WordPress blog stats have told me that people are interested in the Sicilian Trinacria symbol and somehow arrive here. A surface history of the image is that it is ancient Greek, represents Sicily’s triangular geography and has a Medusa or a happier one with wheat. Above is my modernized version ©2009 with a better serpentine hairdo. This image is available at my Zazzle store too. I suspect that people are looking for visual references for tattoos — a great way to connect to your culture, whatever it might be.

Speaking of connections, I thought I’d blab about some music. Regular readers know this is an art blog with a lot of crosscurrents related to punk rock and Italy. How about some punk rock from Italy. The first time I heard Raw Power on MRR’s Welcome to 1984 compilation, I was floored. These guys were full-tilt hardcore with true Drano-in-the-throat vocals. That song still puts most others to shame. Next up, a tape of a Wretched 7″ sealed the deal — totally raw and blistering pasta-core closer to my beloved Discharge, but with an extra note of desperation being from the arse of Europe. The rest of the 80s Italian punk is great too — Impact, Negazione, Declino, CCM, Indigesti, etc. I could go on and on…

If you are a Sicilian culture vulture, don’t just stop at a tattoo, try out some racket from the island. Shock Troopers, Sonny Corleone, Senza Tregua, Feccia Tricolore and Alter-azione totally crush and play tough, angry hard core punk. As for the rest of the country, there are like 5,000 bands, many of them hidden gems. Skruigners, Kappa Kappa Kappa, Tsunami and La Crisi play tight, modern hardcore second to none that should not be missed. If you like street punk, Cervelli Stanki, S-Contro, Rappresaglia, Colonna Infame Skinhead, and Nabat will have you lacing up your boots and chugging down some La Rossas in no time. If metalcore and crust is more your style, Giuda, Disprezzo, To Kill, Violent Sutura, XDestroy BabylonX, Rumors of Gehenna, Kernel Zero, Straight Opposition and Golden Violence play some great stuff too.

If punk isn’t your thing, I recommend traditional folk music. Sicily has a vibrant Musica Popolare roster of bands. Most southern Italian music is very spartan and raw and many of the performers prefer to sing in regional dialects or even in polyphony. Instrumentatation tends to be percussion heavy with Tamburellos, Zampogna bagpipes, Jaw harps, and Piccolos, contributing to music with a Mediterranean and Arab influence that has permeated the sound and culture for over 3,000 years. A good place to start is Rosa Balistreri, with a haunting, rustic voice and monotonous guitar. Fratelli Mancuso in the modern era make fantastic, morose music that is unbelievably complex and dense with Sardinian-styled polyphonic wailing and overtones from Persia. Another diverse group worthy of consideration is Unavantaluna, with attention to the Friscaletto and layers and layers of percussion. Non-Sicilian acts from the Salento and elsewhere and deserving of your support are politically Left-Communist E’Zezi, the great Arakne Mediterranea, and Tamburi del Vesuvio.

A tutto per oggi, amici. Ciao.

Le To Kill nouveau est arrivé, très content donc que la glorieuse tâche de le chroniquer tombe sur moi ! Ce qui m’a semblé sûr à la première écoute de ce “When Blood Turns Into Stone” et qui n’a fait que se confirmer par la suite, c’est qu’on a affaire ici au matériel le plus abouti du combo italien. Formé en 2004 à Rome, les cinq amis, qui avaient déjà tous œuvrés dans divers groupes auparavant, se réunissent pour mettre sur pied un projet hardcore sans concession mettant en avant leur dévotion au mouvement vegan-straight-edge et leur amour pour le hardcore. Après une démo bien reçue par la critique, TK sort rapidement le EP “Watching you fall” sur le label américain Catalyst. S’en suivra des tournées quasi-incessantes et en 2006, leur premier album “Vultures” sorti chez GSR. To Kill nous revient donc en 2008 avec ce deuxième LP. A priori, je trouvais que TK était un peu trop linéaire, dans le genre a balancé des morceaux a 200 à l’heure, rappelant presque à certains moments Raised Fist… cette linéarité peut avoir son charme mais peut également être pesante… enfin en tout cas avec ce nouvel album, ces détails sont gommés et je trouve que ce disc reflète bien tout ce que le groupe a vécu depuis la sortie de “Vultures”, à savoir un touring constant avec des groupes tels que Walls of Jerricho, Terror, Comeback Kid ou encore The Path of Resistance. A travers ces expériences, le groupe s’est vraiment forgé son propre son, et franchement ça défouraille grave. Les compositions sont plus variées, plus lourdes quoique toujours ultra survoltées, on a droit à quelques breaks d’anthologie ainsi qu’à quelques petits solos de guitare qui ne gênent en rien l’écoute (désolé, je m’y ferai jamais à ces solos dans le hardcore). La batterie est simplement énorme et le chant plus énervé que jamais, le tout soutenu par deux guitares (dont une tenue par une dame) qui déboîtent (mais qui sont légèrement plus tournée vers le métal que sur “Vultures” et ceux d’un point de vue général dans la composition, je parle pas uniquement des solos de grattes:-). L’ensemble a été mixé par celui qu’on ne présente plus, Tue Madsen du Antfarm Studio au Danemark, ceci expliquant donc cela. Au niveau lyrics, elles sont assez introspectives et apocalyptiques et décrivent un monde en total décrépitude. Ce que j’ai trouvé bien de la part d’un groupe vegan-straight-edge militant, c’est que l’écriture est métaphorique, et on évite ainsi les sempiternelles chansons où l’on entend « vegan-straight -edge » hurlé en chœur toutes les 10 secondes, ça change un peu et ça fait franchement du bien ! La couverture du disque, j’aurais juré qu’elle était l’œuvre de Jack Bannon tant le style est proche, et bien que nenni, il s’agit du travail de Design your fate qui n’est autre que le studio de graphisme tenu par Nick, bassiste de Awaken Demons (ex-Sentence)… donc c’est super beau comme lay-out, vraiment classe, cependant, je trouve vraiment trop pompé sur le travail de Bannon. Notons encore que le chanteur de Strength Approach fait une apparition sur la chanson “Golem”. Est-ce la guitariste Camilla qui fait la voix à la fin de la chanson Hollow ? Rien n’est précisé dans le booklet, donc j’imagine que oui ! Pour finir, et bien j avais eu l’occasion de voir To Kill lors de leur dernier show sur territoire helvétique en 2007 lorsqu’ils tournaient avec Verse et Black Friday 29, et leur show avait vraiment bien pété. To Kill est donc un excellent groupe qui est en passe de devenir LE groupe européen de hardcore, surtout s’ils continuent les tournées au rythme actuel, et ce nouvel album est une galette à ne pas manquer pour les amateurs du genre…

