New Blood: Chaver

>>Leipzig, Germany-based hardcore with style that goes from punk to metal and back
>>New record called Transference is just out via Injustice Records

For those that don’t know you, please introduce yourself and tell us where you’re from?
First, thanks a lot for your interest in Chaver and for asking us these questions. So yeah, we´re Chaver. The 3 of us are chris, winny and willi and we play a mix of heavy hardcore, riffy metal and fast punk. Our base is Leipzig in the eastern part of Germany. We started in 2016 and released a couple records since. First was a Split 7“ with german powerviolence band BATTRA// and a year later in early 2017, we pressed our 1st EP STROKE on a 12“ vinyl. Later that year, we recorded the SWAMP EP tape and very luckily, INJUSTICE records was down to put it out it. In february 2019 we finally released our first album through INJUSTICE on a yellow 12“. It’s called TRANSFERENCE and we´re very glad how it turned out. Between our releases, we´ve been pretty much touring through Europe all the time. Weekenders and tours through small diy clubs as well as festival appearences. We´ve tried to play as much as possible and put heaps of effort into it. We still are.

What’s your goal with this band?
Wow, that’s a tough one. Our Goal with this band? There are a couple. Writing better songs all the time. Bring heavier riffs, have thighter drumpatterns, wich fit the overall song atmosphere better, writing lyrics that display our feelings, yet deliver the message more on point, having better songstructutres… all summed up, becoming better songwriters. Then, we would say, become a better liveband. Play thighter, play a good mix of songs, have the sound as good and as heavy as possible, having the live process more professional technicwise. that last thing goes hand in hand with trying to play more professional concerts and also venues to deliver a better concert (for example when it comes to sound and light). On the other hand, we´ve always supported the diy scene in small squated houses and stuff. We don´t want to miss that and feel very compfy there as well. and if you play good, you can pull a great set in the most primitive (technicwise) places as well, that’s for sure. we would also like to see more places then we´ve had so far. we´re planing to visit at least 8 new places in 2019. lets see how this turnes out. for sure, we want me people to know about Chaver and to listen to our music. That’s for sure. a dream would be playing somewhere overseas. Maybe we get to have this possibility one day.

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Ad Of The Day

Gut Reaction: Leeway NYC - I'm Your Pusher

So Leeway has a new video out and I decided to check it out. It's called I'm Your Pusher and is all sorts of fun. Everything sounds 100% on point musically and I can't imagine anyone not liking this track. Powerful riffs and vocals laced with a mixture of menace and paranoia. Eddie seems like a guy that has been through rough ass time in his life and got no problem wearing his pain on his sleeve. You can't fake it!

When I first got into hardcore I slept on Leeway for a bit, and I regret it. Still, I've never listened to anything by them beyond the first two albums so I have no idea how this song fits the evolution of the band. I don't even know if that type of thinking makes sense given it is band's first new music in like 25 years. This I know, nothing they record in 2019 will be discussed in the same terms as Born to Expire or Desperate Measures. But it's fine. That's not the point. These dudes have been in and out involved in hardcore since Leeway days were over so to me this reunion is legit. Can't wait to hear rest of the tunes they've been working on lately.

Download: Combat Shock - Retaliation

Russia’s Combat Shock caught my ear in 2017 with the release of Sacrifice demo, which I’m still hoping gets a physical release one day. Fast forward to 2019 and Retaliation drops, four tracks of crossover madness that fuses the rawness of bands like Carnivore, Crumbsuckers and Leeway. Lyrics are about war, society day and end of days. Plus Sepultura cover. This shit is insane in the best of ways!

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Video: Heavy Runner - Life Music

Heavy Runner goes hard and violently on this track. Think Stout by way of Turnstile with a heavy All We Got Iz Us-era Onyx vibe. This is forward thinking stuff!

