labels you would recommend?
The scene in Mass, as far as I can tell since I started going to shows anyways, has been a little bit rough for a while. I have been pretty excited to see what bands out of mass have been doing as of late though. Bands like Shoot To Kill, Debaser, BearTrap, Inhibition, Pitfall, Think Again, Abomination, and Can’t Heal have all been killing it. As far as labels go keep an eye on Frequency Deleted Records and Neutral Territory, so many good releases are coming out on both.

You guys played with a variety of bands, small shows and festivals. What are some most memorable gigs?
Both shows we played at the Montrose Basement in NY have been insane, we played Significant Fest in tampa after an all night drive with Tyson from Think Again on bass (do to some travel disasters) he was a trooper and learned our songs about an hour before we had to play and pulled them off pretty flawlessly. We also played a show with a bunch of posi/youth crew bands in the kitchen of a loft apartment in a warehouse somewhere in Brooklyn, the PA wasn’t working so I was just screaming at people and the posi kids lost their minds and shoved someone into a hole in the wall.

Since the 2012 is the next date for the end of the world, at least the way we know it, what are your plans with the band till then? What do you guys want to archive?
I personally don’t believe that 2012 is the end of existence, according to religious leaders and other crazies we should all be dead by now, the world was supposed to have ended in 1992, 97, 98, 99, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and that is in recent years, I see it as an attempt to scare us. However despite out impending doom we plan on recording some new material within the next year, playing as many shows as we can, and hopefully attempt a full US tour in the summer

Anything else you would like to add?
Keep an eye out in the future, I have some details on some shit, I’m just not sure if I can drop that knowledge yet so be on the look out for announcements. Keep an eye on FDR and the bands I mentioned, I'm sure that good things will be coming out of them. Buy the LP we owe Anthony money now. Thanks.

Check out their myspace profile.

Surge Of Fury - In My Tox City

Surge Of Fury - In My Tox City
Rucktion 2009

Every now and then, I find myself thirsting for dope hardcore album to set me in this ‘fuck the world’ state of mind with some vicious breakdowns and cocky lyricism. And when it happens, it’s good to have bands like Surge Of Fury dropping a new album that helps quench this thirst.

The records kicks off with a short, slow paced intro with the whole gang shouting ‘Surge Of Fury’ and this kind of lets you know what you’re about to witness here. Groove is indeed the name of the game and some parts of this album sound very much influenced by bands like Fury Of Five or Billy Club Sandwich. Surge Of Fury’s strength lies in the fact of how organic their mesh of NYHC vibes and breakdowns sounds. Let’s face the fact, metal parts and heaviness in hardcore are not a novelty anymore so it’s all about the delivery. There’s no point in reinventing the wheel, it’s just important that when kids are listening to your album, it flows naturally and the sound is not forced. Like, when you do a breakdown, do it for a right reason, which is giving a song a punch, not because it’s a hype to pack you album with tons of mosh parts. Hopefully, in case of this album it ends up sounding natural, and the band uses that to their advantage to amp up the heaviness of their sound to a level but never really loose the groove factor. No one would call this album cheesy the same way a lot of beatdown bands sound tacky now. Overall, the album is consistently great throughout with good hooklines, beefy sound and menacing vocals. I highly recommend picking up a copy.


Author: Dloogi

Surge Of Fury at Myspace
Rucktion at Myspace

Because it's weekend!

“Censorship reflects a society's lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime.”

- Potter Stewart


EU funding 'Orwellian' artificial intelligence plan to monitor public for "abnormal behaviour" - [Telegraph.co.uk]

‘Project Indect’: An A.I. to police all of Europe [The Raw Story]

HARDCORE/PUNK LINKS:

Death Before Dishonor video interview - [Youtube]
Baltimore City Paper on Gut Instinct - [Baltimore City Paper]
Coregasm on Reality "something hurts" 7" - [Coregasm]
Day21, new rock'n'roll band of Jimmy Pursey - [Myspace]
Old Shirts Renewed! - [Severed Forever]
Maximum Penalty videos - [An Attitude Exhumed]
Abhorrence and Under 18 interviews - [All Year Summer]

OTHER LINKS:

Lust for Lowlife: Ricky, Julian and Bubbles don’t stay out of prison long in Countdown to Liquor Day - [See Magazine]
From Russia With Hate - [Current.com]

If you think you got any interesting links I could post next weekend get in touch: jacco.hc[at]gmail.com (or just post them as a comment!)

Human Demise/Worth The Pain - Split 7"

Human Demise/Worth The Pain - Split 7"
WTF 2009

Here’s the split 7 inch of two very promising European bands. Human Demise is a classy blend of fast and upbeat hardcore metal crossover with powerful riffing and gruff vocals. Along the way the Clevo influences are quite present in these songs s and since nowadays it seems like there are millions bands playing this evil style of hardcore, Human Demise is doing it the right way and is a good listen for those who can’t get enough of this kind of stuff.

The beats are aggressive and grimy, the vocals are on point and the lyrics are more than adequate. Worth The Pain, hailing from Finland is next with two tracks. The band hasn’t disappointed with their take on metallic hardcore. They manage to combine the heavy side of hardcore with the old school vitality into a total package. The music is metallic, groove oriented with tough, gruff vocals. Both the music and lyrics are incredibly well-written and I can't even find anything that bugged me. The production is raw but clear, making it easy to hear what's going on, and this goes to Human Demise side of the record also. All in all this is a split record with some good things happening. As far as I know both bands are planning to release more music in the near time so I suggest you keep your eye on them.

Author: Dloogi

Human Demise at Myspace
Worth The Pain at Myspace
WTF Distro at Myspace