Interview with Joey Knuckles (The Alliance, Suicide Kings) pt II

As promised, here's the second part of the interview with Joey Knuckles (check the first one if you haven't already). This time we focus on Suicide Kings, his rap project with producer Cole Young “DJ King Cole”, also of Gravemaker fame. Kings recently dropped their debut album 'Crown Of Thorns', which is the main reason for this conversation. The style of the record is straight up raw and aggressive hip-hop with guest features from heavyweights like M.O.P, Saigon and The Demigodz. Dope stuff!

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New Madball track: DNA

So, Madball just dropped new song from the upcoming album, 'Hardcore Lives'. Of course you know how it's gonna sound even before you push play, but honestly, it is probably one of their best tracks in years. The New York posse drops some dope groove as always and Freddy sounds really dedicated and pissed off on this one. I feel like this song really once again got me hyped for anything new from the band.

Ryker's - Hard To The Core video

Just over the last couple of days there's been more updates about new Ryker's album, and all of a sudden the band drops the clip for title track from the upcoming record. The track itself does not dissapoint if you're a fan of their earlir work. What can I say, this is Euro-core in all its glory.

Stream new Look My Way

Recently there has been a steady stream of very ill music coming from different scenes, be it Europe, US, South America or Asia. I don't have enought time to write about every dope new band or track I hear, but I gonna try to at least write about the most interesting ones.

Most of you probably know that Look My Way will be calling it quits this year, but before this happens the band promised to release a farewell record. Well, here it is and you can stream Last Will And Testament in its entirely here. Can't say the band has been among my favorite bands doing it right now, but I gotta admit these new songs are their best work so far. It sounds hard and dynamic, and the ruff vocals only add to overall positive outcome. Press play below and be sure to cop this material when it's finally out on a physical format. Expect it to drop in May on tape via Save My Soul Records.

Interview with Joey Knuckles (The Alliance, Suicide Kings) pt I

This is the first part of the interview I did with Joey Knuckles, who did vocals for one of my all time fav bands - The Alliance. If you need introduction, check out the post I did couple days ago which gives a short overview of the band and most of all, shares some deep science on why Hit Em' Up is one of the tightest hardcore albums of all times. Seriously, you need to go there, download this stuff and go ape shit listening to it. As for this interview, I am stoked that we were able to pull it off. There's a cloud of mystery surrounding the band as I didn't come across any other interview or bio, so I took this opportunity to ask Joey about how various stuff, like the band got started, their time being part of Detroit scene, and what eventually led to its demise. Next part of the interview will be about Joey's new project, Suicide Kings.

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Last Dayz set from Northcote Festival

I always felt bands from east side of Europe have been underrated despite churning out one great record after another. Especially in the recent times, the amount of awesome hardcore coming from Poland, Russia, Ukraine and so on is amazing. Don't even get me started on listing bands to check out, too many to mention - go through old post on this blog and find out for yourself. But don't get me wrong, I don't want to sound like I am complaining. It's not really something I loose my sleep over. You have to work for yours and take care of things in your own backyard, which means good old fashioned 'support your scene' attitude. More important to me is Polish bands getting support from local kids and keeping the local scene alive. If the rest of the world is sleeping on bands from here, they are simply missing out on great hardcore.

Anyway, every Last Dayz show I've seen was beyond incredible so peep the video above and see how hardcore should be played live. I wasn't at this years Northcote fest, but the video looks really dope. I gotta give it to the dudes running Remain Sustain youtube channel, the sound and video quality is superb.

Forgotten Classics: The Alliance - Detroit hardcore

So little is known about this band that I cannot give you any detailed bio. All I know it featured members of Earthmover, Cold as Life, Hyde, Dogz of War and Tank. Even though there are plenty of kids who don't give a single fuck about that band nowadays, The Alliance was everything that was right (and everything that was wrong, to some) with hardcore in the 00’s. The band called it quits in 2007 after their third album Hit Em Up came out. That's pretty much all I know about them, now let’s get down to the music.

