Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Record a Day #22- Cruel Hand “Lock & Key” (2010)

*I know this isn’t a demo, but I’ve been waiting for this album to come out for months




Track Listing:
1. Lock & Key
2. Cruel Hand
3. Day or Darkness
4. Broken Glass
5. Labyrinth
6. One Cold Face
7. Rotations of Hurt
8. Dismissed
9. Two Fold
10. The Bottom





Mark Rooster gets all the credit for introducing me to Maine’s Cruel Hand. I’ve liked them since the first time I heard “Without a Pulse” last summer, and they were fantastic at the Black ‘n Blue Bowl this year.

From start to finish “Lock & Key” is a very good album. I’ve listened to it a bunch of times since I got it yesterday, and each time I like it more and more. The songs are all straight up aggressive with killer guitar riffs, and well written lyrics. You can feel the metal influence throughout the album. “Labyrinth” is one of the songs that really sticks out for me. It’s well written like the rest of the songs, but the breakdown is amazing. “Two Fold” is another amazing track. I could keep gushing about this album, but that’ll get boring for you guys. Suffice it to say that this album is extremely good, and well worth listening to. I highly recommend getting your hands on it and giving it a listen.





Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Record a Day#21 - Convicted "Demo 2009" (2009)



Track Listing:
1. Cyrus, the Almighty
2. Only the Strong
3. Cages













I wasn’t able to find out a whole lot more about Convicted than that they were from Chicago. I checked out their Myspace page and other than the city all it said was (and I quote) “Convicted is dead”. Sorry guys, that’s all I can tell you about these guys.


The first thing I noticed when I listened to this demo is that there wasn’t a whole lot of difference in sound between all three songs. If it wasn’t for the feedback at the end of the first two songs (which is the same feedback that starts both songs that follow) I wouldn’t have known that something else was about to happen. Don’t get me wrong, the songs are decent, but there is really not a whole lot of difference in the songs. It was kind of boring to listen to 9 minutes worth of songs that just sounded like one continuous song. If you haven’t heard this, don’t rush to try to find it, you aren’t really missing out.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Record a Day #20- Alpha & Omega “Demo 2007” (2007)



Track Listing:
1. Burned
2. Devil’s Bed
3. Brick by Brick













I’ve seen Los Angeles’ Alpha & Omega’s name on a couple of larger show flyers, but up until now I’d never actually heard them. I found their demo online, and was eager to give it a listen. I checked out their Myspace page, and they list a couple of bands that I like as their influences (Cro-Mags, Integrity, and Stigmata), and they list a couple of bands that I’m on the fence about (All Out War and Leeway).

The production quality is excellent. I’m seeing that as a trend with the newer demos. Musically, I think the demo is very good. The guitar work is fantastic, and the drums are insane. All three songs got my toes tapping from a musical perspective, but vocally I don’t really see the big deal. There’s a slight echo behind all of the lead vocals that I find pretty god damn annoying. When the backup vocals come in (on Devil’s Bed for example), they don’t have that silly echo, and they sound better than the lead vocals. It’s been a while since I’ve listened to something that I haven’t completely enjoyed, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. It’s not bad, I just don’t care for it. Vocally it sounds generic, but musically it’s good.

If you listen to these guys, and like them let me know. I’d enjoy hearing other’s opinions. Catch you tomorrow.






Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Show Tonight! Polish Club, Phoenixville

I can't make it to this show....Parental duties and all. Kate will be there taking pics, so as soon as she has them up I'll post them on here. If you can make it, definitely go. I was impressed with Run For It.






Record a Day #19- Reign Supreme “Fuck the Weak” (2007)

Track Listing:
1. Failure
2. Crushed By The Weight
3. In Vain
4. False Prophets







Reign Supreme isn’t a band that I found because of Brothers In Crime. I actually heard of them by accident. Mark, his brother Jim, and I went to the Cro-Mags show at The Church in Philly, and we bumped into Clint from Reign Supreme who they both knew in high school. To say that I haven’t listened to their music since then would be a lie, but since I’m covering demo’s I thought it would be good to get this in at some point, ie. now ( I know it’s considered an EP, but it’s their first release, so I’m counting it).