Download: Last Wishes - D.Y.P. Promo

THIS A BATTLE YOU CAN'T WIN
BUT ITS NOT A FUCKING GAME YOU'RE IN
WE'LL KEEP UP THE FIGHT UNTIL THE END
YOU'LL BE ON TO THE NEXT TREND

DEMONSTRATE YOUR PRIDE

D.Y.P

Ireland's Last Wishes just dropped new promo tracks and I could tell from the first note that this one is a winner. The material, clocking in at little more than 10 minutes, is extremely focused and cohesive. Definitely best stuff they put out so far. Listening to Forced Into Sin I feel like this is the kind of hardcore that Fury Of V could be doing if they were still around making new music. You can really tell these dudes are from the gross part of town!

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New Music: Big Cheese - Tower To The Sun

Painkiller Records are releasing a discography comp by UK's Big Cheese and along with all the older tunes there's a new track called Tower To The Sun that is filthy, massive and menacing as you’d come to expect from the band. It has a dope Bad Brains by Breakdown vibe and the chorus sounds beastly. Peep it below.

Interview: Coldstare

Bounce Back album by Belgium's Cold Stare was a solid slice of NYHC influenced hardcore with lyrics anyone could latch onto. Part serious and grimy, part positive and uplifting, the themes on the album are deeply rooted in an attitude where loyalty and self respect are always front and center. For people raised on healthy dose of Backfire! or Rykers the album delivers all the tropes a starved eurocore junkie could possibly want. If you're in that group I suggest get familiar with Cold Stare, starting from the interview with band's vocalist Philippe

For the kids who may not know who you are, can you introduce the band and tell us where you are from?
Thanks for reaching out & doing this interview! COLDSTARE originates from Antwerp/Belgium. The line-up is Willy on guitar, Javier plays bass and Glenn ‘Lappy’ is our drummer. Glenn is our original drummer. He rejoined the band end 2017. I’m Philippe doing vocals.

Your recent album Bounce Back came out just recently. For those who were too lazy to check it out, what they should expect from it?
Hell yeah! It’s released by WTF Records. Ask your local hc dealer, get it from WTF Records & Distro or directly from (bandcamp) , worldwide shipping available.

„Bounce Back“ is a very diverse album. You’ll get in-your-face fast oldschool hardcore alternated with up-tempo songs, grooves, breakdowns, singalongs, two-step parts, some more bouncy hip-hop influences, some metal parts, punk songs… You know, we all mix it up. That’s what sets us apart from a lot of other bands. We play a melting pot of styles.

Oldschool hardcore stays the backbone of every song. Most important to us is a good song structure. We try to avoid milking out the same riff or break all over again.

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Review: Probation – Fucked By Life

This record has a super negative vibe, questionable songwriting and absolutely no finesse when it comes to the track titles and lyrics. You can't take too seriously a record with that title and lyrics like 'life sucks, kill yourself'. I can sense this dude is going over the edge but the way he puts it to words lacks any depth or weight. If I was to put my life experiences into a song it would sound something like that, but that’s the reason I don’t write lyrics.

Musically, some of the songs are ass but there are moments when they shine, but getting to that good stuff will have you digging through a lot of unnecessary crap. The more straight forward parts are ok, basically the faster the more it is to my taste. But all the sludgy and weird elements, man, they need to go! It only overcomplicates stuff when there's no need for that. Overall, to me it's a record with too many dysfunctional parts that were supposed to be amusing but just aren't. To end on a positive note, the cover artwork looks sick so this album stays on the shelf anyway!

WTF Records, 2018

New Blood: Short Fuse

Italy's newest hardcore hope sharing some insights on...

...the band:

Short fuse is an hardcore band based in rome, born in 2014 by the need to play loud music and scream our voices through these hard times. after a rough two songs demo, recorded after only six months, and some line-up changes we recorded our first ep in 2016 "what still remains", released by indelirum records,. After two years of live shows in italy and a last line-up change, we improved our sound, we hope in more personal way, mixing 90's and old school roots with some melodic and metallic riffage. We recorded in august 2018 our first full length album "sink or Swim", released always through indelirium records, along with our first official video for the titletrack. Right now, we've just played the release party in our hometown and we're planning some next shows, and we can't wait to play live again, hopefully also outside italy!

