Listen to 'Life, By The Code' by Cleveland's Search Bloc
Listen to new songs from The Wrath!
Booze Riot releases '...Strikes Back!' EP
New releases from Set Me Free
Ralph Macchio - Forget The Past
The song is taken from Welcome To Your Doom album, out on Caustic Records
Elapse Interview
The energy and dedication that burst out of every song at Storm, the recent EP by Sweden-owned Elapse, makes you think why this band is so criminally underrated. It’s a shame cause they got enough skills and ideas to make their hardcore both sharp and meaningful. The strong DIY ethic within the band makes them release all their stuff all by themselves and usually straight for free download.. That was the case with their previous album, The Mockracy, and that is also true for Storm. I got nothing but respect for the bands that handle their business and I would be glad if any of the kids reading this who have not heard Elapse, would go and check this band.!
The energy and dedication that burst out of every song at Storm, the recent EP by Sweden-owned Elapse, makes you think why this band is so criminally underrated. It’s a shame cause they got enough skills and ideas to make their hardcore both sharp and meaningful. The strong DIY ethic within the band makes them release all their stuff all by themselves and usually straight for free download.. That was the case with their previous album, The Mockracy, and that is also true for Storm. I got nothing but respect for the bands that handle their business and I would be glad if any of the kids reading this who have not heard Elapse, would go and check this band.Can you give some background on Elapse for those out there who are not familiar with the band? How and when it all started?
The members of Elapse are Love Thübeck on vocals, David Shanks on drums, Simon Flack and Robin Eriksson on guitars, and me, David Tapojärvi, on bass guitar. This band started around 2005 before I played with them. They played all sorts of metal with a lot of different influences, and in 2008 they found their way into hardcore and recorded a 3-track demo under the name of "40+ Bareback Hunterz". I joined them in late 2009 and in 2010 we became "Elapse". We recorded a demo/EP called "General Errors" and in 2011 we released "The Mockracy".
You have just put out a new EP called “Storm”. Can you tell us about that?
It's an EP containing five songs. It was recorded here in our home town Örebro a few months ago and we're just really happy that it's out!
My first thought was that the title might allude to Judge, but is there any other meaning to ‘Storm’?
The title was a bit longer at first. I had a title flying around in my head which was "Storm on a path", then Simon suggested to cut it down to just "Storm". It points to the feeling that nothing ever goes right. That your path, so to speak, is just doomed to fail. I guess it's a bit like the classic "rain cloud over head"-thing.
Is there any chance that ‘Storm’ will be released on any physical format?
"Storm" was actually just released physically. We made a CD version out of it ourselves and it turned out great. On our previous EP "The Mockracy" we had great artwork and all that, but we just slipped hand written CD-R's in to a plastic pocket, which worked okay, but this time we thought if would be fun to make something more "real" out of it. Now it looks like a proper CD release. We've also been talking about putting "Storm" on vinyl, but we're not sure what will happen there. It's also available for free download at a bunch of places, and will soon be on Spotify too.
Lyrically, these songs carry a rather negative tone. What is the main driving force behind your lyrics? What motivates you to write the way you do?
The songs on "Storm" are not necessarily based on concept, but I wrote a lot about things that I guess are in the same frame. It's about finding out what's good for you and what isn't. What you need in life and what you don't. About watching yourself from a different perspective. I would say "Worn Out" is a great example of perspective, where you find yourself looking back at stuff that has been tearing you down, but you've come out stronger and wiser than before. I just felt that I had to get that off my chest.
The motivation behind writing lyrics varies a lot. It can be anything from the society to a line in a movie, even though the song might not end up being about the thing that pushed my buttons in the first place.
The world seems to be in a shitty state these days. How do you feel about things like the financial crisis, unemployment, general instability in many people lives?
Obviously it's not a good thing at all and it's a shame what happens in this world. It's too bad there's more than one way people can feel about this.
Your country is seen as economically stable and generally friendly place to live. How does it all look like from the Swedish perspective?
I guess every country looks nice on a post card. I immediately think about a party called the Sweden Democrats. Their view on immigrants is not the friendliest and they've certainly helped the face of Sweden turn uglier.
What are some of the shows you have played that really stick out in your mind?