I really like this EP, and have since the very first time I listened to it back in December. The music is very heavy, and the vocals fit perfectly. The production quality is excellent. The songs are well written, both musically and lyrically. It’s hard for me to pick one song as my favorite, because I enjoy them all. “Failure” and “False Prophets” are the two best in my opinion, and they are both on their newest release, 2009’s “Testing the Limits of Infinite”.

If you aren’t familiar with them, I definitely recommend checking them out.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

You Should Check This Out

One of the cool things about going to the small hardcore shows is meeting people that I probably wouldn't normally meet. Mark Rooster has been a friend for several years now, and 9 times out of 10, he's at shows with me, but I've met a bunch of other cool people through the scene. Walt has become someone I consider a close friend, and that's mostly because of going to shows and seeing him regularly and talking to him about music. He's answered every question I've thrown his way, no matter how silly it might have been. I've also met a bunch of other kick ass people (Bill Dukes, Nick Zats, the guys from Not Without a Fight, and Kate).

I went on a little bit of a ramble there, but the point of this post is to strongly urge you to go check out Kate's photography on facebook. There are a lot of great pics up, and you can check out some really good pics from the No Redeeming Social Value show that I did a write up on 2 weeks ago.

Record a Day #18- Youth Attack “Demo Tape” (2002)

Track Listing:
1) No One Wants You
2) Broken Promises
3) I Hate Lies
4) Laugh In Your Face
5) Positive Scene




Well, at this point I figure the only time that I’m going to tell you where I found out about a band is if it didn’t come from Brothers In Crime. It seems to be where I find everything, and Youth Attack is no different. I looked at their myspace page and found out that they broke up in 2006, so they weren’t around the Boston scene for all that long (their from Worcester).

This is another demo that I like, but the quality is pretty bad. I know that this was ripped from a tape and converted to Mp3 format, but there could have been this significant of a loss in quality during the transfer. The songs are all good straight edge youth crew hardcore, which the more bands I listen to I realize I like just as much, if not more then the chug-a-chug. All of the songs are quick, and catchy.

I’d like to get my hands on their other releases (2 7” records, and a full length) to see how their sound progressed before they broke up, especially the lead singer sounds younger doing his vocals then the rest of the band does during the gang vocals.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Record a Day #17- Absolute Madness "Demo 2009" (2009)

Track Listing:
1. The Departed
2. Last Stand
3. Poser Disposer
4. Absolute Moshness






Guess where I found these guys? Brothers in Crime is becoming an addiction to me. Absolute Madness is from California, and unlike Mind Piece, they have a good myspace page. I was able to find out that these guys were all in other bands, and one that I actually heard of and like, Carry On. That little bit of info sealed the deal for me. So today, I’m abandoning the East Coast and heading West.

Once again, I’m impressed with the quality of this demo. They really put effort into putting out a good example of their music, instead of just throwing something together. The music is very thrashy, yet the vocals are similar to the style of some of the other California hardcore bands that I’ve heard. “Poser Disposer” is by far my favorite song on this demo. The lyrics are a little campy, but they talk about the one thing that drives me the most nuts at shows, the kids (I’m using that term loosely) that think the point of dancing is to hit as many people as possible.

If you’re compiling a list of the bands I’ve recommended listening to (I’m not expecting you to), this is one that should definitely be added to the list. Their myspace page encourages download of their demo, which you can get here, and I strongly urge you to do it.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Record a Day #16- Mind Piece "Demo" (2007)







Track Listing:
1. Adrift
2. No Control
3. Wearing Thin
4. The Earth Is Flat
5. Wasted
6. Violent Change






I’ve kind of abandoned the PA/NJ only bands thing, because I really like the idea of listening to demo’s better. That doesn’t mean that I’m avoiding them, or won’t go back to it sometime in the future, I’m just fixated on this idea right now, and feel like branching off. That being said, Mind Piece is another band I found on Brothers In Crime, and unfortunately their myspace page sucks so I wasn’t able to find out a damn thing about them except that they’re from New York.

I really like this demo. It’s one of the better produced demo’s that I’ve listened to. The influence of more established New York bands (like Madball) is evident in their style. I’m not saying that they sound like Madball, but the style is similar. The music is aggressive, and the vocals are throaty. Every song feels like it was written to get the crowd involved and stomping around. Sometimes that can sound cheesy, and forced, but they pull it off.

