Black Coffee - 2012 Demo Tape Review (Self-Released)

Black Coffee! What a name fro this no-frills hardcore outfit from Australia, which has released a demo of nasty punk waiting to rip at your throat. BC follow the uber old school approach of 0% metal hardcore in the vein of other current hardcore bands like Noose and Another Mistake.

Usually at this point we'd say that even though these guys are loyal to the old school tradition, they have their own sound and they stand out because of this and that, but... there is no need to do that here. Black Coffee has a clear task at hand, and that is to recreate a much loved (but also kind of extinct), true sound that is generally known as the roots of hardcore. The closer thing I can think of is SSD with a bit more extra speed and spite (if the latter is actually possible). All early, snotty, thrashy early US hardcore is a reference here, like Jerry's Kids, Necro, and all that good stuff. Hell, there is even an Urban Waste cover to seal the deal.

There are 8 songs in this demo, and every instrument is played in an abrupt and unforgiving manner, while hints of Aussie accent arise here and there as the cherry on the cake. It's good that we live in times modern enough to allow a good production sound even for demos. Here the production is not perfect but it doesn't need to be, as long as everything sounds kind of clear -- which does. Also, I personally I have to note that demos often have some of the best and most original artwork out of all extreme music releases. That's before the opinionated labels come in to influence and change everything (a sad fact of life). This is also the case with Black Coffee. Their whole demo - physically released only on tape - has a super neat layout, as their black & white artwork is simply irresistible and perfectly matches their dry, pissed off, tornado hardcore style.

What is there to not like about a band which plays fast-paced hardcore like the good ol' times? This is the real deal for every hardcore bum who hasn't mellowed out, or the skater kid who is ready to step out and find the original spirit of this music.

P.S. Black Coffee is a side project of other Aussie HC/punk acts (Hard Luck, Faux Hawks + others) and I can't seem to find any band pages on the net, aside from this post at Rest Assured Zine. The demo can be downloaded for free from the abovementioned link. Enjoy!

Record Review: I Want You Dead: "ΑΩ" 7" Review (7 Inch Distro / W.A.K. Records)

Genre: Dark/Brutal Hardcore

Country: Greece

Band Website: bandcamp

Label Website:7 Inch Distro / W.A.K.

Hell fucking yes! What we have here is a very unique concoction of dark hardcore/metal for people who don't like their hardcore termed as 'posi'. Fans who are not afraid to step into lesser trodden paths of bleak musical landscapes, better gather round to witness what this brutal band from Greece is doing. Right now, it is unforgettably carving its name  on the bleak musical territory we call dark hardcore.

We have actually had the chance of following I Want You Dead since the beginning (check here and here), but this 7" ep exceeds all expectations created before; the band has truly reached its highest so far peak, with a totally crushing, thick and surprisingly catchy sound. Elements and influences are drawn from all over the fucking place, primarily black metal (the true BM sound, not today's hipster shit), crust and old school hardcore. All this is encoffinated within the overall Holy Terror badge that many want to obtain but just can't. At times slow and sludgy, at times fast as fuck, IWYD deliver four blasts of negative hardcore energy that definitely won't go unnoticed in today's timid hardcore scene. These four tracks land on your head mercilessly, reminding the new jacks how hardcore rightfully blends with metal to create some of the most heavy, provoking, negative music ever made.

The production is really heavy and well-layered, with the guitars creating an interesting and unholy web of nastiness, while the distorted bass is ever present throughout the whole ep. Every painful drum hit can be heard clearly -- even the noisy cymbal action which accompanies a lot of the slow, moshy parts. Finally, the vocals fill everything with their one dimensional but also very thick and scorching effect. What you hear is four dudes giving it their all, creating passionate and aggressive music that grabs the listener and doesn't let go until the record is over.

I can't imagine what's next for IWYD. Probably a well-deserved record contract with one of more established hardcore labels out there, as well as more touring around Europe and elsewhere. This noise unit shall produce a lot more bleak music, artwork and words! Good fucking stuff.