... the message in the music:

Lyrically we're all engaged in social and political issues, because in our opinion, especially nowadays, there's literally the need to say something about what's going on in this mad world. We believe that's not anachronistic for a hardcore band to restate our positions against fascism, racism, sexism, homophobia and basically against everything built on hate, trying to spread a positive message. However we have always loved also the more personal issues in hardcore lyrics, so in this album we've also written something about our personal lives and feelings, hoping that someone out there can relate to it.

...live element:

Speaking about live shows, that's probably the aspect we like the most about being in a band, especially in a hardcore band. We always try to give 100% on stage, actually when there's a stage hah, because we feel that the energy created inside the gig's room should be used outside it, trying to give our best to turn those words into actions.

...Roma hardcore scene:

Rome's hardcore punk scene is alive and well and there are a lot of great bands! new Bands like Nofu, Not sober at all, movement, closed speech, blair, lenders, irao, fuoco and so on are keeping the standards really high, along with the old school bands, each one with a personal way of doing it. As short fuse we're also part otf the till death collective, a new crew made by friends with the simple but essential aim to aggregate people at hardcore gigs, sharing and comparing their own ideas and thoughts.

Check out Short Fuse @ Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp

Streaming: Combust NYHC - Tigers and Rats

Another sure shot from Combust NYHC. This track has the fury, force and chances are something to offend you which is kind of the point. Keep an eye on this band, they're one of the best out right now.

New music: Faded - Victim

Faded is totally ruthless and bad-assed metallic hardcore from Virginia Beach and this is their newest track. Victim is nasty and I hope there's more of that good shit coming in 2019. Click play and put it on full blast!

Risk It!: Eastern Europe dates and upcoming 7 inch 'Era of Decay'

Support Risk It! on the upcoming tour across Eastern Europe this March hitting places like Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, & Serbia. Exact dates are below.

In April the band is dropping 'Era Of Decay' 7" via Farewell Records!

Demo Daze: Outstand - Promo 2019

Dope shit just keeps on coming from Gothenburg! Outstand features members of other prominent local bands Undone and Lowest Creature and these 2 promo tracks are no less than ruthless and raw hardcore with the most malicious vocals. And man, I love No Limit vibe of the cover art. Click download and spend some quality time with this music on rotation.

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New music: Dead Heat - Certain Death

Cot damn! New Dead Heat rips! This track is brilliant combo of hardcore crossover fury, boiling anger and conscious shit. A mandatory listen! Full album to be out via Edgewood Records.

Our leaders will kill us / If we don’t stay strong / In order to lead on / We have to give up / The way that we live / These things that we do
/ All lead us to death / To repeat and start new.

Review: Scarboro - Wolves on the Radio

Scarboro is a NY based punk rock band with a sound that is both aggressive and melodic. Wolves... is pretty good, mid-tempo music that didn't hook me at the start but after a couple of listens, I was sold. My fav must be Another Day. That track isn't an obvious choice as it lacks catchy gang vocals and is on the almost melancholic vibe, but somehow I can sense there's more depth to it than I initially gave it credit for. It just resonates with my soft side, almost making this cold heart of mine melt. It's OK for a man to cry, as long as it's manly tears though! The lyrics are on the personal note and mostly about trying to get by without losing your sanity. I can relate to a lot of it and reading the lyrics I can sense this dude needed to get this shit off his chest. The recording has a raw edge to it but it works just fine for this type of music. If you like it catchy, mid-tempo punk with down to earth attitude you’d better get on this!

WTF Records, 2018

Video: Spirit Crusher - Potential in Kindness

I see potential in kindness
Reaching out to others
Turning strangers into sisters and brothers

Some positive words in this new tune from Spirit Crusher. Band's first LP "Whispers Against the Roar of the World" out soon on The Essence Recs.