For me there are three shows that comes to mind, and I think that the rest of the band agrees. First, the release show for The Mockracy was just awesome, unfortunately David wasn't drumming on this show because of injured shoulders. We hadn't done that many shows before that one, but at this one it was fantastic to see that people had given some of their time to learn our songs.
A few months before that, we played a festival in Linköping called Fat Fest. It was the first time we played outside of Örebro, and there were really cool bands playing there, such as Trapped Under Ice, Bane and Hårda Tider.
The third one that comes to mind we did not that long ago in Gävle. We went there with two other bands from from our town (Chain Reaction and Hårda Bud) and it was amazing. It's a floor stage so they compensated with stools that they kicked around the floor to "stage dive" from.
What other bands out of Sweden you support these days?
There are several great bands from our town, such as Dead Reprise, Chain Reaction, Hårda Bud and Chastise. Then from all around Sweden we've got Lesra, Angers Curse, Bitter Taste of Life, Guilty, Lose the Life and Agent Attitude. This is just the tip of the iceberg, though.
After the EP is out, what’s next for Elapse?
To play as much as possible, basically. We've been hearing a lot of bands talk about this thing called "Euro tour", and it feels like we need to look into that.
New 'Last Man Standing' 7" by Watch Your Back
Truth In Needles - Against The Grain
Againt The Grain, new TIN's video off of the 2011 album "Turning Gray Black"
New Mercyless album out on Cruzade Records
Reaper signs Malfunction, Tolerate and Born Annoying
Face Your Enemy streams the entire album, 'Do The Right Thing'
Strength Records to drop limitied vinyl edition of Cause For Alarm album
Life After Death posted new tunes
Life After Death has posted a new song, Cursed and Cuffed. Band's Facebook: 'So since Lifeless NLFTW said they were going to post a song, we decided we would post a rough mix of one of our new songs called Cursed and Cuffed so you could have new jams from both of our bands.' The song is crazy, definitely a good follow up to their debut album, Scum Of Society Forever, which came out on Filled With Hate last year. "Cursed, Cursed, Cursed to rehearse this fuckin fake as smile/ Cuffed, Cuffed, Cuffed to a soul that never gave a fuck"
Lifeless to release new 7" on Harvcore
The new 7" Ep by New Jersey-based Lifeless is called 'If I Could Be Anyone But Me' and should be out this September via Harvcore Records. The band has put the new songs on their Stereokiller profile so go there and make sure you give this band a proper support they deserve. Ffo Merauder, Fury Of V, Bulldoze....
Menace - Demo 2012
Menace is from Williamsport, PA and comes with some vicious, negative and most of all tough as nails hardcore. I kind of ran across this band while just mindlessly browsing Internet and I wonder why there's no any hype yet about them cause this shit is so tight! From the music itself to the lyrics it constantly reminds me why I hate this world so much. I know these guys are working on some new tunes, but check out this demo in the meantime! Download!
Where Fear And Weapons Meet to play Bringin’ It Back For The Kids Fest
Where Fear And Weapons Meet has reunited and is set to play their first show at Bringin’ It Back For The Kids Fest on October 12th at Rocketown in Fort Lauderdale. As reported by several websites, the new line-up features two original members: John Wylie (Morning Again, Until The End) and Jason Lederman (Against All Authority, Shai Hulud). The band also consists of Larry Scott (Think Fast! co-owner), Chip Walbert (All Hell Breaks Loose, Until The End), and Chad Kishick (Shai Hulud). The band is working on some new tunes as well!
Bitter Thoughts - ST
Bitter Thoughts hails from Chicago suburbs and delivers powerful and slick hardcore/hardcore in vein of Dmize, Breakdown or 25 Ta Life. The got this good old NYHC vibe going on throughout this self titled demo and each tracks is delivered with force and a healthy dose of grit. Good stuff! Download!
Dead Man's Chest - Summon The Strength
New Dead Man's Chest video done by Frank Pellegrino. Seventh Dagger. Straight Edge. Hate.
No Cure - Broken Lives
No Cure is a new band from CT with ex members of Ambitions, iRise, Unforgiven, and The Risk Taken. It's a 4 song demo, just above 5 minutes long of fast and intensive hardcore with some thrash influences thrown in for a good measure. The sound quality is awesome, the songs are tight, can't wait to hear more from them! Download it!
