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The spirit of the mid-to-late 90's movement of metal influenced hardcore bands lives proudly in "Abyss" with definite nods to the neo-classics like Damnation A.D., Unbroken, and 108. Shipwreck AD 's mid-tempo groove and rhythm opens up their record strongly with brooding melodic tones trading off with a heavy metallic double-bass assault. This establishes what the band is about within the first couple of minutes of their newest effort, "Abyss." Driving pick-ups going into a half-time rhythm would remind the listener of thugs like Madball if the band didn't leak into more melodic and thoughtful breakdowns. [...]

American Steel make a triumphant return as a band and premiere themselves on Fat Wreck Chords with their newest effort, "Destroy Their Futures." With a strong opener like "Sons of Avarice," American Steel create a fun jaunt of call-and-response sing-a-longs, steady train like beats, and bright but bittersweet vocal harmonies. But with a follow-up like "Dead and Gone," the band shows off a wider array of influences not far off from dark, moody melodies like that of Alkaline Trio in recent years. Upbeat tracks like "Love and Logic" bring in the more traditional punk beat but combine it with [...]

When I first got interested in punk music there wasn't live shows to go to (that I knew about), there wasn't an older sibling to tell me what bands I should get into, and Napster was still a baby and I had no idea what the news was talking about when it was mentioned. I found my punk music through the wonderful world of the compilation and Fat Wreck has put out plenty over the years. On this new benefit for the National Association to Protect Children , punk bands, hardcore bands, and little off shoots of both genres [...]

For the advanced metal listener today there are technical metal bands coming from left and right field for the average fan to enjoy. Between all these bands are insane guitar parts, flowing bass lines, lightning fast drums, and wild vocals to top off the mix. Behold..the Arctopus set themselves apart from many of their contemporaries by taking out the vocal equation and going straight for musical mastery and to-the-teeth compositions. From their opening track the band lays down near robotic, straight laced beats and guitars to confound and amaze. Guitar lines scurry up and [...]

NOFX acted as one of my rites of passage into punk rock. Barely making it into my teen years, the speed, the melody, and the humor brought by NOFX were one of the best things I had ever heard coming into junior high and the band will always have their place in my personal musical biography. That being said, sometimes you gotta spend some time away from a band and it's always interesting to see where both of you are by the time you hear them again several years after the fact. NOFX have put out a couple of [...]

Combining hardcore, thrash, and metal, Pulling Teeth bring it home fast, mean, and angry as hell on their newest release "Martyr Immortal." This is hardcore the way it should be, fast as hell and done before you know what hit you in the face. Sneaking in blast beats on tracks like "Dead is Dead" but still breaking it down in a way that is familiar to tough-guy hardcore bands, Pulling Teeth lay it down in their own fashion. Galloping through tracks like "Clipped Wings" the band doesn't slow down for a minute when they [...]

I've always dug what Terror brings to the table; straight forward hardcore with no apologies. On their newest EP put out on Reaper Records, they slaughter through four brand new Terror originals and one hardcore classic in a pulsing, exciting, and energetic release. "Rhythm Amongst the Chaos" opens up strong. The signature beat of Terror's drumming opens up the record defiantly as all the band kicks the door wide open with the EP's title track. Pulsing punk rock/hardcore beats lead into a mad two-step [...]

I'll admit, I was weary of this release. I had a lesser-than-satisfying experience with Through the Eyes of the Dead a couple years ago when I saw them on tour with the Number 12 Looks Like You, Animosity, and Ed Gein. Needless to say, I was quite pleasantly surprised within the first minute of listening to the band's newest full-length effort "Malice" and was looking forward to the next hour or so. Maddening palm-muting and near-mechanical blast beats and double bass kick this record off [...]

Within the opening seconds of "The Lost and the Damned," the impending doom and gloom of Living Hell is well-illustrated for those listening to hear. With dark and brooding chord progressions and medium-paced punk beats Living Hell make their mark in today's hardcore scene. Living Hell take the element of tough guy hardcore but take out all the bullshit sports enthusiast crap (i.e. hip-hop baseball caps, giant basketball jerseys, etc.) and bare their teeth with their newest record and their Revelation debut. Floorpunching riffs like the breakdown on "Mabrothrax" bring back good memories [...]