Review: Eisberg - Few Will Remain

Eisberg is a name I've heard being thrown around but never really got to hear their sound until now. And straight off the bat, Few Will Remain is a blast. This album has seven tracks and they go hard on all of them. With the first beat of the opening track, Enough Is Enough, I was drawn in by the vibe and energy the band delivers. The record is a NYHC-styled stomper that people into bands like Risk It! or No Turning Back should dig.

Less than twenty minutes in total, the album moves at a brisk pace and doesn’t take any long pauses between action, which works just fine for me. I’m not saying this is super fast, I’d say it’s fast-mid-tempo to fast-tempo mostly. And yes, there’s a lot of chugging grooves everybody likes to get down to.

Check this record out. It’s pretty damned good. Every track is strong and there seems to be a legit mindset and spirit behind the band.

BDHW, 2018

Live: Merauder - Master Killer (feat Stephen Bessac)

pic.twitter.com/YAt2zGb6Vn

— Actual Weapon (@anthoniexg) April 11, 2018

Review: Coldstare - Bounce Back

Cold Stare are four dudes from Belgium playing hardcore that sounds like Something's Gotta Give and Scratch The Surface put together. The vibe, the sound, even damn vocals all scream NYHC. And yeah, I forgot the lyrics. They scream NYHC too. Expect some heavy-ass testosterone injection as they drop tales of pride, brotherhood, betrayal and everything in between. These have been recurring themes since the beginning of hardcore but as long as human beings are fake, irrational and self-destructive, it's all valid topics to explore. Nothing to make you rethink your existence, but who knows? Maybe being down for the crew is the stuff that's been missing in your life? Read that shit and try to apply these principles in your daily life.

The title track is a personal favorite of mine for its positive vibe and good use of gang vocals. Time To Prove is another one I wouldn’t skip. Short yet dope track.

I would give it much higher rating but at times I felt it was longer than it needed to be. Not that they overcomplicate things, it’s just in the second half of the album there are moments when things start to drag a bit. But it doesn’t take away that this is a cool ass record that does a lot of what I like in hardcore.

Like I said, in many ways, the album is a blatant homage to old Agnostic Front Madball and so on, but there's nothing wrong with that. It’s a basic premise executed well. If you haven't heard it yet, do get on that.

WTF, 2018

Interview: Mindwar

Up for some heavy ass NYHC worship? Then step right up. Belgium's Mindwar is up and coming name on the European hardcore map and their latest EP, Hollow, has an energy that I really like. I could hear Backtrack, No Turning Back and even some Blacklisted influence in these tracks. They got all the ingredients of that style right plus the lyrics that anyone feeling down, angry or just dealing with some awkward situations can relate to. Check out the interview to learn more about these boys.

Can you us give a quick introduction to Mindwar and explain a little how you got started playing music together?
Mindwar is basically a big "band of brothers" (literally!) Anthony (vocals) and Emanuel (guitar) are in fact brothers and I've known these guys for over 19y so we're practicly family. We' all grew up in the same city and share more or less the same interests, one of them being hardcore. After a few years of going to shows together we felt like the Belgian scene was missing something. Beatdown was very popular at that time (thank god those days are over, everyone acted as if they grew up in the hood or some shit looking like they were living in a fucking trailerpark) and we were more into the groovier "I wanna stomp holes in the floor and stagedive headfirst into a brick wall" type of hardcore. Nobody was doing that at the time so that's when we came up with the idea of starting our own band. At first we just jammed either in mine or in Anthony and Emanuel's backyard, just the 3 of us goofing around. Things started speeding up when we invited long-time friend Jelle to the party. At that time he didn't even know how to play drums, still he was our best bet for making this band kinda work. Recently we added Andy to our ranks as a 2nd guitarist and now here we are, just released our ep "Hollow".

