Prohibition- Demo 2015 review

Prohibition- Demo 2015 review

This is a decent demo- what one might expect is certainly delivered.  There a tinge of New Breed era NYHC, Keep Deep In Shit, the Reaper Records sound, and modern youth crew.  Take the cheesiness of Bold, the sounds of Disengage, and the singer of Plagued With Rage (or any skramz singer, take your pick), and you have Prohibition.  Beefy power chords, a steady stream of bass lines, pounding drums, and a set of vocals that are akin to Freddy Cricien fronting Agnostic Front in the late 80s- it sounds like your little brother who watches your band got up on stage and started singing.  Not bad, but it could be better.  As for the lyrics, let’s just say this IS a demo, and it’s all up from here.  Think early-era Madball, and how basic and simple those lyrics are- this is pretty much on that level.  Instrumentally on point, at least tone-wise (songs are okay- neither great nor terrible), weird but decent vocals, and lyrics that make you glad you aren’t fourteen anymore.

-Aunty Social

Demolition- World Gone Mad 7" review

Demolition- World Gone Mad 7” review

It’s cliché to say the demo is better than the EP/LP, but here it rings true.  The raw production compared to the slick one on this is the difference.  This IS a very clean sounding hardcore record; the songs all have distinct instrument sounds, as opposed to a wall-of-sound where everything is more or less lumped together.  The songs are there- I can hear the energy in the performance, but it feels like something got misplaced in the shuffle between performance and this recording.  It’s clean-cut mid-to-fast tempo modern hardcore, with a very cool layout and great artwork, leave your doubts behind there.  I have a feeling that some of the imperfections the demo had were boiled out on this recording, and although I believe it is those same imperfections that make hardcore and punk what it is, the record itself is still not bad.  This being said, it is these imperfect people who decided to go their own way, not take society’s shit, and make the music that only weirdoes and freaks enjoy.  I can’t knock that.

-Aunty Social

Forced Order- Eternal War 7" review

Forced Order- Eternal War 7” review

It’s like youth crew breakdowns with metal riffs, periodically picking up the pace, but mostly remaining at mid-tempo or the slower end of a fast tempo.  It’s a metal band with a bunch of breakdowns and a hardcore singer.  The short lead breaks are indicative that these guys like early 90s death metal a lot, and it does add an element not usually seen in hardcore (at least the hardcore I’m listening to- word is death metal-core is the hot thing on the block right now).  This is the kind of hardcore you circle pit and headbang to- 90s death metal riffs, a hardcore singer, plentiful breakdowns, and a lot of the fat of those death metal songs trimmed out, and for the better.  Cyrus poses the question “Can you dig it?” to which I can easily answer “Yes”.

-Aunty Social

Out of Hand- Visions of Death EP review

Out of Hand- Visions of Death EP review

These guys have two parts of a traditional hardcore song down- the riff, and the breakdown.  The problem is that that’s all their songs are, a killer riff played over a minute long breakdown (90 seconds, whatever).  Imagine a rubric for some kind of school project- there are five areas judged on this rubric, and this band completes three of them, passing with flying colors (the vocals are pretty good, lyrics are alright).  But the other two are just… absent.  It’s like they aren’t there.  I’m all for asymmetrical song structure, but I can’t help but feel like there’s a verse or chorus missing here.  It reminds me of forgetting to videotape something but remembering midway through the show and having to catch up on what you missed, or maybe a mixtape that gets cut off mid-song because the tape ends.  Three out of five elements are there and good, but it’s incomplete, and I can’t shake that feeling.  Keep writing those heavy metal riffs, though.

-Aunty Social

Ill Blood- Prisoner of Life tape review

Ill Blood- Prisoner of Life EP review

Mid-tempo hardcore definitely taking a few cues from 90s bands (both hardcore and non-hardcore bands), especially given the sort of groovy riffs the guitar player rings out.  Mix in a few mosh riffs, a few breakdowns, and some simplistic though decipherable lyrics, you’ve got this group, Toledo’s Ill Blood.  The vocals for this kind of music are usually more guttural and low, and here, they are more often than not shrill and high; it’s not different in terms of quality.  The guitar work here is very good; it’s distinct and clicks in your brain right away.  I wish there were more memorable riffs on here, but that’s not to say they’re bad.  In fact, the guitar is the best thing about this band.  The bass is cleverly disguised between the guitar and drum sounds, though it rings out independently a couple of times.  The drums are clear and well-played, you’ve gotta love the smoothness here.  For fans of mid-2000s era Bridge Nine bands, no doubt.  I’m not feeling it as much as I anticipate others might be, but this is worth a jam.  Now, let’s hope for a split 7” and see what they can do when backed with a completely different band’s sound.  I feel like this is a lot like the movie Shaft- definitely an acquired taste, kind of cheesy and campy, but you can dig it.