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New Rykers album is closer than you think

Thats official - Rykers are back! The band gonna drop new music via Beatdown Hardwear! With track titles like The World As I See It Today, Time Heals, Born To Fly or Slave Cruel World I'm expecting this one to be as tight as the old records. Check out the live recording of the title track below. The pre-orders are already up BDHW webstore, orders will be shipped earlyest 30th April till 5th May.

Assorted News: Sub-Zero, Knuckledust, Lifeless and more...

"Busy writing our new album for 2014! The new material is THUUUMPIN!"

Fuck yes! Sub-Zero are back and working on new music!

Knuckledust is working on new songs for the upcoming 7" ep due out in September. The record will drop via GSR Music.

The same goes for Lifeless, who's new album gonna be titled 'Dream'. Recording is in the works, keep checking thier stereokiller where all the new songs gonna be available even before official release. 2014 is gonna be good!

The Power To Endure by Hollow Truth has been available for streaming for a while now. If you've been sleeping on it, get your act right cause the album is quite dope. As I am writing this, 12" vinyl should be available from Powertrip Records

Life.Lair.Regret. Recs will release a debut tape from Upperground, female fronted band from Sydney, Australia. You can check out the Ne Order track below, it features Warbain's Lloyd, which seems to be the main reason this track don't suck.



"The L.A. Journal #1, a fanzine by LegendsArising.com focussing on the good things in life: hardcore music, traveling, art, vegan/vegetarian food, opinions, and our community. The zine includes interviews with Expire, Backtrack, Turnstile, Angel Du$t, and Kids Insane." Order your copy here.

New Blood: Back Down

Back Down hails from Bristol and so far have a demo that dropped last year, which was then followed up by Against All Odds EP that came out earlier this year. They play hardcore that while fast and dynamic, stays on heavier side of things, not unlike Terror or Madball. If you like this style, there's much to love about that new ep. Check out the interview I did with Tom who does vocals for the band.

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Video: Wilful Damage - This Is Ours

Wilful Damage, my people from Brisbane, have dropped what is their first official clip. This track is taken from band's most recent record, Pride, available for free download here. Turn it up!

New hardcore tunes to check out

Here's a quick round up on some decent tunes I've came across in recent days/weeks.

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New Blood: Guts Out - Moscow Hardcore

Guts Out caught my attention with the self titled ep they dropped in January - with pretty much every track on it being incredibly dope it rapidly became one of my favourites. The band doesn't break any new ground, but it works classic NYHC hardcore style with considerable skill and aggression. Take my word for it, without mentioning any names, it can give a lot of more hyped bands a run for their money. Anyway, as I want to have more bands from Europe featured on this blog this year, Guts Out were an obvious choice.

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Hardcore gem: 25 ta Life featuring Stephen (Kickback)

This video is pretty insane, if you haven't seen it already check it out above. 25 ta Life start playing Short Fuse and all of a sudden Stephen jumps in and totally kills it. Sick! Paris, filthy Paris, 2004.

Review: Hammerfist - Zero Stone

Hammerfist - Zero Stone (Rucktion) - Fuck, this shit is heavy! Not much have changed compared to band’s previous albums but if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it. After first listen I knew I got what I expected from this album - the vocals are maniac and the riffs are massive. Much of the album has a strong old-styled metallic hardcore vibe to it that I'm really feelin. It’s kind of stuff you know from Merauder or Hatebreed albums, and it’s done so right. For more traditional, faster hardcore parts check out tracks like Carry The Weight, while Skin Change and Illusio deliver heavy breaks that weight tons.

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Bolt - top of the core

Bolt must be one of my fav bands from Europe, these dudes can't be touched! Like their page is you haven't already.

HB Radio #19 - Fools Die!

Play this one loud! Open it in a pop-up window for more convenience.

New tunes from Criminal Instinct

Criminal Instinct will drop new 'Fever' 7″ and have recently posted 2 tracks to prepare you what's gonna happen when the whole record hit the streets. Both tracks are raging! Solid Bond Records is already running pre-orders for the first pressing (1000 pc / black, orange, red & white) so don't sleep on it. On the related note, the label will also drop new shit from No One Rules, you can check out this band here.