Give us some details on the upcoming ep Hollow. Is it going to be along the lines of the demo and generally, what kids should expect from it?
Our ep is basically the demo 2.0. We wrote the songs for our demo like 3-4 years ago and to be honest back than we had no idea what we were doing or how a "Mindwar-song" was supposed to sound like, we just wrote whatever we felt like writing. The demo was pure hardcore worship that included every element we liked about the genre at that time. While writing for our ep I feel like we really found our sound and stepped up our game as far as songwriting goes. Since the release of our demo we all grew so much both as musicians and as people and I think that you're able to hear that growth when you listen to the ep. The hooks are bigger, the riffs are heavier… We just wanted to be the best version of Mindwar we could possibly be and write the best Mindwar tunes we could possibly write.

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Review: Peace Of Mind - Penance

Peace Of Mind rep Germany, one of the strongest scenes in Europe, and this is their newest baby. Penance is 12-track strong and delivers heavy-ass hardcore with a healthy dose of thrash vibe that is so hyped in the scene right now. Musically, it's alright. Nothing that stands out in the current hardcore state of the art, but nothing they should be ashamed of neither. Listening to some of the riffs it's clear the band handles their shit like a pros, but because the head-turning moments are so few the music gets bland at times. Nonetheless, you can hear they put some effort, skills and heart into these tracks.

The vocals are whatever, took me a while to get used to but I give'em a pass. To be honest, every time there are guest vocals on some track I think how much better this record would sound if they went for more harsh delivery instead of high-pitched screams that remind me of that First Blood guy. I hate this style of singing. Even worse, I am not an expert but there's probably a heavy dose of studio engineering needed to make the human voice sound like that which kills any human emotions the singing should convey. As a default, more Jeff Perlin less Carl Schwartz on the vocals is always right.

Some harsh words have been said here, but fuck that review and check for yourself cause chances are you're gonna like at least part of it.

Dead Serious Records, 2018

Why I'm Broke: Humanity Is The Devil deluxe edition

Source

You can trust Knives Out team this shit is gonna be top quality.

New blood: Last Orders

Cold Hard Truth, Crippler LBU, Ironed Out, Proven... these are just some of the bands members of Last Orders had their dirty hands in. If you know anything about LBU scene you know it reads like who is who over there, meaning quality is guaranteed. Last Orders is more on the relaxed side of things, especially when it comes to subject matter that revolves around beer, fried chicken and telling hipsters to FUCK OFF... All acceptable topics for a hardcore song. Check out the interview with Ryan (guitar) and Louis (vocals).

First off, Last Orders - give us some overview of the band. How did you get started?

Ryan: Bunch of mates that talked about doing an old school sounding band for a while. Ended up all fitting together well with everyone being on the same page as to what they wanted this band to be....

Louis: Ry (Guitars) had an idea to start a new band but wanted to try something a little different. So he approached Louis (Vocals) who was looking to start another band but wanted to do vocals on his own. After that Ry spoke with Joe (Guitar), Louis chatted to Jake (Drums) and finally Joe asked Skel (Bass) who was up for doing something after taking a few years out from playing in a band.

There’s no money and no fame in playing hardcore, so why do it?

Ryan: We do it because we love it. The music, the message and the people we meet along the way.

Louis: For me I've always done it for two reasons. Firstly, as a release and secondly because in a world that is hard to get your voice heard without diluting your message, hardcore is a great platform to get whatever it is off your chest and spit your rage (so to speak). It's never, ever been about money or fame.

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New music: Absolve - Victim of Life ep

Whoa! 4 new tracks by Absolve from the upcoming ep have just been posted to Ratel Record's bandcamp. As with their part of the 3-way split with Heavy Runner / Power Play, they deliver that stomp everyone likes to get low to. The music is powerful and the overall tone is spot on. Definitely one of the best new bands coming from Europe right now!