-Aunty Social

Another Mistake- Life's Noose EP review

Another Mistake- Life’s Noose EP review

This is classic youth crew with a slightly more menacing undertone and faster beat.  It’s a good ole’ Midwest Blood style hardcore EP; short, staunch, and danceable.  A new-fashioned take on old-fashioned music.

-Aunty Social

Angel Du$t- A.D. LP review

Angel Du$t- A.D. LP review

I tried liking pop punk once- the Descendents’ ‘Milo Goes To College’ is an awesome record.  Some of their later material isn’t bad.  Hell, even some of the best punk music has its roots in catchy bubblegum pop, some of these songs are even love songs.  The potential does exist for catchy punk/hardcore music that isn’t necessarily rough-and-tough all the time (though that is the best kind).  This record, and this band, is not that.  The singer’s voice is vexing- it’s melodic, sure, but it sounds strained, unnatural, forced, like something that doesn’t fit.  The music is far from catchy or enchanting- think Cro-Mags’ ‘Revenge’ B-sides or the Buzzcocks on a fucking shitty and awful day where they play their instruments too hard and too fast just so that they can get the set over with and leave.  Even if this music is innovative and unique, it is truly god-awful.  Buy this for someone that you’re fake friends with as a gift so they know how you really feel about them, that you paid good money and wasted valuable time in order to subject them to this swill.  That would be one cold dish of revenge.

-Gary Abusey

Spitback- Skate the Streets demo tape review

Spitback- Skate the Streets demo tape review

Mid-tempo hardcore a la Bridge Nine circa 2006 with basement quality production (this is a good thing- hardcore is not meant to sound overly slick).  What if the U.S. Bombs were a hardcore band?  What if the Faction or JFA grew up in the Midwest in the 2000s rather than the west coast in the 80s?  It’s a very fun band, the kind that would play a house destruction party in exchange for a 30 pack and a couple blunts- very punk rock attitude for a hardcore band.  It’s a hardcore band for everyone- crowd-killers, two-steppers, circle pitters, push pitters, posi-jumpers, all are welcome in Spitback’s music and at their shows, and none are out of place.  The music isn’t amazing, but it’s what you’d expect a hardcore demo to be.  These cats have the energy and the mentality; I think the songs are forthcoming.  Not a bad demo tape.

-Aunty Social

The Beautiful Ones- Jaded Love LP review

The Beautiful Ones- Jaded Love LP review

This is one of the strangest mixes of music I have ever heard.  If nothing else, this is, without a doubt, unique.

If there were three bands one could associate with this group, they would most likely be Type O Negative, Biohazard, and Twitching Tongues.  This mixes the mid-90s New York hardcore/metalcore sound with the heavy, crunching riffs and steady rhythms and the tuneful, love-boasting deep voice reminiscent of an anxious, throaty, teenage Morrissey.  This has got some groovy beats, and has the benefit of actually fitting as a full LP and not just a large collection of songs on a slab of twelve inches of wax.  The breakdowns on this record are some danceable/2-step-able ones for sure, even if the ambient rhythms mixed in between them make one go, “What the hell?” some of the time.  Last song has the hardest line I’ve heard in a while “At least we all die alone”- a nice conclusion to a record about love.  I admit that this isn’t really my kind of thing, but this is definitely worth a listen- it is not time wasted.

-Aunty Social

Turnstile- Nonstop Feeling LP review

Turnstile- Nonstop Feeling LP review

This brand new hardcore LP “Nonstop Feeling” is the biggest piece of fucking dogshit I’ve heard since the likes of Angel Du$t, NOFX, and Mischief Brew finagled their way into my poor, poor eardrums.  Hardcore that kind of sucked to begin with managed to somehow get even worse, incorporating annoying pop rhythms over boring mid-tempo riffs to create a monster no music fan should ever have to endure.  See, pop-country, electronic dance music, and classic rock are very specific kinds of shit, complete with their own branch of culture that attracts equally shitty people- these kinds of music target these types of people, and it is your fault if you willingly subject yourself to it.  It has a preconceived idea for what it might sound like- however, hardcore is different in that it is often in a state of transition, so there’s no finite definition for what hardcore truly is, save for a few key attributes in the music that are utterly lacking here.  If this is the future of hardcore, I’ll be happy to listen to bands that last two years, play underproduced shit-sounding minute-long songs with cliché topics that have beaten a horse dead enough times to murder every neigh-sayer on the ranch, put out a demo and an EP with a pressing of 300, play two or three out-of-town shows, and then break up.  If this is good hardcore, then I must listen to shit, and I could not be happier that I do.  I would rather watch a festival of 80s hardcore wash-ups acting like they’re still in their 20s butcher songs I grew up loving than ever have to listen to this god-awful pile of shit ever again.

