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.

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.

Eternal Hated - New Song June 2012

Since we've been on the subject of current Greek hardcore recently, it shall be good to take things a step further and dive into the progressive metal/hardcore world of Eternal Hated. We'll do that through their new promo song they uploaded only a few days ago. Just press play & listen now!

So these guys are still freaking young but with an early start at making awesome music, they have already made 2 full lengths. At this point in their history, Eternal Hated are coming off the ultra-experimental 26:48 Minutes of Life, which was a somewhat risky and garage-y approach to metalcore. However now EH are down one member (i.e. the singer is gone) and in this promo song the vocals are shared between the guitarist and the bassist. And you what...? Good for them! They are back on the heavy side of things, which for me is obviously a good thing. They are darker, meaner, heavier and more pissed off. They still keep the experimental side, but without losing focus of what should be done and the fact that music like this must always be accessible. This song fucking grows on you with every time you play it.

Eternal Hated definitely belong to the new generation of modern alternative musicians who have taken things to the next level. They combine the knowledge of the music we all know (hardcore/metal etc), but give it the extra twist that only fresh and talented minds can bring. I am just so curious what their next step will be.

Pitcam TV Blood for Blood Interview

This interesting interview with Buddha & Ian contains some precious info on the latest goings on of the infamous Boston hardcore legends, Blood for Blood. I personally didn't know that guitarist & main composer White Trash Rob doesn't follow the band at live shows anymore, or that BFB plays with Billy Graziadei (Biohazard) filling in. According to the interview, Rob is taking it easy at home writing material for a new album. Let's wait and see what's next!

Gutter - "Modern Decay" demo (self-released)

Today is a good chance to take a peek at the current state of Greek hardcore and what better way to do this than with Gutter's Modern Decay demo.

Gutter is a band that doesn't fuck around at all and plays some truly aggravated hardcore punk. These guys know what to do and how to play for sure, as they are all  experienced by playing in other bands (Sarabante, Antimob, Jaggernaut a.o.). This 9-song demo is a very nice example of real punk music: snotty as fuck, paying respect to the mid/fast tempo, proto-HC sound. If this sounds like your thing, check this Athens-based band right now! The record also contains two covers (of Void and Reagan Youth) and has a pretty decent production. The originality factor is not extremely high, but I don't mind, and after all this is something that will shine through on their next recordings I'm sure.

Last but not least, I would like to add that in my opinion, Gutter also gives off a real anarcho-punk vibe, even if the music itself is closer to US hardcore. Somehow, in my ears, this music fits nicely with dirty squats and dreadlocks hanging from caps with patches :)

Find Gutter at http://gutterhxc.blogspot.gr/ and also stream the songs below!!!