ANCHOR Summer Tour 2012

Swedish vegan straight edge stalwarts Anchor will be touring all around Europe this summer. Make sure you go check them out if you find yourself around these premises! Tour powered by the mighty Refuse Records.

Lose the Life (Sweden, SXE Hardcore) Live in Athens!

Tonight, if you live in Athens and are looking for some brass knuckled hardcore action, you got a place to go. Lose the Life is a Swedish band that plays hateful straight edge hardcore, in the vein of what used to be called "Clevo-core" (short, heavy & fast, based on hardcore bands from Cleveland with a trademark heavy SXE orientation). Lose the Life will be accompanied by some very good local acts ranging from grind/fastcore to modern crust/dbeat. The show is brought to you by WAK, a label/promoter that has been constantly bringing good ol' underground HC to our country for a long number of years.

This show is also co-powered by Bamboo Vegan, a shop I happen to be a part of!

SLAPSHOT Live in Athens (Mon 23 April 2012)

One of the first hardcore albums I ever got into was Slapshot's Old Time Hardcore when it came out in 1996. The honesty and hostility it delivered was like nothing I had ever heard before and totally turned me into a hardcore kid. This piece of vinyl is still one of the most precious items of my record collection some 16 years later! In fact, I consider Slapshot hugely influential and probably somewhere in the pantheon of the 5 most important hardcore bands of all time. Tonight, I will finally have the chance of seeing them live in one of Athens' most legendary clubs. Yes!

The design for the poster was made by graphic designer/tattoo artist and total hardcore fan, P. Ntolas (panosntolas [at] hotmail [dot] com).

TERROR, DBD, TAKE OFFENSE & More Live in Athens

This weekend, better brace yourself for some supreme hardcore action coming to our city. Terror (pretty much the biggest band of today's hardcore) hits Athens once again, this time as part of the Unleashed Hell inFest VII, together with Boston hardcore heavyweights Death Before Dishonor and Reaper Records' heavy old schoolers Take Offense. The ticket would be worth it for each band separately, let alone all the bands together!

INTEGRITY live in Athens, 11 Feb 2012

I've been waiting a long time for this... Being so that I was out of the country and missed the first time Integrity visited Athens (in a show that Chubby of One Life Crew fame allegedly broke down the snare drum!), I am eagerly waiting to witness this legendary hardcore band in action. This shit is going to be heavy.

I consider Integrity not only the best Clevo-core band (along with Ringworm, obviously) but actually more than that: Dwid Helion (Integrity's singer and main figure) is pretty much responsible for the whole Kvlt hardcore scene that has grown like a monster and is steadily getting bigger and stronger around the world. There are really no words to describe how important Integrity are for the way hardcore has evolved.

Long-running hardcore metal act Endsight will scorch our ears with the heavy role of the opening act.

Positively Positive Hardcore Punk Fest #5

Positively Positive is a hardcore fest that has been taking place in the city of Athens every December  for a good 5 years now. It has become a staple part of the Greek hc/punk scene, with the kids eagerly waiting to kickstart the holidays with this pre-Xmas hardcore show. Furthermore, the organizers make sure to bring some of the hottest DIY acts of the day, and make our time spent in An Club's basement worth the ride.

This year, the promoter decided to push the fest towards a more melodic hc/ punk rock direction, with a couple of awesome European bands and a few good local acts. Make sure to check it out!

For more info, check http://wakhc.blogspot.com

Live Show: Athens Hardcore Matinee

Live shows with a strict hardcore/punk focus are super fucking rare in the Greek indie music scene. The lack of a scene and bands playing old school hardcore, has pushed the few bands that do this style kind of play as the odd band in punk, metal etc shows. Therefore, it's totally awesome and new to have a show with bands that play strictly old school, straight to the point hardcore. It's great to have most of the Greek bands who play OSHC do a show together. So, tonight, forget about the crisis and make your way to the An Club if you live in Athens!

Death Before Dishonor - Athens 12 March 2011

Ohh yeah. Mean as hell and heavy as fuck. Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we have the only chance to witness Boston hardcore's finest Death Before Dishonor live in Athens. So put on your dancing shoes (Air Max-Vans-whatever) and just bring your ass to the show... like NOW!