Record Review: BURN EVERYTHING - "Last Run Through The Ruins" EP (Self-Released)

Genre: Mathcore/Progressive Hardcore

Country: NY, USA

Band Website: bandcamp

Label Website: -

Mathcore has become a term that tends to scare a lot of people off. Important as it is to try and forget labels, mathcore is another genre of hardcore: pissed off, direct music with an understandable message. Bands which go under the mathcore moniker should have the intensity and straight forward attitude to justify the 'core' part of the term, and - luckily - this is what Burn Everything do. They give you the complete chaotic hardcore experience and then some. They may have the weird song titles and intricate song structures, but they sure deliver that relentless blow of intellectual heaviness.

This complex and technical metal/hardcore band from Rochester (NY, USA) has just released an ep containing 6 songs which will require your undivided attention and a few repeated listens in order to "get it". However, it is worth the effort. While you can initially enjoy the album for its heaviness and awesome drumming, it will inevitably grow on you and will become a more easy to listen and approachable record. This tends to be the deal with all good mathcore and technical/progressive hardcore in general: you enjoy the aesthetics while the essence creeps in.

The good thing with Burn Everything is that the singer has a nice and direct hardcore approach, his presence being the common thread throughout this recording. It wouldn't be so with another heavy hardcore vocalist and I am glad that this band cleverly avoided this pitfall. If they had a bit more catchiness to their overall sound, this could be a band to read about on next year's Metal Hammer or Terrorizer. For the time being, however, these guys stay deeply rooted in the hardcore tradition of creating a underground sound that will astound but will more likely than not stay outside the hype. Nevertheless, these guys could pull it off if they wanted. I am eager to see what they are going to do next.

DUCKCORE: Not Quite Gone

Until last week, Duckcore.blogspot.com was one of the premier DIY sites for free br00tal downloads. Its owner Ducky had uploaded hundreds of quality albums with deathcore as the main focus, as well as various forms of death metal and metalcore (technical DM, blackened deathcore, progressive DM, djent etc). Unfortunately his blog has been taken down along with all the links to the albums he uploaded. Needless to say this is a major bummer. Even if we don't upload stuff on this blog and only review music, we too appreciate free stuff and have downloaded albums through Duckcore for sure. We will miss it for sure!

In any case, the site is back at a new adress and Ducky has started uploading stuff again. Check the new version of the sitr called The Duckore here: http://theduckcore.blogspot.com/. Spread the word!

Also, check what Ducky himself had to say about the whole shutting down of his blog, as well as for the new site.

So listen as I'm sure most of you are aware DuckCore.blogspot.com is no more unfortunately. We got completely shafted by blogger. Anyways this is going to be the new DuckCore and I know with all of your help we can restore this to it's former glory. So please I'm not begging but if you could share this new blog with your friends, post about it on facebook, show your mum, do whatever you can to get this out there it would be really appreciated. We were almost at two million page views and we were averaging almost 250,000 views a month. So yeah needless to say, I'm pretty bummed.

Things will get better though and with all of you guys supporting I'm sure that we can get back to where we were. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and I'm going to be very busy with trying to get a new layout and get some sweet stuff done for the blog so yeah, thanks again guys. 

Love, Ducky

Archetype - New EP Streaming

In a world where metalcore gets increasingly more polished, it is very nice to hear bands still keeping it aggressive without compromising the most important elements of the metalcore genre: hardcore's intensity and passion combined with a metal character.

Archetype from Britain's Nottinghamshire manage to do the above. Sure they have some clean vocals, but for the most part they just plough on through with some chunky, brutal, downtuned metalcore. At times, the band gets so heavy and metallic that could even be termed deathcore (basically due to the excessive double bass drumming and the fat, discordant metal riffs). They have a chaotic and progressive dimension to their sound, which brings them close to bands like Time in Malta, Poison the Well, British contemporaries While She Sleeps and other metalcore bands with a progressive twist. However, Archetype - as their name suggests - have a unique stamp on what they do and they generally just nail it with this ep release.

Archetype are streaming their awesome new ep and you can check it out for free here. Make sure to give this groovy and extreme British metalcore powerhouse the time it deserves!

http://www.facebook.com/WeAreArchetype

Desolate by WeAreArchetype

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.