MPO - Deny Life

MPO, previously known as Monsieur Po, has been active in the vibrant Paris scene since 2002. Still under the previous name, they have released ‘There Was Life’ MCD and split with Una Vida which I reviewed some time ago. Deny Life is not only their debut release as MPO, but also the first full length recording overall.

Band’s music is best described as metalcore, but the one along the lines of All Out War, Sentence or Arkangel and not the one which is about tight pants and pig squealing bullshit. It might not deliver the apocalyptic atmosphere as the mentioned bands, but still it doesn’t lack a bite. Since the first notes on the album the band lays out pretty dynamic and heavy sound coupled with intense and forceful vocals. All the elements seem to blend together seamlessly and the music is thought out and well played, but sometimes it lacks some catchy hook to hold on to. MPO can write really incredible and complex tracks, but what this album needs is more diversity between the songs as sometimes it’s hard to tell one from another. But that doesn’t take away that Deny Life is a solid effort. MPO isn't really breaking new ground here, but the mosh parts are solid and do the job and in the end, it’s good to see that metallic hardcore can still be played with a focus on passion not fashion. Anyone into that type of sound should give it a try, there are good odds you will find something you like.

Giant Leeches Attach, Cruzade Records, 2011
Review by Dloogi

In Clear Sight released debut album on Clenched Fist Records

For those who missed this one: In Clear Sight has released their debut album 'Fuck Fairytales, This Is Reality' on Clenched Fist Records. The album was recorded by Sven "Svenchi" Janssens (ex-Aborted, The End Of All Reason) at Red Left Hand Studio. In Clear Sight is a relatively young but promising band. Their style can be described as heavy hardcore with metal influences and heavy breaks. Think of bands like: Wall Of Jericho, Stick To Your Guns, Terror, First Blood, Pay No Respect, The Setup...

Reaper and Solid Bond to release Friend Or Foe's 7 inch

Reaper and Solid Bond records have teamed up to do a limited 7" for United Blood. A limited amount will be available soon in the Reaper DIY Store as well. Friend Or Foe features members of Bracewar, Fire & Ice, Iron Boots and Tough Luck … straight up hardcore Richmond style!

Hibernation and Slavebreed split available

The long awaited split 7” between Hibernation & Slavebreed is now available co-released by World’s Appreciated Kitsch & Noise Attack Records. The split is limited to 500 copies in gatefold packaging and on black vinyl. Two songs from Hibernation, three from Slavebreed.

New Sai Nam track posted at band's facebook

Head over to the Sai Nam facebook page to hear the new track "Live Fast" from the forth coming album "Crush". Some info about the band: Looking to start a new project in early 2011, New York Hardcore Stalwart guitarist, Mike Dijan (Breakdown, Crown Of Thornz, Skarhead) called on sonic co-conspriator drummer, Lou Medina (Breakdown, All Out War,District 9). The two long time friends and bandmates went right to work, hammering out a batch of blistering heavy material.. Dijan then reached out to acclaimed producer, Dean Baltulonis (Sick Of It All, Hope Conspiracy, Supertouch) about a vocalist for this unit. Dean strongly suggested (Trapped Under Ice) frontman Justice Tripp, with whom he had worked with on TUI’s breakthrough LP Secrets Of The World. As destiny would have it, TUI were headlining NYC’s Santos Party House that very week, where Dijan and Tripp talked about jamming together.

The fit seemed perfect and Tripp was fully up to the challenge. So without a single show or rehearsal, the band joined up with Baltulonis at Wild Arctic Recording Studio in NYC to record their debut 10 song LP, CRUSH. Right from the start, Sai Nam was firing on all cylinders. From Dijan’s heavy Rock-esque riffage to Tripp’s rapid fire vocal delivery, to Medina’s thunderous/chaotic drumming, to Baltulonis’ colorful production, and bass work, Crush promises to deliver the goods in stylish fashion. Hardcore icon, John Joseph (Cro-Mags) appears as guest vocalist on the album to ice the cake.

With their debut full-length in tow, Sai Nam is ready to hit the road and play shows across the globe, bridging the gap between two generations of hardcore music.


Plead The Fifth Interview

Sacramento, CA-based Plead The Fifth has just recently released their new seven inch, ‘Life Sentence’, on Arrest Records which a must hear for everyone into old school hardcore sound. Definitely one of the raddest records of 2011. I have caught up with Alex, the vocalist of Plead The Fifth, to talk about the release and what the band is up to now when the EP is out. !
Sacramento, CA-based Plead The Fifth has just recently released their new seven inch, ‘Life Sentence’, on Arrest Records which a must hear for everyone into old school hardcore sound. Definitely one of the raddest records of 2011. I have caught up with Alex, the vocalist of Plead The Fifth, to talk about the release and what the band is up to now when the EP is out.
Last time we spoke it was in 2009 and it seems there have been some changes in the band since then. Can you tell us what’s been happening with the band during that time?

Since then we have had a few member changes and have played all over the West Coast a bunch. With the new members I've felt that our song writing has grown quite a bit and our current songs blow anything of the previous stuff out of the water.

Tell us something about Life Sentence? How is it different from your previous recordings and why such title?