All For Nothing - Live Show - 5 March 2011

It's about time for a real hardcore show filled with good bands right here in our hometown. Athens hardcore, here we go!

All For Nothing are not only one of the few female-fronted hardcore bands in today's scene, but also one of the most hard-hitting European hardcore bands in general. They've been doing their thing for quite a while now, having played hundreds of packed shows everywhere (indluding huge hardcore fests) while gaining a massive following in their native country, Holland. If you're up for some heavy old school hardcore with a light youth crew tinge, then AFN is your kind of band. They'll be tearing up the stage big time, but not before our local support bands wreck the place in their own right! Check it out.

I don't know many things about Cause For Fight, so I am making sure to get my ass to the show early so I can check this band out and see what they're about. Against All Odds, however, are one of my favorites from the local scene; and what a perfect band to get a hardcore show going with their upbeat, energetic old school hc/street-core. Eden Demise are of course the undefeated champions of brutal hardcore in Greece, and I am expecting nothing else but heavy ass hardcore grooves with a ton of attitude.

What can I say... I love hardcore shows! They're my way of having fun and chilling with friends. I always do my best to find myself in the crowd and you should, too. It's gonna be awesome!

Positively Negative Hardcore Fest 2010

Positively Positive is a Greek hardcore festival that has been going on for a few years, every Xmas. This year the guys at World's Appreciated Kitsch are a bit angrier, so therefore they renamed the fest into Positively Negative. No matter what the name is, this is the fest's 4th continuous edition, and like every year, there is some mean hardcore and punk going on.

 

OK so the fest has had some tribulations with the line-up this year, two bands have been cancelled and replaced: Throats (UK) have been replaced with Ruined Families, and Sun of Nothing have been replaced with Middle Fingers High. Both of these bands have a reputation of their own within the Greek scene, so it will be interesting to check 'em out and see what they have to offer. And... oh yeah; Strength Approach. Really looking forward to see these guys.

I know I have been yapping about how I play in one of the bands on the bill (My Turn), so this time I'll just shut up. But yeah, we're playing and we have some new songs ready for this show. We've been anticipating it for a long time, so it should be fun and I hope to see y'all there! Hardcore doesn't stop during Xmas, it's just a good opportunity to reunite with your loved ones and mosh it up!

The Locals Only Punk Rock Show - Thu 25 Nov 2010

While TYS is and always will remain a zine devoted to hardcore music and lifestyle, we always like to pledge our allegiance to solid good punk rock! Melodic punk/hc has always been a fave here at TYS, when we feel like winding down a little bit; therefore, we are happy to present shows like this:

To me, good punk rock has always carried the message of youth and rebellion. In heartless times like the ones we're going through, I guess we really need to remind ourselves of this lost message. No worries, just straight on punk rock, hardcore and ska-core! The best remedy for all your troubles.

So the bands on the bill are also a bit of an unusual and interesting combination. We got the technical Strung Out/Propaghandi Fat Wreck style of Another One Falls, and the 7-piece ska-core of Bad Bid. We also got the mid tempo melodic punk of Lost Meanings (a band I also happen to play bass for :P) and the all school punk of Toxica Apovlita, a band with a legendary status and a long history behind them.

This show is hosted by WAK Records, the hardcore label that supports good punk rock and justifies the connection between hardcore and punk rock that we talked about above. Anchors Aweigh!

Deathbed Greek Mini Tour (19-21 Nov. 2010)

Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for another great band to hit our premises. From Finland, hardcore punk heroes with post/crust sensibilities, we present you Deathbed (ex-Endstand):

Brought to you by the usual suspects (for underground hardcore/punks shows in Athens and elsewhere), World's Appreciated Kitsch. Enjoy!

p.s. Don't forget that apart from the show in Athens this Friday, Deathbed will also travel to Patras and Larissa for 2 shows filled with intensity, supported by some of today's best and most active Greek HC/punk bands!