Ratel Records / Reality Records

Review: Sheer Terror - Pall In The Family

Man, you can’t teach that stuff! I have zero expectations for new albums by bands older than myself but turns out Sheer Terror can still distill their gritty NY style into a killer record. Pall In The Family takes the golden era of hardcore / punk / crossover music, twists it all up and makes it relevant for modern times. I shit you not, it is about as close as a return to form you will get from the band. The record has some of the same emotional impact as their prime material, and the music on here is dope as shit.

If you know Sheer Terror you know Paul is a certified maniac. This guy got no respect for nothing or nobody. Yet, there’s no faking the funk. Part of his genius is because how he’s so down-to-earth in his delivery and subject matter. It's hatecore at its best but these dudes don't walk around like criminals or flex like big gorillas. Paul takes everyday life and puts it to a song and makes it sound deep and interesting. The lyrics are super big on attitude but even if he’s making a joke, you can really feel both the pain and irony in his voice. Take for example The Moon's Gone Out, the first track on the album, which deals with divorce and women who don’t act civilized. Females can bring out the best and worst in men and you get both in one song. Another highlight is Get Me Off This Rock where Paul trades verses with Choke, which is a match made in hardcore heaven.

Like I said, Pall In The Family is much better than expected given all the hype. Great songwriting and solid delivery from the band while Paul proves he still got it. This record should not only be relevant to old timers but a ride for everyone.

Rebellion Records / Reaper Records 2018

New blood: Existence

No doubt Into The Furnace by Sweden's Existence is bound for a high place on my best of 2018 list. My body wasn't ready for the amount of anger and fury these 4 tracks deliver. No lie! It has massive groove and spiteful vocals but even though technically everything is spot on, there's a fair layer of dirt all over. I don't want nothing to do with hardcore that's too perfect and polished, I don't like it. If it's not raw it ain't worth my time. I think these dudes think alike cause Furnace is darker and grittier than your average hardcore nowadays. Give'em a chance.

First of all, how did the Euro summer tour go?
The summer tour went very well. The response on all shows was overwhealming, and of course it's always great to be able to hang out with old and new friends.

Let’s talk about the new ep. The musical and lyrical tone and feeling of Into The Furnace is rather intense and bleak, how do the lyrics reflect the way that you view life and things?
The world is a cruel and unforgiving place. I’m just calling things as I see them. I’m not necessarily a negative person, quite the opposite actually. Writing lyrics and music is my sole outlet and it’s a key note in my way of dealing with difficult emotions and thoughts. Writing something, even just a word can spark a whole process of thoughts that may have been buried somewhere far in the back of my head. Other lyrics that comes across as more direct, still have some sort of sentimental line of thought that lead up to the finished product.

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Ad Of The Day

Demo Daze: Existence - Into the Furnace

Some uncheap stuff here! Sweden's Existance plays metallic sounding hardcore with best quality chugging riffs and manic vocals. You have to applaud band ’s work ethic here – 4 tracks and each one is beefed up to the fullest. It all sounds intense and aggressive, but there's also a strong feeling of grim and cold in the music. Just check out the lyrics that are so on point capturing the zeitgeist of the times. This stuff is made to contemplate all the fucked up things in the world. A strong candidate for my favorite demo of 2017.



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Review: Wisdom In Chains - Nothing in Nature Respects Weakness

One of the most solid bands that blessed this scene is back with new material. No doubt this was the most anticipated record of the year for me. Now when it has finally dropped and after a considerable amount of time spent nodding my head to these tracks I know this will be high on my best of 2018 list. Straight off the bat, I think it’s their strongest release since Class War. They hooked my ass after just the first track and there was no letting go till the final.

Wisdom’s core sound stayed the same and Nothing… fits well with the overall evolution of the band, but the album is somehow a return to form after disappointing The God Rhythm. For sure it’s way heavier and sharper. Over the years they moved from the aggressive in-your-face style of their early work into a more vibing sound that takes from diverse styles like punk rock, oi! or even straight up rock. No way this made them sound weak, but on the previous record, man, they took a few strange turns that made me skip through some of the tracks. This time the focus is on intensity.

