FATAL BLOW - "Running Over You" Video

Just a few days ago, we did a review of FATAL BLOW's scorching new album Rise from Disgrace. Since it is hard to put to words the intensity that these guys deliver, we are glad to post this brand new video for the song "Running Over You". This is 100% REAL hardcore action and it is guaranteed to crush everything that stands in its way. Enjoy the real-talk Brazilian HC mobsters at work!

Yeah... hope you enjoy that uber old school bass break at 0:29!

Reproach - raw skate fastcore from Belgium

Hello again, dear TYS readers! The 2nd post for today is a guest piece by Rigas, who is a good friend of mine and a frequent TYS contributor. He's helped in the print TYS issues by contributing articles and reviews, and he's always discovering cool new shit to get into. The dude gets psyched with a lot of different stuff and makes sure his friends know about it! So here... enjoy this guest article!

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Fast Fixes & The most exciting punk vids: REPROACH

'Rat Race' (from s/t 2003)

Rat Race Lyrics:

Rat Race

Born into this shit

You got to be successful

But for what?

Life is a rat race

Sleep - eat - work, trapped in our routines

I'm sick of it, this is not for me

The only thing that matters to you is your money

Fuck you all, i want more in life!

RIGAS's RANT: There is a dose of truth in the following: we are competing each other, chasing the carrot on a stick with the force-fed illusion  that one day we can be the ones to climb the ladder and eat a bigger piece of the deciduous pie which is served by depriving the poor and ruining the planet. Well, let me tell you that inequality, injustice and ecological collapse are systemic and you and me are going to be kept always ‘under’ the elites and their institutions, which legitimize this error! I want more in life! Break the work-stress-consume treadmill! My life is fucking gold!

Reproach [definition]: Address (someone) in such a way as to express disapproval or disappointment.

An interview with Stijn from Reproach

When did you  start getting involved with hardcore punk?!? I got into it when I first heard stuff like Agnostic Front and Madball from my cousin when I was around 16, that’s about 16-17 years ago already. It sounded so raw, to the point and fast, never heard anything like it before and fell in love with it the moment I heard it.

How is the Flemish hardcore punk scene?

I really don’t consider “Flemish” a separate scene, Belgium is small as it is. There lots of bands in different genres, from ‘80s hardcore to crust and everything in between. The Filth ,Trouble Kidz, Vogue, Bite Down, Visions of War, Idiot Convention, Conviction, Sunpower, Havoc, Rise and Fall, Get Wise, Blind to Faith, Amen Ra, Cut here,  Drunk, and many more. Lots of shows too, the past few months been really busy. We’re also lucky to have nearly every touring band stop by in Belgium for a show. Heartbreak tunes and The Pits are always booking great bands. It’s a pretty small but very active scene.

What is the message of Reproach?

Play fast, play hard. Have fun, don’t take shit from anyone, follow your heart, do your own thing and stand strong.

Are you involved with politix-direct action etc. ?!?

No.

Great Catastrophe or Great Transition for humanity?!?

To say it with the words of Victims: “we’re fucked!”

You have 2 of the most exciting videos I have seen!!! -  I watched them already countless times. Who had the idea? Who animated the videos?

We’re very very proud of those videos. They’re made by Marco and Pierre, who run an animation studio called Imov Studios (www.imovstudios.com). It was a present from them for our 10^th anniversary as a band. We had no idea they would make the clips and it was an awesome surprise. They’re also gonna make a new clip for one of our new songs.

What are your favourite active bands at the moment?

Herätys, Despise You, Lack of Interest, Extortion and Direct Control.

What are the plans for the band? Are you writing new material?

Actually we just finished recording our new record called “the bitter end”. We’re working on the layout right now. Recordings and artwork are done, hopefully the record will be out around summer. Deep Six will put out the LP in the US and Crew for Life records is gonna do the CD in Japan. We can’t wait to have the new record out and start playing those new songs live.

'Onward to Destruction' from ‘You Deserve it’ split with ANS

Check their discography and keep an eye on the new album of Reproach!There  is also a new video coming!

Thrash!