Pour écouter To Kill : http://www.myspace.com/tokill
Label de To Kill : http://www.gsrmusic.com/

Encore un disque de chez GSR à chroniquer, donc normalement la qualité doit être au rendez-vous. Y a juste un truc qui est bizarre avec ce disque… j’aime bien le style de musique de Strenght Approach, j’aime beaucoup la voix, la musique est sympa, ça bouge bien, y a pas de fioritures, pas de voix claires débiles, ni de rock-star attitude, c’est direct dans la face … et pourtant quand j’écoute cette galette, je ne ressens rien… y a tout pour me plaire et pourtant, aucuns frissons ni poils qui se dressent sur les avant bras ou ailleurs… Pourtant, le quatuor de Rome n’en est pas à son coup d’essai, douze ans de carrière, plusieurs 7inches au compteur et 2 LP’s dont ce “All the plans we made are going to fail”… la particularité des gars, c’est qu’ils changent de label à chaque sortie de skeud, jamais deux « release » sur le même label, allez savoir pourquoi… toujours est-il que sur ce coup-ci, ils ont tiré le gros lot en sortant leur disque chez GSR, label leader indiscutable du hardcore européen. La musique de Strength Approach est un mélange entre Gorilla Biscuits, Kid Dynamite, avec des passages assez proche de Sick of it all, en résumé : une forme de positive hardcore mettant bien en avant ses racines punk voire rock n’roll par moment, en y incluant des immenses chœurs afin de booster l’ensemble… La ressemblance avec Casey Jones est également notable, bien qu’un cran en dessous au niveau de l’agressivité. Les chansons défilent à vitesse grand V, moins de 2 minutes par chanson, quinze chansons en 28 minutes, et un goût de déjà vu sur la plupart d’entre elles, exception faite sur Minus One où l’on a droit à un bon featuring de Josh, chanteur de To Kill, également originaire de Rome. Au niveau des lyrics, et bien là aussi on reste dans le plus pur style hardcore old school, mais à tendance plutôt pessimiste (ce qui est assez paradoxal car à priori, leur musique sonne vraiment super posi). Mais comme pour la musique, les paroles manquent d’originalité… Attention je tiens à préciser que ce disque n’est pas mauvais, bien au contraire, c’est très agréable à l’écoute… juste terriblement pas original… cependant si le old school classique c’est votre truc, alors jetez y une oreille, cela pourra vous plaire !

Pour écouter Strength Approach : http://www.myspace.com/strengthapproach
Label de Strength Approach : http://www.gsrmusic.com/

Photo by Mike Chamrad

The Terminator (1984)

The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed and co-written by James Cameron and distributed by the independent film studio Orion Pictures. It features Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator, Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor and Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese. The film was followed by three sequels. The franchise has evolved to include video games and a television series.

Tagline:  The thing that won’t die, in the nightmare that won’t end.

The film takes place in 1984, introducing the concept of a “terminator”, specifically the titular character (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a seemingly unstoppable cyborg assassin who has been sent back from the year 2029 by a collective of artificially intelligent computer-controlled machines bent on the extermination of the human race. The Terminator’s mission is to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) whose future son, John Connor, leads a resistance against the machines. A human, Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), is also sent back from the future by John Connor himself to protect her.

In 2008, The Terminator was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

defeated option

Is it a real problem? If so, are the moral aspects of trying to find a solution too heavy a burden to consider? Would we sooner kill the planet and ourselves than to face up to this?

This was the first year I had been abroad to an out and out hardcore festival, and obviously also as a direct consequence of that fact, my first time at Fluff Fest. I was a little bit unsure of what to expect. We arrived there on Thursday in the sweltering heat, having had very little sleep the night before and flying and travelling for most of the day. After moaning about the temperature for a while we got set up for the weekend.  The camping facilities were pretty good, toilets were of festival standard i.e. not great, but there was a massive water tank near where we were camping, although that was virtual swampland by the Sunday.  Overall I must say that this was far better organised- or at least seemed to be from my experience, than many of the major festivals I have been to.  There were the odd queues for the food- which for vegan festival food was actually alright, but beyond that, it was more or less without hitches. In terms of who was there, there were a fair share of croosh kids getting their spin kicks out to xRepresentx and the like, a load of stinking crusties, and then the other kind of people that go to hardcore shows which fit into neither of those categories. Add in the odd middle aged pissed up Czech bloke who seems to have wandered in by mistake, fist pumping to some STRAIGHTEDGE rhetoric and it’s a confusing mix. Despite the relative diversity, I personally did not notice any conflict between patrons and generally there was a pleasant atmosphere. Generally I think tolerance was the order of the weekend, as even though views might differ inside- for every person enjoying the cheap beer there was a kid with an X on his hand- people seemed to realise that for the most part we were in this together, a hardcore festival existing with limited influence from the mainstream, as lame as that might be to read.

The odd bit of rubbish and people stealing from tents does fucking suck, but overall it was outweighed by the festival being a celebration of all things posi. People were whinging about chocolate, which was only vegetarian being sold, but that doesn’t really bother me. Oh and a couple of people also had a moan on the internet about ‘drunk dickheads’ as though the only problems were caused by drinkers, but they are twats, so it’s not all that important. I guess the overall point of this rambling and uninteresting introduction is the following- generally people there were nice, and there were a couple of dickheads.

Anyway, to the bands! Friday kicked off with Against Your Society, or AYS. To be honest it’s a solid but unspectacular start, based around modern sounding hardcore. It’s pretty good, and it holds my interest, taking inspiration, as many bands seem to do, from stuff like Have Heart and American Nightmare, with a little bit of Ceremony thrown in. They cover ‘Fix Me’ too which is always welcome.  It sets the scene pretty well for the rest of the day. Next on are The Effort. The description on the website says ‘like Verse’ which sums them up pretty well I think. Everything about this band has been done before from the sound to the earnest politics. That isn’t to say they are particularly bad, and the kids here seem to love them anyway, but to my mind it’s all a bit mediocre, and there isn’t an awful lot to get excited about. However, that is about to change as Senata Fox follow them. Hailing from Croatia they deal in the kind of hardcore I like… fast, short and loud. They must play about 25 songs today, each of them around the minute mark and are the first band I really fully enjoyed. The vocals are also pretty cool, abrasive, grinding and aggressive, coupled with straight up thrashcore riffs. I picked up a couple of their records which are also well worth checking out if you like powerviolence/grind/thrash influenced hardcore. Which you should. After that we rush over to the ‘Party tent’ to catch Sweden’s Dead Vows who also impressed me a lot. They have been compared quite frequently with Refused, including on the Fluff Fest website, and that’s not an unfair comparison as there’s obviously a good deal of influence stemming from them. (Quite how being compared to Refused could be unfair I don’t know, but whatever, they are good). Despite being stood right at the back of the tent, which somehow already smells like piss, mud, beer and b.o. or in other words, crust punk, this is really enjoyable, and they are worth checking out if you like hardcore with a touch of innovation. The guitarist also has a cool denim vest with a Slayer patch, which is always likely to win me over. After this we head back to catch most of Bora’s set, and I honestly can’t really remember that much about them. That’s probably not a good thing, but what I do remember indicates that they are better than my failure to remember them might suggest. I blame the beer and heat.

