Soundboy Collective

Hopesfall

2011-07-21T10:18:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago a old friend of mine dropped me the line about Hopesfall playing a reunion show next month. Now of course I would love to attend this because it's the NoWings To Speak Of lineup, which was their original lineup before they really blew up to the Trustkill/Warped tour fans. I've never been a giant fan of emocore, screamo,emotional hardcore, whatever you may want to call it but these guys always did a superb job playing it live and on recording.Unfortunately they never ended up playing my town, which I tried to book them around 2001/2002, but they always were playing shows in Louisville and Nashville when I would go down to hang out and go to shows.

From time to time I've been known to poke fun a little of over emotional bands who play live and act like fools crawling around the ground looking like they are about to cry or shit their pants for that matter. Hell their are a million bands now a days doing this but every time I saw this lineup of Hopesfall play live they were truly "emotional." It didn't look like it was rehashed, rehearsed, or fake at all. I remember watching them at Cornerstone and Furnacee Festivals and during their set witnessed a ton of males and females crying out loud. It just floored me that a bands live performance can actually do this to someone. Growing up in the hardcore scene you usually see people put fits to faces not hold their hands in their air and cry. With that not many bands gave me the "goose bump effect" as I like to call it but when I saw Hopesfall play live I can honestly remember two different times getting this feeling. I saw them play with Cave In in Nashville years ago and their bass player used to do back flips of the drum riser in the middle of a song, this was a pretty cool to see for a 19 year old who only listened to traditional punk rock and heavy hardcore. I was so lucky to this classic lineup perform so many times in Louisville, Nashville, Furnace Fest, and Corner Stone Festival. So I'm not to bummed out I can't make it to the reunion show.

They have numerous records that are still being pressed by Trustkill Records I'm sure so I thought I would post their best work to date on this blog. I always thought this band had a sound at the time that went against what was popular in the early 00's and late 90's hardcore community. When metalcore was growing and Hatebreeds cloans were everywhere these guys were playing melodic hardcore that was influenced by bands like Hum, Promise Ring, Frodus, and Mineral. I thought everything they released was great but this E.P. They really did a good job of creating a sound that didn't have your normal verses, chorus, and bridges laid into it. Which was very apparent in emo/indy rock and in a lot of generic hardcore at the time. More than anything this E.P. had a Hum like quality which I thoroughly enjoyed. It always reminded me if Hum was playing hardcore music in shitty basement wearing flannel which is a odd analogy. Their guitar Ryan created the perfect blend of soft and emotional singing over Doug the vocalist ruff and aggressive screams on each track of this recording.
They really defined the future genre of emocore, or whatever you want to call it. This recording has a very beautiful spacy yet aggressive sound that a lot of bands could never nail and still cant. After this E.P. was released everyone quit the band but their guitar player Josh and their future recordings never sounded the same.

I urge anyone to give this E.P. a listen and if you're a fan of them try to make it out to the reunion shows next month. I would love to attend but I'm sure I would be the only person from my city driving to N.C.

Here some information about the show: http://www.buzzgrinder.com/2011/early-lineup-hopesfall-reunites-for-two-shows/

Hopesfall- "No Wings To Speak Of" E.P.
[Takehold Records: 2001]
DOWNLOAD

1. "Open Hands to the Wind"
2. "April Left with Silence"
3. "The End of an Era"
4. "The Far Pavilions"

ill blood: the album that still bleeds documentary

2011-07-20T14:52:00.000-07:00

ill blood: the album that still bleeds. from Johnny Five on Vimeo.

Even though I used to love some of the rip-off No Warning bands that exploded after this album came out and few years down the road, I cringe that bands that try to sound like this now. There were a hand full of bands who did it well and many that were just plain awful.I guess my reasoning behind this was the overkill of bands, riffs, and kids that jocked this band. It took me a few years to realize that N.W. wasn't amazing as they were respected for and I think this was caused by the reality brick that hit me the head that told me, "No Warning is just repackaging version of Breakdown spread up." It's shocking I didn't realize it years ago but of course I wasn't in love with the band Breakdown in 2001. I still enjoys everything N.W put out from the demo to the last album they recorded. Hearing the ill blood album any times spark my memory of good times at shows and friends over the years, that's for sure.

I stumbled upon this documentary that I must have forget about over the last year or two.I have no idea who released this and the background behind it but it's basically ex members and some respected punk/hardcore individuals talking about the ill blood record. It's put together pretty pore so there not point of me giving you a review of it. Just watched it and come up with your own assumption of it.

A new beginning

2011-07-20T09:52:00.001-07:00

Over the last few years I haven't been much of a blogger, I just haven't feelt the need to do it and i'm sure the blow up of social networking really took away from my interst to blog. Things have changed a lot over the last 3 to 4 years with my completion of college, not touring, playing in bands, or booking shows anymore. So I thought to myself this morning, randomly of course, I think I want to start this blog back up again.

How much I will update is the questions, I can't even give you a answer to that one, but I will try to keep this more active then i have years prior. I will keep what's going on in my personal life to a minimum and try to keep this focused on my love for music and other tid bits of things I enjoy in life. I'm sure I will still have awful grammer because I never feel the need to spell check or proof read, so bash me on that.

...and yes I'm still straight edge, I still go to shows, and I still enjoy hardcore, punk, metal. Unlike a lot of my old friends I haven't turned into the early 30 year old hipster who turned his back on the subculture that pretty much help mold the man I am today.

Chi town here I come...

2009-04-27T11:36:00.000-07:00

6 more days and I get to witness this band and a few more amazing ones at the Burning Fight Book release show in Chicago this coming weekend, I'm pretty excited about it.

BurningFightBook.com

Where The Wild Things Are

2009-03-28T00:10:00.000-07:00

I haven't been this excited about a movie in ages, my all time favorite book as a child called "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak is coming out as a full length feature movie and set for release this fall.

The book tells the story of Max, who one evening plays around his home, "making mischief" in a wolf costume by chasing the dog with a fork and growling at his mom. As punishment, his mother sends him to bed without supper. In his room, a mysterious, wild forest grows out of his imagination, and Max journeys to the land of the Wild Things. The Wild Things are fearsome-looking monsters, but Max conquers them "by staring into their yellow eyes without blinking once," and he is made "the King of all Wild Things." However, he soon finds himself lonely and homesick, and he returns home to his bedroom, where he finds his supper waiting for him, still hot.

The Force

2009-03-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

A little Star Wars LOL for you.

No Drugs for Rollins

2009-02-25T15:36:00.000-08:00

Mr. Henry Rollings doing a anti-drug commercial

Stigmata

2009-01-24T17:44:00.000-08:00

I might as well keep throwing up some downloads while I think about it and this current post is on Troy's New York own mighty Stigmata. For years the only album I thought existed by them was their one album release on Victory Records entitled "Do Unto Others" which was released in 200, it never really impressed me that much.But their strongest and most epic album is the head stomper entitled "Hyms from a Unknown God," when I got my hands on this album it totally fucking floored me, it's more than just a solid record it's pretty much a 101% perfect metallic hardcore album. Their first 2 albums are two hard-to-find CD's, "The Calling of the Just"and 'The Heart Grows Harder' both of course a now-defunct labels. I don't even remember how I came across the CD form of the album, I think I ran across it at a used CD store around 2000 but I glad I didn't give up on them after hearing their Victory release but this album was jaw dropping.

Fronted by the massive front man Boby Rily and this guy knew how to pick up a lineup. They incorporated some awesome muscians over the few albums they released but most notable member is the riff machine of Mike Maney. Who really has don't a lot of bands from what I know of after Stigmata called it a day, which is a total shame because this guy knows how to write a hard song.
This album totally shows off his talent as a guitar player and the over all song structure of this band is just plain sick. It's had some of the most interesting and heavy riffs I have heard from any hardcore or metal bands rolling out in 1995. The only thing really hardcore about this album is the breakdowns and some of the vocal delivery but most of it is just heavy grooved out metal that will throw you for a curve ball with the riffs this band can spit out. Though some of Boby Riley vocal patterns blow me away espically on the 2nd track..Murder of Life the way he flows over some of the drum beats and guitar riffs are mind blowing, its very interesting to listen to this album from a singer standpoint because he some really cool things. Some of the songs could honestly put Slayer, Hatebreed, and even Merauder too shame in the hardness dept., the entire album feels like a ten ton hammer crashing down on your house.

Not a lot of bands around the late 90's where putting out hardcore like this espically in 1995 it was probably to heavy for most, their song structure really made them stick out but it still shocks me they never were that popular then and still aren't today.You can shoot me if you like but I find this album almost equally good to Merauders classic "Master Killer" album, too me it's 10x more pissed off sounding.

Stigmata - "Hyms from a Unkown God"
[Too Damn Hype Records : 1995]
DOWNLOAD

1. Save Us
2. Nothing But Enemies
3. Murder Of Life
4. Ignorant & Wire
5. Clipper Of Wings
6. Hands Of Gods
7. Burning Humana

The hardest jams out of Texas

2009-01-22T01:27:00.000-08:00

Iron Age The Sleeping Eye promo from S. Khan on Vimeo.

After over 2 years Iron Age is finally getting close to releasing their new full length album "The Sleeping Eye". A album I've been waiting for a long time, I heard the teaser and it blew my mind so I had to spread the word on this. They way this sounds they might possibly giving Pantera a run for their money as the hardest thing to come out of TX in a good while, minus Bitter End of course. From the songs I've heard I can almost guarantee this is going to be of the best and probably the heaviest album of the new year.

www.myspace.com/ironagetexas

Six Feet Deep - "The Road Less Traveled"

2009-01-17T15:35:00.000-08:00

When majority of people think of Cleveland hardcore the first few things that hit your mind is dark, heavy, and a evil sounding hardcore and majority of bands that came out of Clevo since the late 80's and early 90's where just mind blowing. Cleveland, OH has produced some legendary yet underrated bands for years and one of those finest and very over looked was Six Feet Deep.I think they were from the city of Elyria, Ohio but did majority of their time in Cleveland. They never released anything on Victory or any other strong label in the 90's and I'm sure being a Christian band didn't help them either at the time, since they where practically one of the first spirit filled heavy bands to come from the hardcore scene alone with Unshamed, Overcome, The Cruicified, Focused, Strongarm, and a few others. Now was I think about it's a little shocking this band came from the Cleveland hardcore scene which always has been a city that is known for it's very outspoken anti-god bands.

Six Feet Deep played my city of Evansville, IN back in 1996 or 1997 at an amazing old venue called The Rev which was in the basement of a old church that was built in the 1800's in the downtown area, hopefully I'll get the time to do a story on that venue at some point. I missed the show but the next day I saw a few of my friends running around high school with their t-shirts and hyping the band up like they were the next big thing all this talk really caught my attention for this band. So I Finally picked this great album up at the used cd store a few months later and was blown away. If you are person that can look past the religious side of this band then I think you will be impressed, "The Road Less Traveled" really stands the test of time as one solid 90's hardcore album. The recording is very evil, powerful, and dark sounding well at least for a christian band I guess. "The Road Less Traveled" was their second and final full-length for R.E.X. Records, released in 1996 right around the time the label apparently went out of business, thus kicking off the unfortunate dissolution of the band. While their early work was more "chugga" oriented, and thier work on "The Road Less Traveled" is melodic, developed, and darker. It really brings a strong match up with one of my favorite Integrity albums "System Overload". The vocals are intense and the song writing as your usual early heavy 90's hardcore vibe, it a little less metal and stick to more of a slighlty melodic feel at times. It's got plenty of slow head jolting riffs and a serious penchant for hooks. And the hoarse vocals carry enough power to dishevel the head of even the most fastidiously coiffed screamo nerd, hell even listening to the instrumental track on the album gave me chills when I was younger. This is one of the hardest christian hardcore and just straight up hardcore albums I've ever heard when I was younger so give it a shot.

I've been trying to get a post up on this band for years and I finally rememberd and had the time to do it so please give this album a listen. You can't find their music in print anywhere but checking amazon.com and ebay their are still tons of the CD format of this record around. Six Feet Deep does have a tribute myspace page with further information about the band: www.myspace.com/whatyouembraceiswhatyoubecome

Six Feet Deep - "The Road Less Traveled"
(R.E.X Records / 1996)
DOWNLOAD

1. Congruent
2. Purify
3. Slip
4. Apathetic
5. Narrow
6. More In Sorrow...
7. Steadfast
8. Meaningless
9. Broken Tree
10. Quick Time
11. (untitled) (hidden track)

Top 10 albums of 2008 & a little more...

2008-12-12T23:16:00.000-08:00

Torche: "Meanderthal"

Young Widows: "Old Wounds"

Mouth of the Architect: "Quietly"

Trapped Under Ice: "Stay Cold"

h20: "Nothing To Prove"

The Banner: "Frality"

Cruel Hand: "Praying Eyes"

Clouds: "We Are Above You"

Ceremony: "Nothing Moves You"

Fucked Up: "The Chemistry of Common Life"

TOP 5 E.P.'s
1. The First Step- "Connection"
2. Jesu- "Why aren't we perfect?"
3. Alpha & Omega- "Devils Bed"
4. Red Sparrows- "Aphorisms"
5. Lone Wolf- "Hallucinogenic Fate"

Well the last few years I have put out plenty of Top Hardcore albums of the year but this year I thought there were plenty of good non-hardcore releases that where way more solid then what was coming out of the hardcore scene and it blended in with my top releases of the year. It was hard to narrow down everything to ten albums and I'm sure I'll get some shit for not putting up the new Trash Talk, Cursed, Terror, or Trap Them albums up on my list but oh well, they are awesome albums but not my all time favorites. Gojira and Rotten Sounds probably put out the best 2 metal related albums of the year. On the lighter side of things I really fell in love with the new James Hunter album "The Hard Way" and Icelandic's Emilina Torrini album "Me and Armini" where some of the smoothest stuff I've heard in ages. Hell even the new R.E.M album really grabbed my attention and I lost hope in that band a few years back. I've been quite addicted to a lot of instrumental/post-rock & metal/electronic albums and there a ton of great stuff that was released this year but Russian Circles, Arms and Sleepers, and God is Astronaut and the heavy post-metal AZ band North took the cake in that department for me.

I found out this year that there was almost as many amazing E.P's then full lengths albums so I did my best to put together a solid 10 without putting any E.P's into the list minus the T.U.I album. and of course these albums aren't really in any important order, just 10 albums that blew my mind this year. The First Step's final E.P really fucking surprised me and of course Jesu will always when me over. I wish I had the time and the effort to put demo stuff out because there were some really good ones this year. I guess with all this addition info I should have put out a top 20 of sorts, oh well hopefully 2009 will be even better for music.

Walter sings Agnostic Front

2008-11-30T13:17:00.000-08:00

Walter Schreifels covering “Society Suckers” by Agnostic Front.

Spending your life dreaming of rich fantasies
Come back from your dreams and face reality
You think you’ve got everything, but really have nothing
It’s just too much pressure and your mind is busting
Watch out don’t make a mistake
You’ll lose your money, it’s poverty’s stake
Society sucker - you’ve earned your name
Society sucker - it’s just your game

Isis news

2008-11-23T21:44:00.000-08:00

Now I don't really throw up tons of music news on this blog 247 but I came across a band I've been addicted too for the last 3 years or so. I'm shocked into took me so long to actually give this band a chance since they have been out solid release since 2000. Isis is working on a new album and I'm more excited then ever...

Isis are currently tracking their new album with producer Joe Barresi (Queens Of The Stone Age, Clutch) and had the following to say about their progress:
"Well, so far, so good! We're a little over half way done tracking our new record. It's nice to hear the songs beginning to really come together. Everyone has been doing a great job and we think it's all going to make for one hell of a record. Working with Joe has been a really cool experience. He has a great ear, provides a very comfortable and creative environment, and seems to really understand what we're after."
In addition, the band are moving ahead with a "Live V" CD which will feature their entire live performance of their "Oceanic" album from a past installment of the "All Tomorrows Parties" festival. The group had originally planned to release the set as a live DVD, but felt the video footage wasn't up to their standards. In turn, the audio from the set will be mixed by Justin Broadrick of Jesu, Godflesh, etc. fame for a future release.

isistheband.com
www.myspace.com/sgnl05

Davey & Ceremony

2008-11-13T16:37:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess Davey Havok still has it.
I miss old A.F.I

Sneakers

2008-11-10T10:13:00.000-08:00

I'm not a huge shoe collector or shoe junkie but on occasion I like a cool style of shoe to put on my feet. I got these DS Nike Air Max 1 HUF Quake sneakers designed by artist Benny Gold in the mail a few days ago. I love getting anything in the mail, makes wish I had more money to order more crap I really don't need in life, well except a nice pair of sneakers of course.

2008-11-08T12:22:00.000-08:00

www.burningfightbook.com
www.myspace.com/90'shardcore
Got my tickets to the Burning Fight Book release show 2 days ago, it's a total time warp of some of the best 90's hardcore bands. Some I got to see in their hey day and a few other I never did, the lineup is incredible. I finally get to see Unbroken and Guilt so I'm going to be like a little kid at Christmas for these amazing 2 days in May up in the great city of Chicago.

Check this lineup out: Unbroken, Disembodied, Trial, Mouthpiece, Killing Time, Underdog, Guilt, Split Lip, Threadbare, 108, Reach the Sky, Damnation, Ringworm, Bane, Have Heart, Betrayed, Blacklisted, Soul Control, The Killer, Harms Way, Convicted, Thought Crusade

Go Vote!

2008-11-04T09:59:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T07:55:00.000-07:00

I have volunteered for a Haunted House in town for the last 13 years, which is ran by my Civitan Club a local non-profit organization. So of course I always take full advantage of our make up department on this wonderfull evening. The zombie farm as a website you can check that has information on Civitan and the farm itself at: Zombie Farm.net

Happy Halloween folks, please go listen to the misfits today. If you don't have any music by them I have posted the "The MSP Sessions" which was re-released/renamed 12 hits from hell .

The Misfits signed a record deal with Ruby Records after the recording, and used the 1980 sessions as a demo for their release "Walk Among Us." The full-length album expected from these sessions was never released. Although the Misfits never recorded as a five piece band, the purpose of this new release is to showcase both Bobby Steele's and Doyle's contributions equally. Bobby Steele, The Misfits' guitarist since 1978, recorded both rhythm and lead tracks for most of the songs, but was kicked out of the band mid-way through production. His parts were subsequently de-emphasized in the mix (although he is credited on 3 Hits From Hell as extra guitarist). Bassist Jerry Only's younger brother Doyle was inducted into the band and finished the recording session by adding and/or overdubbing guitar tracks. The songs only ended up in the hands of the general public through a 7" vinyl (3 Hits from Hell) and bootlegs. The tracks also appeared on the Misfits' Box Set"

Misfits- "12 Hits from Hell"

(Caroline Records / 2001)

DOWNLOAD

1. halloween
2. vampira
3. i turned into a martian
4. skulls
5. london dungeon
6. night of the living dead
7. horror hotel
8. ghouls night out
9. astro zombies
10. where eagles dare
11. violent world
12. halloween ii
13. london dungeon (alternate take)

No Justice

2008-10-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

About 5 years ago I sang in a band called Reaction who was doing a tour with Still Crossed and One Up and we had a show in D.C, we stayed at this kids house named Black Nick who did a little time in Commin Correct. We crashed at his house at that evening and I remember him tossing around the band No Justice in some random conversations we had. He showed me some type of magazine add that had of the singer modeling some GAP clothes then threw on the 7inch' for me. The pictures of this kid and then listening to hear him scream his lungs off totally didn't mash up but I was floored when I heard what was coming out of the speakers.

No Justice hailed from Virginia/D.C.. They existed for an all too short time in the late 90's, recording a demo and 7inch from what I know, I think they had some songs on a comp but I'm not totally sure. I don't know where the members went to or what bands they did time in before NJ, but I know the small songs they released is classic hardcore for the time era they were active.

The 7inch came out on the Chicago label Underestimated around 1999 and it's piled full of immense energy and what seemed an unending desire to destroy self & stage alike, the band tore apart everything- bolted down or not. They have a very early minor threat sound into a pissed off youth crew type sound. If you enjoy any 80's style of hardcore punk you will enjoy No Justice. Many No Justice stories have been told like singer Timmy running about screaming into a megaphone, ripping instruments out of band members hands, and just general mayhem something I was never lucky to see. I believe the band was together from about 1999/98 to 2001 and it's a bummer they were such short lived.... enjoy.

Here is a interview in 200 with NJ: Bare bones hardcore Blog

No Justice - "Still Fighting"
(Underestimated Records/1999)
DOWNLOAD

1. Political Scheme
2. Throw It Away
3. Confused and Betrayed
4. Everything Falls Apart
5. Failed
6. Still Fighting

Shockwave Returns!

2008-10-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

I hope to most they understand what this means

Fall Fest time

2008-10-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

Yup, this is real and people do eat it.
Only in Evansville, IN is someone dumb enough to pay $6 bucks to eat this stuff and many more odd foods during the West Side Nut Clubs fall Fest. I'm about to head off to the annual Evansville Fall Festival, which has been going on for years in Evansville. It's the 2nd largest street festival in the United States and has been hosted for over 50 years I believe. If you are into weird,crazy,nasty, and amazing white trash American fried food this is the place for you. They have everything from deep fried twinkies too crawfish and everything in between. I will pass on the bacon but I'm totally down for some chocolate covered meal worms and crickets.

Fireside

2008-10-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

In the mid-nineties, this Sweden band Fireside released a fantastic second album Do Not Tailgate which was picked up by American Recordings and released in 1996, and the band got a spot on the then-popular Lollapalooza Festival and this is really the only album I have listened to from the band. I don't think they received much success after this but this album really is great. They song writing is done well and its a very basic post-hardcore/emo style that a lot of us said we hated but some how still love when we hear something original now or from that time period. It's very straight forward rocked out post-hardcore with very catchy song structure, majority of the lyrics about girls or relationship but singer/songwriter Kristopher vocal patterns make this album more catchy then half the records that where coming out during this time period.

A friend referred this album to me not so long ago because they told me "It sounds a lot like Quicksand", of course I jumped on it to give a listen and really fell in love with this record. I'm shocked I never listened to this band before this year. I think the rest of their albums are on the lighter side of things but this one seems to be the best record they put out from people I have spoken with about the band. It's just a shame people forget about or have never heard of this band, because I'm one of them and I'm glad I finally got this hear this record. After hearing this record I'm curious to here what the rest of their albums sounds like even if they don't all sound like Do Not Tailgate.

Fireside - "Do Not Tailgate"
(American Recordings/ 1996)
DOWNLOAD

1. Interlace
2. Smokerboy
3. Left rustle
4. Kilotin
5. Shelagh
6. Cement
7. Sucking the dust
8. Circulate
9. Wheeler
10. Black soup
11. Love car
12. In place
13. Not in my palace

Man whoops a shark!?

2008-10-01T10:27:00.001-07:00

Man dives in to save dog from Fla. shark attack!

SLAMORADA, Fla. - A dog is recovering after a Florida Keys carpenter dove in to save his pet from a shark.

Greg LeNoir said he took his 14-pound rat terrier Jake for a daily swim at a marina last Friday.

The five-foot shark suddenly surfaced and grabbed nearly the entire dog in its mouth.
LeNoir said he yelled, then balled up his fists and dove headfirst into the water off a pier. He hit the shark in the back and the creature finally let go of the dog.

"I couldn't see the shark when I dived in ... so I just put my fist together ... but my hands landed solidly against the back of the shark," LeNoir told NBC-affiliate WTVJ.

Man and dog made it safely back to shore. The dog suffered bite wounds but was not critically injured.

"I thought Jake deserved whatever I could do," LeNoir said of his heroism.

LeNoir told NBC 6 that Jake "can't stand swimming pools," but that he might have to change Jake’s swimming hole.

I got a huge kick out of this, find it on MSNBC news site the other day. If I actually saw some dude jump out of a boat and punch some shark I would probably shit myself.. this is fucking awesome.

Do's and Dont's of a True Person?

2008-09-19T00:25:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this other night, these are "the rules" from strange, confusing, influenctial and legendary H.R of the Bad Brains. I'm still scratching my head on this one, I'm not sure the story behind this. I assume it's something he put together for a 80's hardcore/punk fanzine, if anyone has addition info on this let me, needless to say it's a little odd and interesting.

Religulous

2008-09-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

This looks hillarious, anything that makes fun of organized religion and proves logical points I am all about, espically if it's a documentary comedy like this.

Why are we not perfect?

2008-09-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

[Listen]
It never seems to suprise me the music that Jesu keeps putting out since 2004, with a average of 2/3 different types of release each year he keeps grabbing my attention and espically with this latest e.p that is focused on the ligther side of Jesu. Justin Broadrick (ex-Napalm Death/Godflesh) sets aside the heavy foundation of pounding guitars prevalent in past Jesu recordings and brings to the fore elements of texture and melody that previously hovered at the periphery of his monolithic compositions. Two of the songs can be found on the previously released split with Eluvium and can be found twice on this disc with alternate versions, which actually sound a lot different then the orginal tracks so it's nice to hear the progress between the two.

Give this stuff a listen if your looking for something a little lighter and more ambient to listen to, I have been playing this e.p. over the last week while falling asleep and it always does the job, It has a perfect fit for a dark rainy day.

Token Entry

2008-09-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

Well I guess it's been a long time for me droping a download on this thing and I found the perfect band that I don't talk about much and kind have forget about over the years, there is nothing I love more then refinding a old band again and Token Entry is a perfect example. Listen to them a little bit in high school then just forget about them over the years.

Token Entry is a classic New York Hardcore/Skate Punk band to come out of the late 1980's. Actually probally one of the first self-proclaimed skate-punk bands to begin, hell the cover of Jaybird has a eagle riding a skateboard, something you wouldn't seem from bands during that period of time. Majority of the stuff coming out in the mid to late 80's was pretty angry stuff. Tokeny Entry on the other hand had a very catchy rock n' roll and slight poppy influence to their music. I guess they could be the Decendents of the east coast, just a few years later and as for a 1988 hardcore punk record its extremely positive and is filled with melody and catchy little fast rock riffs.

The band bumped shoulders with Bad Brains (Dr. Know produced the Jay Bird album) you can hear a slight bad brains guitar influence in a lot of their songs espically on this Jaybird album and Gorilla Biscuits (with whom they hooked up for their first show at CBGB's) actually I think Token Entry drummer played drums for Gorilla Biscuits for their first few shows from what I've been told. If you never had a band like Token Entry playing you probaly wouldn't have had a Gorilla Biscuits and later bands like h20, which Toby Morse has said in past interviews they were the reason h20 even started. These days Mr. Tim Chunks, lead singer of Token Entry, is Billie Joe's (Green Day) guitar tech and a few members went on to form Grey Area with a member or Warzone.

Oh Sound and Fury Blog has a nice live set by Token Entry that was recorded at their 1995 reunion show at CBGB's, you can check it out here: Token Entry Live Reunion show
On with the album....

Token Entry- "Jay Bird"
(Label-???/1988)
DOWNLOAD

01. The Fire
02. Windows
03. The Bright Side
04. Jaybird
05. The Whip
06. Entities
07. Birthdays
08. Integrity
09. Token Entry
10. Pink Things
11. Born To Be Wild

Mouthpiece Discography

2008-08-22T17:41:00.000-07:00

It looks like Revelation Records will be releasing a Mouthpiece discography sometime in the fall. I don't even think Revelation has made any offical news on this but it's been a buzz over the last year through. The planning of this discography has an interesting read. I really try not to make this blog a news site unless it's about bands that interest me and I have been doing it latley but have no problem spread the word about Mouthpiece, who of course were one of the final bands from the tail end of the Youth Crew era who stuck around into the 90's.

Tim McMahon from Mouthpiece runs a really good blog that is focused on the late 80's and early 90's hardcore that you should really check out. It has tons of stories, pictures, interviews, etc. that will keep your attention I was never huge into a lot of youth crew bands but its def worth a read once in awhile: Double Cross Webzine

Rival Schools news

2008-08-21T12:13:00.000-07:00

I had a update a few months back about Rival Schools getting back together, I've been a fan of them since their first e.p so I thought I would post up some additional news on them and this is taken straight from Mr. Walter.

[I have been lagging on the uploads and music latley, but I have some stuff planned so be patient friends, hopefully I can get some up soon]

Disembodied reunion!?!?!

2008-08-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

It may look like hell well freezer over sometime in Decemember. .. Disembodied one of the best and probally the most heavy hardcore bands to come out of the 90's and of all time for that matter may be doing a reunion show sometime in Decemember. They broke up in 99/00 I believe and went on to form Martyr A.D. From what I can figure out this will probally be apart of the anual Jim Grimes Birthday Show, which I attened last year and it was a blast. The following information was taken from their offical myspace page..

By the end of 2008, an actual president might run this country.
By the end of 2008, Disembodied might play a reunion show in the 312.
In the first instance, I would advice to cast your vote.
In the second instance, I would recommend keeping your ear to the ground…

It looks like I'll be heading off to Chicago again in December if this happens. Better get my old 27 year ass into shape because late 20's old man mosh will occur and shit is going to hit the fan.

UPDATE: Looks like the information has changed about this Disembodied show and it's going to be even better than before, Lambgoat.com reports:

LOL AIM Conversation of the day

2008-08-16T17:17:00.000-07:00

klw0001: I'm so bored
Lee Action: Sucks for you, I'm listening to Napalm Death
Lee Action: Trying to figure what to do for the rest of my day
klw001: Head bang, apparently
Lee Action: No pull my eyes balls out
Lee Action: It's grindcore, not metal man

Lemmy the movie

2008-08-13T21:16:00.000-07:00

Slash Film Blog reports...

On any given Saturday, you can flick on the TV and witness bloated, aged rock stars spinning self-mythologizing yarns. Bad designer sunglasses, ridiculous hair extensions, and orange skin are a must, and toss on a runny dollop of eyeliner to impress today’s Guitar Heroes. Thankfully, next year sees the release of a feature-length documentary on Lemmy, the 60something frontman of Motörhead…with the 60something Belial on his cheek.

I don't think I've ever been overally excited for a documentary, this one is going to be a fucking kicker. I'm sure this will prove the point that Lemmy is the most 100% bad ass rock n roll hero the world has ever seen.

www.lemmymovie.com

Lifers Zine #1

2008-08-10T10:24:00.000-07:00

In 2 weeks the first issue of Lifers zine will be released at This Is Hardcore Fest in Philadelphia, PA so if you're heading to the fest grab a copy of it. This is the paper/print form of Lifers Webzine, it has everything they have been covering for months and plenty of extras. If you're into a solid 72 page classic hardcore zine then you will fall in love with this zine. From the info I got on this one it's going to be of the best of 2008. The first press will be at the fest then after a 2nd press will be released to various distros in the US and Europe, also if you want a copy get at me because I hopefully will have some for sale.

There is plenty of rad interviews, pictures, and show reviews to go around and of course a few great record reviews by yours truly. I luckly got hooked up with Lifers webzine through blogging and hugo one of the main men over at lifers wanted me to do a few reviews for the zine which I was very excited about. A few of them are up on my blog but a few will only be released through the Zine, so please check it outl. I'm allready setting up some interviews and rants that will be released here on the blog and hopefully some zines in the future, so keep you're eyes open for that.

The Anathema Report

2008-08-08T11:40:00.000-07:00

Living in Evansville, IN there is little bit of a lag in culture diversity, espically when it comes to art and film, though tonight will be a little different. Over the last year I have had some local friends and acqutances of sorts putting together a little indepedent film titled "The Anathema Report".Thankfully it's not your lame artsy fart movie but more of a B style horror flick that hopefully has enough gross and bloody scenes it will make me a little uncomfortable. Though I have done about 12 years of volunteer work for a local Haunted House so not much bothers me anymore. I honestly don't know the total story line to the film because they have kept most of it under wraps other then the fact it's sort of a worst-case scenario of what could go wrong in America and it takes place in one evening. Imagine life in the wake of terrorist attacks by unknown individuals, people fleeing for the heartland, an every-man-for-himself chaos, government militias and a strange epidemic on the scale of the 1918 flu pandemic. Needless to say I'm sure it's going to keep my attention during the opening tonight which also will be opened by some good local friends and prog/spatic noise/indy/punkers of mine by the name of Gratis.

They don't have a website up beside a myspace page but I know their film will be showing soon in a Louisville Art/Movie festival over the next few months. I keep an update of this film and the accomplishments they reach with it. If you live in the Evansville area you should attend if not hopefully this will be near a art/film festival near you.

Below is a little interview apart of the local Evansville Courier and Press Newspaper that was done with brain child Mitch Massie and my budy Kesly from Gratis who did majority of the music for the film:

Information:
The Anathema Report
Friday (Aug. 8th) at Evansville's Civic Theatre
Times: 7:00p.m. & 10:15p.m
Both screenings feature pre-show Gratis performances.
Tickets are $10.00
Myspace: The Anathema Report

Stigma for President!

2008-08-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

Man Babies!

2008-08-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

ManBabies.com

Fucking hillarious yet creepy

SSD Reunion?

2008-08-04T14:57:00.001-07:00

Earlier today I was finishing up a review for the new Trash Talk album that will be published soon for Lifers Zine and I ran across a photo/flyer on their blog which had them playing a show with the great classic hardcore band SSD in Europe and was a little dumbfounded by the information, here is the flyer: SSD Reunion Show Flyer. Finally after doing a little research it looks like SSD is supossibly doing a reuinon tour in europe of sort but for some fucked reason it's just singer David Spring strange attempt to market and tell people that it's an actually SSD reunion show when none of the members of SSD are in the band.

It looks like everyone besides David seem to be pissed off about this fake reunion of sorts which is totally understandable. I would be pretty pissed to about it when one pervious band member coming out of left field trying to do a reunion show without the support or decensy to ask the past members. It's bad enough a lot of old bands are getting back together for the wrong reasons but this is just plain stupid and slightly pisses me off and definitely Mr. Al Baire guitar player of SSD, the last person I would want to piss off.

Taken from SSD Myspace Page:

There is absolutely no truth to any speculation that SSD will be performing this summer in Europe or anytime in the foreseeable future. The fact is original vocalist David Spring "Springa" is assembling a band of hired guns to tour and rip off the public playing under the name SSD. Due to his selfish actions David Spring has officially been terminated from ALL association with the band SSD. His attempt to recreate SSD in 2008 is totally unacceptable and goes against everything the band stood for. I hope the public will not attend these shows despite the curiosity factor. It's not the REAL SSD and you'll be disappointed. It's a scam, rip-off and parody. It shouldn't surprise anybody that Springa would break ranks from the band because he was a mere passenger on a bus that gave him the best ride of his life and he can't figure out how to get back on the bus. Unfortunately his choice was the wrong choice which shouldn't surprise anybody who knows him.
There is no I in team but there is an I in INTEGRITY.

The MAD Promotion team is ripping off people by promoting a copy cat sideshow parody of a classic American Hardcore Band.
It's a shame that you would allow such a joke band to perform at your music festival.
If you think it's dope to promote fake bands then I guess I thought more about the musical integrity of your festival
Once again. This will be zero chance that you will ever get then REAL SSD or any other friends of mine who are REAL.

thanks

Alan Barile
Leader SSD

There is also a longer explination from Alan on Going Through Blog: Alan Bariles full statment

Jams of the week Vol. 3

2008-08-04T12:58:00.000-07:00

Scott Kelly: "The Wake"

Skarhead: "Kings At Crime"

We Made God: "As We Sleep"

Unbroken: "The Death of True Spirit"

V.O.D: "Self-Titled"

Dunnys x 3

2008-07-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

Got these 3 little Dunny guys in the mail the other day

Tripface Discography

2008-07-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

The First time Tripface grabbed my attention was on the old Victory Records Release VHS and I thought they where rad, after that I never heard anything about them and I just forgot about them over the years until now. If your into anything that's close too Unbroken, V.O.D, Undertow, Burn, and One King Down you may enjoy them. I pretty underrated hardcore band if you ask me. This information was posted on their Myspace not that long ago about a discography that will be released in the near future...

Tripface discog, Some Part Hope, is almost ready to be released. 29 tracks, 27 songs. It's being put out by Motherbox Records and Nick Ace is doing the layout. It's the Some Part Sorrow CD, 3 tracks from the unreleased E.P. recording, the entire 2nd Demo and 5 songs from a live session we did on WUSB which was released as a split tape with Grid on Riptide Recordings

Oddly enough their drummer went on to join the nu-metal/rock/whatever band In This Moment and Scott their singer runs Bystander Fanzine, he also sang in a band called Abvent after Tripface call it a day and it's was pretty good, I'll have to upload the demo sometime. Needless too say I'm totally stoked on this release let's hope people will finally notice these guys.

Lone Wolf

2008-07-22T21:00:00.001-07:00

Lone Wolf has been a special little three year project of Mr. Adam Riser who has done time majority of time in Love is Red and Betrayed and former vocalist of Donny Brooke and current Snake Eyes Bo Thompson over the last few years. I have luckily been an acquaintance with Adam for quite some years from my time playing in my old band Reaction and all the shows we used to play with Love is Red. At first when I heard he was forming something new I would have guessed it might have sounded something reminiscent to Love is Red but this new group is the total opposite and it totally blew me away when he thankfully sent me over this new E.P. which will soon be released by the San Diego based Words Of War Records.

The band consist of Nick Trujillo (Snake Eyes, ex-Donnybrook) on drums, Mark Choiniere (Throwdown) on guitar, and Martin Stewart (Terror, Donnybrook) on bass. Obviously some great musicians that have been churning out bands for a few years in California and this e.p is some of the best work they have done. "Hallucinogenic Fate" is the perfect mix of heavy hitting hardcore with a slight, but not over done, sludgy riffed out metal influence to the fold of the songs. Now, majority of band that try to add a southern metal influence or strong riffs to their songs usual fail in my opinion, they either try to hard with boring and repetitive riffs or over do the southern metal thing which makes it just cheesy but this E.P is a breathe of fresh hair for Hardcore. The first song Heavy Test (head nod too Integrity's vocal test intro) is a 1.50 second of creepy feedback with a slow sludged out slamming intro riff straight out of Crowbar's "Broken Glass" album that perfectly sets the feel for the 3 amazing songs that are too follow.

The rest of the songs have a basic heavy hardcore song structure but they are very well written and blend well together with the slight Entombed influenced riffs. The riffs don't take over the songs which is nice, there's perfectly placed and have a natural progression so they don't come off generic or over done. There's even a nasty sounding solo on the track Fearless that really grabbed my attention.The chord progression and riffs are very smooth and aren't repeated and over used like a lot of bands that try to pull of this style. Everything from each bass note too each single guitar chord fit well over the hard hitting drumming which is mid pace through most of the tracks. The songs aren't ultra fast but they aren't ultra slow and doom sounding which people may think when someone throws out the southern metal word. This band isn't influenced too much from southern metal bands, just a slight vibe,but more of just powerful and straight forward hardcore. I think they fall in more of a Cleveland or maybe even a little later Breakdown New York sound than something straight out of the south. There isn't any cheesy or over done gang vocals and Thompson sounds his best and most pissed off on this recording then anything he has previously done, there is even some nice vocal layering and fade outs that will keep your attention on the vocals.

There are a few very powerful and intense buildups during some of the songs that have a give off a little dark Integrity feel to them, which thrown in totally brings out the sludgy breakdown riffs they are pulling off that makes this E.P. a total whoop fest. The songs structure is powerful and the E.P. just has a smooth and heavy vibe too it which help these songs just pummel your face into the ground, Adam and company don't rip off anything that are influenced bye that's for sure, they know how to right a great song and the quick four tracks will keep your attention. This isn't a band that is going too transcend the boundaries of hardcore and there isn't flashy or any attitude too this band, its just good quality hardcore through and through with great song writing. The only down fall to this is there isn't enough songs but on a marketing stance they made had a good idea because I can't wait to hear more. All of the members of the band are very busy with their full time bands but I hope Lone Wolf will become a stronger priority because they deserve it with putting out a E.P this good.

Pre-orders will be announced for this release soon
Check out some info/songs at: www.myspace.com/allhaillonewolf

Rich kids on L.S.D

2008-07-20T22:07:00.000-07:00

I miss this band, I always thought Jason Sears had one of the coolest voices in punk and hardcore.

Jams of the week Vol. 2

2008-07-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

A few records I've been jamming lately

Terror = Horror movie?

2008-07-17T09:31:00.001-07:00

Attention Buske....

This wasn't my find but I ran across this on a hardcore related message board, something I don't do a ton but I was bored, this morning and got a little laugh out of it. Obviously someone working at this FYE music store wasn't paying attention that well while they where organizing the DVD's and put the band Terror's DVD in the horror movie section. Oh and a little self attention plug....if you have this DVD check out the Louisville, KY Krazy Fest set,I'm all over the damn thing.

At The Gates reunion!

2008-07-16T16:12:00.000-07:00

I got to witness the fury of At The Gates on their U.S reunion tour last night in St. Louis. One of the most influential mental bands of the last 12/15 years, the band every fucking lame metalcore band has been ripping off for years. It was quite kick ass I must say, they slayed.... get jealous.

P.S I finally fixed the Quicksand B-sides download link, it should finally work now.

Quickand B-side and Rarities

2008-07-01T07:09:00.000-07:00

Yup, it looks like it's time again for another Quicksand post. Over the last few years I have came in contact with a few Quicksand promotional singles and scattered demo tracks from the band that I absolutely fell in love with. Though every time I would find bootlegs, demos, rare or whatever you want to call it it was totally unorganized and some of the songs that I assume where actually Quicksand songs where demo or unreleased Rival Schools songs or some of the Moondog recordings, the band that Walter Schreifels did before Quicksand that eventually turned into them. The tracks I had were just a mix of random shit and I wasn't sure what was Quicksand and what wasn't but I finally have a good listing and detail of the tracks.

I would love to take the time and explain what a ground breaking band Quicksand was and/or is but the proof is in the pudding as people say and it still amazes me that this band is still underrated in the main steam music scene. Hell if you listen to some of the early quicksand songs you can tell where Tool came up with some of their ideas, rumor has it Tool always wanted Quicksand to take them on tour but I don't think it ever happened. They have an interesting history before, during, and after the band and everything all these members have put out is solid though I believe Quicksand is the best thing they ever have done. Walter's post-Quicksand band Rival Schools as got back together and from what I've been hearing Tom Cappo has a new indy rock band that's about to record which should be great I'm sure but no music is addicting to me as Quicksand. I have constantly been addicted to this band from the first time I heard the Slip record years ago, which is suck a powerful and original record for it's time their riffs have the best hooks of any rock band that's out there. Ever since then if I can find anything that's rare from the band I'm quick to grab it up.

I finally came in contact a few days ago with a 22-track rare recording of all the actual Quicksand songs that were not released or were apart of single and solid live recordings, some of these songs I had and a few I have never heard before so I was excited as hell to grab this. I thought I would finally post this thing up because it really had some great songs that were never on the albums. These songs came from demos from slip, manic compression, and a 7 song demo of new tunes they started working on after their breakup and reunite right before the broke up again after a Deftones tour in 1996, with those songs you can tell start to sound and evolve into more of a Rival Schools feel. They are a lot more structured and softer at times but none the less they are just as amazing as any Quicksand album song. I have their first full demo and some live shows I'll upload at a other day but this is the solid collection of unheard and rare songs, the track listing that you download may be a bit off from this list but my ass is to lazy to reorganize it... enjoy

Quicksand - B-sides and Rarities
(No Label)
Download

1. How Soon is Now - "Done Alone" CD single
2. Voice Killer - "Divorce" vinyl promo 7"
3. Shovel - "Thorn In My Side" CD single
4. Chelsea's Going Under- "Hit Me" Island Records CD sampler
5. Bug Collector - Manic compression out take
6. World's Fastest Car- Manic Compression out take
7. Knee Jerk Reaction- Manic Compression out take
8. Instrumental - 1998 recording session
9. All In Your Head - 1998 recording session
10. Requiem - 1998 recording session
11. All In The End - 1998 recording session
12. Constant tension - 1998 recording session
13. Hostage Calm - 1998 recording session
14. Weed it Out - 1998 recording session
15. Chelsea's Going Under - 1998 recording session
16. Dine Alone (demo) - Vinyl promo 7" for "Slip"
17. Can Opener (demo) - Vinyl promo 7" fro "Slip"
18. Baphomet (Live with vocals) - Omission CD single
19. Clean Slate (Live in CA) - Omission CD single
20. How Soon Is Now? (Live at CBGB) - CBGGB 20th anniversary CD
21. Clean Slate (Live in GA) - "Freezing Process" CD single
22. Super Genius - True Manic demo version

Nike’s Marty McFly 2015

2008-06-30T15:21:00.000-07:00

I'm not a huge sneak collector but from time to time I'll grab a few cool ones when I have the money. The other day I ran across some information over Nike releasing the actual Marty McFly 2015 sneakers from Back to the Future II, I'm a huge fan of the films so this caught my eye. If you were a kid in the 80's you for sure know what the hell I'm talking about

Slashfilm reports:

"Since the release of Back to the Future: Part II, fans have been trying to convince Nike to produce the futuristic sneakers worn by Marty McFly (played by Michael J Fox). An Internet petition was even started a while back on mcfly2015.com. Well it looks like Nike might have finally decided to release the future sneakers, kinda. Nike will release a limited version of the Hyperdunk, this years most talked about basketball shoe, in a Back tot the Future inspired color scheme. The sneakers are expected to be released later this Summer. Unfortunately, the sneakers don’t tie themselves like the ones shown in the film."

Help out TUI!

2008-06-29T01:39:00.001-07:00

www.myspace.com/underdaice

Freedom Fest

2008-06-26T22:55:00.000-07:00

On occasion I try to give a little piece of my home town in this blog and some of you may or may not know I'm from Evansville, IN which is the 3rd largest city in Indiana. Besides having one of the best little hardcore scenes in America It doesn't have a lot more to offer at times but in July we have our annual Freedom Fest. So if you enjoy good shitty food, mullets, flowing beer, and chicks in bikinis you may enjoy it. Oh and its all centered around Hyrdo Plane Boat Racing which is like NASCAR on the water, it's actually kind of dope and it's the only thing I enjoy when I hang out at this scum fuck local event. Bring on the pounds and white trash baby, it's the only time I my life I remotely feel like a skum bag.

So long George

2008-06-23T19:49:00.000-07:00

George Carlin: 1937 - 2008I was up in Indianapolis this weekend visiting my parents and this first thing I heard from my Dad this morning was George Carlin, passed away yesterday. He passed away late last night, at the age 71 of heart failure. He's probably one of my all time favorite comedians, I'm glad I got a chance to see him perform about 5 years ago, my dad took me which is odd because my dad is very conservative and George is the total opposite which I always thought was funny in it's self... he will be missed.

Curtains

2008-06-12T10:47:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what the hell is going up in New York right now but they are producing a ton of young bands that really have been grabbing my attention. One of these bands is putting out some top notch hardcore and they go by the name of CURTAINS and hail from Long Island, NY. I don't think any of these guys have played any notable past bands at all and from what all, but I could be wrong. As far as I can figure out their average age is about 20, what I would do to be that age again but for their age and experience they can jam out some hard ass tunes.

They are exactly everything hardcore needs to be in 2008. The music is very straight forward with a 90's Cleveland and New York style vibe going on - loud, raw, pissed, slightly dark, and straight to the point. A lot of the chord progressions and song structure has a very breakdown and integrity feel to me, hell if you took out the vocals some of their songs could be mixed up with Breakdown 87' demo and early Indecision at times. The riffs are a little bouncy yet still have a drop of that dark Clev0 sound to them at times but are perfectly put into place that makes their songs very smooth, yet at times the drumming comes off a little sloppy but I'm sure in time they will become even more tight as a band. Some of the way the drum beats are placed and their overall rhythms with the riff buildups remind me of No Warning for some reason but NW was a straight rip from NYHC so that's not a great comparison but fuck it.. I'm not the best person to review bands on the planet. The demo recording is a little raw but it gives a lot of feeling to their music. It's definitely not over produced and cookie cutter sounding it sounds exactly what you think it would; sound like a young hardcore band from New York City.

The vocals really draw me to this to this band they are harsh, angry, and naturally distorted a bit, after hearing the demo I assumed this guy was in his early 30's and spending his 20's drinking a lot of whiskey and screaming at the world for 30 year some odd years. Even after reading his lyrics it brings back memory's of being that age 7 years ago and always fucking up and making mistakes, I love their singers lyrics. I'm pretty sure this band hasn't been around for a full year yet and the music they are rolling out is going to turn out amazing if they stick with it. I see too many young break up to soon before they got the attention they deserve and I hope they will get noticed because this demo and band needs to be heard asap. I'm stoked all the demo's I have heard this year and these guys rank up high in my Top 5 right next to Alpha & Omega, Mind Piece, Hostage Claim, and ON.

Curtains- "Stop Hatin' and get money" Demo 2008
(Self-released/ 2008)
Download
1. Leap year
2. Mo(u)rnings
3. Burning Breaking
4. Crusade

How soon is now?

2008-06-09T11:31:00.000-07:00

Well it looks like I'm going to make another Quicksand post up, I'm sitting here bored out of my mind trying to find something to write about because I always lag on these post. I was listening to some tunes today on shuffle through my i tunes and shockingly out of no where The Smiths classic How soon is now poped up and right after the Quicksand cover of the same song played. Comparing the two isn't a easy task but I thought I would post up this rare little cover by Quicksand and you can figure it all our for yourself. I wouldn't say it's a really rare tune but I love it majority of people may have heard this all ready. I have a live version of the song also which was recorded at a Burbank, CA show bootleg I have from Quicksand but I'm not sure which year it was recored.

"You shut your mouth.How can you say,I go about things the wrong way. I am Human and I need to be loved. Just like everybody else does" - The Smiths

I believe Quicksand Smiths cover was released by Revelations has a promotional single that was on the "Dine Alone" single that came out during their Slip record in 1993. The orginal song was released on The Smiths classic record Meat is Murder which came out in 1985. I never thought a Smiths song could be covered and changed to rock so hard but Quicksand makes this song perfect. I obviously the like the original better but I don't think you'll ever hear a better cover of this song. The song's sounds more like a Quicksand song than it does a Smith song, if that makes any sense to you because it does to me. I'm not going to give you a full on review of a single song but go ahead and listen and see what you think if you haven't heard the cover before.

Quicksand- "Dine alone single"
(Revelation Record)
Download
1. How soon is Now? (Smiths Cover)

The Smith- "Meat is Murder"
(Warner Records)
Download
1. How Soon is Now? (Original Version)

Deep Thoughts

2008-06-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

I have seen this a million times but every time I see this I still giggle.

Handsome

2008-05-28T11:19:00.000-07:00

During the mid-to late 90's major labels where sticking their noses in the underground post-hardcore scene or whatever you would like to call it and Epic Records picked up a rare band that was always overlooked during these years was a band called Handsome. I'm not sure how rare this may be but a lot of people I know have never heard of this band and they even released a one major label on Epic Records in 1997. I assumed they got noticed because of their members. Handsome was directed by former Helmet guitarist Peter Mengede and the most notable person and main song writer of the band was ex- Quicksand guitarist Tom Capone. The band also included ex-Cro-Mags and Murphy's Law drummer Peter Hines. With this type of lineup you going to exactly what you think it's going to sound like. A more straight up heavy rock version of Quicksand and Helmet, I guess some people would say this is the more radio friendly band of the two.

Each listen feels like a quiet discovery because everyone song sounds totally different but still sticks to the well polished post-hardcore/rock structure they have came up with. The dual guitars compliment each other perfectly and Pete Hines lays down some of the coolest beats I've heard, of course your going to get a good Far, Quicksand, Into Another, and Helmet vibe to this while you listen to these songs but the album is totally an original 90's hardcore rock album. I've always been a sucker for solid and original song structure in any style of music and these guys have it down to a art form. The smooth tempo changes, ambient guitar textures and incredibly infectious choruses will really catch your attention and they have great darker stop-start riffing that was popular with post-hardcore bands of the time. The chores are very melodic and catchy something Helmet never seemed to have but Quicksand always did. The songs "Dim the Lights","Thrown Away", and "Ride Down" which is my favorite song on the record are all really some of the best 90's rock songs I've ever heard a lot better than half the bands on the radio then.

From what I know they only lasted a few years as a band and broke up after Cappo left the band. I know they did do some tours with Silverchair, Local H, and later with Decedents on Less Than Jake. I can see how this band may have failed or confused a lot of people in the mainstream because with their ex-group members of a ton of famous hardcore/post-hardcore/metal lineup their band doesn't mesh well with anyone band they toured with minus maybe Sileverchair, it sucks they never released a second albums because I'm sure it would have been solid. Epic doesn't press the record anymore from what I know so I posted up their 12 track Terry Date produced and only recorded record.

Handsome - "Self/Titled"
(Epic Records)
DOWNLOAD

1. Needles
2. Ride Down
3. Going to Panic
4. Left of Heaven
5. Thrown Away
6. Dim the lights
7. Lead Bellied
8. My Minds Eye
9. Waiting
10. Quiet Liar
11. Eden Complex
12. Swimming

V.O.D for all my boys

2008-05-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

Ran across this little video from my favorite NYHC band Vision of Disorder, their Self-titled LP and Biohazard's "State of the World Address" got me deeply into hardcore in 1996. I believe this video was made to help them market themselves in Europe, that's all I really know about it but they perform my favorite V.O.D and hardest song ever so I thought I would post up my find. I think eventually I'll do a little review and story on how this band changed the way I looked at music back then at some point in a future post. Oh and I totally think dreads should make a comeback in hardcore it's a lot better than ghetto style flat-bill baseball caps.

Cold World

2008-05-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

Deathwish Inc. has posted up 3 songs from the new Cold World E.P "Dedicated To Babies Who Came Feet First". This band never really caught my attention when I first heard them, it seemed pretty boring and I could never tell if it was a joke or not but after listening to these songs and getting more info on this band I'm excited to where there future goes. Once the album is released I'll throw out a full review depending on how much free time I have. Hopefully this record will be one of the highlights of 2008.

I was a little surprised to find out their new album was produced by the mighty Biohazard guitarist Billy Graziadei at his Underground Sound Studios. So obviously your going to get a hint of Biohazard in your production and your song writing. The production quality sounds very raw and in your face, reminds me of early Biohazard albums. Their new songs have a ton of rad vocal hooks and bring riffs back to life from bands like Biohazard, Breakdown and Life of Agony with a strong old skool hip-hop vibe to it. You can check the songs at: New Cold World Songs

Jams of the week Vol. 1

2008-05-07T23:56:00.000-07:00

A few records I have been spinning lately.

Rival Schools returns

2008-05-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

Post-Hardcore superstars Rival Schools will be returning to the stage over the next few months, of course they are starting their re-grouping and reunion in Europe but hopefully they will be in the U.S. soon. Rival Schools fronted by Walter Schreifels of ex-Quicksand and Gorilla Biscuits fame made the announcement a few days ago. I'm a huge fan of Walter work from his solo stuff to the rare Moondog record so I'm excited beyond to belief to hear this news. I'm sure the new music will be as catchy as anything else Walter has put out, one can only hope.

I ran across a quick interesting interview over the return of Rival Schools and their future plans over the next few months. I can only cross my fingers I'll finally get to catch them live since I missed them when they where more active 6 or so years ago. Everything Walter has put out has always been underrated outside of the underground music scenes so hopefully this time people will begin to notice. You can check out the interview- Rocksound Interview

Cro-Magnon news

2008-05-02T13:11:00.000-07:00

One of the best New York City papers from what I'm told called ‘The Village Voice’ recently ran a cover story on Cro-Mags frontman John Joseph. The article talks about John’s new book ‘The Evoultion of a Cro-Magnon'. I made a blog post months ago with some audio clips of him reading this book, do your self a favor and go pick it up. The Village Voice article is a interesting read and you can get a little more insight on the book there you can read online at The Village Voice website.

Blacklisted: May 28th in Nashville, TN!

2008-04-27T22:28:00.000-07:00

If you're bored tomorrow night and live in the IN, IL, KY, AL, and of course TN states you should come out to the big Blacklisted show in Nashville, IN. My new band Mind Collapse is opening up the show (future blog post on this in the future). Come say hi.. I'll be the one yelling into the microphone.

ON

2008-04-02T23:56:00.000-07:00

As most people know every time one band in hardcore calls it day and breaks up the following year a new band begins comprised of that band and other bands. Well ON is a perfect example of this stereotype in hardcore that creates in bands. When I first saw them name I was thinking this may be a Failure influenced band but I was totally wrong, it's the complete opposite but this isn't a band thing. Lately I have been killing tons of new bands and demos and these guys caught my attention. I'm not a big youth crew fan minus Judge and Side Bye Side and some of the late 90's bands like In My Eyes/Ten Yard Fight/Better Than A Thousand, but these guys keep this stuff interesting.

ON is based out of Seattle, WA and is put together by ex-members of Go It Alone, Get The Most, Lights Out, Champion, and Blue Monday. I honestly was never a huge fan of Champion, I liked the music and they where awesome to watch live but the records always bored me but ON has more of a Blue Monday sound over anything Champion really did. This band seems to grab me a lot more then Champion did musically. It still has a very early 90's NYC Youth crew vibe but it's written with a lot more creativity and song structure then a lot of bands. After hearing the demo I can definitely tell these dudes love Better Than A Thousand because the vocals and at times vocals patterns have a big Ray Cappa influence, but in the good way and not the annoying Youth of Today vocal style. Sorry folks shoot me for saying this but I never got into Youth of Today and to this day I still don't. ON has your basic fast traditional hardcore sound with fast punk riffage and constant circle pit parts but they seem to pull of a sound that is a little more catchy than their old counter parts Go it alone and Champion, and I assume it's because of the vocal style and the intelligent punk chords that bring to like In My Eyes and Better than A Thousand songs. I love a few of their bass lines which are solid,smooth, and catchy as hell. I think I'm the only person who focuses on the bass guitar a lot when listening to bands the stuff really stands out to me if a band can add in some bass playing that just doesn't back up the guitar and ON's stick out to me.

Is ON an original hardcore band? Maybe not but they sure do this style a lot better than the half of million bands out there doing this or have done in the post. With time and a little more progression ON may turn out to be bigger and better than their past counter part Champion. Hopefully they will stick to this and do a little touring because I would love too them live. Check out the demo...

ON- Vital Times Demo
Tracklist:
1. Generations
2. Silence Inside
3. Take a Stand
4. Vital Times

Download

So long Brett

2008-03-04T08:53:00.001-08:00

My man Brett Favre retired today:ESPN news

Mind Piece

2008-02-21T10:42:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been on a big kick on getting a hold of demo's from younger bands and the band Mind Piece (Ironic because my new band is named Mind Collapse, future post on that at some point) is one of the most solid of the bands I've heard over the last few months. It seems like California has been rolling out a ton of new and hard hitting bands but New York has their own little special weapon.

I honestly don't know any history of this band or if they where in any previous bands, hell for all I know this could be their first band and release but its a whooper of a 6 song demo. Their song structure and writing techniques are superb for classic late 80's to early 90's New York influenced hardcore. Only surprising thing here is they are actually from NY unlike a lot of bands who copy or are influenced by the sound. Mind Piece plays a solid hard hitting mid-pace to faster hardcore that brings back the likes of breakdown, outburst in a little bit of biohazard at times. A lot of the guitar riffs and heavy chord progressions bring to mind a less heavier no warning that makes you want to put your fist through concrete.

Mind Piece is a heavy band but aren't a band that writes their songs around breakdowns or massive two step parts, everything from the hard hitting drum work to the smooth heavy raw chord progression brings to mind a band like Final World or a times like a less heavy sounding no warning.2 The vocals of course are your normal straight forward pissed off vocals but the music is what grabs me about this release. The recording isn't amazing sounding but it really brings out the real raw feel of this band but still has a very smooth atmosphere to it, it's actually nice to hear a recording like this when half of the bigger hardcore and metal bands are putting out over produced/mixed bullshit that sounds so pro-tooled it makes me want to vomit. It will be interesting to see the future release of this band they do have a release coming out on New View Records (Nick Jett's from Terror record label) soon. Hopefully that will take their crown as a newer new york hardcore band that can keep up and place themselves as another nyhc classic, they have a long way to go but if they stick together we may see these boys take over.

Mind Piece- Demo 2007

Download
1. Adrift
2. No Control
3. Wearing Thin
4. The Earth is Flat
5. Wasted
6. Violent Change

Angle and Victory?

2008-02-20T15:19:00.001-08:00

2 of the worlds biggest assholes together

Slip into Quicksand

2008-02-05T09:59:00.000-08:00

If you know me on a personal basis you know I'm a massive Quicksand fan. A friend of mine directed me to this 5 minute mini-documentary that was released and promoted around before Quicksand classic album "Slip" which was released around 1993. I found it a little interesting so enjoy.

Alpha & Omega

2008-01-30T01:15:00.000-08:00

Alpha & Omega (I'm pretty sure these guys are huge Cro-Mags fans obviously by the title of their name) hails from the concrete jungle of Los Angles, California.

So far over the last few months I've noticed California has been rolling out a ton of new and interesting bands from Trash Talk, Violation, Crucified, Lewd Acts, and a few more. I've been getting in a lot of demos lately and this amazing 3 song demo has stood out to me for numerous reasons. I don't know much about them but I was hooked when I got a hold of the demo. These guys take the cake as a one hell of a younger and up and coming band.. hell I think they have only played under 5 shows. I'm not really sure what bands these guys previously jammed out, but it really doesn't matter. The biggest thing that caught my ear about these guys it he vocals, very distinct and powerful. I don't think I can do a good job describing it so just download the demo.

Listening to them brings to life an explosion of riffed laced hardcore with a a slight sludgy southern metal and a powerful 90's NYHC influence, they don't overuse or jump on the trend boat like a lot of bands trying to pull this mix of style but they bring too life a nice progression of both. If you enjoy anything on the lines of a mix of Biohazard, Life of Agony and a little drop of Crowbar with a little swing to it you'll fall in love with these guys. A lot of the bass lines have a strong Life of Agony feel to them and the overall song structure for these guys is dead on. They do have a drop of Blacklisted sound at times but I doubt this was something they where going for. Each songs will make you want to stomp your feet, swing your ass, and punch a car window out at the same time.

Alpha & Omega - Demo 2007

Download:
1. Brick by Brick
2. Burned
3. Devils Bed

You're worthles!

2008-01-24T11:23:00.000-08:00

I ran across this nice video clip the other day and thought I would make a blog post about it. The video is by a one of the best late 90's hardcore bands called Buried Alive, they are musically one of my favorites bands and have been since when I caught them for the first time on a V.O.D/Skarhead/Candira tour back in 1999.

I believe this video is from a song when they played the original Hellfest in 1998 right after they released their demo. I'm sure I'll do a future post on these guys when ever I feel like I have the time for it but I enjoyed this video. Oh and thinking about it heaver over to x43x blog Justin just posted up some rare Despair (another band Scott Vogel did if you didn't know) for demo stuff that you need to check out: x43x.blogspot.com

Evolution of the Cro-Magnon Man

2008-01-14T17:13:00.000-08:00

I’m not sure if any of you have been late on this but I thought I would give a little insight on a book titled “The Evolution of a Cro-Magnon” that was released a few weeks ago written by John Joseph of the Cro-Mags and currently of Bloodclot, who put one of my favorite demos out last year by the way. If you have never heard about John or the Cro-Mags I encourage you to pick up the novel and so do some research on them.

From my understanding John has been working on this book for quite a few years. The book is a honest story about his life and his experience with the Cro-Mags, he includes a lengthy and honest insight on the real Cr0-Mag beef that has been filled with rumors for years. The thing that interested me most about the book and information surrounding is the early story of John growing up in group and fosters homes and dealing with the social work side of society. It’s amazing to see how much of a mess it was prior to the last 10 years, my career is in social work/mental health, I counsel emotional disturbed and troubled children and teenagers. I’m going to get into my views of the past and the current field in this blog post but it’s very interesting to see how John has lived his life, it will make you cherish your family very much.

To the book was released a few weeks ago but there has been a rare audio recording of John reading majority of the book running around the web for over a year now, which I have listed below. I'm not sure if these recordings where for promotional use or something John decided to do for the hell of it, I haven't seen it anywhere to purchase so who knows if it will ever be released. I don’t think it covers everything in the novel but some very important aspects of it and it’s great to here John read his own words, it’s very entertaining and emotional at times.

“So if you want to remember what NYC was like in the 70's and 80's, if you are interested in selling fake acid at Madison Square Garden, or dressing up like Santa Clause in a wheelchair to hustle money for the Hari Krishnas, or for that matter, if you are just interested in some of the best of the 8 billion” – Adam Yaunch of the Beastie Boys

Evolution of the Cro-Magnon Man
John Josephs Audio Book - narrated by the man himself.

1.Part 1
2.Part 2
3.Part 3
4.Part 4

If you like what you hear you can purchase the book at: Punkhouse.org

Top 10 hardcore records of 2007

2007-12-19T13:32:00.001-08:00

108: "A new beat from a dead heart"

Bitter End: "Climate of fear"

Unholy: "Blood of the Medusa"

Ambitions: "Exile"

Soul Control: "Involution"

Only Crime: "Virulence"

Shipwreck: "Abyss"

Ringworm: "T.V.G.D"

Blacklisted: "Peace on earth, War on stage"

Lifetime: "Self-titled"

Chi-town here I come

2007-12-02T22:05:00.000-08:00

I will be attending this little wing ding in Chicago in a few years, kinda of excited about it. Finally after all these years I can witness Turmoil live.

In Cold Blood

2007-11-16T12:11:00.000-08:00

A not to short time ago the raw city Cleveland, Ohio ruled the realm of hard hitting hardcore for quite a number of years in the 90's. When anyone things of Cleveland majority of people think Integrity and Ringworm. There have not been many bands to come out of Cleveland for awhile but one of my favorite bands fr0m the past was In Cold Blood They where formed in the mid 90's after the classic Integrity line up decided to separate from Dwid, god only knows how many stories are around that incident. The Melnick brothers left Integrity to team up with Blaze from Integrity and the controversial One life crew, Blaze also went on to write the last Integrity record that was released by Deathwish Inc. a few years back.

In Cold Blood never did a lot of touring from what I remember but their 1 album and mix of demos where overlooked by the tradition and popularity of Integrity. In Cold Blood comes close to Integrity as far as a band goes for me, only low point in this is Integrity put out a lot more albums. In Cold Blood is comprised of many ex-Integrity members so obviously with some of the best early writers in Integrity you going to have quality dark clevo hardcore with the tradition of short fast metallic songs at it's finest. Heavy, slow, monster riffs and blazing solos combined with some of the most pissed off and gut wrenching vocals I've ever heard. Hell Blaze has wrote some of the best riffs in hardcore, you can hear is killer dive bombs through out their full length. They mixed a perfect combination of raw hardcore from bands like Discharge, Skeptic Death, Agnostic Front with a metallic edge which of course brings to mind a little drop of slayer but a lot more angrier.It got me hooked on this band when I picked up their only Victory Release - Hell on Earth in 1999.

Below I have both of their only official recordings up for download. The first record Hell on Earth has a different singer then majority of their demo stuff. Jason Bourbon was the first singer I believe, though rumor has it that Frank 3-gun of Integrity/Ringworm/Terror/Hatebreed fame was supposed to handle the duties but who knows where those came from.. hell it's Clevo. Jason only did a European tour and appeared on the fist s/t 7". On the Hell on Earth recording Jason Popson who went on to be in Mushroomhead. They released the Suicide King demo who their original singer Bourbon, I think and after that they finally called it a day.

Here are both official recordings:
I.

In Cold Blood: "Hell on Earth"
(Victory Records, 1998)

Tracklist
1. Support
2. Bear No Shame
3. Blood On Our Hands
4. Scars Of Life
5. Bleak Existence/Dead To This World
6. Time To Die
7. Lost In Doubt
8. In Time We Strike
9. Pain
10. Attrition
11. Retaliate
12. War Is Waged
13. Stand Your Ground
Download

II.

In Cold Blood: "Suicide King Demo"
(Self-released, 1999)

Tracklist
1. Suicide King
2. Straight Flush
3. Fuck Your Opinion
4. Dogma
5. Polluted Fuse
6. Ease The Pain
7. Empty
Download

Zombie Prom date

2007-11-15T17:25:00.001-08:00

October is always my favorite time of year so I had to make one more post. I'm a big sucker for Halloween and my wonderful catch Meaghan and I went as a zombie prom date for Halloween this year. I have an array of pictures from our little dead adventure but only a few good ones came out.

I have volunteered for a Haunted House in town for the last 12 years, which is ran by my Civitan Club a local non-profit organization. So of course we tool full advantage of our make up department and both decided to ghoul it up for Halloween. The zombie farm as a website you can check that has information on Civitan and the farm itself at: Zombie Farm.net

Danzig: To whoop or get whooped

2007-11-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

To carry on with a little Misfits fun I ran across this interesting video about Glenn Danzig detailing his training in Jeet Kune Do, which is a martial art that Bruce Lee practiced. Judging by the video it seems to be a little old, I'm guessing around the mid to early 90's.

I: To Whoop

Now let us fast forward to a few years ago when a little historic incident between Glen Danzig and Arizona hardcore finest North Side Kings singer big Dan. Most people in the punk/hardcore community has seen this video, if you haven't you in for a laugh.

II: To Ge Whooped

Where is all that amazing Jeet Keen Do Danzig practiced?

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T11:58:00.000-07:00

Halloween - The Misfits

"Bonfires burning bright
Pumpkin faces in the night
I remember halloween

Dead cats hanging from poles
Little dead are out in droves
I remember halloween

Brown leafed vertigo
Where skeletal life is known
I remember halloween

This day anything goes
Burning bodies hanging from poles
I remember halloween

Halloween, halloween, halloween, halloween

Candy apples and razor blades
Little dead are soon in graves

This day anything goes
Burning bodies hanging from poles
I remember

Halloween, halloween, halloween, halloween
Halloween, halloween, halloween, halloween"

Big Dog

2007-10-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

Introducing Irreversible

2007-09-24T06:28:00.000-07:00

After posting information about Rosetta I thought I would carry on the tradition and post up another post-metal or whatever you would like to label it band that is extremely underrated.
My buddy Grahm from Atlanta has been playing in an amazing band called Irreversible and it's time for me to spread the word about these fellas. I guess over the year or two I've been getting to a lot of darker, ambient, and sludge music and Irreversible can fit into these styling that seems to be grabbing my attention for quite awhile.

Irreversible is hot off their e.p "AGE" which was released last year and it helped them achieve a status that most younger bands strive for when it comes to this post-metal/post-hardcore scene which seems to be ruled by a lot of older bands. They bring complex drumming with irregular beats, layered guitars with chromatic passages, powerful bass-lines, and bizarre keyboards that create an extremely dark vibe that brings hits of Neurosis/Isis but some of their riffs seems to be reminiscent of the first Tool record to me but more sludgy in that aspect. They are a world wind of sounds but it all fits together quite smoothly unlike a lot of band I've been hearing they aren't too heavy and they aren't too ambient. They even use interesting and creepy sound samples through out their songs which really caught my attention.

Their lyric content is very dark on the "AGE" e.p. and they record the album in one single track that is broken up into a variation of 5 parts, which it seems to run on a little bit but the entire album reads like a story.

"i know you dream, but we cant stop time
and now look at me
rotten and fading
now im crushed back to dust
if only we could evolve enough
to control the force that made us
time has ruined me
time destroys all things..."

I'm sure you could match up the record with some dark sci-fli flick and it would probably scare the shit out of you. I definitely wouldn't consider Irreversible a space rock back their extremely to think and dark to fit into that genre but what style or musical genre bracket you want to put them they are frankly amazing. Creating something this powerful, aggressive, and dark while still keeping a underlying ambient vibe is difficulty to grasp and they do it perfect.

I'm not sure if this style of post-metal is going to be the new trend in heavy music but if it's is Irreversible is going to be at the fore front with the new material they will be releasing later this year, they have 2 songs on their personal myspace of a l.p. entitled "SINS". So please pick that up when it comes out, I think you can still order their e.p through their myspace page which I have linked below.

Irreversible is a very underrated band with lack of a strong label support and not a lot of touring majority of people I ask them about have no idea who they are so do yourself a favor and give them a listen. You can check out further information and music from them at their myspace page: Myspace.com/irreversiblemusic

Man Stuck In Chimney

2007-09-20T21:56:00.000-07:00

New York has gang activity, L.A. has riots, and hell you probably won't even see this happen in Atlanta only the good old city of Evansville, IN can produce this juicy piece of strange and stupid criminal activity, or whatever you want to call it. Evansville is the 2nd largest city in Indiana and home for me over the last 15 years. This news clip is a tid bit of what goes on in the south/mid-west area that make us rule the realm of white trash stupidity.

Oh and please watch the entire video clip you can't miss out on the her launching 2 beer bottles at his head, and if this going down in my home town I can put $100 bucks that those are either Colt 40 or P.B.R bottles.. haha.

Blast from the past

2007-09-20T00:55:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite book's as a child is becoming a live action movie. I found this tid bit of information on a Mtv movie blog and though I would spread the word about it. Anyone what grew up in the 80's as a child knows about the classic child book "Where the Wild Things Things Are."

An image from Spike Jonze’s upcoming (10/3/08) adaptation of the classic children’s novel “Where the Wild Things Things Are” has been floating around the ‘net. The photo in question was taken at Warner Bros.’ booth at the Licensing Show in NYC. Well, MTV went the extra mile and dug up the actual high-res image of the young boy flanked by two enormous creatures.

I haven't done a lot of research but you can check the wikipedia for additional information if you don't have a clue what I'm talking about: Where the Wild Things are (Film)

Rosetta

2007-09-15T23:23:00.000-07:00

Hailing from the great city of Philadelphia Rosetta is an American art metal band incorporating elements of post-hardcore, drone music, and ambient music creating a sprawling, atmospheric sound similar to Neurosis and Isis.

Rosetta brings an original mix of styles to the table they have mesh a good mix of ambient and minimalistic melodies that bring to mind the powerful easy listening sounds of pelican. Yet the still can categorize themselves into the metal ranking by having a dark and sludge world wind of riffs and creative song structure. It seems like the mighty Isis has left many young bands with a raw taste of experimenting in the post-metal scene then it has in recent years.

They presents a rich sonic environment where elements are progressively constructed in a linear manner and broken down with a hauntingly subtle brute force. Compositionally, Rosetta can be likened to a band exploring the post-rock or metal into something that keep your ears hooked.Rosetta is a perfect example that this style of music is going to be rising up and hopefully taking over the boring At The Gates Rip-off metalcore bands.

Their debut album, The Galilean Satellites, featured two separate hour-long discs (one of more metal-oriented music, and one of ambiance) that synchronize together. Although originally intended to be one disc of metal tracks sandwiched by ambient ones, the band had enough material to cover two discs.

Tracklist
01. Red In Tooth And Claw
02. Lift (Part 1)
03. Lift (Part 2)
04. Lift (Part 3)
05. Wake
06. (Temet Nosce)
07. Monument
Download

[The band's name does not come from the Rosetta Stone, but was chosen rather for its femininity and beauty. It is also, coincidentally, the name of a satellite used to study comets and an orbit type.]

Machine Head - Davidian

2007-09-11T22:53:00.000-07:00

When someone asks me what a good metal band is. I always have to reference Oakland, California own Machine Head. I was bored burning time on youtube and ran across this awesome old Machine Head video that I totally forgot about. I wish more band would take note on how to actually write "heavy" songs, these guys are masters at it.

"I feed off pain, force fed to love it
And now I swallow whole
I'll never live in the past
Let freedom ring with a shotgun blast!"

I encourage you to watch the entire video because at the 3.43 minute mark in the song comes one of the hardest metal break down that will make anyone want to... well frankly... Whoop ass.

Oct. 13th - Evansville, IN

2007-08-31T11:30:00.000-07:00

I have another show coming up....... please come and enjoy sweet tunes in the city of Evansville, IN.

Engineer

2007-08-29T22:07:00.001-07:00

It seems like hardcore is still alive and well in Syracuse, NY and espically for the band Engineer. I rarely check out and search new bands out on myspace but I ran across these guys a few months ago and fell in love with them. Engineer is a group of compatible musicians (three of them brothers) and seem to have mastered the idea of chaotic riffing at it's best. For some reason they went under the radar for me for quite some time and I'm glad I found them because their new album titled "The Dregs" is incredible.

Engineer plays a style of hardcore that has been forgotten about over the past 5 years it seems like. They bring the dark chaotic influences of Coalace and Botch into a world wind of heavy, dark, and intense song structure that seems to be lacking in hardcore. I'm a sucker for good song structure and riffs and Engineer has mastered both. The album features a brand of chaotic post-hardcore taken from the same sludgy slope as groups like Today Is The Day or early Isis at times even but they put a very original spin on their brand of hardcore. They have mastered the real power of what a breakdown should be and put the limits of boring circle pit ala breakdown hardcore that has bored the shit out of me over the last few years.

Myspace: www.myspace.com/Engineercooldude
Website: http://www.engineermusic.com/

You could categorize them as Noise Core/Mathcore/Choatic hardcore or whatever fancies your pleasure all I know they shred and are one powerful new band. Their label Black Market Activities has been putting out some solid records this year and I'm excited to see what else they have up their sleeve. Hell this record is so good Decibel Magazine ranked it one of the best 50 album sof 2007. The record speaks for it's self: heavy hitting and more complex then a honor 400 level algebra class. Hopefully, Engineer will do a little more touring then they have since this album has relased because I'm sure I will be in for a treat.

Shipwreck

2007-08-18T23:06:00.000-07:00

This one on your left is the one i called as Mirage, second 7" that Shipwreck has done and their first for one of the best and most orginal record label that has putting out the most solid released in underground music over the last 5 years plus Shipwreck is has become one of my favorite new bands over the last year. I still never surprised by the kind of albums their label Deathwish Inc. over the last few years. Shipwrecks uniqueness and darker influenced brand of hardcore really drew me in. They have a very raw early Cleveland hardcore sound,which of course brings to mind the legendary Integrity/Ringworm/Six Feet Deep. (I will be doing a future post on S.F.D for you that have not heard of them)

This current record is a "teaser 7 inch, for t heir new record that is coming out later this year. Each song has a very original and raw sound that I haven't heard from many bands over the last year or two in hardcore. The recording and song are unpolished but in a good way the are written with raw heaviness with guitar riffs that shred but without over doing it. Many bands can conform to the basic song structure and generic chord elements of hardcore but still don't know how to keep it original but shipwreck takes the cake away from the millions of bands trying to re-create basic heavy hardcore.

I was lucky enough to book them a few weeks back in Evansville and of course was blown away by their performance, lucky I have got to see this band on 3 separate occasions one being at the Earth Crisis reunion show in Baltimore. I urge you to buy this records if you are feeling it. Both 7" are available steadily straight from the labels and in distror online.I would upload the album and put it up for downloading but this band deserve the money so if you like what you hear pick it up yourself. Give a listen to a few tunes on their myspace page: Myspace.com/Shipwreckwv

Blacklisted & This is Hell: 6/22/07

2007-08-03T15:57:00.000-07:00

Here a few random pictures from the Blacklistd/This is Hell show I booked at our great Club 1123 in Evansville, IN a few weeks ago. My close friend Heather snapped the shots if you would like to view some of her work check out her website: Steadfast Media

Battles

2007-07-25T14:08:00.000-07:00

If your looking for some new, fresh, and different type of music I have a little band for you to give a chance by the name of Battles who is an American math rock band. Following a string of EPs, the band released their debut album on the Warp Records label in February 2006, which was titled EP C / B EP. It is a compilation of their increasingly hard-to-find early releases, EP C and B EP. The group's line-up is composed of well-known musicians, including ex-Helmet drummer John Stanier, ex-Don Caballero guitarist Ian Williams, ex-Lynx guitarist Dave Konopka, and Tyondai Braxton (son of avant-garde jazz musician Anthony Braxton), who also plays guitar and keyboard and creates live voice samples.

Their first full-length album Mirrored, recorded by Keith Souza at Machines with Magnets, was released on May 14, 2007. The first single from the album, "Atlas", was released on February 21, 2007 as streaming audio. The video and song is probally one of the most addicting song I have ever listen to, it's very abstract and catchy but if you have open mind you will fall in love with this band. If you want music that's going to be stuck in your head all day long than battles will have a perfect fit for your listening pleasures.

I love trying to review bands and grasp what I think they sound like but this is something that doesn't even fit into a genre bracket. If you enjoy a mixed styles, progressive, and catchy music that leans more toward a pop instrumental sound you will fall in love with Battles. Its funny to think someone that played in the heavy hitting band Helmet for so long could be apart of this project but yet again it's nice to see musicans who are diverse and can push the limits of any type of musical genre. Here are a few samples of some Battles song and if you want to check more info. on them you can always check out their Myspace Page:
Battles - Leyendecker
Battles - Race:In
Battles @ MySpace

Below is the music video for the song Atlas:

July 27th!

2007-07-19T13:21:00.001-07:00

If your bored next Friday I have another little Wing Dig at Club 1123 that I encourage you all to attend. The Helm from the amazing city of Seattle Washington is rolling through they feature ex-members of Champion and the legendry Undertow. Hopefully the turnout will be great, this band is one of the most underated hardcore bands of the last few years.
I was luckly enough to meet their singer Bob, a Syracuse, NY native out in Seattle when I was the Trial reunion and finally crossed paths again while he was booking this tour so I lucked out bring them to the little River City. They have been compared to bands like Cursed, Eyehategod, and Tragedy but do yourself a favor and give them a listen: www.myspace.com/thexhelm

Blown Glass

2007-07-07T09:40:00.001-07:00

Indianapolis Children Museum

A new beat from a dead hart

2007-06-29T23:34:00.001-07:00

Don't you love it when you arrive home from a long day at work and find a nice little package dropped of by the mail waiting for you? Well, I sure has fuck do.. I finally received my pre-orderd release of 108 new album "A new beat from a dead hart." I can honestly say this is probably one the best and original hardcore record I have heard in years, It never seems to surprise me the stuff Deathwish Inc. has been releasing since their existence. Hell they even hand/spray stenciled gold the box the CD/LP came in. Applauds to Deathwish Inc.

Anyway back to the point here... I held my self off from downloading this album because for one it's a band I respect and love so they deserve every bit of my money. This record is full of modestly wailing guitar riff's from the great man Vic. Every song has a story musically and lyrically which puts them ahead of majority of bands in the hardcore punk scene today. If I could ever describe true passion in music 108 would be the first band out of my mouth. Each song has a powerful personal message with music that ranges from fast bad brains style to reggae-inflected, old-school post-hardcore jaunt that sounds like a jam session of a full on sonic riffage to intense heavy and sometime sludge epic sound waves that will rip through your ears. Lyrically it's incredible...

"I dream of a world where a smile isn't a rare gift and where sadness isn't a curse and where the two together make life worth living. Where we aren't force to validate every feeling we encounter and where such feelings bring a new beat from a dead heart."
I'm sure this album will stand the test of time unlike a lot of records that have been coming out. It's hard for me as always to describe this bands sound and I really am to lazy to give you a full out review so please do your self a favor and hit up 108's Myspace page and give them a listen if you have never heard of them before. I'm glad they decided to get back together after breaking up almost 10 years ago, hardcore needed. I sure as hell did. I guess that explains my ass driving 11 hours to see their first reunion show in Philly 2 years ago and driving back to Indiana the next day.

Show!

2007-06-19T22:28:00.001-07:00

I'm throwing a little wing ding this Friday in Evansville. You should swing by and make an appearance, like you have something better to do on a Friday night in June............... right?

I'm a father!

2007-06-17T15:50:00.001-07:00

[Meet my new little dude, his name is CIV.]

Return of Rambo

2007-06-05T18:06:00.000-07:00

I'm not too sure about this.

Doc Dumb Ass

2007-05-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

It looks like Doc Martnes have ran out of ideas for good advertising campaigning and decided to use dead punk rock icons as for people to purchase their product. When i first heard of this idea I thought it was kind of amusing but after seeing these photographs and giving more thought about it, I find it a stupid and unoriginal idea. This campaign is about as bad as Nike trying to rip off a Minor Threat cd cover trying to push their new skate shoes around the same time last year.

Saatchi & Saatchi writer, Andrew Petch, attempts to explain the campaign: "We wanted to communicate that Dr. Martens boots are ‘made to last’ and we discovered that these idolized musicians wore them. Showing them still wearing their Docs in heaven dramatized the boots’ durability perfectly. And, as images, they feel very iconic..

The photo above is Joe Strummer from the Clash and Joey from the Ramones, probally the only punk rock icon out of the four individuals used I actually give two shits a bout. I was never a fan of Nirvana or the Sex Pistols. Of course Kurt Cobain and Sid Vicious where used in this campaign.

Isis

2007-05-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

I've been listening to a lot of Isis lately, I was on youtube.com the other day wasting time like I always do and ran across this video I had no clue they put together. It's for the song In Fiction that was released a few years ago on their panopticon album, which is hand's down my favorite Isis release.

I encourage you to give t hem a listen if you have never been exposed to their music. I would sit here and give you a nice description of t heir side but that's just hard to do. To sum it up It's very epic, mystical, powerful, and beautifully heavy. Check out their sites for more info and music...www.sgnl05.com

Later Falwell

2007-05-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

"AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals." - Jerry Falwell

The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the television minister whose 1979 founding of the Moral Majority galvanized American religious conservatives into a political force, died Tuesday at age 73.

I can honestly say I'm glad this guy is dead.

Screamin' at a wall

2007-04-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna knock it down and any way that I can I'm gonna scream,
I'm gonna yell. I don't want to have to use my hands.
It's like screaming at a wall. Someday it's gonna fall!
You built up that wall around you and now you can't see out
And now you can't hear my words No matter how loud I shout
It's like screaming at a wall.Someday it's gonna fall.
You're safe inside and you know it, Cause I can't get to you
and you know I resent it and my temper grows.
You better reinforce those walls, until you don't have
no room to stand. Cause someday the bricks are gonna fall
Someday I'm gonna use my hands!"

[Minor Threat - "Screaming at a wall"]
June 1981

Coalesce on People's Court?

2007-04-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

For all of you Coalesce fans it looks like vocalist Sean Ingram is giving his shot at TV stardum. I found this little tid bit of hardcore news and thought it was amusing so I thought I would post it. The notable singer recently appeared on he People's Court when the company he works for decided to bring a delinquent band manager into court to collect on a debt. Ingram works for a shirt printing company and a particular manager had refused to pay due to his band breaking up. Ingram explained the situation like this...

"One late night in November, after some overtime poster printing, and a few beers, my buddy Jim suggested that I "don't take justice into your own hands, take it to court, the People's court". I thought this was an amazing idea. See, the deal with the People's Court, is if you are the defendant, and you loose, the show will pay your bill for you. This seemed like an amazing deal to us. We get to go to New York for a weekend, he looses, we get paid, and He doesn't even have to pay the bill."

The case didn't really work out as expected, bu Ingram humorously detailed the entire event and you can check that out at Sean's Blog: iamthis blog

Grindhouse

2007-04-18T10:37:00.000-07:00

Hands down the coolest movie of 2007.
[Now before you bitch, I said "Coolest" not the "Best" movie of the year]

Jesu

2007-04-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

Dripping heavy, cascading walls of sound, U.K. shoegazing trio Jesu -- helmed by Justin Broadrick who used to front the mighty Godflesh and an original member of Napalm Death., with Diarmuid Dalton and Ted Parsons in tow -- churn out static-edged mini-epics. With Broadrick's echoing vox serving as another whirring layer of instrumentation it gives you a bone chilling feeling that runs through your spine. I almost get the same feeling listening to this album when the first time I listened to Tool’s album Anemia the fist time in the dark.

This album sees Broadrick embracing what could only be described as a wash of sound: chords that seemed to neither begin nor end, vocals that drifted and echoed and an overdriven, bass-heavy production style that emphasized both the visceral power of the guitar and the contrast of melody and noise.
It was a beautiful album, but some correctly noted that it sounded like
a more melodic version of Godflesh, rather than a whole new band yet
I look at Jesu as the complete opposite of what Broadrick was trying to accomplish in Godflesh. It time it gives off an early Tool sound yet is
more simplistic and powerful then anything they have released. Jesu pushes the limits of ambient doom/metal/progressive music more then any other band of the genre and I’m glad this bands has been apart of my music collection over the past year.

Lyrically, Justin’s lyrics follow the same melancholic air as his previous albums, with pervasive themes of loneliness and depression, though it’s the sad musings of an adult, not the self-important childish depression one suffers from too many acts. His vocals often provide the anchor to each song, acting as a solitary streetlight visible in the fog.

There is truly nothing like Jesu out there right now, music that transcends genre and convention and focuses purely on the creative act. Jesu oozes more personality then any bands trying to push the limits of intelligent heavy music.
Download: Conqueror.

Frog in bear suit?

2007-04-04T15:14:00.000-07:00

Call me a bit geek but this little guy is awesome. Drunk Frog In Bear Suit is just that, a drunk frog in a bear suit. Need I say more? TNES of the clothing label Hippo Esthetics presents this most inebriated vinyl creation and came up with this guy. Hell who knows but I'm thinking I'm going to burn my money and pick this little guy up.

Old man

2007-04-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

Guess what today is?

I still don't believe I'm 26.