Rad Summer 2012

Straight out of Florida, land of retirement homes and vacation destinations, comes one of the most brutal, straight forward hardcore compilations seen on this side of the internet in many years. Featuring the likes of Code X Red, Clockwork, Losin’ It and more, the Rad Summer 2012 compilation brings some the best of the hardcore reality to the world. 

Released by Life to Live Records, this compilation clocks in at a rad 29 and a half minutes and unrelentingly brings the listener to their knees as each song progresses. Chock full of obscure and hungry hardcore champions, this comp spans the whole spectrum of the genre. Fast, aggressive, heavy, brutal, melodic, chugging, driving, dizzying, its all here. 

One of the more outstanding tracks on the record is Code X Red’s song “Never Again.” Straining, high pitch screams release over the ensuing wrath of the guitar and drum attack that backs it up. Circling around the listeners ears until one is dizzy, Code X Red brings the hate effectively in the style of Terror, Alpha and Omega, and American Nightmare. On the opposite side of the lens lies Clockwork. Bringing to the table a melodic style similar to Sinking Ships, Shook Ones and older Crime In Stereo, the bands submission “Ad and Subtract” shows great promise. A speedy intro breaks way into a pounding, toe tapping outro that brings to mind Polar Bear Club in its thickness and heart tugging movements. 

Other mentions within Rad Summer’s walls are Losin’ It and their song “No Apology.” A dragging bass lines calls for stage dives right off your bedside as the drums smack your ears. Releasing into a pounding, mosh heavy riff that brings to mind the aggressive days of More To Pride and Rivalry Records. Even more aggressive is the enormous open ended breakdown at the end of Modern Pain’s “Let Down” that is only countered by the melodic sounds of Tiebreaker’s “Take It Back” two tracks later. The later bringing to mind Verse and Shipwreck, at their more melodic moments. 

All in all their is something for every hardcore enthusiast within the sonic layers of Life To Live’s Rad Summer 2012 compilation. Make the summer even radder than it already has been by picking it up over at their bandcamp for a cheap dollar.

Rating: 3/5

Slave to the Mind

 Straight out of Zanesville, Ohio, Mind Crimes brings hope to all who stand oppressed. Their debut EP Slave to the Mind brings forth an aggressive outburst of disoriented youth through a potent mixture of melodic hooks and abrasive pummelings. Self-released April 30th, 2012 Mind Crimes impressively stakes their claim as a powerful force within the hardcore mentality. 

Focusing in on some of the basic mundanity of society; stress, work, religion and compassion, Mind Crimes tackle these issues in an easily accessible manner. Through straight forward lyrics and powerful vocals executed in true modern-hardcore fashion, these messages are delivered by the band with a great and powerful ease. This can be seen on one of the more impressive tracks on the record, the closer, “Echoes.” A slow drudgingly painful riff eases the listener into the song, Blacklisted comes to mind, soon to be quickly cut out by a powerful burst of guitar and drum noise. When this explosion of energy ends vocalist Drew Stoits emerges in the forefront. “Afraid to lose the love that he’ll give/If she doesn’t give herself to him.” Stoits vengefully declares, claiming victory for the downtrodden women of the world. 

Sex is a powerful tool, too often it is abused and turned into tool of power. Mind Crimes and Stoits forcefully use their awareness and the gift of the hardcore community to fight against these societal wrongs. The song comes to a powerful end in another Blacklisted-esque manner. Clashing guitars crash over and through the ears of the listener as the drums forcefully build up into a head bobbing, head banger outro of sorts. Thrash metal solo included.

Beginning at the end leaves much open space for investigation and Mind Crimes does not disappoint. From the Comeback Kid-esque melodic speedster “Mountains” with its turbulent circle pit ragers that cumulate into overpowering sing-alongs, to the standard hardcore fuck work jam “Managerial Slime,” (complete with an outstanding C3PO/Solo introduction and Kids Like Us influenced outro) Slave to the Mind provides a wide sampler platter of hardcore tastes. Sounding like Comeback Kid at one moment and Blacklisted the next, it is apparent that Mind Crimes are no newcomers to the modern-hardcore scene.

Perhaps what remains now is solidifying these influence into one cohesive unit. It comes with time, but for Mind Crimes it may not take long.Varying the songs leaves the listener with a certain level of excitement as to what will come next, however it  is tough to distinguish Mind Crimes from their predecessors. What they do have is pure anger and enthusiasm, it practically oozes from the pores of my macbook. This is crucial for any band, especially playing hardcore. Only originality and song structure leave something to be desired. The variance within certain songs takes away from the groove of the EP, melody abruptly transitioning to discordant can leave a sour taste in the mouths of many unless properly executed. All criticism set aside however, Slave to the Mind works as a great jumping point for Mind Crimes and is a solid example of the modern-hardcore’s influence on the scene today.

FFO: Terror, Comeback Kid, Blacklisted, Kids Like Us

Rating: 2.3/5

Carry The Torch/Signs Of Hope

Like a ray of light triumphantly blasting through your bedroom window in the morning, Carry The Torch’s erratic and soaring guitar licks accompany a scratchy, powerful roar as you are awoken from some horrible dream with a stark new reality of the world. But don’t worry, CTT is here to help you pull through and with their counterparts in Signs Of Hope you will soon be empowered. Filled with messages of resisting social oppression and fighting personal depression, their new split 7 inch will raise the dragging mind of any listener.