Senata Fox

Ghostlimb are next up, and whilst their pre set demeanour is rather friendly and jovial, it belies the utter anger they instil into their relatively brief set. Songs rarely breach a couple of minutes, and they are all fast, heavy, aggressive and loud. Awesome, they remind me a bit of bands like Coliseum and Trap Them, with hardcore and thrash roots underpinned by furious d-beat influences and Lightspeed drumming. A change of pace occurs as Outlast from Sweden (not to be confused with the US band) come onstage. In the place of the anger of Ghostlimb, Outlast revolve around an utter positivity, something that I can get behind just as much as being pissed off. Swedish legends, with roots in ‘classic’ hardcore, this is a fun and enjoyable set, and as good as their own songs are, it’s during the encore when they play so many amazing covers that this set is really cemented as one of the best of the day. Any band can win my heart by playing Gorilla Biscuits, Minor Threat, Suicidal Tendencies, 7 Seconds, Negative Approach covers, and when they do it this well its even more excellent. So much fun! Kingdom played next and they basically just sound like Hatebreed. So if that’s your thing then yeah, but it’s not really mine. The singer complimented my girlfriends outfit, and this coupled with sounding like the hardcore that my girlfriend used to love (and secretly still does) means they are best pals forever, but I’m not really into it. She does have a Wayne’s World cap on backwards though which is pretty cool. Every cloud… Analena don’t really do much for me either, they are screamo, which I like sometimes but this just aint done that well. I don’t really like the singer’s voice, and it sounds like a pretty bad pop band at times, then goes into a screamy part. Some of its quite good, but only about 30% of each song maybe and I don’t like those odds. Finally To Kill finished off the day, continuing the theme of not bothering me that much following the brilliance of the middle of the day. Either way they are alright, kids go crazy, and they are all about the xvx mosh. So yeah, if you like that sort of thing, you’ll be at home with To Kill. To be fair I do quite enjoy a few songs, but not much more than that.  Day one over, I’m pretty much dead on my feet. As much as karaoke sounds like a lot of fun from what I can hear of Belinda Carlisle, 8 hours of mediocre sleep in the tent is what I need, so I do that instead.

Ghostlimb

Outlast

The weather on Saturday morning was a little more comfortable; with the sun hiding behind clouds for most of the day, which helped keep temperatures down and stopped my tent from being totally unbearable when I woke up. Its back on the cheap but good beers again, which whilst being liquid actually serve to make me feel more dehydrated, but also more fun. Deal with that edge kids. First up on Saturday was Reconcile from Argentina, who whilst not really being all that good- they just are pretty average typical modern hardcore that I’m not all that huge on, win me over a bit with sheer enthusiasm. They look so pleased to be playing to this amount of people, many of them receptive, that you can’t help but wish them well. I’d say the same for XREPRESENTX if they weren’t the shittiest thing ever. The singer is a sleazy muscle-bound douche that pretty much sums up the word ‘jockcore’ and despite his endless ‘being straight edge is the best thing ever man’ and his numerous edge tattoos doesn’t come close to convincing me it is, let alone convincing himself. I give him about a year before he breaks and then the band splits up. Fair enough be straightedge or whatever if you want, but if you sing the words ‘if you break edge, I’ll break your face’ then there is no way that you are anything but a complete and utter twat. As Betercore put it, it is possible to be ‘sxe but not an asshole’, in fact some of my favourite people in the world are, but when twats like these ram shit down peoples throats, it gives what should be a positive lifestyle the complete wrong image. They actually, seriously, have a song called ‘Edge Break, Face Break’.  Honestly. It’d be funny if it wasn’t so crap. Unsurprisingly loads of people are the front go nuts for them, but I’ve come to expect that when a mediocre or even complete pile of shit band play anywhere. Ah well. The singer does manage to redeem the fact that he has a constant shit eating grin plastered on his stupid face by singing ‘Wayne’s World, Partytime, Excellent’ over a mosh part of one of their songs, but it’s a small mercy and despite something like that being totally awesome, when its been preceded by a mountain of crap its exactly that, a small mercy. I’ve been looking forward to that rant for a while, it was good to get it out of my system.

 Just as I was about to give up on ever listening to hardcore again the perfect antidote stepped onstage in the shape of Press Gang. These are fucking awesome and I think xJOCKCOREx only served to make them look better. They are from Germany and play a sloppy brand of hardcore/punk with garage overtones, something that is pretty much guaranteed to make me like a band. They remind me a bit of The Shitty Limits and have a German version of Jugs (if you are from Norwich you will get this reference) on bass. The singer seems pretty pissed and nearly breaks a microphone, all the while asking for beer in a wonderful contrast to the previous band, but most importantly, the music is actually great. I picked up a 7” of theirs which has a song on it called ‘Dishonour Before Death’, which I think sums them up quite nicely. Burial play next, with a brand of thrashy old school hardcore which also borrows from Japanese hardcore and throws a bit of crustiness in there for good measure. I actually was a little bit disappointed as I was expecting to absolutely love this band, and I ended up just thinking they were really quite good, and liking them quite a lot. That’s hardly damning criticism and I think if I check them out a bit further on record I might like them more, I think I just expected a bit much. The vocals seem a bit one paced too at times, although I’m just picking faults here; they are still well worth checking out. Wait in Vain don’t sound very good, and I don’t really like Trial or Champion so we went and got food during their set. Celeste were more up our alley, with the French four piece playing a atmospheric and doomy set of metal inspired hardcore. It did get a little bit samey after a while though, they seemed to lack a spark and a sense that they might just go off down an crazy and interesting route at any point, something that separates the best bands from the also rans. It was a little bit predictable by the 5^th drawn out repetitive song and whilst they certainly had a load of decent riffs, they seemed not to have an abundance of ideas beyond that. I still quite liked them though and I think they’ve got the potential to be amazing, they just aren’t there yet.

