Sunday, May 11, 2014

Now reviewed: TEAR THEM DOWN, NOFX, HOLLOW SONS, KIDS INSANE, NOISEFUL SILENCE, BEARDOWN, CHIXDIGGIT and SOULFLY

TEAR THEM DOWN Their Faults, Our Problems (CD)

by marcs77

Shit! A really cool and poignant title for this debut on the lengthy distance by Göteborg, Sweden's newest punk sons TEAR THEM DOWN.
The corrupted leaders of countries and those in power make mistakes that have catastrophic impacts on the lives of many but in the end it's never their problem.
The young foursome started out in 2010 and already released an EP entitled “This Is A 
Mutiny” in 2011 (they sent it to us for review but we missed to do our duty, sorry!) and a single song titled “Nothing” in 2012.
Tear Them Down play punk rock with some street attitude touchings, a good deal of melody and soaring singalong inducting vocals. There one single mellow number “Oh, The Irony” that gives you time to breathe before the next installment of fury.
Totally in line with the album title the lyrics deal with sociopolitical themes and the uncompromised love for punk music.
Fun and well crafted cover, booklet artwork and layouts by NMAAR an illustrator from Denmark -check https://www.facebook.com/nmaar
Mind “Their Faults, Our Problems” is a record to be listened to on CD format as the streaming and the mp3 format kill its boisterous and street-punky energy.
Yes, this is a ripping fresh album you may definitely want.

Check: www.facebook.com/pages/Tear-Them-Down/115059325230655


NOFX Stoke Extinguisher (CD)

by marcs77

NOFX are playing live all the track off that Cali punk rock gem that is “Punk In Drublic”. And this is really great news, you know, the songs included there are still hot-shots live and are those that manage to get the older fans go ape and throw themselves into the buschione (some locals called it like this back in the 90's). This album was released in 1994, the year punk rock got a worldwide commercial breakthrough, and it's still one of my personal favourite together with “Ribbed”, “White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean”, the live “I heard they suck live!!” and “So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes”.
How can NOFX live up to the afore mentioned records? Well, that could be a good reasonable question reviewers might be asking themselves when approaching a new effort to review.
Does “Stock Extinguisher” manage to live up NOFX legacy?
As a fan of 90's NOFX I must say nope but if you like NOFX you will definitely love this six-song EP (or two-song 7” vinyl).
The record packs only one brand new unreleased song, this being the title track, Tony Sly's “The Shortest Pier”, a rough demo version of “I Believe In Goddess” and three other songs out on 7”s -“Wore Out the Soles of My Party Boots” off “Xmas Has Been X'ed"and “New Year's Revolution” on the s/t 7”.
The title track title, lyrics, melodic punk music and the cover artwork is 100% NOFX. It kicks off with a few bars guitar Fat's lo-fi filtered voice to explode into a crunchy mid paced guitar riff to go ahead like a NOFX song we're used to love. It's fun they had fun recording it. So who cares about the rest.

Check: www.facebook.com/pages/NOFX-Official-Page/180985116576


HOLLOW SONS Thirst (CD)

by marcs77

I use to file the bands that I review or write about under their name and country of origin. Today creating the word file for this new band called HOLLOW SONS I named the country bit as EU.
This five-piece, that formed last year, features ex-members/members from bands like To Kill (Italy), The Blackout Argument, The Haverbrook Disaster, From Within Walls / Code Blue Coma (Germany).
"Thirst", their first EP out through , delivers angry blackened hardcore in the vein of 90's bands like American Nightmare, Lenght Of Time, Blacklisted or more modern acts like Carphatian and Dead Swans with harsh in your face lyrics poignant to the times we're living in (or to the whole human history if someone cares enough to learn off it).
There's a little of a diversement displayed in the song “Dominance” where 80's electronic and industrial sounds come into play. This one has got a dark cold feel to it but I wouldn't listen a whole record filled with this stuff. So, the hardcore 2-step of “Leech” is welcomed like a deep breath of fresh air.

Check: www.facebook.com/hollowsons



KIDS INSANE Frustrate (7" vinyl)

by marcs77

If you're gonna look for some youthful energy driven pissed off hardcore punk look no further this 7" from Tel Aviv, Israel's KIDS INSANE is gonna be stuff for you.
"Frustration", the second 7" the quartet releases, is out since last December 2013 on Take It Back! records and Goodwill records.
The touring they put in between the two releases helped the guys to round up their chops and chemistry as a band.
In the track "Poisoned Youth" you can hear some post-hardcore influences and by and large the sound of guitars got more angular like some noisecore stuff from the 90's. This pumps up the madness and sheer intensity of their delivery.
Lyrically there's a clear sociopolitical thread running about a disaffected youth which tries at it's best not to be shut up and opposes against the continuous feeding of bullshits they get from those who held the power.
Kids Insane is a band to watch out for.

