Having spent much of 2010 on the road celebrating their landmark Victim In Pain album, NYHC originators Agnostic Front have apparently decided to work on new material. As per the band’s Facebook page:

The Godfathers of New York Hardcore, AGNOSTIC FRONT, will enter Mana Recording Studio in Tampa, FL tomorrow to begin recording the highly anticipated follow up to their 2007 release, Warriors. 15 new powerful and anthemic songs will be laid down by Erik Rutan under the watchful guide of producer Freddy Cricien of MADBALL. The record is rumored to be their strongest to date and an early 2011 release is expected.

Even with the obvious and unnecessary marketing copy, I’m thrilled to hear that there’s going to be another Agnostic Front record. What’s especially interesting about the album is that the band opted to work with metal producer Erik Rutan (of Morbid Angel and Hate Eternal fame), who also produced the recently released Madball album Empire. Evidently, Roger Miret, Vinnie Stigma, and the rest of the group are looking for a heavy metallic sound like what Rutan brought out on Madball’s last one. The above video comes from the aforementioned Warriors LP, and if this new record is a continuation of that sound, consider me officially fucking stoked.

-GS

Madball‘s latest slice of hardcore heaven, Empire, comes out tomorrow on Good Fight! Since it’s THE LEGENDARY MAD-FUCKING-BALL, we’re gonna assume that you’re already stoked for it. As you should be. So here’s an early taste to slow your jonesin’ for another twenty-four hours: the new track “Invigorate.” WARNING: Listening to this song may cause you to want to punch someone in the face. So don’t play it around loved ones, okay?

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And as if that wasn’t enough, today Freddy Madball is wrapping up his list of his favorite non-hardcore (but still heavy!) bands. Who are his number one and two picks? Skip to after the jump to find out…

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To celebrate the release of Madball’s latest aggro masterpiece, Empire (two new songs streaming here!), we asked vocalist Freddy “Madball” Cricien to compile a list of his favorite non-hardcore (but still heavy!) bands. Luckily for us and all of you, he agreed! So we’ll be running two entries a day from Freddy’s list every day for the next five days, leading up to Empire‘s October 12 release. You can read Freddy’s initial installment here and his second entry here; to follow, enjoy day three of the countdown…

6) SLAYER

I got into slayer later than most probably. Like I said, my background wasn’t in metal. For me, when it comes to heavy music, it was H.C. and then I got into other heavy stuff via friends, etc. You have to give Slayer props. They are as hard as they come, have crazy longevity, are super influential, and keep it real with their style/sound. They are classic. What more needs to be said?! FYI — they are one of Hoya Roc’s favorite bands!

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Some months back, upon learning that Madball had recruited Jay Weinberg (a.k.a. the son of E Street Band member Max Weinberg) as their new drummer, I kept my mouth shut while others in the metal and hardcore community latched on to the novelty of it. I saw his inclusion in the band as somewhat negligible, considering the NYHC act’s long tenure. Founder/frontman Freddy Cricien, longtime bassist Hoya Roc, and guitarist Mitts have honed the band’s metallic hardcore sound, and no drummer — no matter what his pedigree — was going to dramatically impact Madball. Apparently though, Weinberg hasn’t been a great fit with the respect-centric act and, according to a press release, his membership has been revoked — in the middle of a Canadian tour, no less!

In the words of Freddy Cricien himself:

“I’m letting Jay go in Canada because I just feel he doesn’t represent this band well on a character level. It would go against my own code of ethics to keep him around. Not saying he’s a bad drummer. I won’t take that away from him. But the reality is – he has a lot to learn about paying dues, and about life in general. Granted, he is a kid, but I’m not sure that he’ll ever be built for this particular lifestyle. I wish him the best of luck, but the MADBALL machine rolls on!”

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