Discography

2000: Loud and fucking fast! tape (Stand Apart Records)

2001: Trash mayhem 7" (Kid For Life Records)

2003: Reproach LP (Wölfpack Records)

2005: Is what it is EP (Wölfpack Records)

2008:you deserve it Split with ANS (Still Holding On Records, Gnarly Slaughter Records)

2009: live split LP with Sunpower (Crucial Attack Records)

CENSORED SOUND - 'Shadows' Album Review

These scene has awaited a long time for Censored Sound's new album, entitled Shadows. We should not forget that these guys are no rookies in the scene, being the oldest (and for a long time, the only) Greek band which played old school hardcore with lyrics in English. Therefore it is nice to see that they are back with another album of pure old school intensity, which remains pretty much uninfluenced by the trends of today. In these 15 songs, what we get is fast and aggressive US style hardcore with some Champion-esque / neo youth crew touches on the guitar, as well as hints of rock n roll and crust.

To be honest it took me a while for this album to grow on me, as it is 100% ferocious and the vocals are rather extreme, screeched in your face to the point you start to feel sorry for the dude probably destroying his voice. However, when you put some time in this album, it starts paying you back. As it is not overly catchy, it needs some attention to get the most out of it. Then the underlying melodies (especially on the guitar - great work!) start to come out and grab you, making the experience more enjoyable with every listen. I personally find this album is best heard when you're alone in your room, with the lyric sheet in front of you and your thoughts all gathered in one place.

To sum up, this is not the easy listening hardcore record that is suited for 'cool' kids' parties and BBQs. It is dark, heavy, serious, pissed off and in a sense this is the way hardcore music is meant to be. Shadows is really filled with passionate music, wall grinding riffs, high-thinking lyrical ideas and a lot more that presents the listener with a challenge and an exceptional listening experience.

P.S. We should also mention that this is a totally DIY release (you wont find no label names, sponsored studios and shops here), which is great. There are also some guest vocals by the cream of the crop of the Athens punk scene (including Vodka Jrs and Despite Everything). This is Greek HC2011, so you better get a slice of it!

www.myspace.com/censoredsound

Another Old School Pic: Strung Out, Rocking Out

Looking back at more than half my life, I realize how I grew up looking at hardcore and punk bands' photos. No matter what people say about punk being only about the music and the message, I know that aesthetics is also another important aspect of it. In the same way other kids grew up admiring athletes or models, the people I always looked up to were the musicians from my favorite bands. And it has always been great to see how the people whose music I loved so much looked pretty much just like me. It made me feel inspired, like I could be doing the same thing one day.

I just love it when a moment in punk is captured in a pic, and I will never stop checking out this awesome form of, well... art. I guess this simple Strung Out snap says it all, really. It's all about fun, friendship and wigging out!

REMISSION - Winds of Promise EP Review

There are times that every music critic has to pause and listen harder to what they have in front of them. No matter how much music you have heard, there are always records that will make it hard for you to explain the feelings you get when you listen to them. In most cases, these records are... very good. And in those said rare cases, the best way to review them is to take the simple route and and just say a few honest things about them.

Winds of Promise by Remission is such a record. It is an exceptional, against the grain hardcore EP made by a Chilean band, which traveled the world and reached TYS in Greece by way of US label React! Records.

The first thing I thought of when I played this record was that it had an early/mid 90s vibe, and especially from the period when hardcore was drifting from the youth crew and old school hc standards, and was experimenting with different, more progressive sounds (bands like early Shelter, Mouthpiece etc). And even though Remission or even myself were not around in the hardcore scene in the early/mid 90s, we surely love that period and have a special place in our hearts for it. In fact, I can just listen to this music and let myself travel in times when hardcore was more sincere, more emotional and more thought-provoking. In times when the word 'integrity' actually had a meaning.

This 3-song EP cannot be classified musically, because all three songs are different. I don't know how, but these kids manage to combine a lot of different musical styles and still pull it off with the consistency level. I guess everything is possible when you know what you're doing. There are nice melodic (yet powerful) vocals which balance between hardcore and rock. There is a strong, groovy rhythm section with a nice, thick bass sound delivering some crucial licks inbetween the notes. The guitars are melodic and not fully distorted (I'd say a 7/10 on the distortion scale!) and create room for some extra special melodic hc guitar noodling!

This is just what I needed to hear this summer. Because not every night is a partymosh night, I want to have an album like this in my record collection for when I want to think, do some soul searching  and throw an Xd fist in to the night sky!

http://remissionhc.bandcamp.com/album/winds-of-promise

www.itstimetoreact.com

p.s. Look for Remission's new split EP with Police & Thieves!

A Loss For Words & ...Mainstream (?) Status

In a way, I've always liked the punk bands who make it and gain recognition. Even though people always talk crap about the bands who get popular, they seem to overlook the fact that these bands have worked really hard for what they now have. They forget that in this life (and surely not in the music world), nothing's free.