It seems like there is a stretch for almost all hardcore or metal bands to add something to their act to give it the extra flare that will allow them to stand above the rest. The Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza most certainly have the tie of their Southern roots to the backdrop of their wild mosh-heavy, double-kick drum heavy brew of metal; but you know what? Their metal is seriously unforgiving and is as fun as it is fucking nuts. Wildly heavy guitars jump back and forth between giant low chugs and high-pitched [...]

Capital is a band that I have been waiting for, but I didn't even know that I was waiting for it. What is it exactly? It's bands who grew up in the era of punk in the mid-to-late 90's and then made hardcore bands today. It's a fantastic mix that is conscious of the melodicism of bands from the zenith of Fat Wreck and Epitaph bands (circa '97-'02), the abrasive strength of hardcore, and the overall punk attitude that keeps these bands vibrant and worthwhile. With their first record on Revelation Records, [...]

With their full-length debut, Ambitions prove exactly who they are in the hardcore scene and what it means to bring the joy of melody with the abrasions of hardcore together. With a mix of music that should be immediately be celebrated by all fans of traditional punk and hardcore music, Ambitions are truly making their mark as a gleaming light in hardcore. I followed With Honor for a good portion of their career. They were a band that always make me excited and were a positive influence on my life, no matter what. [...]

Light Pupil Dilate take the power and repetition of stoner rock and combine it with a larger atmospheric sound that fill out the gaps that are usually left when most stoner bands have three riffs comprising six-minute songs. In the opening song alone, Light Pupil Dilate are able to fill the sound with big ideas like pulsing, palm-muting riffs, big open delay sounds that are equal parts spooky and daunting, and some melodic guitar riffing that makes people wistful of bands like Black Sabbath. The following track "Twinkly" features mad tom work on the drums and [...]

An aggressive full-on assault of crunchy, loud guitars and bass, tortured vocals, and powerful drumming is all on the table with Trap Them 's newest EP "Seance Prime." Featuring ex-members of Backstabbers, Inc. and December Wolves, Trap Them carries on the hardcore spirit of these bands with their heavy brand of hardcore infused with metal influence. Between just five songs Trap Them know how to vary their selection with songs full of D-Beat fury, some mid-tempo pieces heavy with pulsing guitars, and full on blasts that vary up the tempos and the rhythms of this record. [...]

The Bled have consistently been a band I've enjoyed over the years. From the first time I caught them with Give Up the Ghost four years ago, to their album preceding this one, they have always pleased me and I've always thought that they were as entertaining as they were inventive with what they did. That said, " Silent Treatment " adds well to the repertoire of music that the band has created thus far. Combining aggressive mid-tempo'd hardcore with an excellent taste for melody, the Bled have been able to define themselves in [...]

I'll definitely say this much, this is for sure not the record I was expecting from New York's own Crime in Stereo . "Crime in Stereo Is Dead" is a huge change for the band that I don't think anyone could have forsaw. While Crime in Stereo has been known for years to be one of the best bands to combine the rock of hardcore with pop punk sensibilites since H2O, they have transformed themselves and given their sound a huge makeover from their traditional sound they established themselves with. I'm a huge advocate for [...]

Travelling comfortably between big metal breakdowns, to the ferocity of grind, to pummeling blast beats, Harlots represent the new world of hardcore and metal in an original and bright way. The mad grind of bands like Ed Gein appears on songs like "Avada Kedavra" and is a perfect fit for anyone who is a fan of good, basic grind ensembles. I'm talking about bands that are armed with a solo-guitar attack and furiously frantic drums and loud, crunchy distorted bass riffs. Full double-bass drum represent the damning side of metal as Harlots [...]

Finders Keepers Kidrobot for Joe Ledbetter , 2007 If [...]

Agnostic Front are one of the few original punk and hardcore bands from the 1980's that are still fucking doing it. And I ain't talking about the bands who broke up for a better part of two decades and then decided to come back because they had a bigger fan basis than they ever did back in the day; I'm talking about the bands that played through the era where everyone said punk was dead and kept on putting out records throughout all that time. AF have been around a long time and they earn respect [...]

Immediately, " Climate of Fear " brings its name to life with its opening track "Panic." Compiling the definition of the current age of 'shock and awe' and 'Operation: This and That,' the listener is reminded of such hardcore classics like "Just Look Around" (Sick of it All) with news clips and pungent reminders of the age we live in of fear, paranoia, and modern madness. And to think of the 80's of the Reagan Years for music, why not think of this as the W Age? Bitter End stand their ground firmly in hardcore [...]