Released on Goodwill Records earlier this year, CTT and SOH bring contrasting sounds to the table. CTT combine the melodic and technical sensibility of bands such as Misery Signals, Shai Hulud, Comeback Kid and Verse into a sporadic barrage of sounds. SOH stay on the simplistic side, while emphasizing the raging and overflowing aggression pumping through their veins, similar to ex-communicated hardcore acts like Blue Monday and veteran road warriors Bane. With two very different sounds originating from the opposite sides of the country; Sacramento, CA and Bridgeport, CN, this split showcases the sounds of two promising young bands.

Each band offers up two prime cuts of their home cooked style of hardcore. On the CTT side of the tracks the song “Color Wash The Devil Gold” propels pass the listener as it heads east. Upon arrival SOH welcomes friendly ears with their standout track “Life Everyday.” Technically speaking “Arches and Angles” spits on “Color Wash” unsympathetically, structurally however the latter track shines. While still being hyper-active and turbulent in nature “Color Wash” is strongly held together through shifting guitars that lead into flowing, anthemic rhythms. Auspicious lyrics such as “I have to learn to finally breathe/I have to learn to fully live” are projected through the harsh beating and pleading sound of their lead vocalist, while the band holds him up in his effort. 

This release is a somewhat departure from their last effort, 2008’s Dead Weather, being speedier and more chaotic, while retaining their core sound. Through this process many of their mid tempo, groove based metalcore elements have been lost, replaced by an updated and faster version. While speed may be more impressive technically, it takes away from the songs as a whole, as these songs don’t seem to live up to their former partners. 

Signs Of Hope bring the listener back with their old school sound and posi filled messages. The beginning of “Life Everyday” sucks the listener in before giving way to a ferocious combination of circle pit based guitar work and rolling drums. Sing alongs are scattered throughout the song and help to enforce the positive messages nakedly exposed and waiting for consumption. “You gotta pick yourself up man and turn it around,” words that carry much meaning in their simplistic formations. To cap off this fuming hardcore speech SOH implies an age old hardcore tactic, the butchering breakdown, guaranteeing that massive amounts of loose change will soon be picked up by all listening. 

Not straying too far from their previous release 2009's, Choices Made, worked in SOH’s favor as they continue to perfect their brand of strengthening melodic hardcore. Although similar to their split mates their featured songs don’t seem to compare to older efforts. Overall the split seems a bit rushed but still a solid effort from both bands.

Rating: 3.2/5

Young Love

 Hailing from the town of Ukiah, CA , a small speck of about 14,000 off of the 101, All Teeth brings the sounds of the boonies to hardcore with their newest release, “Young Love.” This dark culmination of everything gone wrong, released on Panic records, runs rampant with themes of loss, anxiety and depression. Recorded by Scott Goodrich at Imperial Studios and mastered by Jay Maas, this release shows All Teeth’s musicianship and originality as it shines through a prism of despair that shoots off into the listeners mind, invoking the darkest of emotions inside all of us.

Chock full of local cameos such as Juan Gabe (Comadre), Sammy Winston (Grace Alley), Cody Sullivan (Sabertooth Zombie) and Ross Farrar( Ceremony) and even Jay Maas of Defeater fame, All Teeth shows that they are an integral part of the local scene and are quickly rising to the top. One of the best thing about these cameos is the fact that complete creative control was left up to the guest vocalist on all tracks but the last two, “Long Nights” and “Disposable Me.” Spoken word recitals performed by Winston can be heard throughout the album and act as preludes to certain songs, enforcing the feeling of despair and loneliness in the listeners mind. 

It seems as if since the departure of ex-vocalist Jake Cash, the band has done some major streamlining. Cash’s vocals often were unoriginal, abrasive in contrast to current vocalist David Kellings throaty rasp of a scream and frankly would be better suited in a band geared more toward the metallic side of hardcore. Compared to I Am Losing, their 2009 release put out through High Fidelity records, the band has managed to strip away unneeded components of the machine and readjust the remaining gears to produce a borderline hardcore masterpiece. 

Musically All Teeth comes off as a culmination of American Nightmare, Suicide File, Blacklisted, Bane and even evoke elements of the almighty Converge. Creating chaotic riffs and pounding rhythms that are as dangerous and reckless as a runaway train full of ex-cons. In between these moments of chaos and destruction are progressions that focus heavily on dynamics, stop-start rhythms and slow groovy marches. At the conclusion of “Oh Disposable Me” the band ends the album by cutting away from a chaotic headbanger into a section that brings to mind a death march of lost souls. With drummer James Rogers dancing on the ride symbol, he conducts the rest of the band into a symphony of woahs, floating guitars, and borderline suicidal vocals leaving the listener to wonder, “Who’s this man I’ve grown to be?”

A major stand out on the album is the second track “Caller I.D” with its infectious rhythms kicking in after the conclusion of an intro that coerces the listener to eagerly anticipate the rest of the song. A series of softly accented floor toms slowly build up to their heaviest moments, then cease and repeat as an open ended guitar riff is continuously played in the distance. Once the song begins the listener is entranced as Kelling's vocals dance between the drums and guitars. Halfway through the song the guitars cut in and out as bass player Mike Fenton keeps the the party going by encouraging every kid in the crowd to stage dive simultaneously through his downbeat bass line. 

All Teeth brings something truly fresh and new to the hardcore round table and all the knights are listening. It is one of the few albums that a listener can quite literally feel the intensity and energy of the bands live show flow through their ears. If you don’t believe me simply listen to the quasi-reggae jam at the end of “Goodbye Faye Dolan.” Combine this with an outstanding show of musicianship and artistic sensibility and you have one of the best hardcore albums released this year. In the words of Kelling “I’ve never heard a sad song I didn’t like.” Too true Dave. 

Rating: 4.3/5