On the momentous occasion of Code Orange Kids‘ recent signing to Deathwish, I became aware of their recently released Cycles (Mayfly). For a bunch of Pittsburgh teenagers, this is some weird shit, man. Running counter to their youth crew contemporaries, these Kids have more of a Botch/Converge thing going on, as evidenced by despair-laden cuts like “Walls (We Lose Each Other).” It’s swell to see the young people turn their palpable vexation into something far from formulaic.

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In what is sure to reignite controversy in the hardcore scene, Southern Lord has apparently gone all-in by signing Cro-Mags’ co-founder Harley Flanagan to the label for “several upcoming releases.” To quote label owner Greg Anderson:

Through the power of the net and sheer luck I started talking to Harley Flanagan over emails and telephone past year. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the intensity and honesty of his playing also carried through in his personality. Harley is humble, raw, intelligent, driven and focused. To say it is an honor for Southern Lord to be working with Harley Flanagan is a enormous understatement! We’re in shock and CAN NOT WAIT to get this shit going! The first release we will be doing together will be the forthcoming Harley’s War album. The demos of the material he has shared with us for this are fucking phenomenal! The new Harley’s War material has the same feeling as the initial musical impact the Cro-Mags first had in the mid-’80s. Killer songwriting, raw lyrics and Harley Flanagan’s trademark bass playing. As mentioned above this is “other level” shit!

So why do I think this is a brilliant (albeit a tad risky) move on Southern Lord’s part?

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With Gingrich’s devastating Floridian loss, once again I feel justified for naming this hardcore festival news roundup column Pit Romney. Here’s what’s new…

Don’t sell the Midwest short, as Chicago-based fest The Rumble has declared much of its 2012 lineup, with classic headline acts Negative Approach and Murphy’s Law topping a bill with scene favorites Cruel Hand, Wisdom In Chains, and Harms Way along with curveballs like Coliseum and Sweet Cobra. Other announced acts are 100 Demons, Agitator, Beware, Everything Went Black, No Regrets, The Mongoloids, Rotting Out, Empire Of Rats, FocusedXMinds, The Killer, Argonauts, Rock Bottom, Wrong Answer, and Withdrawal. 2011 included big names like 108, Madball and the reunited DYS, so the pressure was on to match or top that and raise the fest’s scene profile. Also, this year its been moved up to April 27-28, with ticket info yet to be announced.

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I approached Losin’ It‘s Danger Zone (Life To Live) immediately after an interminable spreadsheet slog that left me numb and potentially volatile. From the eponymous intro track, this debut was chicken soup for my hardcore soul, though delivered via waterboarding. “Fuck Off” chokeslammed my negativity’s fat face, cracking my skull open to receive what seemed like motivational messages (“Check Your Head”). Don’t let the weirdo cover art turn you off.

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I’ll defer to metalcore historian Sgt D. for an inevitable full blown “where-are-they-now” series on Victory Records acts, though I hope he might file this blog post away now for research later. One such band, Bloodlet dropped four albums for the label from the mid-90s through 2002, before going on “informal hiatus” the following year. So what has vocalist Scott Angelacos been up to lately? Attendees of this year’s A389 Anniversary Bash got the chance to find out during a set from his current project, the Death Race 2000-referencing Junior Bruce.

And now, so can you! Imminently due on A389 Recordings, The Headless King is the band’s debut 12″, packed with sludgy stonerrific vibes and streaming in full exclusively below. The record is offered on green or red/black vinyl for you wax fetishists out there.

[this streaming promotion has ended]

-GS

A389 Recordings‘ opening salvo of 2012 includes the self-titled debut 7″ from Unholy Majesty, a 90s-nodding, sample-happy Clevo-core act–from the United Kingdom. Lest geography concern you, these three cuts never lack in authenticity. Unabashedly metallic, with flecks of thrashy bravado in places, “The Owl & The Serpent” spits and grinds like all good Integrity-referencing shit should. If this even remotely sounds like your thing then trust me: this is your thing.

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Newt may seemingly have Mitt on the ropes right now, but that’s no reason to hold up your Pit Romney coverage! Here’s the latest update on the hardcore festival season…

After a 2011 announcement that didn’t exactly thrill me, United Blood seems to have rebounded for 2012, if this initial lineup is any indication. Big names like Agnostic Front and Ringworm stand out, as do pleasant surprises like New Lows and Power Trip. I count five bands that were part of the 2011 initial lineup announcement: Backtrack, Bitter End, Fire and Ice, Naysayer, and Stick Together. The rest of the list is rather robust as well: Beware, Break Away, Dead End Path, Free Spirit, Harms Way, Lockdown,Outcrowd, Soul Search, Suburban Scum, Take Offense, Tough Luck, United Youth, Wisdom in Chains, and Xibalba. Weekend passes are on sale here and here, and with March 30-31 as the dates, you probably want to snag those tickets sooner rather than later.

