Cruel Hand hail from one of my hometowns in Maine. Brunswick. The land of Wild OATS and Bull Moose. You'll never know how many hours I spent roaming those streets on my bike and just hanging out IN the Bull Moose. In fact, when I was a senior in high school, I did an ethnography centered around the Bull Moose clientele. I was in that store for 8 hours at time. Just watching and peeping used CDs. Years later, I would meet Chris Linkovich while he worked at Bull Moose. He clued me in on the resurgence in the Maine hardcore scene straight with a lot of help from Brunswick. At the time, it was Outbreak. And Outbreak KILLED it. They tore the state into shreds. A lot of that was due to Ryan and his ferocious energy. On top of that, large credit needs to be given to Chris, Nate, Chuck, Seger, Joe, ... for crafting some amazing songs.

Fast forward a few years. Cruel Hand breaks onto the scene as a project band. Chris shifts from guitar to vocals and Nate moves from drums over to guitar. Seger kept on keeping on with the bass. The song writing team is there (minus Chuck Outbreak), but now they are taking their project to the next level. Cruel Hand is now the focus and it really shows with this new album. You can hear how they stepped it up and put in the time and effort to create a great album. If you are a fan of moshing, you are a fan of this album. If you are a fan of stage diving, you may just want to sit back and let Chris show you how it is done. You'll probably be embarrassed at your lack of skills following the gig, though. Sorry.

I suggest you support this band and hit them up when they tour through your town. I'll be seeing them on Halloween later this week at the ICC. I'm sure it'll be ridiculous. Maybe we'll even get some wacky Halloween gear. If you can't make it to the show, I feel bad for you. If you still want that merch, you better try your luck on Ebay. You can always hit up the b9store for current merch too.

ps. I noticed my name in the thanks list BEFORE morGODo and Freddy Madball. Even if my name is misspelled, that some how speaks volumes. LOL.

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Guaranteed: It will take you longer to read this review than it will take you to listen to the Free Spirit Demo. This bad boy barely hits the 3 minute mark with 5 songs. That's not a problem. Free Spirit pull off that sound just fine. Think of the Straight Ahead tracks from the End The Warzone comp. Short bursts of intense songs. Some good stuff here. Not exactly a Straight Ahead sound, but pretty close.

Here's one of my favorite reviews of this demo (quoted completely):

"needs more open minds"

Lol. Second favorite review:

"Needs a song called Open Mind."

I'm a fan. Gil brings a positive outlook to the scene and it really shows through his words and actions. SUPPORT! It probably doesn't hurt that the band has other notable noters in it: Jack D from Vitality (oh whut?), Kenny Look Alive(on drums!) from Step Forward, Hudon of The Action Taken (and some other band) and Luke from Waste Management and Rampage. Solid lineup, no doubt.



Funny story. At Edge Day 08, Gil handed me a copy of the tape. They had spent the entire previous evening dubbing tapes in preparation for Edge Day. I threw my tape in on the ride home and was greeted by the sound of silence. I then guessed, "oh maybe they didn't rewind" so I jockeyed the tape around for a few minutes, fast forwarding, rewinding. But I was always greeted by silence. Then I figured, "oh maybe since it's so short, I am just skipping over it somehow." I then sat and listened to both side A and side B complete. Of course, blank all the way through. D'OH! Luckily, I grabbed some emps and was able to enjoy this fine demo.

I don't they have any online shiz set up yet, but feel free to bother Gil. He can probably hook you up with a demo or at least point you in the right direction.

ps. What about DJ Crazy in that pic? Wowza.

pps. I hope you are slow readers so my guarantee was true.

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Unwritten Law will trick you. I remember seeing their music in stores when I was a kid and thinking, "ooh yeah, a new punk rock album." But right there, TRICKED. They aren't punk rock, they are weird radio rock. It's like the album the other kids got and could talk "punk rock" with you about. You know, the white hats can get into them. That's this band.

This release is actually double. One disc is a CD with live tracks. The other disc is a DVD with all the live tracks. Before watching the DVD, I listened to the CD. In my mind, I was picturing the crowd to be packed with post-college kids enjoying their beers. After watching the DVD, I'm pretty my guess was right. Here are a few other observations.

1. The singer should just keep his hands on the guitar. His weird arm motions were very distracting and not in a good way.

2. The bass player would be better suited for Opeth or some black metal band. He seems strangely out of place.

3. The guitar player is rocking a Christian Death shirt (at least on the packaging). That's cool. Then again, he has about 6 lbs of eyeliner on.

4. Unwritten Law fans obviously only know the radio hits. The fans look like stale fish until Rescue Me was played. Even then, the only action I saw was a few devil horns, and pumping fists during the chorus. And some weird pogoing. They didn't even do any crappy crowd surfing. Oh wait, there is ONE crowd surfer. UGH

Lets see. To sum this up, the cover art is the best thing going for this package. Yeap. Feel free to try your luck on Ebay. Maybe you can get a sweet poster for your garage.

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Mike Puffer writes this little gem. I ended up selling him a Wide Awake EP (great taste!) and he sent his payment with a copy of his zine. I fired off his record and then forgot to dig into his zine. I was too busy chasing down negligent buyers. Ugh, nothing worse than that.

Fast forward to True Colors in Haverhill. True Colors was ill, no doubt. After the set, a dude comes up to me promoting a Vitamin X show in Western MA. I could see he was enthusiastic. I mean, he was giving it his all for True Colors, so I knew he was no joke.