Even though their myspace page is what I would consider atrocious, they do have a music player with 3 of these tracks. I recommend going there to give them a listen, or going to Brothers In Crime’s Mind Piece Section and downloading the demo. It’s a good listen.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Record a Day #15- Pulling Teeth "Demo" (2005)

Track Listing:
1. The Kids Are Not Alright
2. Bleeding to Death
3. Sand and Cells








Once again I was browsing Brothers in Crime, and I found Pulling Teeth. I decided I would give their demo a listen, and since they’re from Baltimore, they fit into the category of reasonably local.

Since the demo was three tracks, I had anticipated it being a quick listen, but not nearly as quick as it was. The whole thing last 3 minutes and 8 seconds from start to finish. If you sneeze you’ll miss hearing half of it. As you can guess the songs are all extremely short, but very good. I enjoyed all three of them, and there isn’t a single thing that I can point out that is bad about any of them.

I know today’s installment was short, but what do you really want from me? The damn thing is only 3 songs and 3 minutes long. It probably took you as much time to load this page and read it as it did for me to listen to this. Anyway, it’s good, and I’m going to be checking out their other stuff. You should too.

Upcoming Shows at The Burner's


Be on the look out for flyers for these upcoming shows:

Friday August 20th 6:00 PM - Hub City Stompers + more tba
Friday September 10th 6:00 PM- tba
Friday September 24th 6:00 PM- Wisdom In Chains, Whut?, + more tba
Friday October 8th 6:00 PM - "Flashback Fest" w/ HOME 33 and more
Sunday October 31st 2:00 PM- HALLOWEEN MADNESS!!!!!!!
Thursday November 18th 6:00 PM- Altercation Comedy Tour

Friday, July 16, 2010

Record a Day #14- NJ Bloodline "Demo 1993" (1993)

Track Listing:
1. The Matter at Hand
2. Dishonest Life
3. Vindictive Nature
4. Out of Place
5. Survival




NJ Bloodline is a band that I found out about on one of my first trips to the Brothers In Crime Blog, and the two albums I heard by them I enjoyed. So for today’s Record a Day segment, I decided to stick with my “Demo” theme and give their’s a listen.

The quality of the recording is pretty shitty, but what can I really expect from a 17 year old demo? Without a doubt, this is definitely Chug-a-chug hardcore, and to me that’s not a bad thing. I enjoy this style just as much as some of the others. Every song as a slow moshing part, and that’s a-o-k with me. Musically it’s nothing exceptional, and lyrically (especially at some points in Vindictive nature) it is a little campy at times. I enjoy it though, not as much as the two newer records I’ve heard of theirs (which will be on here at some point), but this is definitely worth the listen, so check it out.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Record a Day #13- Animal Haus "Demo" (2010)

Track Listing:
1. Brother of Mine
2. The Dope
3. Mickey Dufrasne
4. Irish Lung
5. The Ballad of the Wolf






*photo courtesy of Kate Frese Photography

Alright guys, like I said when I did the write up of the No Redeeming Social Value show, here’s the write up on Animal Haus’ demo.

I was absolutely right in my assessment that they have a very Dropkick Murphy’s like style. From what I hear on this demo though, they aren’t just a knock off band. They do have their own style. “The Dope” is without a doubt a hardcore song, and it’s fantastic. Don’t misinterpret that as me saying “The Dope is a hardcore song, so it’s the only one worth listening to”. If that’s what I was saying that would be completely ignorant because all of the songs are fucking great. The only issue I have is that “Mickey Dufrasne” and “Irish Lung” are both about 30 seconds too long. They are great, well written songs, but they loop the chorus a few too many times.

I plan on seeing Animal Haus again, and as soon as I hear something about a show they’re playing I’ll let you guys know, because you need to see them, and you need this demo.

Record a Day #12- Conqueror "Conqueror" (2009)

*This was started yesterday (Wednesday 7/14) and finished and posted today, first paragraph is from yesterday.
Track Listing:
1. Hate Your Guts
2. Breaking Free
3. Meet Your Maker
4. Right From Wrong
5. Without Warning






I was in a reasonably shitty mood today when I woke up, so I decided that I wanted to listen to something really damn aggressive. I went over to my favorite blog for finding music to listen to Brothers in Crime , and that’s where I found Conqueror. I took a peak at their myspace page, and the few seconds of them I heard there fit the bill. I know I’m stepping out of my own guidelines of sticking with PA and NJ bands since these guys are from Mass. but really, is it that big a deal?

