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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As was the case last Wednesday, a whole buncha bands have all released new videos at once, and for convenience’s sake, I’m just gonna lump them all together in one post. If you don’t like it, go get a bowling ball, hold it over your head, and release the ball. Thanks.

First up we have “Unbreakable,” the new Raul Gonzo-directed video from Sumeriancore masters Veil of Maya. I’m not as big of a fan of this band as Vince is, although I certainly respect the heck outta ‘em, especially after seeing their live set at Summer Slaughter earlier this month. But I have no fucking idea what’s going on in this video. These people are connected to the band via wires and stuff, and, uh, I guess the music is, like, making them type real fast, and mash stuff with their hands, and, um, fingerpaint?, and, uh… then they put all this stuff in the oven, and it grows into a brain. I mean, I’m a college educated New York Jew, so I know from over-thinking stuff, but I don’t even know where to begin with this one. If anyone has any theories, by all means, put ‘em in the comments section. Otherwise I’m just gonna go with, “Hey, cool song!”

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If I needed music to represent the act of breaking a glass bottle and using its jagged edges to repeatedly stab someone in the throat, I might very well point towards Heaven Shall Burn as that aural example. Oh, sure, guitarist/co-producer Maik Weichert says the band isn’t advocating violence in their music, but how can you listen to HSB and not wanna kill every other living entity in the room? It’s almost impossible!

And the music band’s latest, Invictus, will do little to quell your bloodlust.(And while we’re on the topic, we’re still giving away an mp3 of the song “Buried in Forgotten Grounds” off of that album.) It was released by Century last week in Europe, and comes out June 8 in North America – so this seemed like an ideal time to shoot Weichert a few questions via e-mail. After the jump, get his thoughts on the thematic connections between Invictus and the other entries in HSB’s Iconoclast series, why he prefers not to work with an outside producer, his thoughts on being a vegan, violent political uprising, Asterix & Obelix vs. The Simpsons, and more.

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Sick Of It All has been representing New York hardcore for well over two decades, refusing to become a nostalgia act by regularly releasing albums of new material. Whether you love them for their rough and riotous initial records, the more accessible punkier albums during their Fat Wreck Chords days, or the heavy metallic sounds of their 21st century records, you’re undoubtedly familiar with the voice of frontman Lou Koller. With the fierce and undeniably memorable Based on a True Story, Sick Of It All show no signs of mellowing as they mature, as the below interview indicates.

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These are some of my favorite producers and mixers for heavy music… It’s a challenging genre, and these guys are great in my opinion.

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