Hour Of the Wolf hails from the hot and dry southwest. Arizona to be exact. Not to be confused with the Nordic Straight Edge band, xHour of The Wolfx. It should be fairly easy to tell them apart, as the Arizona HOTW is neither Nordic, Metal or Straight Edge.



These dudes play a melodic style of hardcore punk. Think Strike Anywhere with less clapping (not that I don't love Strike Anywhere. But I'm not so keen on the fast clap that is popping up at shows. I'll pass on that, thank you). This cd comes in with 7 songs topping 24 minutes. Now you're thinking, "That's over 3 minutes a track. That's not punk rock." BUT, the last track is 11 minutes with probably 8 of filler and then there is a bonus track. Plus some weird glass breaking or bubble wrap popping. That was actually a little creepy sounding. An enjoyable cd overall. I'm a little disappointed they weren't on the Bane/The Geeks/DTN/Ambitions leg of the tour I saw recently. Perhaps, next time ...

If you live in Phoenix or Tucson, you are in luck. The record release for this album is this weekend. Quit sleeping.

What can be said about The Geeks that hasn't already been said? You know they are from Korea. You know they are super positive dudes. You know they rock. What else is there to say?



This release, Every Time We Fall, comes out of the Think Fast Records camp. Larry and Ryan have their fingers on the pulse of modern hardcore. The Geeks live up to that challenge with this release. 12 positive hardcore tracks, plenty of sing alongs, finger pointing opportunities and lots of ear to ear smiles all around.


Keep your eyes peeled for the vinyl coming from Get Outta Town Records. And check those inserts. So many chill pics with "solid dudes." Gotta love solid dudes. Gotta love The Geeks.

Achilles hails from Rochester, NY. They don't give off an upstate vibe though. They remind me of Cave In. Like Cave In 1997. You know, back at Fat Cats in Springfield. But Achilles doesn't have that one Crossbearer track that pulls me in. Granted, I have listened to Cave In in years, but you know what I'm saying.



This CD is slated for Fall 2007. Not sure why really. I have it in front of me. Recorded in January 2007. The packaging is slick, professionally put together. It looks like it could easily be released in time for a heavy summer touring schedule. No idea why it isn't. Maybe the pic is out of date. Who knows?


You can read, hear, learn more about Achilles on myspace. Don't go to the site listed in the CD as it has already expired. DOH. Also, the press kit says they are "FREAKING HUGE" in a bunch of places including Boston, but honest to god, I've never heard of these dudes. Weird.

This is a one man, punk rock band from the middle of New Jersey. His name is Albert and he is Vayizuka. And his press kit looks real nice.



I would describe his style as early Blink (pre the "182" addition) or maybe Skarotum. Did I just compare a band to Skarotum? Hell fucking yeah, I did. You never thought the day would come, did you? Well, honestly, neither did I. For the last 6+ years, I've been waiting to bring out this comparison and TODAY IS THE DAY. I've done it. Vayizaku reminds me of Skarotum. Unfortunately, unless you live in New Hampshire and own a tape player, you have probably never heard Skarotum. And don't even try visiting http://www.myspace.com/skarotum because that is just some punker from Canada.

If you are into goofy power pop punk, this one man may be the band for you. Unfortunately, when playing live shows, he doesn't show up like this.

The Big Hurt is straight out of Wheaton, Illinois. I have no idea where that is, but this zine is way bigger than small town Illinois. More all city, perhaps all state and beyond. And better still, it comes with a dope little EP, the Mass Confusion Hardcore Comp with tracks from Expired Youth, Urban Blight, Raining Bricks, Terminal State, 86 Mentality and Left Hand Path (Oddly enough, I just sold EPs by 3 of those bands on Ebay). Lots of Chicago Hardcore represented in this zine.



Here's what Jeff Klepper wants you to know about his zine:

1) 500 copies are packaged with the Mass Confusion EP. You can only get the EP with the zine.
2) 40 pages. NO ADS. No one does that anymore.
3) Ordering Info
w/ Mass Confusion EP - (US) $10 ppd, (INTL) $15
w/o Mass Confusion EP - (US) $3
4) He accepts well hidden cash, money order (
Jeff Klepper
c/o TBH Fanzine
2271 Hiram Dr.
Wheaton, IL 60187)
or paypal.

This zine is good. You should read it. At least 3 times. Probably more. Check the myspace page for more info.