New Blood: Life For A Life
Life For A Life are couple of dudes from Cali who are really pissed off at the world right now and did the best thing to do when you’re in such situation – started a hardcore band. Two demos released last year were promising, but when the band put out the Identity EP I knew this shit is serious. Tight as hell hardcore that delivers a perfect mix of groove and heaviness. This is interview I did with the singer, Jabril, just before the EP was released. Make sure you check Identity out after reading this interview!
Life For A Life are couple of dudes from Cali who are really pissed off at the world right now and did the best thing to do when you’re in such situation – started a hardcore band. Two demos released last year were promising, but when the band put out the Identity EP I knew this shit is serious. Tight as hell hardcore that delivers a perfect mix of groove and heaviness. This is interview I did with the singer, Jabril, just before the EP was released. Make sure you check Identity out after reading this interview!Tell us something about Life For A Life? Where do you come from ad how did the band originally get together?
Life For A Life is a Hardcore Punk band from Lancaster, Ca. We originally started as a 5 piece band in Jan. of 2010 with two vocalist. Christian Resendez and Jabril Ward singing, Dylan Frye playing bass, Brennen Mann on guitar, and Charlie Marotta playing the drums. Our current line-up is Jabril Ward singing, Cole Patterson on Bass, Brennen Mann on guitar, Charlie Marotta on drums, and recently we added another addition to the band, Rene Resendez who is Christian's older brother
Identity is brand new song from LFAL and it serves as a teaser for the upcoming EP. Wanna tell us something about it? How representative is this song to the rest of the material?
The single Identity was released in March of 2012 and is also the name of our EP set to be released in late May of 2012. The song on it's own is about walking forward into the unknown future. Without the knowledge of who you are, and what you stand for, the point of view on your own "identity" is altered. The past of someone does indeed define a man. The EP can be looked at as a story being told by a youthful mind. The EP "Identity" hopefully can be relatable to many listeners based off the fact that everyone does have the fear of the future. We can't wait for the EP to drop, and can't wait to hear feedback from fans.
There seem to be a lot of NYHC influences in your sound. What are some of the bands you draw your inspiration from?
The single Identity was released in March of 2012 and is also the name of our EP set to be released in late May of 2012. The song on it's own is about walking forward into the unknown future. Without the knowledge of who you are, and what you stand for, the point of view on your own "identity" is altered. The past of someone does indeed define a man. The EP can be looked at as a story being told by a youthful mind. The EP "Identity" hopefully can be relatable to many listeners based off the fact that everyone does have the fear of the future. We can't wait for the EP to drop, and can't wait to hear feedback from fans.
Do you think that the lyrics and the message in LFAL are of the same importance as the music?
We definitely do believe that the lyrics are as important as the music. Hardcore isn't just a sound, but it's a lifestyle. If you are able to preach your personally experiences with it, then your message will reach out to many kids.
I am kinda curious is there any deeper story behind the band’s name? It sounds quite serious.
Hahaha. The band name. This is a question we get a lot. The name LIFE FOR A LIFE started out as a phrase that we use to use in high school. Our vocalist Jabril is an only child and values friendship very much. He wanted the security of friendship, as well as giving out the same security. We all made a pact to stick together no matter what, and we would throw the phrase around once up against the wall. It eventually turned into the band's name, and it became known very quickly in our town.
You guys played with plenty of well established bands, from Donnybrook to Madball to Trapped Under Ice. Is there a lot of pressure opening for bands like these and how supportive are kids to up and coming bands like yours?
Opening up for major bands such as Madball and Trapped Under Ice is indeed very nerve wrecking, but pressure is everywhere in life. Sometimes you have to just brush off the thoughts of self-doubt and give it your all. We believe that you only get one chance to shine, and that chance is now. Usually the kids in our home town scene and local areas are very supportive. Sometimes it feels like the pressure slowly leans off of us the more we play shows. We start to see familiar faces each time, and it starts to feel like home wherever we are.
What bands would you like to play with in the future?
Even though we are susceptible to play with any band no matter the genre or location. We could all agree that playing a show with Terror would be a great pleasure. Just the energy that they bring to every show they play is so exciting. Who wouldn't want to be a part of that.