-Gary Abusey

Hounds of Hate- s/t LP review

Hounds of Hate- s/t LP review

This record mixes up the ’88-era hardcore with that of the contemporary style focusing on slower, more gang vocals and chug-oriented sounds, and it’s pretty stellar.  The slow parts are heavy as shit and the fast parts thunder away as singer Trey spits out his thoughts and ideas, which cover a pretty wide array of topics, from drug addiction, a new world order, interpersonal problems, to a few where I’m not entirely sure what the song is about.  Four of the songs on this LP were on a promo tape I nabbed in late 2012, and it’s safe to say that this LP lived up to my expectations and more.  Secret Knowledge, Pound of Flesh, Brotherhood of Night, and Untouchable are my favorite tracks, but none are bad, unbalanced in their respective mixes, or out of place in any way.  It’s very friendly to hardcore kids and punks alike- it’s not as pointed as the EP, but it is damn close.  Sing-along, two-step, ninja mosh, it’s all good here.  Packaging is stellar as always- Painkiller does it right.

-Aunty Social

Power- Bremerton Zoo LP review

Power- Bremerton Zoo LP review

This Pacific Northwest hardcore band is a mix of a Rival Mob-ish sound and a Rzl Dzl sound, in the instruments and the vocal styles, respectively.  It has an angry, yet fun vibe to its sound, an acknowledgement that the world does indeed suck something awful, but fuck it, let’s party.  The vocal delivery is pretty good, even if the lyrics didn’t grab me so much; it’s a well-produced record, so everything is crisp-sounding, balanced, and sounds the way it should.  As a not very fun person, I found this to be a very fun record.  Mid-tempo hardcore record on vinyl with a sweet layout and good packaging- not groundbreaking, but hey, what is anymore?  I liked it.

-Aunty Social

Dismantle- In Stride tape review

Dismantle- In Stride tape review

Mixing 80s hardcore and what I call new age hardcore (the sort of metalcore-influenced mid-tempo hardcore done by bands like Expire, Rotting Out, Trapped Under Ice, the Mongoloids, Backtrack, Malfunction, Take Offense, Soul Search, etc.), this tape is a little different than the band’s ‘Complaints’ 7”, but in a good way.  This seems to be more go than slow, and has a very distinct guitar tone, not too far off from the ones used in Nardcore bands- in short, it’s more punk than hardcore, and I like it.  The vocals are slightly nascent shouts delivered in differing bursts of length, with words/lyrics largely aligned to a philosophy of “fish out of water, but certainly not out of place”; it’s relatable and individualistic.  The lyrics are better here, but still comparable to the EP, so not fantastic but not bad either; par/birdie for the course.  For a demo, I dug it pretty well.  Also, I must say that the last song has a bass line very much like Negative Approach’s classic ‘Ready to Fight’, and that’s cool as hell.

-Aunty Social

One By One- 2012 demo tape review

One By One- 2012 demo tape review

A one-man project by Ghoul Gang proponent Nick Kucway (Face Reality, Retribution, Freedom, Left of the Dial, Deathskin Razors, etc.), this is classic youth crew incarnate.  Badass hand-drawn artwork, fast tunes, quick jams, and simple songs; not a bad mix, though the audio mix at times could be better (louder vocals would be A-OK).  Still, it’s a sample of the Ghoul Gang’s musical output that seems to be able to do no wrong.  The sound is modern, but unconsciously so- it’s familiar as can be, but it doesn’t sound like it’s trying to be something, it merely ‘is’.  Also, this project has a song coming out on a Lost Time Records compilation that will also feature Freedom, True Love, Retribution, and From Hell.  Though largely a project based on the Ghoul Gang and friends, the sound fits in nicely.  A good demo.

-Aunty Social

Dismantle- Complaints EP review

Dismantle- Complaints EP review

Taking the negative vibe of modern hardcore and the lyrical subjects of old school hardcore, and mixing the sounds of both, this group is definitely caught in the middle between the sound types and eras.  The vibe is good, the songs are driven, sound slick, and is memorable if nothing else for the repeated parts with gang vocals (All I Am and All I’m Not, Heavy Hands Heavy Head).  Lyrical prowess varies, but is largely relatable- internal struggles, anti-humanity, anti-religion, and general frustrations with society and life; it works for what it is.  The singer’s voice is a bad shrill at times and it’s an occasional distraction, but it doesn’t interfere with the overall presentation of the music.  Another solid Toledo-area hardcore band; enjoyable, even though I’ve heard better- it’s good for what it is and doesn’t worship the ground modern bands walk on.

-Aunty Social