Brutality Will Prevail - "The Path" (video)

No fancy introductions to make here... just check this awesome, traditional-style hardcore video from moshing heavy-hitters Brutality Will Prevail. They have a new album on Purgatory Records, which is UK's (or perhaps Europe's) premier straight edge hardcore label right now. Check that new BWP shit out or you'll be missing on some real heavy riffs and true hardcore attitude!

purgatory-records.tumblr.com 

Losin' It: Debut Album on Life to Live Records

When it comes to hardcore music, I'm not extremely hard to please; but there are indeed some elements I am definitely looking for, and the new song by Losin' It has it all! Before long, the rumbling bass intro convinced me that this band is what hardcore 2012 is all about. Energy, passion, anger, and a shitload of integrity. The rest is just math and hardcore knowledge on behalf of Losin' It: nice drum chops, pissed off vocals, a nice n dirty production sound, a cool label behind them and a GREAT album cover. Speaking of the cover artwork, it was designed by one of the best album designers of our times for hardcore, Chad Lawson. Check it out here:

You can get the debut LP by Losin' It (aptly entitled No Apologies) from Life to Live Records now! You can also check more from the LtL roster for free at the label's bandcamp page. Pre-Orders start Nov. 2nd at http://ltlrecs.storenvy.com. Also, don't forget to check the song "Glass Palace" below, and destroy something through the act of moshing!

Truth Inside - EPs and Comp songs (2012)

In the near futute, we will be reviewing records from a label which has been putting out good hardcore that gets us psyched about all kinds of shit. This label is Life to Live Records. With the craziness of personal life and vast amount of music I have to go through to actually get to what's good, I almost missed out on Life to Live. But hey, I didn't, so good for me. First up will be Truth Inside, which is actually the band of Dan who runs the label.

Truth Inside (I'd like to write it Truth X Inside) is a band that's fairly well known in the hardcore circles of today. Especially within the straight edge hardcore scene, this band has spread its name and rightly achieved a status of hard earned respect. I can easily see why: this is the type of youth crew... no! -- just plain hardcore that we've always loved, the style that's been in our heart. We got catchy, fast hardcore songs with a positive message about unity, staying true (to the straight edge but most of all yourself) and giving respect when it's due.

Best Times is the 5-song ep that Truth Inside released in January 2012. The cover art is consistent with the positive lyrics and album title and generally adds to the overall upbeat feel. It all blends together perfectly for a hardcore record that overflows with energy and that I can play both summer and winter. My favorite song has to be "Abstain" since I am biased and down with the straight edge, but really -- all the songs are good.

In addition, this positive hardcore combo recently had two songs released by the legendary Commitment Records (in the form of a three-way split with other notable straight edge hardcore acts). OK that's gotta be good! What we get by Truth Inside on this one are two short and anthemic songs of hardcore appreciation. Nice grooves, positive vibes, a rawer 'organic' production and a total thumbs up is what I'm feeling about this. It's good to have bands like Truth Inside to remind us the good old solid values of hardcore. The awesome thing is that they can do it in such a fresh way.

http://truthinside.bandcamp.com/

http://truthinside.bandcamp.com/

http://truthinside.bandcamp.com/

p.s. Truth Inside also released a 7" on Ugly and Proud Records in 2011. The label is run by Nikki, an awesome dude who has done a lot for straight edge hardcore in his native Bulgaria, but also in Europe and the world. Respect!

Foundation - "When The Smoke Clears" Review (Bridge 9)

The modern hardcore scene has started turning its attention back to good old solid hardcore, and this is something I couldn't be happier about. I mean... bands mixing hardcore with other elements is fine and everything, but the real hardcore sound needs to be preserved for the next generations of HC kids!

With the above rambling off my chest, I will proceed to our review and Foundation's new album When The Smoke Clears.

These straight edge kids from Atlanta/US are all about heavy, chunky hardcore. Their new record brings the pain through 10 songs of metallic, brutal hardcore that will help Bridge 9 records stay close to the hearts of HC kids worldwide.

