Due to a few cancellations Northcote 2015 started 15 minutes later than planned. Cold Mind became the new opener. Their vocalist seemed to have had a rough Saturday night as he struggled through their set which, don’t get me wrong, was pretty decent. For the crowd it was a Sunday afternoon too. Although the attendance … Continue reading
Category Archives: Reviews
Photo Report: Turnstile & Forced Order @ Winston Kingdom, 18 November 2015
Last night Turnstile and Forced Order kicked off their European tour at a sold-out Winston Kingdom in Amsterdam. Yes, the bands arrived over an hour late, and yes people started to get a little grumpy, but HOLY SHIT what a good show. Forced Order nailed it and played a bunch of tracks off of their … Continue reading
Review: Life Below – I
You wouldn’t think when a punitive blast beat and a hostile scream comes in without a warning that Life Below hails from sunny Durban, South Africa. Delivering their first songs soberly assembled under the name I, Life Below, a young quartet that started to play music only a year ago, is another addition to the … Continue reading
Review: Blanket Hill – Kaizen
LBHC! For those of you who didn’t know, Luxembourg hardcore quintet Blanket Hill released their first EP called Kaizen a couple of weeks ago. The EP contains six tracks filled with straight up, groovy and heavy-as-fuck hardcore. Kaizen starts off with a quote from the show The Sopranos: “We’re in a situation where everybody involved … Continue reading
Album of the Month: Malfunction – Fear of Failure
On the 20th of November Bridge Nine Records will bring out Malfunction’s first full length album. While their EP on Reaper Records sounded a bit generic, this time Malfunction seem to have found their own sound. Fear of Failure was mixed by Taylor Young who earned his stripes in Nails and Twitching Tongues. Young’s influence … Continue reading
Review: Foundation – Turncoat
After ten years of being a band, Foundation is calling it quits. With that decision they join the ranks of Have Heart, Champion and other great Straight Edge Hardcore bands who decided to quit at the peak of their success. It needs no doubt that Foundation will soon gain the same legacy. But before they close … Continue reading
Photo Report: Bane, Code Orange & Wolf Down @ Zappa, 1 November 2015
Bane is currently on the road in Europe for their final tour. They’re playing a whopping 52 shows spread over almost two months. In 2014 they announced “the beginning of the end” with their final record Don’t Wait Up. Last night they played at Antwerp in Belgium, a show that was moved from Kavka to Zappa … Continue reading
Review: Freedom – USA Hardcore
Freedom are a testament to how powerful straight edge is across the globe right now. After thundering out of Detroit in 2014 with debut 7” Pay the Price in tow, the band left in their wake a number of poison-free hardcore anthems. Now, a year on, their new LP USA Hardcore is a more than worthy successor. Like Pay the … Continue reading
Review: Blistered – The Poison of Self Confinement
The nineties are back! Don’t worry, I’m not talking about eurodance or bad haircuts but about what seems like an early metallic hardcore revival. Earlier this year we heard bands like xRepentancex and Renounced reinvent the sound of bands like Arkangel, Morning Again, Earth Crisis and All Out War. Named after a Strife song, Blistered … Continue reading
Album of the Month: Stray From The Path – Subliminal Criminals
Stray From The Path refuse to leave any stone unturned, constantly questioning the wrongdoing and injustice they see in the world. In essence, they’re exactly what a hardcore band should be; raw, aggressive and straight up pissed off. With a string of successful records tucked under their belts, Subliminal Criminals is the latest addition to … Continue reading