Interview with Nikolay from Ugly & Proud Recs

My man Nikolay is a brain and muscle behind Ugly & Proud Recs, a young hardcore label based in Sofia, Bulgaria that has been putting out some quality records in recent years. Roster includes bands like Blade, Lose The Life, Can't Relate, Raw Justice, Die Young and much more. As you can see, 100% legit stuff that everyone into hard and uncompromising hardcore could appreciate. This type of entrepreneurship will always get respect and support on this blog, so I thought it would be cool to ask Nikolay couple of questions about the label - how it got started, how it works, and what is the biggest headache. I hope seing the insights behind what it means to run a DIY hardcore label is something you'll find interesting.

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New clip from Clearview - Times Of Distress

Clearview is without a doubt one of my favorite active bands in hardcore. They dropped their last album 'Rage Through Integrity' in 2012 and if you read my review you know I loved the shit out of it. I even managed to catch them live last summer and they're nothing but legit dudes. Here's a clip the band put together from various footage from that European tour. Quit being a loser, check out this clip.

Review: Nueva Dirección - s​/​t

Nueva Dirección - s​/​t - Self titled record by Malaga (Spain)-based Nueva Direccion is an unfortunately flawed attempt at old styled hardcore/punk. The self-titled album delivers five tracks that fixate on sound somewhere in the middle between Sick Of It All, First Blood, Terror and so on. While all the usual elements are at play here, with songs going from fast parts to breakdowns, riffs heavier to melodic, no song get close in terms of infectious vitality or catchiness to the bands they try to copy.

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Unofficial clip for Redemtion Denied's ‘Lex Talionis’

Check this unofficial clip for Redemption Denied‘s ‘Lex Talionis’. Seeing these dudes live twice I gotta admit the clip does a great job at capturing the energy and dedication they bring to the crowd. Good to see hard-working band getting the recognition they deserve. The clip was put together by Idiotbox Videozine.

Cornered are dropping a new album - 'Sudden Death'

Cornered are getting ready to release a new album and today we got a taste of the upcoming material. Serve The Beast is a killer tune, if the whole 'Sudden Death' album gonna rip like that they definitely gonna get my money. For real. Check it out below.

Fools die in 1994

Killing Time footage from 1994 and it got only 180+ views? Where this world is going to? The dude who posted this one got more dope videos so make sure you check his channel out.

Video: Intense - ‘A.C.A.B.

This is actually old news but maybe some of you missed it: Intense (Germany) dropped a video for ACAB track from their recent EP called More To Say. All cops are bastards! Check it out below:

Retribution Interview

Retribution caught my attention with their superb Consumed 7". That record was pure fire - pissed off vocals, massive breakdowns and powerful riffs combined for a definitely dark and negative output. The new stuff that the band dropped at the end of 2013 definitely lives up to the previous material so make sure you check it out. You can grab it on tape from Lost Time Records. Check out the interview I did with band's vocalist Kenneth.

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Silence Over Snitching Forever

Now Crowd Deterrent tracks are up on band's bandcamp. The sound quality is rough as fuck, but if you can get pass that you'll get two really tight tunes. Predator Or Pray is CR we all love, but the real deal is Sacred Order Sacred Flesh which brings bombed out grooves and a harsh dose of reality. Hardcore gang shouts collide with tight guitar work, and the vocals are menacing as always. I admit I wasn't into these tracks at first but more I listened to it more I felt it. Can't wait for whole Silence Over Snitching Forever Ep to drop.

Guts Out - Moscow Hardcore

Moscow straight edge hardcore with kids who seem to have their hearts in the right spot. This self titled ep is the band’s most recent release since their 2012 demo. That demo was banging already, but on these new tracks Guts Out is sounding tighter than ever. Musically, it feels to me like Russia's answer to Backtrack, but there's much more to it than just being a copy cat. Guitar work is sharp and on point all the time, while the section only adds to overall awesomeness laying down strong and steady groove. Interview coming soon, in the meantime follow their facebook page for more info.

Demos worth your time

I don't have time to post about every hardcore demo that comes my way, but from time to time I come across some decent stuff that is worth sharing.

