Oh man. Hands Held High. I knew I was in trouble when I saw the name of this album. C’mon. Feel free to use cheesy straight edge phrases for an album title like “true till death” or “positive youth crew.” But to name your album after a quote — albeit a positive quote — from …
Category Archives: Reviews
This Time Next Year – A Place For You – Escapist Records 004 – 2007
This Time Next Year play that melodic hardcore pop, much like Set Your Goals and even New Found Glory. A Place For You is their new release and it’s pretty chill. Lately, the pop hardcore has really been growing on me. I blame Set Your Goals and Just Surrender. Something about those bands gets your …
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Ruiner – Prepare To Be Let Down – Bridge 9 Records #094 – 2007
I have honestly never heard or heard of Ruiner before today. I’m not sure how they have slid under my radar, but this was my first introduction to them. Despite their stint on 1917 Records, an EP on Bridge 9 and a pretty extensive tour schedule, I have been in the dark on this band. …
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Caught In A Trap – Rats Get Fat – No Joke Records 001 – 2007
General statement: More often then naught, I hate when bands send press kits with their releases. Usually what happens is that the press kit makes the band out to be the next best thing since Led Zeppelin when in reality, the band is closer to Dread Zeppelin. I then spend most of my time ripping …
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Offsides – Demo 2007
Back in 1994, I got a cd by this band called Naked Aggression. At the time, I remember being blown away by the sound. Sure, punk rock with female vocals. But it was more than that. It was the empowered and slightly acidic bite that really pulled me in. I recall playing that cd over …
Mother Night – Lifestyle/Deathstyle – Off The Books #001
Mother Night is the name of a classic novel by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. It’s about a German during WWII who becomes a big minister of Nazi propaganda but is secretly an American spy. It’s a deep book with a lot of political and philosophical undertones, as can be expected of a Vonnegut book. I am …
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I Rise – Demo 2007
I Rise is a group of dudes repping Worcester, Mass. Born from the ashes of Youth Attack and the Message, these dudes got together to rock. And that’s what they do. This demo has the potential to be best of 2007. Hopefully (for the sake of hardcore) some other demo will come along and smash …
When We Fall – A Cry In Despair – Panic Records #007 – 2006
Here’s some new hardcore from Sweden. Nothing like Refused or At the Gates. So you can either breath a sigh of relief or shake your fist in misery. This particular album is 5 song EP. Plenty of driving core and yelly vocals. Actually, I’m not super psyched on the yelly vocals or the last songs …
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MXPX – Let It Happen (Deluxe Edition) – Tooth And Nail – 2006
The year was 1996. I was probably a senior in high school. I was sitting in band with a friend of mine. He was down with hardcore, punk and ska so we always had something to talk about. One day, he starts telling me about this new record label he found. It was called Tooth …
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Lion Of Judah – Universal Peace – Youngblood Records #24 – 2006
Lion of Judah hails from the DC/Metro area. A lot of famous bands are from DC. Namely, the Bad Brains. LOJ loves the Bad Brains. The influence is immediately noticeable. However, more than the Bad Brains, LOJ loves Burn. Imagine if Burn had released a politically fueled LP between the first EP and …
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