"Life Sentence" is different in the fact that we actually took the time to write the songs and think everything out and making them good. It wasn't just writing random parts and throwing them together. I also worked much harder on my lyrics than before. I just think it smokes everything else we've done, we're all super proud of it. as far as the title goes, it comes from one of the songs on the record with the same name. The song is basically about being stuck in your own head and thinking about everything too much. Not being able to forget bad shit from my past and carrying that around with me everyday.

In the previous interview you said the message is an important part of hardcore, as well as of your music. What are some of the topics you cover in these new songs?

There are a few. Personal stuff like what was mentioned in "Life Sentence", most of the songs are about stuff like that. A couple are about things I see in the world and in people that piss me off. I don't know if there is necessarily a message to any of them, but I feel like people could relate to them.

How did you hook up with Arrest Records and how does it feel to have your music released on vinyl?

We hooked up with Johnnie and Arrest Records when he and I were talking about his band Word for Word coming out to California for some shows. I was gonna help him book the shows and we were gonna play the shows with them. Around that time we were starting to write new songs that we wanted to be put out on a 7 inch. i just asked Johnnie if he was interested and he said he was and it pretty much went from there.It feels awesome having our stuff on vinyl. Of curse every hardcore band wants that to happen and now that it finally has it's fucking awesome.

What’s your opinion about current state of hardcore? Musically, it seems kids start to appreciate raw and fast hardcore bands, judging how much support acts like Rotting Out, Backtrack or Take Offense have been getting.

I think the current state of hardcore is awesome, best it has been in years. Besides the bands you've mentioned, which are all great, there are so many more from all over the country such as Expire, Soul Search, Downpresser, Minus, Ill Intent, Truth Inside, Kicked In, Incendiary, and a ton more. I could go on forever. Hardcore is fucking awesome right now.

And beside hardcore what are your favorite tunes to bump?

Everyone in the band listens to all sorts of different stuff. Lately when I'm not listening to hardcore/punk/Oi I've been listening to a lot of hip hop.

Any new and upcoming bands from your area that we should be aware of?

Shambles from Sacramento is a really good new band. We share a couple members with them. Really rock/grunge influenced hardcore, it's really cool.

What’s the best show you played in 2011?

We played a lot of awesome shows in last year. If I had to narrow it down, it would be a tie between, the Rotting Out record release show, Sound and Fury Fest, and Trapped Under Ice/Backtrack/Take Offense at my house. That last one wasn't really a full blown set, we hopped up during our boys' Pressure Point's set and played 3 songs, but it was fucking awesome.

Finally, what are you looking forward to for the band this year?

Looking forward to playing a lot more, touring a lot more. I wanna go all over the place this year. We're also writing some songs right now that are coming out really fucking great. I'm not sure what they'll turn into but I'm really excited about them.

World Of Pain - World Of Pain

Not much time has passed since the bone-crushing three-way split with Xibalba and Ruckus, and the debut full length from World Of Pain album drops at BDHW Records. I’ve been following the band since their first demo and it’s good to see them getting the attention they deserve. This self titled album is a logical continuation of what they did on their previous releases.

It begins with a heavy-ass intro to get the mood started which provides a good build up to the Running Thin, the opening track, which is rather fast paced compared to some other parts of the album with massive riffs and menacing low-pitched vocals that sounds almost death metal. The rest of the tracks on the album continue in similar fashion bringing a great balance between groove and heaviness. Not that the band can’t hold it down on their own, but somehow the tracks with guest appearances are the ones I like the best on the album. Third Rail has insane flow with Noah, vocalist of World Of Pain, trading verses with no one else but Gonzales of Billy Club Sandwich. This collaboration was bound to be a success and the result is nothing but dope. The other memorable moment is Consequence with guest appearance from Tad of Stout fame. His sinister vocals definitely have a uniqueness to them that help this song to sound truly sinister and evil.

Overall, World Of Pain definitely brings the in-your-face aggression, but there’s also a lot of substance in what the they do. The album on a whole sounds really cohesive, they build on what they do best but aren’t afraid to explore new territories as well. Highly recommended stuff.

BDHW, 2011
Review by Dloogi

Ghost X Ship - The Comeback

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

Bridge 9 to release Terror live album , 'No Regrets No Shame: The Bridge Nine Day'

Bridge 9 has announced plan to release live Terror live album entitled 'No Regrets No Shame: The Bridge Nine Day'. The footage was done when Terror performed at the Showcase Theater in Corona, CA in January, 2003. Bonus features like the "Push It Away" music video and a full set from Terror's Headline Records in-store performance from the same timeframe are also included, and this CD/DVD (& LP with all remastered Showcase Theater audio tracks) release hits stores on April 24th, 2012.

Pre-orders for the War Charge 7" Have Started

Demons Run Amok has launched pre-orders for the War Charge self titled 7" ep. The Edinburgh based hardcore band was formed in early February, 2011 influenced by bands like: Down To Nothing, Bitter End, Trapped Under Ice. Releasedate is the 7th of April. Check out their song 'Cold' here. Over the past six months War Charge have recorded their ep and played shows across Scotland and England. War Charge are looking forward to playing their release show in Germany and then continuing on to the rest of Europe for their European Tour with xRisk Itx in April of this year. So don't miss these guys. There will be: 100 on white, 100 on blue and 300 on black.