The thing is that even though these guys' sound is 100% solid, they still have some discordant guitars and offbeat parts, thus aligning themselves with the reality of modern hardcore which needs to be more than just fast / fast / breakdown / end. The whole record is practically full of breakdowns (hell, it's all one big breakdown if you will), but there is also nice and fresh work regarding the guitar sound and rhythm patterns -- without mellowing out of course.

I don't know if it's done intentionally (probably yes), but Foundation don't really have hooks and catchy parts. I've listened to the album a number of times, and it's all about the evil and the mosh. Nevertheless, the anchor here is the combination of modern heavy hardcore and well-thought, socially aware straight edge lyrics.

I think that Foundation may very well be in the handful of bands that will carry the torch of modern hardcore to the next level.

p.s. I want to give an extra mention to the cover artwork, which perfectly describes the combination of old/new shcool that Foundation goes for.

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!

Hardcore Personalities: Dave Haze (That's What's Up)

Dave Haze: "I don't care if it offends"

Dave Haze is the singer and most recognizable figure behind the infamous Detroit straight edge hardcore band, xTyrantx. This 7th Dagger recording outfit has raised more than a few eyebrows due to some militant edge viewpoints, as well as its violent sound and admittedly extreme looks. 

Let's face it: xTyrantx is not here for the happy PMA kids. However, Haze and xTyrantx help in representing hardcore as the most extreme and dangerous music subculture in the world!

Aside from xTyrantx, Haze also tattoos at Eternal Tattoos and is apparently a big fan of outlaw country.

Respect to the people who are still keeping hardcore extreme!

http://www.facebook.com/xTyrantxFTW

http://www.facebook.com/SEVENTHDAGGER

Featured Band: Focused X Minds

FocusedxMinds hail from Milwakee, Wisconsin, US. Even if Milwakee is not particularly famous for HC punk, you should check out FxM for some passionate and self-empowering straight edge HC, because they are making big noise right now with incessant touring and recording.

They already have a great demo (2010) that you can download for free here: http://focusedxminds.bandcamp.com/.

Somewhere between a NYHC / Boston sound and fastpaced straight edge HC (at times thrashcore), songs like ‘No Satisfaction’ and ‘Free Your Thinking’ are bursting into youthful blasts of positive energy.

Earlier in 2011 FxM released a 7’’ at 6131 Records, titled ‘Stay Focused’, which contains 3 tracks from the demo plus 3 new songs!  Especially the title track is one of the best songs I have heard lately. A couple of days ago FxM got out of the studio after recording a bunch of new songs to be released in a 3-way split with Out of Time and Another Mistake later during spring 2012 by 6131 Records. So, stay tuned, there is a lot coming from FxM!

FxM are a new band but they are spreading out mature messages (sxe, animal rights, personal change etc.) and seriously positive vibes. FocusedxMinds stand for being open-minded while being a straight edge kid. It is about self-determination refuting stagnation in any doctrines or submission to norms (even within a sub-culture).

I recall the times when the straight edge community has suffered from ‘zero tolerance’ mentalities and militant violence towards people who do not follow straight edge lifestyles. There is a difference between being passionate about your beliefs and being blinded by them. In a passionate state you can go forward while in a blind condition you can become destructive and backward-minded.

- Rigas

Links:

http://focusedxminds.tumblr.com/

http://www.last.fm/music/FOCUSEDxMINDS    

http://www.facebook.com/FOCUSEDXMINDS

http://www.stereokiller.com/FocusedXMinds

http://focusedminds.blogspot.com/

https://twitter.com/focusedxminds

http://focusedxminds.bandcamp.com/

Review: HARM's WAY "Isolation" (Closed Casket Activities)

Harm’s Way play brutal hardcore, but unlike many peers, they are as solid and heavy as it can get without any melodic ear candies or other trendy elements inside. In the present album Harm’s Way put together the grooviest and heaviest styles from hardcore and metalcore, to transform them into a sound uniquely theirs. You can be sure that this record is going to conquer your soundsystem in heavy rotations!