Red Sparrows live - Thursday 4 Nov. 2010

Tonight, a chill night. A favorite alternative among hardcore kids world wide. Premium US alt rockers Red Sparrows live in Athens!

Just a Reminder

So it's been sort of quiet here at TYS for a week or so, as I was crazy busy and also out of town with My Turn for a weekend show in Sofia (will report on that laters); but now we're back and I am personally hungry for more hardcore, and definitely ready for action.

This Wednesday we got the "Locals Only" show hosted by WAK, with a bunch of Greek bands playing covering the wider spectrum of hardcore and its musical divisions. So (starting from the way down), we'll warm up the crowd with My Turn , it will be our first ever show here in beloved hometown Athens. We're playing at 9 pm, so if you're coming then come early so you can check us out! We'll blast out our entire brand-new demo plus a couple of covers.

Next up we got Against All Odds, these guys play straight up old school (maybe a little Oi-influenced) hardcore. Hard stuff, no shit indeed. Next band on the bill is Eternal Hated, metalcore kids from Volos with an extra dose of talent and brand new ideas. Melody combined with youthful energy and fucking in your face metal. Finally, personal faves & heavy beatdown champs Eden Demise will groove your freakin head off with their stomping brutal hardcore. 

Yo yo yo so check it out, the show's gonna be a blast, lots of friends are coming, it should turn into a big party and if the turn out is good there will be a DJ set afterwards.

Proud to announce...

We're playing Sofia with My Turn (the band I play guitar for) next weekend!!! That's crazy! It will be our first show ever, and it's kind of totally out there that it will be supporting NoTurning Back and Last Hope!!! Here's the poster for the show:

Right after that, we got a nice string of shows back here in Greece, hitting various cities around the country until the end of the year. I think that almost every (or every other) weekend we will be out of town for shows. Great stuff, I'm up for the playing as well as for the traveling! The local shows are really important for me, as I like to meet the people, check out their cities and eat copious amounts of food with them. If you have an idea of how to put us up for a show in your city, well get in touch!

Friday 24 September 2010 - Destino Final, Emily Battle Snake, Antimob

This week's show @ Katarameno Syndromo: Just raw, organic hardcore that makes babies cry!

The show's poster speaks for itself. This ain't no happy-core! But I bet that all sorts of hardcore fans will make their way to Katarameno Syndromo this Friday to enjoy this week's  mostly talked about  event.You know the deal, place and time; and if you don't, well then check www.myspace.com/kataramenosyndromo

Xeimeria Narki (Hibernation), Riistetyt, Sotatila, Slavebreed - Sun 05 Sept - Lofos Strefi

Another perfect line-up, another perfect poster, another perfect DIY occasion. I was pretty sure I had a good feeling about the shows coming back on full effect this fall...  

The names of the bands speak for themselves, no introductions needed here. Xeimeria Narki, Riistetyt, Sotatila and Slavebreed. Altogether a thorough, ear-bleeding mix of dark hardcore/punk, dbeat and grind insanity. And let's not leave unnoticed the fact that Xeimeria Narki hold a somewhat legendary status in the worldwide punk scene, sometimes better known as Hibernation. They got the years behind them and they got the cult factor going on. So I'd dare to say that this will be an 'epic' show.

What better way to spend your Sunday than this! The show is out in the open, just perfect for these hot days, so take your beers or ice teas and see you up on the hill!

End of Summer - Fall's First Show!

Well... the summer holidays are pretty much over, and people are going back to work, or school, or both. But don't worry, because there are labels & people out there who are on point with awesome hardcore shows for ya, ready to cater the kids' need for brilliant hardcore music--supplying the energy boost that they need right now in these hectic times. World's Appreciated Kitsch (link) is starting the season off with this 'goodbye summer' show, which I hope you all will go to & enjoy:

I don't know a lot about Unrestrained, but I can tell you for sure that this is not the Portland, US Unrestrained band that plays militant straight edge hardcore. These guys playing on Saturday are also American, but they come from Vermont and play a more new age but still fast version of hardcore music (check 'em out here). The distortion is not on full effect and the beatdowns are replaced by discordant breaks, but it's all good. The rest of the bands are a very good selection of local hc/punk acts that will warm up things just fine. 