Before I go any further, I have to let you guys know that the quality of the download was atrocious. It’s hard to really explain, but “Breaking Free” would play for about 10 seconds, then loop back to the beginning. “Meet Your Maker” would skip. It drove me up a wall. All of that aside, this is a good listen, but if you’re going to listen to it, order it. In my opinion “Hate Your Guts” is the best track. It’s pretty short, but starts off kind of fast, then slows down for stomping around, then picks up again into an aggressive assault, all in a minute and a half. The rest of the songs are decent, but none of them really have stuck with me the way that “Hate Your Guts” has.

I’m going to attempt to do another “Record a Day” today because I’ve been lazy and haven’t kept up with it, so keep your eyes peeled.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Record a Day #11- Krutch "Brotherhood Sisterhood" (1996)

Track Listing:
1. Nature
2. My Way
3. Fist Thrown Up
4. It Is 2 Me
5. In Who's Eyes









I started out with the intention of doing a write up on Krutch’s “Wheruat Demo 95”, but after doing a little digging I found this album which includes the demo and two song’s from a split 7”.

I love the way this starts. Even though “Nature” is a four minute song, it doesn’t drag. Between the music and the gang vocals, the song flows awesomely. With lines like “Courage, honor, and truth must be the building blocks of our youth” , there’s more to this song than just the slow driving mosh-heavy music.

The rest of the songs on this EP (no information I was able to find about this actually called it an EP, so I’m using the term with some license) are just as good as “Nature”. As I said, they came from two different recordings, but they all work together. They all share the same slow driving mosh-heavy formula, but do so in a way that doesn't make them sound like the songs of a generic "chug-a-chug" hardcore band.

Listening to this straight through leaves me wanting to hear more, which is what any album should do. At some point, when I get off of the kick of listening to and talking about band’s demo's (or their first album, which is what the topic of “Record a Day” will be for a while), I’ll listen to some of their other stuff, and let you guys know.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Bill Duke$ Birthday Bash with NRSV


I just want to start this out by saying, the show last night, from start to finish, was awesome. It was a great time. Now let's get into it....

Straight Mangled

Straight Mangled (from Upper Darby) was fucking great. I honestly didn't go into their set with very high expectations since bands that play first are generally hit or miss. Their songs were short and aggressive with amazing breakdowns. I know most of the crowd that saw them play came to see them, but the response overall was great. Kids were dancing, and that's not something that you see during the first band to play a show. I'm definitely going to pick up their debut full length, "Gnarly by Nature", and I highly recommend that you do too.

Animal Haus

These guys (from the Phoenixville area) were also amazing. Most of their songs have a Dropkick Murphy's kind of vibe, but it works well. Their songs have gang vocals that completely promote crowd participation, and it definitely occurred. They covered Operation Ivy's "Knowledge" and they did it well, as well as covering Sick of It All's "Clobbering Time". The only complaint that I have, is that some of their songs seemed to go on a little too long. I don't know if they just did that because it was live, or if that's how they're recorded. I picked up their 5 track demo, and am eager to listen to it, and it'll be in "Record a Day" at some point in this coming week, so check back for it.

Hard to Kill

Hard to Kill (also from the Phoenixville area) played a very good set. There were some technical difficulties (broken guitar string, no strap for the replacement guitar), but they didn't cut into/hinder the set at all. They played with a high energy level, and the crowd fed off of it.

Red Eyed Devil

These guys were pretty good. It was hard for me to get into them. They were all very talented, and the bass player and guitar player were sick. Both played extremely fast and intricate lines of music, but I feel that they took away from each other. The blazing fast bass lines were masked by the blazing fast guitar riffs, and vice versa. I'm not selling them short, but I definitely think that I need to hear them more in order to get into them, so I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for their full length.

No Redeeming Social Value

My level of familiarity with NRSV was extremely limited. I listened to all of their albums that I could find a bunch of times the week leading up to this show, but that was the only knowledge I had of them. I went into it expecting a great show, I mean a band that sings about partying has to be a good time live right? Well, they seriously were. From the time they started playing, it was one hell of a show. The crowd was all about them, and like Walt said, the albums are good, but don't do them justice. From the two garbage bags of paper shreds that were thrown out at the beginning of the set all the way through to the massive amounts of Old English flying around throughout the set, it was complete mayhem. Definitely a great time, and I will be seeing them again, and Mark Rooster will not miss it next time.