At first listen, Isolation does not sound that startling or extraordinary, rather tardy worn out and cliché, nevertheless it grabbed me from the neck with its megatone heaviness. Slowly as the tracks went by, I started realizing that Harm’s Way stand out from the crowd of ‘chugga-chugga’ thugs and copycats. Especially after listening the title track things got more interesting and addictive to the point that I kept repeating the tracks again and again. Isolation contains at least three of my favourite brutal hardcore numbers of the last years, namely ‘Breeding Grounds’, ‘New Beginnings’ and of course ‘Isolation’.

Here’s the recipe: 90’s mid-paced brutal hardcore ala Buried Alive, Hatebreed, Strife, Terror,  Naysayer etc., pounding open-chord progressions reminiscent of Machine Head (‘The more things change’-period), Throwdown, Soulfly etc (but totally hardcore and personalized). They make some occasional use of thrashy but warm and tuneful Merauder-like riffing of Master Killer era (pay attention to the 2:18 of ‘Slither’ or the starting riff of ‘Pretender’). There are some influences from darker hardcore acts like Integrity or the newcomers Xibalba but also slow downtuned boneshaking Crowbar grooves alongside doom hints. Yes, there are also breakdowns, but given in the band’s plodding and harsh style.

All is delivered in Isolation under an ice cold, introvert yet devastatingly heavy prism with black & white aesthetics. It is anguish, nihilism and soreness that drives Harm’s Way, not the street attitude. It is not another band that produces plastic copy/paste patchworks by the pound; the more you dive into Isolation, the more you realize that it is a cult album that paradoxically deviates from the standard macho style in spite of its heaviness and dance parts. Even though Harm’s Way is a straight edge band, this fact passes totally unnoticed throughout the record.

The songs are perfectly-crafted to reach their ends of pulverizing despair and anger: riffs, moshing grooves, breakdowns put in just the right place to create a flow of different tempos. The severe throaty vocals are sparingly used to force repetitive abstract words into the music like nails and make the crash absolutely harder (in ‘Becoming’ the phrase "cast a shadow. plead. freed" is repeated throughout the whole song). That is a real departure from the tiring endless screaming used by most bands nowadays. 

There are also some more subtle elements that push this record even further like the 2:55 minute mark of the ‘New Beginnings’, where the open-chord groove is molded into pure distorted heaviness that brings sludge/drone mantras in mind (especially the opening riff of Torche’s ‘Charge of the Brown Recluse’). When the vocals kick in the outcome is scorching! Another super effective creative detail is the mellow, quiet end of ‘Slither’ that has an Oceanic era Isis touch (and all the feelings of detachment and withdrawnness it denotes). It lasts only 50 seconds but is again repeated in ‘Pretender’ (the album’s closer) which finishes off with a  synth-assisted epic doom riff.

Isolation is honestly delivered, not overproduced but it has definitely a crashing production (by Andy Nelson at Bricktop Studios, mastered by Carl Saff at Saff Mastering) and highly danceable grooves that can tear any moshpit apart. Harm’s Way deliver mid-paced metallic hardcore of monstrous heaviness; a homage to the 90’s with a reclusive personal twist. While they incorporate a dark image and a hard sound they do not mix many styles (crust/black etc.) like other contemporaries do (see Rise & Fall, Oathbreaker, Trap Them, All Pigs Must Die etc.), they prefer to stay on the straight side of brutal hardcore. Not a single note drifts away from hardcore sound, rather all instruments are packed together like a fist of concrete. Thumbs up also for the great cover illustration by John MacNair!

Harm’s Way have been always changing, steadily focusing their sound on what culminated into Isolation, which is by far their best effort to date. Since it is a relatively young band, the expectations are sky-high for their next steps.  I would be surprised if there are any bands out there that can do any better metallic hardcore than these guys from Chicago.

Harm’s Way previous discography:

(2007) Imprisoned 7’’ EP (Organized Crime records, Tooth Decay Records)

(2009) Reality Approaches (Organized Crime records)

(2010) No gods, No Masters EP (Closed Casket Activities)

- Rigas

http://www.facebook.com/harmsxway
http://www.closedcasketactivities.com/