Press Gang

Burial

Zann are up next and they really impress me. Speaking to a lot of people they were frequently mentioned as one of the best bands of the weekend, and it’s not hard to see why. The singer also opens with a ‘that’s what she said’ joke, which ensures I am on his side for the rest of it. They play a sort of chaotic screamo, influenced by all the classic bands, but with a more manic edge, something I think works really well, especially live if this is anything to go by. At times they build their sound up into a wall of noise, only for it to shatter the next moment in cacophonic mayhem. After these and sort of following on well is Brighton’s Fall of Efrafa. They only play about 3 songs I think, but are on-stage for about 40 minutes which gives you an idea of how epic they are. They recall Post-Rock and stuff in the length of their songs and emphasis which is place on a steady build up, with a real sense of atmosphere and foreboding pinning together their set. They are all clearly excellent musicians and this reliance and emphasis on slow build ups, whilst almost frustrating, serves to make the points where they really go for it all the more exhilarating. Again they stake a claim for one of the best bands of the weekend… but for me there is really only one choice. Victims were fucking amazing. About 10 minutes into their set the heavens really open for the first time all day, which leaves me standing on my own in a field, soaking wet and shivering, but completely awestruck. It was an incredible moment, half for the sight of hundreds of hardcore kids running frantically for shelter, and half for watching the rest of the crowd jumping around and pumping their fists as the heavens opened. Victims sounded so powerful on stage and the setting and surroundings provide the perfect backdrop. They also incite the biggest circle pit I have ever seen, with everyone from the front of the stage to the sound booth about 50 yards or more back charging around the field. Whether it was the conditions or the fact that their crust influenced 100mph hardcore is just that good, these are hands down the best band all weekend. After such an incredible set it’s somewhat inevitable that any headliner is going to feel anti-climatic, but for the majority of people here that isn’t the case. Reason being, Trial are the headliners.  I quite enjoy them and can appreciate that they influenced a whole buttload of bands, but they aren’t really my thing again. It seems a theme of Fluff Fest; half of the bands I really like, the other half leave me a bit cold. But a 50% hit rate (it’s probably more like 60% anyway) is probably about 5 times better than most festivals, and this one cost £20, and with travel and a few days in Prague too, the same price as a ticket to Reading or something. SO I won’t complain as Fluff Fest is awesome. Back to Trial though, they probably get the most enthusiastic response of all the bands and I can imagine if you are into this era of hardcore, seeing them tonight would have been pretty brilliant. The politics and between song speeches are also pretty interesting, without being preachy like so many other bands that do it. Not a bad end to the day, but after Victims I was ready to go to bed happy.

Fall of Efrafa

Victims

I can’t remember what the weather on Sunday was like, so I’m gonna guess at alright. In fact I think it was a bit cloudy but didn’t rain, which was more or less perfect as it didn’t get too hot. One thing I made sure to do whilst I was at the festival was to drink loads of water as because after a few brewskis the sun really took it out of me. By Sunday I had it down to a fine art of maintaining just the right amount of alcohol in my blood. Anyway, for me a lot of the bands I really wanted to see played today, and Have Heart played too. Glasses played first, a German female fronted band who were pretty cool. Nothing too amazing, but modernish hardcore that doesn’t suck, with plenty of speed and aggression. Decent way to wake me up after sleeping in a tent for several nights. Daymares played next, and weren’t all that really. Pretty standard ‘crucial’ hardcore, but what I did like was the singer’s tendency to just ramble between each song. He kind of did the thing where a band shout for about 2 minutes about something, then explain the complex political message they are trying to convey, and everyone claps, and it’s all nice with everyone caring and stuff. But this guy sort of missed the bit where you are supposed to say something profound and instead talked about how he used to be angry, then realised it was better to not be angry sometimes. He was also about 7 foot tall. It was entertaining at least. June Paik played next, and were pretty cool, playing a chaotic, frenetic type of screamo. The singer at times looked a bit confused as though he didn’t realise he was in the band, but I’m fairly sure that wasn’t the case. They reminded me a bit of Orchid, so any opinions on them can probably be based around that comparison. As We Fight played next and seemed to me at least to be pretty out of place. They played generic crappy metalcore, with the standard set of moves to match, and despite their best efforts, shouting ‘circle pit!’ every 5 seconds doesn’t going to win over a crowd who aren’t really interested. Bands don’t really realise this though, I lose count of the times a band who are faced with an apathetic crowd think the best response to this is to just keep shouting at them to move, even when its clear from the outset they are fighting a losing battle. It just gets embarrassing. They also have dual vocals, and as far as I could see, both singers were really weird looking. I gave it a couple of songs and then went to get some food.

DING

Next up is Shipwreck AD who I saw with Have Heart last summer and wasn’t that bothered by. They are pretty competent, but not really my thing, but if this is your bag, please please please listen to Shipwreck over bands like xRepresentx. I did enjoy the guitarists wearing windbreakers and sunglasses and not moving for the entire set. That was pretty cool. Next up were Death is not Glamorous who, as European hardcore bands go, are probably one of the best known and best loved, and it’s easy to see why. This is a really energetic and even more fun set, which cranks right up the posi meter. My girlfriend gets in on the act, and it’s pretty hard to do anything other than smile for half an hour. They get a great reception too, appealing to the punks, the crucial kids, and everyone in between. Everyone loves a band that sound a bit like Lifetime clearly. I know I’ve been commenting on the appearance of most of the singers so far and I don’t want to appear as though I base my opinions on what they look like, but DING probably are responsible for my best comparison of the weekend. He looks like a rapper from a kids cartoon. I think this might be to do with the baseball cap and the fact that he isn’t very tall, but either way, I kept thinking it throughout the time I was watching them. An Albatross have quite an act to follow then, but they do so with utter ease. One of the bands I was looking forward to seeing the most, they justify exactly why, with a live show that contrasts wildly with most of the other bands that played the festival. The singer is shirtless in winklepickers and skinny jeans with long hair, climbs everything around the stage, finishing on a lorry at the side, and the rest of the band provide the frenzied rhythm to soundtrack this perfectly. This contrast with the rest of the festival actually plays to their advantage, you get the sense that they really don’t mind standing out, both for being fucking weird, but also for being utterly amazing. Their sound is captivating and hypnotic and they are without doubt one of the best bands of the weekend. The tempo doesn’t drop with the next band, Rise & Fall. These were another of the bands that I was really looking forward too, and they prove that they are head and shoulders above the majority of modern hardcore bands, standing alongside bands like Pulling Teeth and most of the Deathwish roster. Their influences are pretty plain for all to see, and whilst they don’t exactly tear up the metallic hardcore rulebook, they pretty much define what the rules should be. Crunchy, heavy riffs underpin their sound, which comes across really well live too. They play a couple of new songs too which sound really promising and a bit of a departure from the albums that made them a dominant force. They are back in the UK soon on a headline tour, which will be well worth going to.