True Blue Promotions did another great job with this one. Next show: July 30th Everything's Ruined, Slam One Down, Machina Infernus, Amenema, and Pity the Fool

Mark Rooster - Gallows: "Grey Britain"

I’d never heard Gallows before last year. Ordered both of their albums and got the first one, “Orchestra of Wolves,” in the mail, read the sticker of rave reviews on the case, and thought, Why have I not heard these guys before? I gave the CD a listen, enjoyed it, nodded my head a few times, but didn’t hear anything to justified Brett Gurewitz’s quote on that cover sticker, something about “punk is back and it’s name is the Gallows,” which sounded, to me, kinda like Stephen King’s “I’ve seen the future of horror and its name is Clive Barker” quote.

But then, the album’s U.S. release was handled by Gurewitz’s Epitaph Records, so that quote—well, it’s kinda like Bruce Campbell’s quote on the back of the “Evil Dead II” VHS: “the mother of all sequels!”

And I guess, so far, this review is kind of like a list of quotes of random shit. So here’s a random list of thoughts I had upon listening to the Gallows’ second album, “Grey Britain,” when it arrived in the mail a few days after “Orchestra of Wolves”:

- The intro is awesome. It’s called “The Riverbank”, and later on there’s a song called “The Riverbed”. I love shit like that.

- It’s bouncy as hell. Whereas “Wolves” had a lot of fast and noisy, and sometimes moshy shit going on, this one sounds cleaner, and has more of a rockin “bouncy” kind of sound (while still retaining plenty of mosh).

- The line that starts “I’m goin out tonight . . .” is one of the most energetic, rockin lyrics I’ve ever heard, and the music goes with it perfectly. This song should open a movie.

- Lots of good mid-tempo hardcore/rock songs.

- The singer, Frank Carter, actually has a pretty good voice. He nails the softer section of “The Vulture”. Part 2 is rad, as well. I love that kind of shit.

- “Misery” is incredible. The ending consists of one of the greatest breakdowns I’ve ever heard, and then it goes into this crazy shit with these pigs squealing. Song’s called “Misery”, made me think of Misery the pig in the story/movie “Misery”. Man, I really love shit like that.

- The last song (aside from the bonus track) is called “Crucifucks”, just to show you how serious these guys are. This one didn’t come out on Epitaph, it was put out by a major label, but it still has a song called “Crucifucks”. They even did a fairly cool job of censoring the title on the back; the design (which is rad as hell) features lots of splatters, including some within the song titles; they simply put some splatters over the “fucks” part of “Crucifucks”. It looks believable. I buy it.

- A lot of the songs deal with religion, and in particular religion and its relation to the culture and daily life in their home town of England.* It’s almost a concept album, with this theme, and others concerning the general demise of England, as they see it, continuing throughout. (OK, maybe I didn’t notice this one on the first listen.)

This is my favorite album from last year. I don’t hear, you know, a shitload of music every year, and I listen to a lot of old shit, for the most part, so it’s possible there’s something out there that I’d like more. But I kinda doubt it. “Grey Britain” is a great album, and Gallows is easily one of the best hardcore bands playing right now.



* I know England isn’t a goddamn town.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Record a Day #10- The Bad Luck 13 Riot Extravaganza "Bats on the Dancefloor" (1998)

Track Listing:
1. 13
2. Homicidal
3. Blunker
4. Pull Over
5. Stab
6. Old Girl Friend
7. Way Down South
8. Lobsterboy
9. Big Red Van
10. Whatever
11. Fucking Pussies








I have to admit that the first time I put this on to listen to, I shut it off. I was in the mood to listen to hardcore, and the very first thought that popped into my head was that this is metal not hardcore. Obviously, I've given it more of a chance since I'm writing about it. It's grown on me slightly. The songs are all relatively short. They all feel like they have more of a metal influence than a hardcore influence. It's not something that I will probably listen to very often (I'll give their other albums a listen). It's a heavier album then I usually listen to, which is why it won't be going on my ipod. Nothing really jumps out and strikes me as memorable.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Record a Day #9 - Unlearn "Demo 2010" (2010)

Track Listing:
1. Intro/Unlearn
2. Death's Head Revisited
3. Snakeoil
4. Revenge

I'm really glad that after the show Nick (aka Snackman, lead vox) strongly urged me to buy this demo. As soon as I listened to it for the first time, I told Mark how much I enjoyed it. He asked to borrow it, and since he technically paid for it, I gave it to him, so hopefully he'll chime in about it.