I personally will have to miss this show, as I am becoming a godfather (hardcore kids always take care of fam first if you ask me). But I am pretty sure that it will be a real blast, I'm  bummed to have to miss it.  I also know that people out there haven't seen a HC show for a long time and they need some action like we said above. I also hope that this will be the kick-start for a very active hardcore fall and winter, filled with shows, releases, parties, demos and all that DIY goodness that I know is out there!

More Noise - Kick Out The Jams Party #4

So if last night's show wasn't enough (it never is, is it?) and you got ome more energy to spare on hardcore/ punk, or if you 're not staying home watching the football, here's another party in the Kick Out The Jams series:

The guys will be playing their usual mix of hardcore and punk with some melodic party tunes and some harder stuff thrown in together. If you're up for good times...

UNLEASHED HELL inFEST - 6 July 2010

Hey everyone, welcome to this special post we prepared about the this year's Unleashed Hell InFest! Yeah... we waited quite a bit for this, but the time is here and we are definitely ready for some action. It's been a pretty hardcore-less summer so far, no gigs, just a few parties and DJ sets, so I guess the kids will be hungry for moshing tomorrow evening.... and that's the way it should be!
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So I'm gonna start from the way up and Sick Of It All. ALong with Agnostic Front, could they possibly be the most legendary -still active- hardcore band? Perhaps. What I know for sure is that these guys are real torch bearers, I mean in the early 90s they were putting out good hardcore records in a period that hardcore was not that popular at all, and in a sense they kept it alive commercially. So that's really important. I have personally seen SOIA live twice, one time was in the UK and the other one was here, in Athens, 4 or something years ago. I have good memories from both shows, the one in Athens being a bit more special. These guys carry some real strong positive vibes with them, and they definitely pass them on to the audience. I mean, how many times have you heard a hardcore frontman asking the audieance to... 'SMILE'? Yeah--these guys have been showing for almost 25 years that you can be a hardcore kid, have your fun, mosh, and at the same time take a political and social stance, be a positive individual... In other words, they embody all the core values that to me seem essential in HC. Plus they have Armand Majidi, a powerhouse drummer who must be one of the best ones in HC. Here's an awesome video with live footage and an interview with guitarist and legend in his own right P.Koller.

OK so the second biggest band on the bill is Walls of Jericho. It's not everyday you see HC bands play Slayeric hardcore and be fronted by girls, and Candace must be the perfect icon to inspire ladies in the scene to be more active and participate in hardcore. For me what's more important is that she (and the rest of the band of course) is doing a great job at it, very good extreme vocals and an awesome scene presence. I mean when you see WOJ you know you will get an energetic performance and not some watered-down shit, that's for sure! Seeing them on a previous Unleashed Hell Infest (was it 2004 or something?) was a very cool experience, and a bit of a shock as it was the heaviest, most extreme and metallic band I've seen on a HC fest! This is an older video which gives a little bit of a taste of what's about to follow tomorrow when WOJ hit the stage!



And now we got Evergreen Terrace, a band that a lot of new kids seem to be die-hard fans of. To be absolutely honest I didn't know many things about them, just that these guys played technical metal-core and that they were replacing Earth Crisis (which was obviously a huge letdown). Evergreen Terrace is going for the whole heavy metal influences and epic guitar solos thing, melodic catchy choruses and the like... Really not my stuff (maybe I need to get used to it and it would grow on me), but  they seem like fun energetic dudes and at the end of the day we can't have it all as fans. Different hardcore fans like different stuff, so if a band like Evergreen Terrace is going to draw a good and mixed crowd, then why not? I presume that the younger kids who will show up for ET, will see Sick Of It All and be inspired for life by the realness! I guess this is kind of like it happened for most of us? But anyways--check out this fun ET video about moshing!



The supporting acts are Me & Mark (an Evergreen Terrace project from what I've heard), Senseless (HC from Salonica) and Go Ask Alice (5-piece Athenian metalcore). In any case, come out and support the show yall! It is one of the last we will get for this summer!