Hammerfist - Dead Dreams

Dead Dreams, the highly anticipated new full length from Cali-based Hammerfist, holds seven tracks of no holds barred hardcore with cut throat delivery, aggressive flow and hard-hitting lyrics.Their ability to blend heaviness with groove places them somewhere between the classic heavy-ass Merauder sound and faster bands like Lionheart or Since The Flood. There are many bands around who have honed this craft to perfection but still Hammerfist manage to hold their own. The sound is consistent all the way through, whether they speed up or play those massive breakdown parts. Tracks like Diamond Cutter or Black Or Red get a job done with a host of punchy hooks and powerful grooves. Lyrics wise, Jake Fist, the singer, takes us on a journey through the dark valleys of life; despair, depression, anxiety and pain. But it’s not just all about dark though, it is rather aimed at giving you a sense of empowerment than a depression. The other remarkable aspect of this album is production, which is mega heavy and pounding, allowing all the energy of these songs to furiously blast out of your speakers.

Overall, this is a strong album, These songs are sick, some of the heaviest I've heard recently. Maybe not particularly innovative, but still totally effective. I know it won't be suited for everyone, but there is no shortage of good hooks and recognizable riffs and vocal lines here. It definitely makes me want to see this band playing these songs life.

Review: Dloogi

Label: Ghost Town
Year: 2010
Band's website

Reprisal's Boundless Human Stupidity re-released by Customcore

France-based Customcore Records has re-released the classic Reprisal album - Boundless Human Stupidity. This new exclusive digipak edition comes with new master and 2 bonus tracks in ! This is how the label describes it: Reprisal blow away the competition with their awesome technical Edgemetal. Somewhat similar musically and lyrically to Arkangel, " Boundless Human Stupidity " attacks the idiocy of mankind destroying our planet. This is what I would call real dance music, infectious to the bone, " Boundless..." calls for a massive pit !

Homicidal - Tear you Apart

New pre-orders at A389 Records

A389 Records is launching pre-orders for new Xibalba self-titled album, as well as new 7"s: Black Earth by Weekend Nachos, Survival Prayer by Pick Your Side and Step To The Edge by Ancient Shores. They've got also some of their out of print stuff available again, including Pulling Teeth Paranoid Delusions vinyl.

Madball - All Or Nothing

New Agnostic Front 7inch Coming on March 8th from B9!

The Godfathers of New York Hardcore, AGNOSTIC FRONT, are gearing up to release their new full-length, My Life My Way, on March 22nd! The album features 13 new powerful and anthemic songs laid down by Erik Rutan (Madball, Goatwhore, Cannibal Corpse etc.) at his Mana Recording Studio in Tampa, FL under the watchful guide of producer Freddy Cricien of Madball.In preparation, they’ll release two songs to the masses on the That’s Life 7inch, which will be available March 8th from Bridge Nine Records.

On their third collaboration with the band and second time working together with a pre-release album 7inch, Bridge Nine Records couldn’t be more excited about the partnership. Label owner Chris Wrenn commented, “One of my most proud moments here at B9 was re-releasing the Victim In Pain and United Blood records from Agnostic Front in November ‘09. And to open the doors to do so, we worked with AF prior to that on a pre-release 7inch for their album Warriors on Nuclear Blast. It was awesome working with both the band and the label, so we figured – with a new full-length coming out - why not do it again?” The That’s Life 7inch will feature two songs from My Life My Way – “That’s Life” and “Us Against The World” – and will be extremely limited to 2,000 copies worldwide. 1,000 copies of the 7inch will have silk-screened B-sides, while the other 1,000 copies will have hand-etched B-Sides. More information and photos coming soon to Bridge9.com.

Vocalist Roger Miret commented on the new material: “After all is said and done we are amazed on how great our new record turned out! It’s by far our catchiest record to date and it’s going to make everyone want to sing along for sure. Freddy killed it on the production end, just capturing that hardcore vibe that only he can get out of AGNOSTIC FRONT. The boys all put nothing but passion into the songs, and Erik Rutan just dialed it all in to make AGNOSTIC FRONT sound as natural and as organic as ever. This one will definitely be a classic once it’s heard worldwide!”

For more information check out Nuclear Blast and Bridge9.com!

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.

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.