To say that the songs have a positive vibe would be not even close to true. All 4 tracks share the theme that authority figures feed us shit constantly and we need to think for ourselves and do something about it. There was definitely thought put into all the lyrics, and the music reinforces the aggressiveness of them. There are whiny guitar lines throughout that are well place, and Chaos executes them well. The quality of the production is amazing. I definitely recommend seeing them live and picking up the demo.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Happy 4th

Happy 4th of July everyone. I won't be posting a "Record a Day" today. I have too much going on, and I don't want to half ass anymore than you may think I already do. Mark may post something today but I'm not too sure. Have fun everyone.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Record a Day #8- Face the Enemy "Through It All" (2002)

Track Listing:
1. Broken Dreams
2. Not a Chance
3. Through It All
4. Substitute

I'll admit that I had no clue who Face the Enemy was when I bought this EP on my trip to Double Decker Records a few months ago (mentioned previously). I've since learned a little bit and know that it's another of Tim McMahon's bands (along with Hands Tied, Mouthpiece, and Triple Threat). I know they aren't a local band or even a PA band, but all four of the Tim McMahon's bands are the reason that I mentioned I'd include Jersey bands too.

The four tracks whiz by in a fury of straight edge youth crew sound. All the tracks are well written, both lyrically and musically. The breakdown that starts 30 seconds before the end of "Not a Chance" is awesome and every time I've listened to the album has gotten my head bobbing and toes tapping. "Substitute" is by far my favorite of the four tracks. It's fast aggressive and doesn't pull any punches. I definitely recommend picking this up. It's the perfect length to listen to on quick trip (I literally mean quick, since it's barely 7 minutes long)

Check out Tim McMahon's blog (http://doublecrosswebzine.blogspot.com/). It's a good read, thanks to Mark for showing it to me.

Upcoming Shows at The Burner's

Fri July 9th 7 PM - Bill Duke$ Birthday Bash with No Redeeming Social Value $10
Fri July 30th 6 PM - Everything Ruined, Slam One Down, plus more bands and details to be announced soon
Fri August 13th 6 PM - F.O.D., McRad, Ambergris, Bad American, Rough on Rats, and Strap Hanger $5 before 8 PM $7 after 8
Fri August 27th 6 PM- TBA
Fri September 10th 6 PM- TBA
Fri September 24th 6 PM- Wisdom in Chains, Whut?, and more TBA
Fri October 8th 6 PM- "Flashback Fest"
Sun October 31st 2 PM- Halloween Madness
Thur November 18th 6 PM- Altercation Comedy Tour

Partner in Crime

Mark Rooster has decided to help me out as a contributor to this blog, which is pretty damn cool since he's my partner in crime when it comes to going to shows and shit. So I just wanted to formally welcome him and share this picture showing that he is in fact, my partner in crime.


.




Friday, July 2, 2010

My Turn to Win/Olde York/Run For It/Unlearn/Capital Crisis


Capital Crisis

It's hard for me to knock a band who wasn't awful and were into what they were doing. That being said, Capital Crisis left a little to be desired. You could tell that individually, they were all talented, but collectively it didn't mesh. The tempo was off in most of their songs. They covered the Misfit's "Skulls" and the song was jerky. Tempo would speed up and then slow down pretty regularly. They attempted their last song twice, but gave up on the second time the drummer couldn't keep the beat going. They weren't awful, so please don't think I'm trying to bash them. They have the potential to be a good band.

Unlearn

Unlearn was great. The played an intensely energetic set. When I met Nick, he was the bass player for Back to Back, and both times I've seen Unlearn, I've been impressed with his front man ability (not to say he wasn't good as a bass player). Chaos (also was in Back to Back) has always been a mad man on guitar. The only things that I could say were a little off were that the guitars and bass drowned out the vocals, and that Nick would occasionally not sing into the mic. Neither were big deals, or detracted from their set. I picked up their demo (at strong suggestion from Nick, thanks to Mark for loaning me the two bucks), and it'll be in the "Record a Day" section sometime this coming week, so look out for that.