Check: www.facebook.com/kidsinsane


NOISEFUL SILENCE Shades Of Red (CD)

by marcs77

Debut full-length out on To React records for this band hailing from Firenze, Italy that formed in 2006.
The guys self-produced two more EPs which based on the words they have up on FB didn't really represent what the real nature and sound of the band is all about -this because several line up changes that affected their grow.
In terms of sound the quintet hands down pretty much all its cards with the opening track "Spellbound" where some of the heavy-squared brutally screamed metalcore gets contaminated with Nu metallic sounds and electronica.
So also with this band we get the clean vocals contrastive to the low-end barbarous growls and synthetic background textures but all this doesn't have much effect in diluting the sheer brutality and heaviness levels Noiseful Silence delivers throughout the 9 tracks.
My favourite are the more metallic in your face numbers like the second song “Changes” that features also some back-up hardcore style, “It Will Never Fade” and “Leaving Back”.
This is not about pop-tinged-metalcore “Shades Of red” stands on that fine line between heavy as concrete metallic hardcore and the newest metalcore wave that opened up to new blends of the original formula.
Not bad, boys!

Check: www.facebook.com/noisefulsilence


BEARDOWN Demo 2013 (CD)

by marcs77

This isn't really new shit since the guys in BEARDOWN already followed this up with the debut EP entitled "57 Borderland" -while I'm happy for these guys moving on I have to say sorry for the biblical times passed since their demo got its shot for a review here.
Based in Siegen, Germany Beardown, as the band name may suggest, play tough heavy East Coast Hardcore with metallic guitars that will get you moshing up and screaming along at the top of your voices at their gig.
This demo is made up of 4 tracks plus an intro and a track titled "Hidden Track", which actually happens not to be hidden anywhere but it's just the guys dicking around and having fun screaming "Stand Up!...Fight!".
Nice band though I don't think this is the best adjective these sons of Cro-Mags would feel comfortable with.
I'll be looking forward to hearing and reviewing the new EP.

Check: www.facebook.com/beardownband


CHIXDIGGIT Double Diggits (CD)

by marcs77

If you guys love Ramones and Screeching Weasel then I'll love CHIXDIGGIT. Okay I'm sure you know who these dudes from Calgary, Canada are, do you, right?But for those not in the know I think it's just playing safe to refer to the fathers of Punk Rock and their favourite sons as the most influential bands behind the poppy rockin punk rock sound Chixdiggit play.
This album out on Fat Wreck chords features into a digipack format two previously released records namely “Born on the First of July” (1998) and “From Scene to Shining Scene” (2000) both originally out through Honest Don's records.
Fun light-hearted three-chords punk rock, there's not actually anything more here and neither it was expected.
This song isn't included here but the guys titled one of theirs “Henry Rollins Is No Fun”.
Wanna play some party music chicks will fall in love with then look no further. Chicks Double Dig It!

Check: www.facebook.com/pages/Chixdiggit/8907162509


SOULFLY Savages (CD)

by marcs77

I remember listening to the two first SOULFLY albums (actually more to “Primitive” than the s/t one) and then I just lost interest in the band. Everything seemed to be all about Max Cavalera growling his rage and his personal struggles to the next step in the contamination process of his thrash-death metal roots with the sounds that were having lotta hype those days (Nu-Metal, Hip-hop Metal???).
13 years later Soulfly is still around, though they too went through their fair share of line-up changes, and releases their ninth effort “SAVEGES” via Nuclear Blast records -the album was recorded between May/June 2013 and released end of September early October 2013.
The listening of some preview tracks sparked some curiosity in me and that's why I'm here to review Soulfly's latest fatigue.
The follow-up to 2012's “Enslaved” packs 10 tracks that work hard to build up a mammoth of obscure groovy thrashy heavy-death metal record fire-marked by Cavalera's brutal hardcore vocals.
From the cold mechanical tribalism of the opening “Bloodshed” you catch immediately that these are Soulfly. In songs like “Fallen”, “Spiral” and “This Is Violence” I feel there is some “Chaos A.D. / Roots” era Sepultura or Nailbomb vibe going.
"Cannibal Holocaust” is the thrasher and fast paced of the lot to the point it reminds that barbarous sound Sepultura made them known for with 1991's “Arise” (obviously all here is cooked up according to an ultramodern metal recipe).
In my view the main weak point of the record is the average timing of most of the tracks that builds up to make “Savages” an “uneasy listening” work, this even after repeated listens. “Cannibal Holocaust” the shorter of the lot, which clocks in at 3.30, happens to be my favourite together with This Is Violence” (running time 4.23).
I am sure fans of everything Max does have already bought this record. The rest can stream the songs and make up their own mind whether “Savages” could be a good addition to their collection or not.
I personally went back riffling through my CDs to listen again Sepultura and Nailbomb but I don't think I will keep listening more of “Savages”.

Check: www.facebook.com/SoulflyOfficial

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