Already Dead and Duck Down Stay Down are the hard stuff. On the other side of the spectrum are Slow Down and Turn My Back, both have a nostalgic feel to them that gives you a chance to contemplate that hard life of yours. Why do bad things happen to good people? Seems that life is just a constant war between good and evil. These odd elements and moods flow together perfectly. With all the diversity on this album, you must be crazy not to find something for yourself.

Special props to Mad Joe cause he must be the best lyricist in hardcore right now. Dude can write painfully real stories so rooted in life that if they don’t click with you then what’s wrong with you? If you’re caught up in the daily struggles trying to keep trouble from the door you can relate. This is grown man trying to make sense of this chaos. No fake thug posturing or cliches, just honest perspective on the world today without having to make shit up.

This album is all pro. I have listened to it maybe a hundred times already and it is one of those albums I can just put on and feel the same way about every time. Cop this shit and let the music diffuse all the tension.

Demons Run Amok Entertainment / Fastbreak

Video: Wisdom In Chains - Already Dead

New Wisdom In Chains is great as always. This one sees Mad Joe trading verses with that dude from Noi!se while the music is nothing short of epic. Taken from the new album 'Nothing In Nature Respects Weakness' which deserves to be album of the year just based on the title.

Review: Take Offense -Tensions On High

It's been 5 years since the previous Take Offense record, United States Of Mind, which is like forever in the music biz. They were on top of the game back then but then, disappearing for that long usually means line up changes or other drama that tend to make good bands go bad. So TO dropping new music now makes you think if they still got it? After few listen I gotta say hell yeah they do. I don't know what's the story behind them being lost all that time and why they're not on Reaper anymore, all I know Tensions On High don't suck. Definitely not a half-assed attempt to cash in on the old material but a legit heavy hitter.

Tensions On High is built more or less on all the elements that made TO famous. By that I mean taking a deep dive into 80' grittiness and putting their own mark on it. The band's progress is about expanding their sound within that arena. So apart from straight up crossover sound on A-side tracks you get nostalgic short instrumental Ometeotl that serves as a build up to epic Just Because You Believe. This last song is a stand out with a mid-paced groove and hard rock riffing that will haunt your ass for days.

It's a short ep with 4 tracks in total but each one of them delivers sheer density and force. There's no ego in their delivery, instead they keep it raw and keep it loose. Take Offense always had tons of badass ideas going to the studio and technical prowess to pull them off, but they never overcomplicate their shit and make sure these records have real balls.

Demons Run Amok / Flatspot Records

New Blood: Last Wishes

The promo tracks Last Wishes dropped earlier this year couldn't hit me harder. Ruthless hardcore with levels of energy that could be only a result of having to deal with some serious struggles in your life. The fact they're from Belfast makes me believe this could be true cause god knows this city has its shady side. Irish hardcore tends to be overlooked which could be working against them but these dudes could easily kick their feet up with European hardcore's elite. I hope Last Wishes get the credit they deserve and can’t wait to see what’s next for the band.

For those who don’t know - tell the history of the band. How and when it all started?
When we started in 2015 there wasn't really any active heavier sounding bands around apart from Stronghold & Frustration(one of the best modern bands ever) and not to leave out older bands like Crowd Control/2000 Strong etc. We just wanted to play straight up hardcore for the moshers. Our first show was actually Frustrations last one with Risk It from Germany playing too, abut 200 people showed up for them , it was nuts and was sick seeing them go out with such a bang cuz they deserved it! Originally we started with a different line up as well but didn't do much so really the band only started in 2016/17.

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Teaser: H8000 Documentary

Liar, Congress, Regression, Length Of Time, Spirit Of Youth, Vitality - these bands took European metalcore into another stratosphere. Back in the days H8000 cats brimmed with force and confidence, showing off serious musical skills, but also versatility as they had style from all over the hardcore spectrum - be it metalcore, tough guy hardcore or youth crew or whatever. Liar and Congress for sure were at the forefront of the movement, Invictus and Blackened Persistance were damn near magic, but every band had their own thing happening. If these names say nothing to you do some fucking research.