An Albatross

Rise & Fall

Ratos De Porao continue the run of excellent bands, the Brazilians playing one of the most entertaining sets of the weekend, with their fast, straightforward hardcore/punk really shining live. I enjoy the singers bating of the straight edge kids specifically, but also pretty much everyone else watching and his on-stage theatrics. What he may lack in energy, urgency and movement; he makes up in how amusing he is to watch. They cover ‘Red Tape’ by Circle Jerks too, but their entire set is given a deserved great reception, with people charging around, one guy in nothing other than a jockstrap. It’s a pretty good indication of what their set was all about. Finally a slice of hardcore history (albeit not really on a par with early Bad Brains shows or something like that…) with Have Hearts LAST EVER European show. To be fair they are probably the biggest current hardcore band in the world and are clearly playing their hearts out, with kids going for it, even more on stage than for Trial, so much so that Pat has to ask people to get off, and its pretty emotional (on their part anyway). They do have some good songs and are good at what they do, but what they do isn’t really my cup of tea and never has been. Having said that I do enjoy their set, more so than the last time I saw them and hardcore music is poorer for not having a passionate, sincere and hardworking band around. And the ‘flex your muscles but not your fucking head’ line gets me every time. As the festival draws to a close with a mass singalong and stage invasion, all that’s left of the weekend is to party in the aptly named ‘party tent’ to loads of songs you only like on occasions like this. It’s basically a collection of stuff I don’t like from the 80’s which is a lot of fun to dance to. It’s surreal seeing a load of hardcore kids who had been moshing a few hours ago in a Stick to your guns t-shirt getting down to Dead or Alive, but I could have spent all night in there. So much fun and I think I laughed more in a couple of hours than I had in several months. A perfect end to a great weekend.

Ratos de Porao

Have Heart

That’s about it really. Overall, I had an awesome time and I’m pretty sure I’ll be going back, even if I did have to go without a bacon sandwich for far too long. I will leave you with some of my highlights…

• A man who looked like he came directly from the 1980’s. An impressively elaborate mullet combined well with vintage wrestling t-shirts. A true hero.
• As I mentioned above, kids dancing to dead or alive in animal liberation and tragedy t shirts.
• Meeting cool people.
• Not being able to afford all the cool stuff people has in their distros, but picking up more records than I should have anyway.
• The worst band ever quoting both Will Ferrell and Wayne’s World.
• During the aforementioned rubbish bands set, seeing a pissed up bloke in a fishing hat and sandals who looked very much like he had just somehow stumbled into the festival site pumping his fists whilst he tried not to sway too much along with songs about edge pride or whatever they go on about.
• Senata Fox pissing themselves laughing at xRepresentx.
• A man (pictured above) looking like he had found god during An Albatross, in between swinging people around and rolling in the mud.
• The huge circle pit in the rain which turned the festival site into something from a medieval battle field for a few minutes during Victims.
• Seeing people who looked like European versions of people  I know on the UK.
• One girl who stage dives (using the term loosely) about 500 times but manages to look like it’s the first time she has ever done it each time, including the shit eating grin.
• The bassist from Victims saying ‘It doesn’t matter what hairstyle we have or how many tattoos, because we’re all against the system riiiiiiiiiggghht’ for the sheer weirdness of it.

Photos taken from my own collection (the crappy ones) and the following flickr accounts…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mymexico/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mck-photography

http://www.flickr.com/photos/withopeneyes_live/

If you want any removed, let me know and i will do so.

There are also a load of videos from the weekend up on Youtube, with the best quality ones uploaded by www.facetheshow.com

If you read all of that, thanks!

Néhány év alatt nagyot fordult velünk a világ, hisz nemrég még elképzelhetetlennek tűnt, hogy például Madonna Magyarországra érkezzen. Most úgy néz ki, hogy nem csak ő, de a fekete pop ikon Beyoncé, az AC/DC, valamint visszatérőként Lenny Kravitz és a Depeche Mode is idelátogat. De persze minket ennél sokkal jobban érdekel, hogy mit hoz a tavasz az underground szcénában, ami a koncerteket illeti. Hát akkor lássuk…

Február első napján a The Black Dahlia Murder lép fel a Dürer-Kertben, majd 6.-án az Elvis-metal legjelesebb képviselője, a dán Volbeat lesz a Diesel klub vendége.
Február 7.-én az újonnan megnyílt Ciprus étteremben a francia screamo brigád, a The Third Memory lép fel további hazai bandák társaságában.
Február 21.-én két svéd banda, a Deathstars és a Sonic Syndicate játszik majd szintén a Diesel klubban.
Március 3.-án a The Ocean és a Burst játszik a Dürerben.
Március 6.-án a Born From Pain a Dürerben, 9.-én a Soulfly a Diesel klubban.
Március 11.-én az Eurovíziós dalfesztivál 2006-os nyertese, a finn Lordi lesz a PeCsa vendége.
Március 16.-án a Sziget fesztiválon is nagy sikert arató Eagles Of Death Metal érkezik.
Április 1.-én (nem vicc) a svéd metal nagyágyú, az In Flames jön a Petőfi Csarnokba!
A fentieken kívül késő tavasszal lesz Millencolin, Flogging Molly, This Is Hell, Bane, To Kill, Darkest Hour, Bleeding Through, valamint június végén az August Burns Red is!

Kezdhettek gyűjteni!

 Leo, the fifth sign of the zodiac, represented by the lion, “The King of Beasts”.

            This mythology is based on the story of Hercules and the Nemean Lion. Hercules was the son of the great god Jupiter

and mortal woman, Alcmena.

            Juno, who is Jupiter’s jealous wife because of his numerous love affairs, was dead set against Hercules since he was a baby.

            When Hercules was a young man, he was bound to do 12 heroic and desperate undertakings, known as the 12 Labors of Hercules.

            Now his first labor was to kill the Nemean Lion. He was not able to kill it with arrows but with his bare hands. He wrestled with it and the Nemean Lion was strangled to death. In the process, Hercules finger was bit off and Hercules got off lightly.

Check out my sister site Miracles n Magic to read the Charactertics & Compatibility of Leo.

Ninjutsu was developed by groups of people mainly from the Iga Province and Kōka, Shiga of Japan. Throughout history the shinobi have been seen as assassins, scouts and spies. They are mainly noted for their use of stealth and deception. They have been associated in the public imagination with activities that are considered criminal by modern standards. Throughout history many different schools (ryū) have taught their unique versions of ninjutsu. An example of these is the Togakure-ryū. This ryū was developed after a defeated samurai warrior called Daisuke Togakure escaped to the region of Iga. Later he came in contact with the warrior-monk Kain Doshi who taught him a new way of viewing life and the means of survival (ninjutsu) ^[4].