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And now, another installment of the hardcore festival news round-up known as Pit Romney!

Over the weekend, the folks behind Seattle’s Rain Fest made their initial line-up announcement, being the first of the Spring/Summer season’s crop to do so. In addition to performances from 2011 fest alums Losing Skin, Oblivion, Rotting Out, Wisdom In Chains, Wreck, and Xibalba, 2012′s iteration will also boast sets from Backtrack, Clarity, CodeXRed, Cold World, Dead End Path, Earth Control, Expire, FocusedXMinds, Incendiary, Soul Search, Strain, Trapped Under Ice, and Twitching Tongues. So far a solid lineup, though noticeably missing legacy acts or headliners. (Last year’s fest featured 7 Seconds, for example.) Another round of acts will be revealed February 15, at which time the 3-day passes for this May 25-27 event will go on sale.

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On this attention-grabbing co-released split with savage core-mongers Nails, Skin Like Iron further embrace the quasi-blackened rock n roll tinkered with on last year’s Arrival (review), which shook me harder than a teen mom. Hooky and sinister, “Disappear” should at last endear them to the metal audience. Nails, conversely, do what Nails do, which is starting to get a bit too predictable, and seems naked when positioned so close to a far more dynamic band’s sound. Groovy art, too.

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With the Republican Presidential caucus/primary season in full ludicrous swing with Mitt Romney slumping towards the inevitable party nomination, we turn now to the far less polarizing coverage of the 2012 hardcore festival season. Because I like to be cheeky, I’ll be running this coverage under the Pit Romney heading. Here we go!

Joe Hardcore has been both vocal and yet tight-lipped about This Is Hardcore 2012. After adding an additional day to the already jam-packed 2011 event, he’s opted to continue that this year with a Thursday August 9th show at Union Transfer. The real surprise, however, is that the venue for the main Friday August 10th – Sunday August 12 affair remains in flux:

This is the first year we’ve ever took a serious look at other options for the festival and its not something we’re rushing into or deciding upon harshly. There are a few options on the table as we speak and we’re not totally SET on moving but its something we need to think about. We will be posting as soon as we have information regarding the site of the fest this year. It will stay in the same area as This Is Hardcore Fest always has so don’t worry about needing to find new favorite hotels or not knowing how to find it.

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Sai Nam
TBA
Label – Reaper Records
Release date – Winter 2012

Wanting to close out 2011 right, I hit up New York’s Highline Ballroom for the almighty Cro-Mags’ annual end-of-year gig. I arrived at the venue earlier than anticipated, my curiosity piqued over the first act of the night: Sai Nam. A so-unlikely-it-just-had-to-happen collaboration between Mike Dijan (Breakdown, Crown Of Thornz, Skarhead), Lou Medina (Breakdown, All Out War), and Justice Tripp (Trapped Under Ice), the group played its debut show to a receptive if docile audience–save for a little boy who appeared to be Dijan’s son. As this past summer’s sick sick sick teaser track “Comeback” promised, Sai Nam’s set showcased a hard NYHC aesthetic deftly blended with Tripp’s rapid-fire vocals. I have little doubt that once people become familiar with the material, the crowd response will soon reflect the stage-diving pit mania of a TUI gig.

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[The seven-inch record is a cornerstone for hardcore and the format continues to serves as an essential platform for disseminating music. Characteristically shorter song lengths make it possible for a band in this scene to make a statement over the course of multiple tracks and provide it in a way that is affordable. The purpose of the Inch Scraper column is to identify and offer short critiques of some new and recent releases in the 7" format.]

The latest installment in Give‘s informal multi-label singles series, Flower Head (Youngblood) further exploits aspects of that mid-90s post-hardcore sound that so few contemporary artists care to anymore. That’s what makes this DC act so special, at least to this greying alt rock aficionado. The titular A-side does the angular thing with an almost sleazy swagger, while the flip “Kiss The Flame” goes full Quicksand on our collective asses.

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When compelling hardcore act Ceremony left Bridge Nine for mega-indie Matador, many people wondered if that move signaled further changes in the band’s sound. (Upon their signing to the label, I pondered right here on this blog if hardcore wasn’t on destined to be the indie trend of 2012.) After all, 2010′s critically-acclaimed Rohnert Park didn’t adhere to any rigid genre templates and introduced the Californians to a whole new listenership. Last year, Matador labelmates Fucked Up–the imprint’s other hardcore act–put out a record that was nothing short of a rock opera, so clearly Ceremony had an opportunity to take their sound someplace very different.