If you knew someone just getting into hardcore, what advice would you give them about the whole thing? What bands, records, labels, zines they should check out?
Advice that we would give to anyone new getting into hardcore is that the best thing to do is let down your guard, open your eyes, relax, and get ready to be understood by a wave of people from different places, different past, different futures, but all the same shoes.
What are your favorite current hardcore bands?
Record labels to check out would be 6131 records here in California, Reaper Records in New York, and some smaller labels such as Life to Live in Florida & Learn to Trust in Malaysia. Currently some of our favorite Hardcore bands would be Fire & Ice, Backtrack, Rotting Out, Downpresser and many more. Bands that should be checked out would have to be Down Fall from down here in Lancaster, Always Try from down here in Lancaster, Relations from Oxnard, The Black Path from Lake Elsinore, Iron Grip from Denver, and Losin' It from Florida.
What are your hopes and dreams for the future of the band?
We hope to show fans that no matter their thoughts, that they are never alone in life. We also want to spread Hardcore music and the lifestyle as far out as possible to different people no matter their ethnicity, faith, and point of views.
Check out band's Bandcamp
Stoop Kid - Demo
Hard as nails hardcore out of Massachusetts, Stoop Kid delivers everything you need to start wanting fuck people up real badly. This is their first demo and it sounds tight. Pounding and crushing stuff delivered mostly in mid-tempos with the emphasis on groove and nice double bass work. The angry-ass vocals make you want to get your aggression out in a brutal way. Pretty sick. Spineless is my fav song, but all of them are solid. Download it!
Born From Pain streams entire 'The New Future'. Pre-order packages available!
Groove, riffs, melody and defiance to the powers that be come into one - this is how GSR Records describes new album by Born From Pain. The label offers 3 different pre-order packages. More about the album: "This is the musical reaction to creeping oppression, anti-human policy and fear mongering by the powerful few of this world against the people. This is a cry for the better and new future we all deserve. This is the result of a 15-year journey of a band coming to full awareness of the world around them and daring to stand up for their beliefs, musically coming of age with more melody, hardness and atmosphere than ever before. Fear won’t stop us in our tracks…THIS IS US!" You can listen to the entire album here.
Embraced By Hatred reveals the title of new album
Embraced By Hatred, German beatdown, is working on new album called "Trife Life". If you wanna see how it's going to sound, click here for the official teaser. It does not reveal much about the new music, but the classic joint that plays for most of the video is worth clicking anyway.
Fallbrawl - Mayhem
Fans of German beatdown will be happy to know that Fallbrawl just released new video.
KDC - The Dirt On My Hands
From the album "Naive To The Bone",release date 6/22/12, on Irish Voodoo Records! Filmed and edited by Atom Productions.
Impulse CV - Chicano Violence
Impulse CV is brand new band emerging from the vibrant Chula Vista hardcore scene. The guys have just released Chicano Violence demo and it's definitely something to check out if you're into fast and pissed off hardcore. The songs barely pass the one minute mark and everything is hardcore to the bone. From start to finish this shit is pure aggression. What impressed me most is how each track flows together flawlessly and they even do some slick breakdowns from time to time. Definitely recommended! Download!
New Swing On Sight Family 'Worldwide Split' is out at FWH Records
Founded back in 2002 in Youngstown Ohio, the SOSF expanded the last decade to a global organization with chapters in the USA, Japan, Spain and Germany. After two editions including an American and Japanese band each, "Volume 3" takes the next step further and features Cold Reigh (Indiana/USA), Gentlemen's Sport (Hamburg/D) and Guerilla Crowz (Tokyo/JP). Each band recorded 4 new tracks of straight-up, uncompromising no-nonsense Hardcore influenced by the traditional Cleveland sound like Ringworm, In Cold Blood, One Life Crew and even classical NYHC like Cro-Mags, Madball or Merauder.
Terror - Keepers Of The Faith (Full Length Documentary)
Terror documentary “Keepers of the Faith” which the band has posted in its entirety for free streaming. Good stuff, not only for die-hard Terror fans. I believe the band does not need any introduction, but it's good if kids can see and appreciate how much effort they put in to make it work. One of - if not the - most prominent bands in hardcore right now which has not compromised its credibility and integrity. There's a lot of passion and dedication in what these guys do and it definitely shows in this video. KOTF!