This teaser was posted just few days but I don't have any details for you except I hope it's gonna be finally out (if it isn't already). Check out this facebook page for possible updates.

Ad Of The Day

Burn The Idol Of The White Messiah

I got mail from my man Nikolay:

Ugly and Proud Records presents the second press of "Burn The Idol of The White Messiah" by Racetraitor. The first and only full-length from one the 1990s most radically political and powerful bands from Chicago, IL is packed with a metallic sound that mixed grindcore and powerviolence. It was originally released by Uprising back in 1998. The LP has been re-mixed by Dallas Thomas (Asschapel, Pelican) and remastered by Brad Boatright (Nails, Obituary, Iron Reagan, Gatekeeper). The first press on Carry The Weight Records from the UK is now long sold out and the band teamed up with U&P and a yet to be revealed US label for the second repress of this record.

'Burn The Idol...' sounds heavier and darker than ever while remaining totally true to the original. The LP includes a special zine containing the history of the band.

Racetraitor was one of the most controversial political bands of the 1990s hardcore scene. It made it to the covers of both Maximumrocknroll and HeartattaCk before recording a single track. The name Racetraitor was in reference to using one's social and economic privilege to create a more egalitarian world. The idea was to take the pejorative term "race traitor" used by white American racists and claim it as a positive self-chosen label. The band is known for aggressively challenging audiences to confront the ways they might help perpetuate or buy into racist and exploitative social and economic systems. Many of their shows turned into heated arguments and Racetraitor were quick to become one of the most talked about political hardcore bands of their time.

Order from: www.uglyandproudrecords.net

Review: World Of Pain - No Utopia

First time World Of Pain caught my attention was when they dropped that split cd with Xibalba and Ruckus. All three bands sounded killer back then if metallic hardcore is your thing. Since then World has been steadily putting new material that I had fun listening to and I hoped No Utopia would be just as good.

Truth be told, I had to suffer through first two tracks, Knee Deep and Internal Warfare, cause this is the slowed down, double bass heavy shit that annoyed me too many times already. These two just don’t move me at all. The guitars sound artificial and the groove is absent. To me it is just the complete opposite of all the elements that made Bulldoze or Next Step Up so ruthless and moving. But, despite the record’s lousy beginning, it is not an ordeal and next tracks offer a glimmer of hope Leech is nice with an old school beatdown feel to it opposed to the double bass slam of some of the previous tracks. This is the type of shit this world needs more of. Definitely my favorite one on the album. Apocalypse Now is aggressive and raw, Losing Sight hits you hard with tight groove and sharp riffs and Buden is slow burn teror with the meanest vocals. "Set me free from this war inside of me / face your demons, face yourself. Conquering / no utopia, not on this earth." Hard as nails!



Lyrically it goes from personal stuff to ranting about the corrupt and hypocritical system. Whatever the topic, the vocals enforce the message in a manner that’s far from subtle. It might not go down in history as the defining voice of how fucked up the world was in 2018 but still sounds strong without going too dramatic.

It’s not often that I’m confused by my feelings for a hardcoe record. I thought this album was merely alright when I first heard it, but it has since grown on me. It’s slightly held back by few tracks that don’t rip, but all in all No Utopia turned out to be more killer than filler.

BDHW, 2017

Demo Daze: Devoid - Demo 2018

Bleak and suffocating hardcore from Netherlands with random metal and d-beat influences that puts extra focus on the negatives of life. Musically and lyrically, you can hear they spent time thinking this shit out. I had zero expectations for this demo but turns out I enjoyed it so damned much. Some of the tracks sound so depressing someone should check on these dudes.

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Video: Mindwar - Hollow

Mindwar is up and coming band from Belgium and this track is taken from their upcoming ep of the same name - 'Hollow'. Reality Records will release it on CD and vinyl, while Kick Out The Jams will handle the tapes.

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