We talked for a bit. He is psyched on the core. And that is all apparent when you read his zine. It's not too often you see a real DIY cut/paste zine anymore. Thanks to photoshop and illustrator, everything goes straight to glossy or the nerd. But Mike took the time and created a great read.

He has interviews with Shoot To Kill, Make Or Break (I even learned something new. I never realized that Charles started Think Fast! with Larry. Who knew??), Government Warning, Trash Talk and Justice. Yes, that's it. 4 interviews. 10 pages. GREAT READ.

I'm not sure how to contact Mike. That's the thing. His address is in the zine but no other form of communication. Mike hit me up. Tell us how the kids can get your zine without me blasting your mailing address all over the nerd!

ps. Pic kindly borrowed from Dan Gonyea over at future-breed.com. Great kid, great shots.

EDIT: I got word from Mike. Here's his email address. You can hit him up there, and get his address to send review items.

1 Comments:

 Keith said...

You should check out Mike's band, ALERT as well!
www.myspace.com/alertstraightedge

Full demo available for download too!

11/28/2008 04:02:00 PM  

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Energy seemed to come out of nowhere. One day they were playing shows, the next day they were dropping EPs on Rock Vegas. And now, they are dropping a new LP on Bridge 9. It all seemed FAST to me. But seeing them at shows, kids LOVE this band. Plenty of moshing and stage diving and general run a-muck-ness.

Whoa, now that I dig back in my archives, I realize I've been seeing this band since 2006. Two years doesn't seem so fast anymore. That could explain how all those kids know about this band. I'm starting to catch on.

What I'm not catching is the hype behind this band. I just don't get it. I've listened to this album a few times, and it's fine. I mean, it isn't likely to set the world on fire or start revolutions, but it is a positive addition to the BOSTON hardcore scene, you know?

But to me, the singer's voice makes it hard to focus on. I almost equate it to Mike Ski of Brother's Keeper, except way less over the top and with a "whoa whoa" slant. What's odd is that I have nothing against "whoa whoa" songs. I love Lifetime, Saves The Day, New Found Glory, Set Your Goals, ... I can hang with all those bands and their "fwoooaa" stylings. Maybe the "whoa whoa" is overdone? I can't pinpoint it. Also the sing/yell/sing genre is not for me. Leave that on the outside with My Chemical Romance. Those songs do make me cringe a little.

All cringing aside, this album is chill enough for "whoa whoa" fans. Generic youth crew fans need not apply. It dropped yesterday so feel free to head over to b9 to get a good deal. Pick up a package item (record + tshirt) or try your luck on Ebay.

1 Comments:

 Bill said...

you guys ever hear of this band...afi?

10/17/2008 12:08:00 AM  

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Crime In Stereo dropped this album on the world yesterday. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I wasn't aware that it was basically a b-sides and unreleased song compilation. That's not a bad thing, usually. I mean, if Oasis and Guided By Voices can do it, what can't a hardcore band?

Unfortunately because these songs span 3 years and who knows how many recording sessions, it all doesn't mesh together cohesively. Some tracks come off as pumped up Hot Water Music while other tracks give off Strike Anywhere vibes. It shows the progression of the band, but it doesn't make for a whole LP. Don't get me wrong, there are moments of genius on this album, but then again, there seems to be some clunking too (like the very out of place, weirdly teen angst ridden track These People Ought To Know Who We Are And Tell That We Are Here). Which is strange, as Crime In Stereo consistently drops bombs when it comes to tunes. The standout track to me is definitely Everywhere and All The Time. It rocks from the first note to last note, and the chorus lead in is catchy, giving the song a Braid nod.

Like I said, this album came out yesterday. You can hit up b9 for a cool package deal, or you can hit up your local store to up those Sound Scans. For older gear, try your luck on Ebay.

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Ruiner picked a damn funny album title. It's actually a really smart reflection of the scene we live in. I'm guilty of it, no doubt. My reviews always come off as "good band, great dudes" rather than some deep look at tuning, bridges and chords. Hell, I was super sucky at music class. I couldn't even come up with good keywords for the last sentence. What it all comes down to for me is a) do I like it or b) do I not like it. I'm guessing it boils down to that for a lot of people.

Good news for Ruiner, I like this fucking album. It's really good. It makes me want them to tour with Down To Nothing and This Is Hell. Imagine that mosh and stage dive fest! Amazing. This album definitely hits me harder than the last album. I also like that they moved away from the art cover concept. Clean images in black and white speak volumes about this band. It's rather fitting.

Australia, prep yourself because they are coming your way soon. Aren't you lucky? You can pick this album up from B9 soon. Maybe next week or the week after, I think. They are putting together some cool package deals. They always do ... If you want some older gear, try your luck on Ebay.

2 Comments:

 Garrett said...

This isn't actually a new album but rather "What Could Possibly Go Right?", Day Of The Dead split and "Start Screaming" demo. It's a compilation of really awesome out of print stuff though that they still play most (if not all) live.

10/12/2008 11:17:00 PM  

 hows yr edge said...

Oh man, good info, thanks dude. I'm really liking this album.

Also that "good news for Ruiner" comes off pretty bad. I definitely don't mean my reviews to be some egotistical "I rule the scene" shit.

Hopefully, I'm the only critical asshole who thinks it now reads like that. Not my intention. Great album, props.

10/12/2008 11:26:00 PM  

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