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As if Oceano’s now-confirmed break-up wasn’t enough to crush my spirits today, Deathwish just posted a statement from The Carrier confirming that, goddamnit, they’re disbanding too.

It’s with very mixed emotions that we announce that The Carrier will be breaking up this upcoming March. There are a lot of reasons that have led us to this decision, and it wasn’t an easy one. But ultimately, we all share a mutual feeling that we’re transitioning into different chapters in our lives—personally and musically. The overall mood of the band has changed profoundly since we first started, and frankly, we can’t continue to put forth the passion that we once had.

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Long Island’s This Is Hell has been plugging away since 2004, building a fanbase over four heavy albums and hundreds of live shows worldwide. Given the slew of reunions in just the past year, a hardcore band actually staying together seems an extraordinary feat, some sort of rare bird to be studied or dissected. In this interview, conducted last year just prior to the release of their latest album Black Mass, I asked founder and songwriter Rick Jimenez about the band’s more metallic sound as well as his thoughts on the nostalgic “reunion culture” of hardcore today.

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[The seven-inch record is a cornerstone for hardcore and the format continues to serves as an essential platform for disseminating music. Characteristically shorter song lengths make it possible for a band in this scene to make a statement over the course of multiple tracks and provide it in a way that is affordable. The purpose of the Inch Scraper column is to identify and offer short critiques of some new and recent releases in the 7" format.]

What a raucous way to start the New Year! No Sir boasts members from a handful of California acts — including personal faves All Teeth — and leaves a vitriolic impression on Holy Land (Family Drugs). Mostly uptempo, filthy metallic hardcore with a D.I.Y. streak, the band apply a subtle sneer here-and-there to make caustic cuts like “The Kingston Beat” even more acerbic. “WRSHP” and “Pharmacy City” are short, though anything but sweet, while lengthier bookend “Rat Boots” snarls to a close.

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New York’s Cro-Mags are best known for two arguably unimpeachable hardcore classics, 1986′s seminal The Age of Quarrel and its far more metallic 1989 follow-up Best Wishes. Constantly in conflict, the Krishna-conscious lineup remained in flux so much that the group has never managed to have the same line-up on any album, so much so that when original frontman John Joseph returned for 1992′s Alpha Omega, it was only after guitarist Parris Mayhew left following a falling out with bassist Harley Flanagan.

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Few bands with longevity remain with one record label for very long. Grievances, sales underperformance, lineup shakeups, and myriad other issues make stability a lazy, laughable ideal. Chances are, bands who’ve been around for decades will see albums go out of print for one reason or another. The most obvious and welcome remedy is for the rights holder to put out a proper reissue, perhaps tied to an anniversary of some sort. That’s not always as simple as it sounds, and in some cases bands opt to do something far more radical: re-recording.

So then, considerable baggage in tow, comes the arrival of Sick Of It All’s Nonstop. Culling from two-and-a-half decades of material, the NYHC heroes rejigger twenty of their tracks in their current metal-tinged sound, abetted by producer Tue Madsen. The sticker slapped on the cover of the “deluxe” import edition boasts: “MAXIMIZED AND IMPROVED NEW RECORDINGS OF SOIA CLASSICS.” This sort of revisionism can provide disastrous in many cases. There are ethical and even existential questions in play. In a hardcore scene obsessed with multi-colored first pressings, the threat intensifies. Is it right for some kid to hear the 2011 version of “It’s Clobbering Time” before or instead of the original?

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No long-winded descriptions. No waxing poetic over 2011. I know you don’t read these things. Potato potato potato.

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Did you know that Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving more than a month before we do? Gosh, that’s efficient, although since they hold it on a Monday, I wonder if they do Black Tuesday. But enough of my comical ugly Americanism for a minute; there was a point I was working towards…

Oh yes! Straight outta Montreal, Enforcers have got a crossover thrash update for you with their soon-to-be-released End Of Time 12″ on A389 Recordings. Think DYS, Best Wishes-period Cro-Mags, and ever-lovin’ Madball, and you”ll pick up what I’m putting down. In keeping with the thankfulness of the season, get ready to get grateful because we have an exclusive stream of the record for your listening pleasure. If you dig what you hear, pre-order it directly from A389. And if you’re live in or near Montreal, catch the band’s record release party, which will feature performances from the band and openers Plus Minus, Agitator, True North Strong, Easy Way Out, Wrong Hands, and Sabotage.

-GS