Ninjutsu was developed as a collection of fundamental survivalist techniques in the warring state of feudal Japan. The ninja used their art to ensure their survival in a time of violent political turmoil. Ninjutsu included methods of gathering information, and techniques of non-detection, avoidance, and misdirection. Ninjutsu can also involve training in disguise, escape, concealment, archery, medicine, explosives, and poisons. ^[5]

Skills relating to espionage and assassination were highly useful to warring factions in feudal Japan. Because these activities were seen as dishonorable, Japanese warriors hired people who existed below Japan’s social classes to perform these tasks. These persons were literally called “non-humans” (非人, hinin^?).^[6] At some point the skills of espionage became known collectively as ninjutsu. And the people who specialized in these tasks were called shinobi no mono. Somewhat later they were called ninja. This may be too fine a point. Because we should note that the characters for “shinobi no mono” are 忍びの者. The characters for “ninja” are “忍者.”

Parte il Caserta Rock Festival, dal 31 agosto al 3 settembre. Grande sforzo degli organizzatori, e, nonostante qualche band preannunciata e poi annullata (Pennywise, Millencolin), il bill finale è diventato di tutto rispetto.

24 Grana, Casino Royale, Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti, Punkreas, Linea 77, Teatro degli Orrori, Hormonauts (ed il loro piacevole rockabilly), Los Fastidios e tante altre band, emergenti e non. Non solo punk, anche indierock, sperimentale e divertissment nella zona Drive In di via Ruta.

Punkreas

“Incluso” nel festival, anche il concorso per band emergenti, le cui selezioni si sono svolte prima dell’estate nelle province campane. La finale del contest il 3 agosto.

Prezzi bassi: 10 euro ogni ingresso singolo e 35 euro per l’abbonamento cumulativo, meno di un singolo concerto di Ramazzotti. L’apertura dei cancelli è prevista per le 14.

Linea 77

Questo il programma completo:

domenica 31 agosto:

h 23.00 24 Grana

h 21.30 Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti

h 20.00 Il Teatro degli Orrori

h 19.30 Low-Fi

h 19.00 Regan

h 18.30 Mapo

dalle 18.00 contest con Astenia, Anomalia, Direct Influence

Lunedì 1 settembre

h 23.00 Casino Royale

h 21.30 The Hormonauts

h 20.00 Le Braghe Corte

h 19.30 Munnizza

h 19.00 I Padrini

h 18.30 Goodmother

h 18.00 Bradiphos IV

dalle 17.00 contest con Playmobil from Chernobyl, Over The Edge, ODDCPP

Martedì 2 settembre

h 23.00 Linea 77

h 21.30 Los Fastidios

h 20.00 R.F.C.

h 19.30 To Kill

h 19.00 Face Your Enemy

h 18.30 If I Die Today

h 18.00 Your Hero

dalle 17.00 contest con Jb and Monkey Nuts, Allcool. International Disfution, Hard Woodcock

Mercoledì 3 settembre

h 23.00 Punkreas

h 21.30 Me For Rent

h 20.00 Duff

h 19.30 DDR

h 19.00 Fire Yed

h 18.30 Rainska

h 18.00 No Balme

h 17.30 Coffee Showe

dalle 17.00 finale band emergenti

il myspace del festival

Eastpak Etnika Rock
(Comeback Kid, Caliban, Bring Me The Horizon, Shai Hulud, To Kill, Your Demize, Devil In Me, Slowmotion Apocalypse, At The Soundawn, Your Hero, The Beauty, Sinful Breed)
05/08/2008
Ceccano (Frosinone)

Negli anni ’80 un evento del genere non sarebbe potuto accadere, e non mi riferisco ovviamente alla sponsorizzazione di un festival da parte di una marca di zaini pensati apposta per i gggiovani d’oggi, ma al fatto che le band sponsorizzate suonino dei generi in cui il suffisso “core” è più o meno evidente. Mi viene da pensare alla diatriba Nike – Minor Threat; ma più in generale è difficile immaginare un festival come l’Eastpak Etnika Rock nella Washington dell’81. E non parliamo poi d’Italia, dove l’hardcore è stato, e in alcuni casi lo è ancora, il genere anti-sistema per eccellenza.

La mia non vuole essere una critica, ben vengano festival gratuiti (e ben organizzati) soprattutto in zone musicalmente depresse come il Basso Lazio, ma che prospettive ha la musica alternativa se è veicolata da un mercato che cerca continuamente spazi commerciali in cui infiltrarsi e prosperare? La risposta forse ce l’abbiamo già. Arrivato ai cancelli del campo da baseball di Ceccano per il primo giorno del festival in questione (il secondo giorno, non attinente con la linea baronale, non verrà trattato) mi ritrovo davanti alla “fiera del capello”. Finalmente mi posso rendere conto del devastante impatto di MTV sugli adolescenti che cominciano ad ascoltare il rock; orde di ragazzini con centinaia d’euro di lacca e coloranti sui capelli, bambine che sembrano uscite da un manga e maschietti androgini con l’eyeliner, le sopracciglia depilate e stelline ovunque. Come direbbe l’indimenticata Sora Lella: “Annamo bbene, proprio bbene!”

Il festival è a due palchi, uno più grande griffato “Eastpak Music Bomb” e l’altro più piccolo con la scritta “Etnika Rock”, l’alternanza sarà la costante della giornata. Iniziano i Sinful Breed, metalcore band locale che ha il merito di far iniziare il concertone col piede giusto; le influenze stilistiche sono assolutamente in linea con la giornata, con evidenti richiami a Killswitch Engage, Caliban e Bleeding Through. Nonostante un sole africano, volano i primi spintoni e le prime sberle grazie a canzoni ben costruite e coinvolgenti. Dopo una ventina di minuti gli applausi giungono meritati per una band che, nel poco tempo avuto a disposizione, non si è davvero risparmiata. I gruppi immediatamente dopo (The Beauty, Your Hero), seppur tecnicamente discreti, non mi hanno convinto affatto; sempre alla ricerca della melodia facilona e dello stacco piacione, ipnotizzano solo i ragazzini in prima fila.

Altra storia con gli At the Soundawn, band modenese influenzata da Neurosis e Isis, che ci propone sonorità che il pubblico dell’Etnika mastica decisamente poco. I post-corer sono già un gruppo maturo e si vede; mi fanno pensare a dei Burst più dilatati e polverosi con Scott Kelly alla voce. Purtroppo credo che un festival del genere non sia il posto più indicato per assistere a un loro concerto, spero di bissare in una location più racchiusa e meno luminosa.

E arrivò il tempo del metallo sul palco B; i friulani Slowmotion Apocalypse salgono belli tosti e ci sparano addosso un bel death-thrash col “core”. L’attitudine è quella giusta e coinvolge, riffoni svedesi e ritmiche serrate conducono più di qualcuno all’headbanging sfrenato, il tutto è condito da assoloni che sanno di Bay Area. Le canzoni, per lo più quelle di Obsidian, hanno molto più tiro dal vivo che su disco e sono la prova lampante che non bisogna per forza nascere in Scandinavia per fare del metallo con le palle. Complimenti ai The Haunted italiani!

I due gruppi dopo (gli inglesi Your Demise e i portoghesi Devil In Me) erano in evidente overdose di testosterone. Per carità, erano anche bravi a riproporre tutti, ma proprio tutti, i clichè resi famosi da Hatebred (i primi) e Sick of it All (i secondi), ma qui siamo nel campo delle cover-band; basta forse saltare come scimmioni sul palco e sbraitare aggressivamente per fare hardcore? Mah..

Coi Bring Me The Horizon, lo ammetto, mi trovo in seria difficoltà. Ero partito coi pregiudizi peggiori: la boy band del metalcore, un look studiato per acchiappare le bambine che guardano TRL, una creazione di quei modaioli di Kerrang e cose del genere. Non che tutti i miei pregiudizi fossero infondati, tutt’altro, ma i cinque inglesini dal vivo vanno proprio forte; il loro deathcore estremo, seppur non innovativo, è molto ben suonato e potente. La padronanza tecnica è certamente invidiabile, mai visto degli adolescenti suonare meglio, ma il solo guardarli mi fa venire voglia di sguinzagliare lo zombie di GG Allin ricoperto di sangue e merda tra le bimbe-fan piene di stelline e cuoricini. Possono migliorare tantissimo, però prima interniamoli per almeno un decennio sul Monte Athos a riflettere sul senso della vita, male che va torneranno con qualche pelo di barba.

I “romani de Roma” To Kill sono il penultimo gruppo ad esibirsi sul palco B; il loro hardcore straight-edge è, come al solito, una macchina da guerra. Chi li ha visti sa bene cosa sanno regalare al pubblico in termini di impatto e coinvolgimento; i nostri infiammano il palco con la solita performance furiosa e aggressiva che piace e convince. I “sermoni” animalisti del cantante Josh scontentano più di qualcuno, ma pazienza, l’hardcore è anche questo ed è giusto che sia così.

I Comeback Kid avrebbero dovuto essere gli headliner della prima giornata del festival, ma a causa di un ritardo aereo dei Caliban, la loro esibizione è stata anticipata. Confesso che conoscevo i canadesi solo di nome e non mi aspettavo chissà che; mi sono ricreduto velocemente. I ragazzotti di Winnipeg fanno un hardcore violento ma allo stesso tempo personale ed efficace, non obsoleto ma nemmeno sputtanato. Si percepisce chiaramente che sono loro i grandi attesi della serata, il pubblico va in visibilio per le note di Wake The Dead e Defeated, creando un bel polverone sotto il palco. Ottima band e ottima resa sonora, una miscela di passione e professionalità che conquista anche gli applausi di chi non era venuto per loro.

Sul palco B si conclude la serata con gli storici Shai Hulud, per chi scrive di gran lunga il miglior gruppo del lotto. Della formazione del seminale Hearts once Nourished with Hope and Compassion è rimasto il solo chitarrista Matt Fox, ma la passione è quella di sempre; il loro metalcore (quello vero) è sia muscoli che testa, passaggi intricati e cervellotici si alternano a sfuriate degne del miglior old school americano. Qui non c’è solo mera tecnica o violenza fine a sé stessa, qui ci sono i contenuti, quelli che rendono una band memorabile. Il singer si fionda innumerevoli volte sui fedelissimi e offre loro il microfono come nella migliore tradizione del genere, cementando l’unità di intenti tra chi sta sul palco e chi sotto. Canzoni come My Heart Bleeds the Darkest Blood e la più recente Venomspreader (dall’ultimo disco Misanthropy Pure) sono la prova che nonostante i molti cadaveri (Earth Crisis, Morning Again, Strongarm, Point of No Return ecc) la scena metalcore originaria abbia ancora uno dei suoi migliori alfieri in ottima forma. Molto bella la dedica finale di Matt Fox all’hardcore italiano di ieri e di oggi. Horns up!

Quando i Caliban salgono sul palco le sette ore di festival si fanno sentire sul groppone ma quasi tutti resistono stoici. I tedeschi sono una delle band più prevedibili che abbia mai visto; metalcore standard coi soliti “stopponi” in ogni canzone, il riffetto svedese e il ritornellino melodico. La resa sonora è ovviamente ottima anche se il batterista ha un suono tanto triggerato da risultare eccessivamente finto. Dico la verità, non apprezzo questa band dai tempi del loro passaggio sotto Roadrunner; da quando insomma sono diventati la fiera del clichè. Fanno eseguire anche un bel wall of death al pubblico. Ecco, credo che questa sia l’unica cosa che mi ricorderò del loro concerto, per il resto mi hanno sorpreso come la vittoria del Dream Team di basket alle Olimpiadi del 1992. Scontati scontati scontati.

Tirando le somme penso che un festival del genere, seppur ben organizzato e a tratti davvero godibile, debba per forza di cose trovare una direzione artistica meno vincolata da label e sponsor; la strada è difficilmente percorribile ma non irrealizzabile. Agli organizzatori di Etnika Rock va comunque il merito storico di aver creato un evento in una provincia, quella di Frosinone, in cui per anni l’unico appuntamento musicale di rilievo è stato esclusivamente il vetusto Liri Blues. Dal canto suo il Barone del Male non può che dare il giusto supporto a iniziative del genere.

Andrea Zeppieri

]]> http://soulcraft08.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/reviews-2/ Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:53:15 +0000 dreamcrusher http://soulcraft08.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/reviews-2/

[ Click on record covers to buy! ]

ANGER – DESTINATED [Sliptrick Records]
www.myspace.com/anger
www.sliptrickrecords.com

The first time I heard of Anger was last year when their drummer Senna filled in on drums for some shows with The Difference. He was playing in this melodic hardcore band from Vicenza and they had just started recording their new record, which had to be released on San Francisco, CA’s Sliptrick Records. Last time I met Senna he was kind enough to give me a copy of “Destinated”, their brand new record. I already knew he was an amazing drummer and a nerd about high quality music, but I honestly didn’t expect this record to be so well played and produced. Why? Cause the band has been able to release such a great product by recording it all by themselves at the Anger Room, their own rehearsal place, mixing it later on at Hate Studios. Well, what you get on “Destinated” are 12 songs of pure melodic hardcore the way bands used to do in Cali back in the 90’s. If you’re into bands such as Satanic Surfers, Lagwagon et similia, you’ll love Anger!