Think about it. What is it you'd like to do most in your life? Well, the kids in these bands want to be out there and play music, so why should we be against them for that? A happy life means being successful at what you love doing. There is nothing wrong with it and I don't think there is anyone who would say 'no' to success if it came their way.

I wrote the above having A Loss For Words in mind in particular. Now they must be a band everyone knows in the pop punk/ melodic hc scene. These guys have worked so hard as a band (and still do) to be where they are. A lot of people don't know that they released 4,000 cds of their The Kids Can't Lose album on their own because they couldn't get signed, or that they shot a video (which now has some 147,00 hits on youtube) with their own money. Respect to the hard working bands out there!

NOW HERE ZINE #01 Review

If there was a prize for 2011's best new punk zine, then NowHere would surely win it! This is as punk as zines get these days, but at the same time there is something trashpop about it, which sets it apart from the heap of punk zines in your local distro zine box! Apparently making this zine took Lydia (the girl who puts it all together) a good two years, but it is definitely worth the wait now that this 94 (wow!)  page zine is out.

This zine is neatly put together and balances between music, art and punk politix. There are band interviews, cartoon strips, illustrations, opinion articles, record reviews, zine reviews, poems, slogans, ads created by Lydia herself, plus more stuff to keep your punk ass busy for hours on end! At least it got me staying up till 3am last night reading! NowHere covers a wide range of music, from dirty punk to hardcore to lo-fi to garage stuff and it's a good, interesting mix which escapes the hardcore/punk monotony.

I also can't pretend I'm not stoked about the fact that the band I play guitar for (My Turn) is interviewed in this zine, as well as for the fact that I've contributed a small article. It is just great to share a space with  a bunch of punx who have their own, personal, great style of writing. Lydia herself definitely owns it, I mean the lady should (and probably will) be an author someday. She uses the rarest. weirdest, coolest words out there so thumbs up!

You can reach NowHere at: info [at] nemesisknox.com, and check this site: www.nemesisknox.com

FATAL BLOW - 'Rise From Disgrace' album review (2011)

Brazil: a place of mesmerizing landscapes, diverse social conditions and crushing motherfucking hardcore! Fatal Blow are here to stamp their name on the genre with their new album entitled Rise from Disgrace. We are talking about some real intense, brutal old-school hardcore that brings the best of the 90s sound (Breakdown, Hoods) in collision with a full-fat, hard as nails modern production. It's a win-win situation!

Rise from Disgrace contains 10 fast & heavy hardcore blasts including an awesome cover of Agnostic Front's 'Your Mistake' (from 1984's classic Victim in Pain album). This is just non-stop, full blown hardcore action with pissed off vocals and crazy, over the top, seriously bad ass drumming. The guitar and bass deliver the frantic NY flavored riffs one after the other, leaving the listener with very little space for breathing and relaxing (just space for moshing and two stepping). I am glad to say that there is no punk, no Oi!, no street punk, no 'progression' etc on this album, but only 100% ferocious hardcore... and that's the way we like it when it comes to this style of music.

So if you like simple, honest, brutal hardcore that overflows with anger and attitude, this album's for you. You will not be disappointed by the energy these guys bring when you blast Rise from Disgrace at full volume. This is bulldog style music!

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Be sure to check FATAL BLOW on bandcamp. For a previous post of this awesome Brazilian hxc ourfit, go here.

With The Light Of Truth: A Book on Straight Edge Tattoos (Coming September 2011)

Hasn't hardcore always been connected with tattoos (for whatever reason)? Haven't straight edge tattoos become a huge part of the worldwide hardcore culture as we know it? Well, finally, here is a book that will document all of it! A project put together by Dan Smith, for whom you can read a TYS article here.

Old School Classics: Dag Nasty "Four on the Floor" (1992)

Today I felt like searching the shelves of a record shop. So I found my self in Sonic Boom, a place that I haven't been to for a little more than 10 years. That's just crazy. What I found was an awesome hardcore / punk collection filled with old school goodies. When I saw Dag Nasty's Four on the Floor, I just knew I would be taking this album with me at home, forever mine now!

So Four on the Floor surely isn't Dag Nasty's most well known album; in fact, it just may be the most overlooked album of this band's celebrated career in emotive punk rock/HC. And that's what is so cool about gems like these, the fact that they somehow get forgotten in time and wait for you to discover them and enjoy the awesome music. I have already listened to it 3 times and I know this record will be played A LOT on my stereo this summer!