Run For It

When I looked up Run For It before the show, I was kind of nervous about them. I got the impression that they were more of a Taking Back Sunday kind of band (not knocking them, never listened to them) than a melodic hardcore band. So to say that I went into their set with limited expectations would be a fair statement. However, I really liked them. They were more melodic than I'm used to listening to. I haven't really dipped that much into that kind of music (I've listened to The Movielife's "Forty Hour Train Back to Penn" once, and only thing i really have to compare it to), but they were enjoyable. The set was energetic, with well written songs and great music. I definitely recommend listening to their EP "We've Got the High Ground".

Olde York

This is the second time I've seen Olde York, and the bits and pieces of how good the first show was (I blame Miller Lite and Soco) were refreshed today. They are an amazing bad and put on one hell of a fucking show. The energy they put into their music comes through in every guiatar riff and bass line. They don't come around here often enough, but if you get the opportunity to see them, fucking do it. Don't ask, just do.

My Turn to Win

My Turn to Win was amazing. When I see bands like My Turn to Win with female members (singers, guitarists), it makes it easier to understand why girls find guys who play in bands so appealing. I'm not trying to be a pig or anything, but when an attractive woman can play kick ass guitar in a great hardcore band, it's great. It also makes me wonder deeper things, like what it's like to be one of a few women in a heavily male dominated scene (i know there are a lot of girls at shows and i'm not trying to be chauvinistic, but it's still male dominated). I don't have the answer to that and I'm straying way to far off my subject matter. Their set was aggressive and in your face the entire time. Their album "Weight of the World" was great (http://fasterthanthaworld.blogspot.com/2010/07/record-day-7-my-turn-to-win-weight-of.html) and their live show was even better. I definitely would like to see more of them.

TONIGHT! My Turn To Win/ Olde York/ Run For It/ Unlearn/ Antietam/ Capital Crisis

Hope to see you out at the Burner's tonight.

Record a Day #7- My Turn to Win "Weight of the World" (2008)

Track Listing:
1. You Can't Swim in Leather Pants
2. Invisible Man
3. Hard Luck
4. Far Out
5. Hear Me Now
6. Schrute Bucks
7. Tits Rule
8. Best Goalie Ever
9. Enough is Enough
10. A Man on a Train With No Answers
11. 20/20
12. I'll Stick Around
13. Me Vs. the World

I figured I would bet a jump on things and actually review a bands album before I saw them instead of waiting till afterwards. Since I'm seeing My Turn to Win tonight at the Burner's, I figured today would be the day that I review their album "Weight of the World".

I thoroughly enjoy this album. My Turn to Win is definitely a heavier hardcore band, but it works better than some other bands that I've listened to. The vocals are aggressive, but understandable. The drums are balls to the walls, and the guitar and bass lines are driving. Every song sounds like it was written with moshing in mind. The album flows nicely, never letting of the gas pedal. I've listened to this about 8 times, and love it more each time. Definitely get your hands on it.

Come see them tonight at St. Bernard's (The Burner's) in south Bethlehem. It's a killer line-up and guaranteed to be a great fucking show.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Record a Day #6- Rain on the Parade "Full Speed Ahead" (1997)

Track Listing:
1. Fight Back
2. Full Speed Ahead
3. Climb the Ladder
4. Guest List
5. Today is a Gift
6. Trying
7. Respect
8. Walk It Off
9. Do or Die
10. Things are Bad Enough

Rain on the Parade is a band I found out about on complete accident. I got my hands on a torrent of 50+ hardcore albums, and tucked away in the torrent were Rain on the Parade's "Body Bag" 7" and this 7". I'm going to avoid saying as much as I can about "Body Bag" because that will be a featured album in the near future.

"Full Speed Ahead", in my opinion, is a great 7". It flies by and I've listened to it countless times (I've listened to it 4 times straight through in the last 45 minutes, working on my 5th as I write this). They definitely fit into the straight edge youth crew style, but aren't cookie cutter. While Mark and I agree that some of the lyrics are a little silly (ie. "yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, but today is a gift, today is a gift, so let's do something with that gift" and you can find other examples in every song), the delivery of the lyrics as well as the music makes every song great. It's seriously fun to listen to, and can go right near the top of the list with the other albums I've recommended.

Followers