First, we got Beg To Differ who hail from Eindhoven and got started when some dudes decided there's not enought of the negative sound Blood For Blood and Sheer Terror in 2014. The songs on band's first demo are very dope with straight to the point type of vibe and a very sinister feel. There's a lot of negativity in the lyrics, and there's even track called 'The world needs real men'. Amen to that! Often when you read album reviews you see people talking about bands’ need to stay creative or break new grounds.

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Street War - Greed

Sydney's own Street War just dropped visuals for "Greed" taken off their debut EP "Majority Rules". Peep it below.

Call for Unity bands no one knows nothing about

Here’s a collection of tracks I ripped from the legendary A Call For Unity comp which includes bands that sound really dope but unfortunately I know very little about. For those who don’t know, A Call For Unity was a series of 3 compilations put out by Back Ta Basics that, deliberately or not, at the times of their release represented some of the hardest bands in hardcore. The comps started to drop in late 90’, which everyone knows was the time the so called heavy East Coast sound was in its prime. Let me just say the comps included material from bands like Fury Of V, 25 ta Life, Krutch, No Retreat, Mushmouth, Next Step Up… the list goes on and on and it’s just the first issue. While the first one in the series was focused on East Coast scene, the latter had bands from diverse places, mainly Europe and Japan .Tracks that were brought together for each comp equate to no less than 70 minutes worth of hard-hitting classics. Timeless stuff, I hope to write more about it in the future.

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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)."

New Blood: Wolfdog

Another band from Brazil that proves the scene over there is definitely in the right place. Wolfdog hails from Sao Paulo and plays aggressive hardcore with NYHC influences. Every band that aims to recreate the same spirit as the one on classic Warzone, Agnostic Front or Breakdown albums gets nothing but love on this blog. Here's an interview with Felipe who plays guitar in Wolfdog.

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Violent City - Belgium's new hope

Violent City from Belgium recently dropped visuals for their song Empty World. I am definitely digging this track, and the rest of their latest ep Fuck Your World is dope as well. One of the new European bands to look out for.

New music from Bottomfeeder

Bottomfeeder drops the first track off their upcoming full length album! It is entitled 'Dead But No Longer Dreaming' and is streamig already on their Stereokiller profile so make sure you check it out. This shit is too dope, seriously. This is definitely type of stuff we want to hear more - metallic hardcore in its grimest and hardest form. Nothing fancy, just straight in your face pitbull-like aggression.

New Taste The Steel track

With American Gestapo Taste The Steel is spreading awareness about how freedom is slowly being taken away from people in today's America. People got some comfortable and lazy they don't even care. The same stuff is happenig in Europe, bands from over here need to open their eyes and tackle these problems in their lyrics as well. Musically, the band has cooked up some real heavy-ass metallic hardcore. Rough shit! Let's hope this is a teaser for more music to come from the band in near future.

We live in a frightening era of apathy where our liberties are being swept away from us systematically through distraction, ignorance, & fear. If we as a people no longer stand up for civil liberties & basic freedoms that those before us shed blood for. Then we no longer deserve those freedoms.

Review: Bent Life - Full Skull

Bent Life - Full Skull (Fist in the Air Records/6131 Records ) - After Bent Life’s self titled 7” ep I knew this album gonna be dope. Musically, they didn’t change that much but that’s good. The album sticks to the same sound that made the ep so cool and the result is just as dope as I expected. Most of the time, Full Skull is very energetic and heavy with Bent Life coming correct delivering tons of gritty riffs and fat grooves that should get your head nodding.

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Ad Of The Day

HB Radio #18 - Like It Is!

The hardest of the hard, I compiled this edition with this goal in my mind. Underground hardcore that's both antisocial and smart. Play this one loud! Open it in a pop-up window for more convenience.

Cutdown Interview

Cutdown is definitely one of my favorite bands I have been fan of their music for a long time and am beyond stoked to have them featured on this site. Below is an interview that I've done with band's vocalist, Esa, touching upon range of topics from band's beginnings, his thoughts on scene in Finland to recent record titled Harsh Reality and more. I hope you enjoy reading the interview as much as I did doing it.

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