Entrapment - The Pros And Cons Of Breathing EP
Entrapment is new band formed in The Barracks (Wilmington, MA). The sound quality of the demo is rather raw, but if that not something that would put you off there is definitely something promising going on here. The band delivers solid metal driven hardcore accompanied with burly vocals. They throw in a good amount of tempo changes so it doesn't get boring that fast. I would definitely like to hear some properly recorded shit from them. Until then, give young bloods a chance! And check out their facebook page as the band plans to play some small tours this summer! Download it!
Lay It On The Line - A Lesson In Personal Finance
"It is about the old headteacher from Mike and Matt's school - he was murdered by a rentboy, who he owed money to. The rentboy broke in to his house, robbed him and killed him." - cot damn! Lay It On The Line prowls on the streets of South London and this is a story of how to survive in big city when times get tough. Download it!
Check out Solid Bond Records. Friend Or Foe 7" still available!
Check out Solid Bond Records, a new label started by Jared Carman, bassist of Trapped Under Ice and Down To Nothing. The label has so far jointly released with Reaper Records the Friend Or Foe 7″ for United Blood 2012.
Revelation Records signs The Rival Mob
Revelation Records welcomes The Rival Mob to the roster. Look for a release from this great Boston hardcore band in the coming year. If you're unfamiliar the band: The Rival Mob was born in a bitter wasteland known as Massachusetts in the year of 2007 AD, where five men were brought together by a common goal: to play hardcore punk in a manner most hard, cold, and real. Having had a bit of experience here and there playing in bands such as Mind Eraser, Free Spirit, Mental, Rightous Jams, Thow Wrong Side, XFilesX, The Prowl, Bottom Line, New Lows, Lovely Ladsand R'N'R , it wasn't long until Boston's infamous practice space and recording spa the Pain Cave was ringing with riffs. Inspired by late 80s hardcore a la BREAKDOWN, REST IN PIECES, YOUTH OF TODAY, and CRIPPLED YOUTH, the boys recorded their first demo (an '87 BREAKDOWN worshipping slab of meat) and started playing shows and making a name for themselves within the wonderful hardcore punk community. Not long afterwards they were approached by Boston hardcore hero and entrepreneur Greg Willmott and a deal was inked for a release on the notorious Lockin' Out label.
In late 2008 the "Raw Life" EP dropped like an atom bomb and the word was out: THE MOB ruled all. Gigs and tee shirts began to flow like wine as THE MOB continuously attacked the Northeast, Canada, and beyond. Unwavering in their style, the "Hardcore for Hardcore" EP was released in 2010 on Six Feet Under records to smashing success.
Aged like a fine wine and seasoned like a fine meal, THE RIVAL MOB return yet again for their first full-length LP on Revelation Records entitled "Mob Justice." "Mob Justice" will take the raw meat and potatoes Rival Mob formula and pump it full of caveman steroids. Not for either the faint of heart or the faint of pit - so don't say you weren't warned.
Last Dayz - Fuck Off
First official video from the Polish band. Go to Ratel Records website and order their 7"!
Down & Out! - Demo Revisited
I don't know much about this band except that they're from Puerto Rico and play quite tight hardcore with NYHC twist. According to their Facebook, Down & Out has been around for about 7 years already but I also got no clue if that's their first demo or if they had released anything prior to this one. Anyway, the songs are somewhere between being fast and groovy, with breakdowns and gang vocals thrown in here and there. The sounds tends to be flat, but it doesn't bother me that much. Out Of This captures the band at its best, with a smooth delivery and catchy-as-hell chorus. Definite thumbs up! Download it!
Cheech to drop 4th full length album
Cheech, which is one of the most criminally underrated bands out of Boston, has provided news on their new album which is currently in the works: "This summer we will be finishing up our 4th full length album. Title and label will be announced in the coming weeks. Be sure, it will be a killer record, one much BIGGER than any previous Cheech release. Because of this, we are starting the campaign now and trying to reach as many people as we can." All Cheech releases are available for free streaming and/or download at band's Bandcamp website including DEMO versions of a few new songs:
