H2O live show reminder - "What Happened?" video

Hey! So tonight there is the much-talked H2O show (look post below), and it seems like the venue will be packed with kids. It's been a while since I heard such a big buzz around a show, and that's a good thing! I have missed the hype and the talk when it comes to positive things like in this case. So all this inspired me to post the What Happened? video, which is kind of what I'm talking about. It's way too poppy for TYS but what the fuck, it's a good song. It also has Lou Koller of Sick Of It All as a guest appearance and an introduction by cool actor and a true New Yorker through and through, Michael Rapaport.

Enjoy and see you at the show (hopefully)!

H20 live show - Thursday 29 April 2010

Type: live show

Organizer/promoter: Playfalse

Date: & Place: Thursday 29th April 2010, Kyttaro Club

Bands: H20, Die Without, All Around Heroes

Alright! H20 have a looong history of good music and raised fists behind them, with one good album after the other. They had their claim to fame back in the day, but they've come back to their hardcore roots and do what they know how to do best (backed by Bridge 9, the biggest hardcore label around) . For me, there are 3 main reasons for which H20 are so high up in my book:

- highly energetic, melodic hardcore music

- positive mental attitude (PMA y'all)
- a truly charismatic frontman, Toby Morse

Toby Morse: an energetic dude on and off stage!

Yeah... when I was a young buck getting into hardcore, I was convinced punk and hardcore were 2 DIFFERENT scenes. It was bands like H20 that showed me the two scenes are one and the same. Just like with the drinkers  and the straight edge kids in the scene: we're all in this together. H20 as a band just prove this. So just dig into this melodic NYHC and let the good times roll! Ladies and gentlemen, from New York city, bringing you the message of Unity, H20!!!

Toby's always looking out for the kids :)

Vitamin X reminder: live show tonight!

Hey everyone! Don't forget to go to the Vitamin X show tonight if you want to spend a positive Saturday night filled with energy! If there is a show that can unite the various 'scenes' in hardcore (DIY punk, straightedge, whatever) , this is it! Right now I'm gonna finish writing this, put on my clean Down To Nothing longsleeve and make my way to the motherfuckin show to see friends and enjoy music... Life is good!

"Still don't know shit, I'm a kid"

Live show: Come & party with LxMx!

Type: Live Show

Place: Camelot Bar, Gyzi & Ragavi 61
Bands: Lost Meanings (LxMx) & Cool Gadgets

Tonight, I'm playing a live show with the Lost Meanings aka LxMx, the punk rock band I play bass for! Laying the hardcore aside just for a minute, we plan to just go up there and pay respect to our punk rock   roots. We're doing our own songs, in the vein of Dag Nasty, Bad Religion, RKL etc. We're playing along with the Cool Gadgets who are doing their alternative R'N'R punk thing! Come check us out!

LxMx: bunch of ugly buckers

Terror - "Keep Your Mouth Shut" video

While the week reaches towards the end and we're all still mad busy, what better thing to do than take a little break and draw some inspiration from this classic hardcore video. It's only two minutes long but you will feel it! Notice the hip hop parody (or is it for real?); notice the extra chill hanging out; note the crew parading in the city and going into the record shop to buy the Dilated Peoples record (just another proof that hardcore and hip hop do fit in together); Yep! That's awesomeness!

"I got music and I got friends, both are always by my side!"

Keep it up! Enjoy!

Guru dies at 43 - R.I.P.

Guru, the legendary rap artist and perhaps one of the most innovative figures in hip hop, lost the battle to cancer at age 43. Known for his gruff, high intellect raps, Guru never ceased to evolve in his 20 year-long carrer. From his old school days with Gang Starr to the more intellectual stuff with Jazzmatazz, he remained a great MC and a prolific lyricist: R.I.P. Guru!

“I write this with tears in my eyes, not of sorrow but of joy for what a wonderful life I have enjoyed and how many great people I have had the pleasure of meeting”

VITAMIN X - Live Saturday 24 April 2010

If there ever was a time that hardcore music was about FUN, there still is one band that holds true to this value. And of course that's no other than Holland's Vitamin X! The band owns an infamous status not only in the straight edge scene in which they wholesomely belong, but also in hardcore and punk in general. They stand out from the thousands of bands out there because they are one of the few who can keep it positive, carefree, true--any good word you could pin on hardcore music fits for Vitamin X. This Saturday, live in Athens motherfuckin city:

click on image to see full-size

World's Appreciated Kitsch, the well-known Greek hardcore label of similar insights and value with the above-mentioned band, is the one who sets up the show. In that way, you know it's all DIY and true, with a love for this music and not the $$$ or the fame.

So what should we expect to hear this Saturday on the music side? Well, nothing more than fast hardcore with a strong 80s flavor and many thrash elements! A few years back when fastcore and fast thrash were at the forefront of what was popular, Vit X were pioneering this particular sound. Throw in some crazy 70s hard rock influences and 'stoner' Black Sabbath riffage (just for the groove y'all) and you get the picture. 

With Vitamin X, the Greek supporting acts are: Slavebreed (grindcore/crust), Human Battle (UK82 punk), and personal favorites Faithreat (fast thrash-core).

p.s. Coming to think of it, maybe we should do a re-print of the 2006 Vitamin X from Take Your Shot fanzine #2... How about that!?

SWORN ENEMY - "As Real As It Gets" video

As it is a bit too late to write a review for Sworn Enemy's 2009 Total World Domination album, we decided to go back to basics and post the absolute classic As Real As It Gets video. If you haven't watched this video already (where have you been?) better do so, and if you have, well watch it again and again! As Real As It Gets has the best of beatdown hardcore: the intensity, the atittude, the breaks, the styles, the raps... it's all here! And as for Sworn Enemy's new album, what more can I say that it's been played constantly in the TYS headquarters, in the car, and anywhere else they will let us!!!

Hoods up! Enjoy!

WAR OF AGES - "Eternal" (2010)

Genre: Christian/Metalcore

Website: www.myspace.com/warofages

Label: Facedown Records

What is going on here? This is some different shit. It’s like a band has managed to mix 80s metal with metalcore. And when I say 80s metal I mean Iron Maiden or Quiet Riot or something. In fact this is very, very melodic and filled with guitar leads, double guitar harmonies etc that remind of the good metal that my friends listened to back in high-school. This is not what I review or listen to every day, but War Of Ages manage to pull it off just fine and leave a positive impression!

Sorry for calling this album out on its metal-ness and having to get the anti-metal demon out of me. Now I can talk about the positive things which truly dominate this record. It has been very well produced at Lambesis Studios (a certificate for current production standards), so you know it has a good, wide sound. There is some exceptional guitar work on this album, and overall it has very good musicians. They can all play their instruments and the drummer uses the double pedal in a very satisfactory manner! 

The vocals are a whole different story. There are two main types: one is the sung parts that usually go in the chorus and the other is the death metal ones which are spot-on and take up most of of the vocals overall. But what I liked most about the vocals are some spoken parts (in a typical hardcore tradition), where the singer just lets something out like thinking aloud in frustration. Yes! Now these guys get the extra point! And the fact they are an outspoken Christian band shows the fact that they got ballz.

I personally like my hardcore with a spiritual touch (it's not all about hate and fat guys with tattoos). And even if this record is way more metal than hardcore, it doesn't matter cause it's good and catchy and heavy. 

For fans of: Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, Christian Metal&Hardcore

BLEED FROM WITHIN - "Empire" (2010)

Genre: Deathcore

Website: http://www.myspace.com/bleedfromwithin

Label: Rising Records

Yeahhhhhhhhh!

It's been a while since I listened to some REAL deathcore, but Bleed From Within is here to fill the gap! This Scottish band definitely elevates the game with this record that musically is almost death metal, but has a very good hardcore feel to it (maybe because of the real-life lyrics). This is the type of shit that can create a mad moshpit, rampaging through with 100% intensity, good breaks & beatdowns, fully extreme vocals and relentless double bass drumming!

Aside from the technical but in your face brutality, what really captures your attention on this album is Scott Kennedy's vocals, a very good heavy growl constantly exchanged with screamo insanity! He's good at both to the point you could think it is two different singers (but it's one-duh). Luckily, there is not one single clean vocal melody in this album. This is deathcore after all! To put it boldly, they would fit more on a tour with Suffocation than on a tour with Bleeding Through! Extreme comparison but whatever!

It looks like these guys could really bust anytime soon, they got it going on and judging from their touring schedule they're here to work hard. Let's see what the future will bring...

For fans of: The Black Dahlia Murder, Job For A Cowboy, American Me and all that modern heavy ass shit that's coming out these days!

2 shows tonight: Endsight NEW CD Release Party //// Berney's Propaganda

There were dark times when hardcore and punk shows were a rarity in Athens, Greece. Especially Sundays were the deadest of the dead when it came to live shows, which surely sucked. It seems that all that is in the past, as Sundays have turned to templates for hardcore underground mayhem. Take tonight for instance, you got TWO different shows you can go to, so it comes down to the point that you have to choose:

First up, we got ENDSIGHT's record release show & party (Roi Mat club, Solomou 11, Exarchia). The guys will play material from their upcoming album, entitled ...To A Falling World. The show is free. Also, the band will have loads of merch on sale, like the new CD as well as t-shirts etc. After the show there will be a party where I assume the new album will be played on top level! What to expect? A healthy dose of chaotic metal meets punk via Scandi-Tragedy-screamo soundscapes!

If you're not up for too much HC punk intensity for your Sunday evening, there is a punkier alternative for ya. Berney's Propaganda from Macedonia will deliver huge amounts of coolness at Katarameno Syndromo with their arty new-wave punk. Maybe not so extreme, but these guys know what they're doing with their savvy approach which incorporates Fugazi's noisy dischord guitars with a new wave, electro-pop sound. Do you like bicycles, flowers and an accessible punk sound from a DIY mindframe? This one's for you. Show starts at 8pm. 

Keep It Real issue 9 out now!

So... after a short break (Easter holidays in Greece), we're back with some more newz from the the world of the Hardcore Underground. So, let's not waste any time! 

This time we're proud to present a fanzine from our very own Greek Hardcore scene. In fact, Keep It Real is a fanzine with quite a long history behind it, so it's nice to see it active after something like 2 years. This, issue 9, is the most professional effort I've seen so far by Keep It Real, with professional printing and quality paper. It's filled with interviews, record reviews and professional band shots from all over hardcore, but with a special love for the straight edge scene!

Brought to you by the WAK guys who do so many other stuff, Keep It Real *9 raises the standard for Greek fanzines, and that's not only hardcore & even music fanzines. All you arty fuckers out there doing zines better beware, because the Hardcore scene is coming at you with quality!

Keep It Real represents a positive attitude, but this time I can say the writer(s) are a bit more pissed off than usual, even venomous at times. Considering it's hardcore we're talking about, this could be a turn on for the reader! It's up to you to choose and you better pick this zine up so you can check out for yourself. 

p.s.: Personal favorite: the piece on Krishna-core. Keeping that positive and spiritual vibe!