This piece of melodic punk rock history was released in 1992 by Epitaph during a time that Dave Smalley (vocals) had already formed Down By Law and was experincing quite a bit of success with them. Therefore, Four on the Floor was more like a Dag Nasty reunion, an ex-members-side project album. It was never promoted and Dag Nasty never toured on it. It was just the result of a bunch of Dag Nasty ex-members being in the same city during summer vacations. However, the songs are all great and carry the stamp of a Brett Gurewitz on production!

Four on the Floor is filled with the same awesome musicianship and heartfelt lyrics that always made Dag Nasty so special for hardcore and punk rock kids of all generations. Extremely poppy (yes!), very enegetic and very mid-tempo, it just plain rocks and delivers a breath of fresh air and positive hardcore energy some 19 years later! It is the heritage passed on by the late 80s Dischord bands (Dag Nasty being one of them), which was popularized even more in the early 90s by labels like Revelations Records and Equal Vision. This is the good stuff!

For all the above reasons, Four on the Floor is a definite piece of old school hardcore history that you should get into!

Old School Classics: Jerry's Kids

Many people wonder when exactly the line between punk and hardcore was crossed. It was in the early 80s for sure, but: which were the bands that did it and, moreover, what are exactly the elements that transform pissed off punk into raging hardcore? The answer lies in bands like Jerry's Kids and a little compilation from back in the day entitled This is Boston not L.A. A way to explain the formation of hardcore is this: what punk had, hardcore took and magnified X10 (the vocals, the distorted guitars, the drum pace), while at the same time dropping a lot of the dress codes and stuck up attitudes. Simple as that!

So if you don't believe us, go ahead and enjoy all the Jerry's Kids tracks from the ...Boston not L.A. compilation! You won't regret it! This was, erm, 1982 by the way...

Better Left Buried - 'King of Kings' EP Review (2011)

Holy shit! These Dutch maniacs are back to deliver a crushing dose of downtuned deathcore with their aptly titled King of Kings ep!

I am quite selective when it comes to deathcore and beatdown/downtempo hardcore these days, but Better Left Buried definitely know what they're doing. I liked their pervious ep which came out last year, but this new 4 song ep is so much heavier and so much meaner than their previous stuff. They have gotten more techinical and more death metal for sure, and they have a huge production sound that crushes your head and destroys your happy feelings.

To be honest this ep is quite a surprise for me, cause BLB have erased all their old school dark heavy hardcore elements and have moved to more modern, downtuned metal territory. There is a sick range of death metal vocals, 7 string (?) heavy as fuck guitars and anxiety inducing, freaked out lead parts that accompany the dead-serious mosh. There are also a lot of manic blastbeats and some distinct industrial black metal influences. Hell if I know how BLB manage to fit all these influences in one ep, but they do it - and they do it WELL.

There are many bands doing the beatdown/death metal thing nowadays, but most of them sound like babies compared to BLB. These guys don't only fuck around with open chord riffs, they take this genre to the next level! Not head nodding fake gansta metal, but KILLER MOSH!

HEAD ABOVE WATER - Community Records Benefit CD Sampler

If you are a person who does not like awesome punk comps with some 35 songs on it, then you should say so right now and go join the sucky peoples' ranks or something. Seriously, compilations are great for discovering new bands, to see what some of your old faves are doing and of course they are just great for enjoying music in general. I have personally grew up with punk samplers back in the day (mid-era Punkoramas, Fat Wreck, Asian Man, Dr. Strange, Go Kart etc etc) so maybe I have a soft spot for them. But YOU should definitely check this out.

So... Head Above Water is a new addictive compilation of cool DIY music which varies from alternative indie punk to straight up ska, dirty fast punk, spoken word / acoustic and even some sludgy stoner / metal. If you can keep an open mind and don't divide music genres into neat little boxes (like a music fascist or something!), you will definitely enjoy this compilation cause it's put together nicely and makes for a great listen. Hey, it just might become your summer soundtrack. To be honest, there is not ONE bad song on this comp.

But even though this comp is cool as fuck, not all things in this world are. This is a benefit comp for the BP oil spillage, and it aims to raise awareness about this issue by telling everyone about it. That is why this compilation is free; it aims to reach as many people as possible. The labels which have teamed up for it alongside Community Records are Asian Man, Plan-It-X and Quote Unquote. The free download comes with a press kit with photos and essays about the oil spillage in the Gulf of Mexico.

Once again, the punks are doing the right thing. They put out awesome music and bring the truth to the surface. Oh how I love punk fucking rock.

Download the comp here. Help stop the destruction of our environment.