COLOSS – SONGS OF HATE AND EMOTION [MVHC/Hellnation]
www.myspace.com/colosshc
www.hellnation.it

After being on hiatus for a couple of years, Rome’s Coloss are back with a brand new record, proudly self-produced by the band and distributed by the almighty Hellnation Recordstore. This new effort pretty much picks up where the band left when they stopped in late 2005. Well, “Songs of Hate And Emotion” is an explosive work featuring 14 songs in less than 13 minutes of fast and powerful, thrashy and ironic punk hardcore reminiscent of Born Against and 80’s hardcore in general. I must admit that although I’ve never been a huge fan of this kind of fast hardcore, Coloss is one of those bands that I make an exception for, and the more rockish influences on this new record make it even better! Stop sitting around at home and get this right now!

CURTAIN – ALBATROSS: DEMO MMVIII
www.myspace.com/curtainhardcore

It’s been ages since there’s been a good hardcore band coming out from Rome, so I can’t explain how excited I am about these guys. I still hate myself for missing their first show! Featuring past and current members of To Kill, The Difference, Final Words and Drawing A Life, these guys bring a breath of fresh air in a stagnant and boring hardcore scene which is the one we have in Rome right now. When I heard that these guys were doing a band I just couldn’t wait to hear some material recorded, for I knew exactly what to expect, and I obviously I wasn’t let down when this Demo was made available. The four songs featured on “Albatross” show strong influences by bands such as Verse, American Nightmare, Unbroken and Go It Alone, but the guys still manage to add their own original touch, like they did with all their previous bands, managing to make it sound both hard and melodic, backed by some really good lyrics. The demo is available for download on their MySpace, so check it out and always keep an eye on them!

IRON AGE – THE WAY IS NARROW [Dead & Gone Records]
www.myspace.com/ironagetexas
www.deadandgonerecords.com

Iron Age. Where can I start with this band? Well, there’s no doubt that if they formed in NY in the mid 80’s these guys would have been on the Profile Records roster side by side with bands such as Leeway and the Cro-Mags, probably touring with Corrosion of Conformity or Obituary… things went differently, these guys formed in Texas and are undoubtly one of the heaviest bands around right now. Their first Demo displayed their potential, their “Constant Struggle” LP confirmed with. Now, after the “Burden of Empire” 7″, the texan riff-machine is back with another 7″ while they’re working on their 2nd LP, “The Way Is Narrow”. Two songs on this piece of wax: on the A Side we can find the new song which gives the title to this record, a mastodontic 5 minutes song of pure heaviness and metallic influences; B Side features the cover song “Satori Pt.1″, originally by Japan’s Flower Travellin’ Band, a must hear. Can’t wait for the new LP…

NO TURNING BACK – STRONGER [Reflections Records]
www.myspace.com/noturningbackhardcore
www.reflectionsrecords.com

I think we all agree on the fact that, when it comes down to hardcore, if you combine passion, dedication and a lot of hard work, in the end you always get good results. Well, No Turning Back is the living proof for this statement. Going strong for the last 10 or more years, the kings of Brabant are back with a brand new full-length after two years spent around the globe to promote their “Holding On” record. Their new record “Stronger” is just another proof that these guys are here to stay, always going stronger and unwilling to give up. As strange as this may sound, with the 14 songs that make this record, also featuring guest vocals by Down To Nothing, Cold World and Enemy Ground, they managed to raise the level of brutality in their music making “Stronger” one of the hardest record released in Europe in a good time. The formula is still the same, harsh NYHC-influenced hardcore that won’t make you stand still in a pit. Watch me rise as you fall!

PAYBACK – BRING IT BACK [Countdown Records]
www.myspace.com/paybackhc
www.countdownrecords.com

The kings of Roman hardcore are back! After releasing their third record “Kings of Nothing” last year, the guys got in touch with Countdown Records to release this new effort “Bring It Back”. Well, this actually isn’t a new record, as it only features 4 new songs, but along with these 4 tunes you’ll get the re-mastered version of their two previous records, “Keep Your Friends Close” and “Don’t Break The Bloodpact”, which have been out of print for the last two years or more. Since day one, these guys have dedicated their heart and soul to bringing back old school hardcore in Rome the way bands like Warzone, Cro-Mags and early Agnostic Front did in New York back in the days. The whole thing is backed by a strong street-core attitude, which makes them really interesting, plus once you these guys rocking a stage believe me you’ll be impressed! One of the new songs also features Mr. Roger Miret on vocals, so you know what to expect…

TRAPPED UNDER ICE – STAY COLD [Reaper Records]
www.myspace.com/underdaice
www.reaperhardcore.com

Nowadays it doesn’t take too much for a band to be described as “hard”: just throw a mosh part here and there, go to the gym, listen to Alpha Omega 24/7, wear an OG Cro-Mags shirt on stage and create your hype. Anyway, there’s a huge difference between this and being really hard. Well, not a lot of bands around these days deserve this description, but Trapped Under Ice are undoubtly one of them! I must admit it did take me some time to get into this band, but once you realize what this band is all about you’ll just love them. This Baltimore band gained a lot of popularity during the last months, and that’s what they deserve, for the amazing blend of NYHC that falls somewhere between Breakdown and Crown of Thornz is just brutality at its best. The 6 songs featured on “Stay Cold”, topped with one of the best artwork seen to date, will be the soundtrack to some pretty bad violnece at their live shows. Once again Kitzel’s Reaper Records comes out with an amazing release!

VARIOUS ARTISTS – A CLAUDIO [Claudio Con Noi Records]
www.hellnation.it

All cops are bastards, no doubts about this… well, in this case we can shout it loud and clear! In November 2007, an SS Lazio supporter was shot dead by a cop on the highway while he was travelling to a football match: in this occasion there was no division between AS Roma and SS Lazio supporters, both ran into the streets fighting against police oppression and injustices. During the riots, Claudio was arrested and is now awaiting trial. To support Claudio through these hard times, four bands from Rome joined forces and released a benefit 7″ with one song for each band. On Side A, Pinta Facile stands out for the Oi! side of this record while Payback keeps the standards high for roman hardcore; on Side B we find Grand Theft Age’s harsh streetpunk and The Fourth Sin’s abrasive and violent thrashing hardcore, something between the Cro-Mags and Slayer. Buy this release if you want to help out a guy just like you and me, who still believes that A.C.A.B. is an important statement!

Now playing:

• Think I Care – World Asylum
• Integrity – Humanity Is The Devil
• Editors – An End Has A Start

…

Let’s kill it!

Let’s make it suffer!  

Let’s do it ´till the fucking Love cries

and we also cry!

However, our cry will be joyful…

´cause we´ll have killed the damned

at last!!!!

C’mon… let’s do it

Let’s fall in odium

…

Eddie Izzard on the European Union, from Dressed to Kill

50 Cent feat. Lil Kim – Wanna Lick off the new G-Unit album “Shoot to Kill” droppin December 18th.

ALSO: 50 Dropping a Video for “I’ll Still Kill” feat. Akon. Jesse Terrero is set o be directing it.