Charles really fucked up when he sent me this demo. Not only did he send me his demo, but he also sent me the us release of The Steal album. That's just not thinking straight. How am I supposed to listen to Strike A Chord when I have The Steal on repeat 24/7?



Now that I have taken some time to listen to the Strike A Chord demo, I find myself enjoying. It is what I would consider "straight ahead, generic hardcore." Nothing outside the lines (as hardcore goes), which is right up my alley.

However, I can't stop thinking about the second track, "Back On Track" ... I mean, "Overboard." Hopefully this is a Ten Yard Fight tribute track because that chorus sounds oddly familiar.


Oh word. If you are down chilling in Florida, looks these dudes up. And as always, support Get Outta Town Records. Word! Wow, the dude in the Right Brigade who stages dive with a minute left on the video makes me cringe. Yikes.

I wasn't lying. I said last night that I would review this cd today. That's what I'm doing now. Get psyched! Overdose doing it big time.



This album immediately reminded me of No Warning (not suffer/survive, you jackass). I felt like Ben Cook was going to mosh out of my cd player. He didn't of course. He's busy rocking out with his new band, Surplus Sons. Which thankfully, Overdose doesn't sound anything like.

I noticed that Overdose is from Kennesaw. Many years ago, sometime in the early 90s, I visited Kennesaw because my aunt and uncle lived there. It was a giant cookie cutter, gated development. Pretty swank, really.

Here are some funny Kennesaw facts:

1. A law was put on the books in the 80s forcing every head of household to own a gun and ammunition. Yeap, it was a law. You HAD to own a gun AND ammunition. It was later amended.
2. No one was ever charged with violating the above law.
3. Downtown had a Civil War museum which featured a locomotive and a informational video. It was super southern pridey. It was called the Big Shanty Museum. It's had a name change since then. At the time, my northern, yankee ass was creeped out by it. "YOU LOST. GET OVER IT." Now, I can see the benefit of providing an unbiased account of The General (the locomotive).
4. The store across the street from the museum was full of some full on SHADY SHIT. Holy shit, so shady. I wonder if it's still there?

Now, that is neither here nor there. Overdose is good. No Warning was good. Overdose loves No Warning. Why shouldn't they? Check em out.

Between The Wars is a project from some familiar faces. You may recall Tim Shaw from Ensign (holy crap, what about those first Ensign EPs? You're moshing). Paul from Endgame, Bill Henderson from xOne Wayx, ... Good times. Not exactly a new project. I swore I reviewed their first album, but I can't find my review of it anywhere. I suck.



This album bleeds between hardcore and metal. Plenty of guitar leads and hard riffing, but also with plenty of finger point and sing along sections. I bet seeing this band involves plenty of "hard pitting."



Cool artwork and layout, for sure. Look into this, as it is another great release from the crew at Think Fast! Records.

Oh man. Hands Held High. I knew I was in trouble when I saw the name of this album. C'mon. Feel free to use cheesy straight edge phrases for an album title like "true till death" or "positive youth crew." But to name your album after a quote -- albeit a positive quote -- from star wars?? That just sinks too low in nerdery.



Here's the part of the review where I rip apart the bio. If you don't want to know what I have to say about the bio, feel free to skip down to the section after the album cover art.

You know I love to rip apart an over the top bio. Granted, if you are korn, Slipknot (Rev, duh) or Youth Of Today, I fully expect a "we kick ass" bio. I don't care if it's because you've sold a trillion albums or knocked sense into many outcast youths around the world. At that rate, you deserve an over the top bio. But you have to EARN it. You can't just up and claim it one day. Until that day, stay humble. Wait for the post humus bio to get heady.

In a day and age where the term "hardcore" has become synonymous with the phrase "for lack of a better word," few groups rise to the challenge of showing what it truly means to be a hardcore band - honesty and aggression. Cleveland’s Heads Held High welcomes that challenge.

Heads Held High formed in early 2004 when Rob Schultz and David Breda, (formerly the rhythm section for a mildly successful Cleveland band) ...

Hardcore? "For lack of a better word" hardcore, perhaps. These dudes are from Ohio. The home of Integrity, Ringworm, Confront ... They should know hardcore.

Why does this drummer from a "mildly successful Cleveland band" have a terrible drum tone? I thought the first couple of songs had too much cowbell until I realized it was the snare. Wow. Who are these guys? Is Biastfear the "mildly successful Cleveland band??" I had never heard of them. Googling them lead to the description "heavy metal mixed with hip hop." Oh lord. Granted, this is probably all PR bullshit, nothing to do with the band. I hope so. After watching a few videos on youtube, the in between song banter gives off a much chiller vibe. I can hang with that.



Lets get back to the album before someone accuses me of not even listening to the album. It has happened before. I'm not going to lie or sugar coat it. I'm not a fan. I just can't get over that drum tone. Despite never hearing Hawthorne Heights, this is what I would imagine them to sound like. Great comparison, right? Out of all the songs, I'd have to say the one I can enjoy is All We Got. I'm not super into the harsh, torn throat screamy singing, but the sections that remind me of Strike Anywhere, have my head bobbing. HAHA, I just realized they references Strike Anywhere at the end of the bio. Makes sense. "Intensity of Bane and d.i.y. mentality of Black Flag??" Um, ok. I don't see it.

Here's the video for the song Not My Enemy.

This Time Next Year play that melodic hardcore pop, much like Set Your Goals and even New Found Glory. A Place For You is their new release and it's pretty chill.



Lately, the pop hardcore has really been growing on me. I blame Set Your Goals and Just Surrender. Something about those bands gets your head bobbing, your fist thumping your chest and your voice cracking with teenage sing alongs.

This Time Next Year is working towards that level of enthusiasm. This album is good, but I wouldn't call it great. It's definitely missing hooks. The hooks are what really pull people in on this genre of music. For this genre, if you can't get chubby teen girls to sing along, you are falling short of your potential. Chubby teen girls are the measuring stick for pop as far as I'm concerned. I enjoy the album but know I would enjoy it more if it was meatier, poppier, more in your face.

Pick it up, look into it. Look forward to upcoming future release and tours with great bands.

I first heard Gordon Ivy and The Jaybirds back in August of 2005. I was obviously psyched on them. Who wouldn't be? Ripping hardcore from Japan that isn't crusty. Call me a fan.



Fast forward 2 years, and I get another package from the band. This time, the packaging material has my review printed right on it. That's pretty cool. This time around, I get a burnt cd. A LIMITED burnt cd. #10/66. Of course, I don't read/speak Japanese, so I have no idea what the cover means. I'll have to ask Dobek (whoa, I see Dobek just saw Gordon Ivy for the first time this week, according to his blog). This appears to be a discography cd. Tracks from the demo, plus a shit ton more. 24 tracks in total. Totally cool.



A Happy Couples Never Last?? No idea. Is this what I'm holding? Perhaps. Regardless, good stuff. Get into these tunes. Some good times here. Enjoy.

I received a package from JP the other day. It contained a Gordon Ivy and The Jaybirds cd and a Slap The Culture burnt cd. I am not sure if it was for the first demo, or the second demo. I'm guessing the 2nd demo.



This cd rips through each song. Most songs barely clock in at 60 seconds, so you can imagine the intensity of it all. Short, fast and louder, of course. You should probably look into their myspace site. You could be real into this.

Cruel Hand hails from the great white north. Literally, so far north that it is dark almost 20 hours a day during the winter months. Yeah, super dark. So you can imagine where this music was birthed: in darkness. That's probably why it hits SO FREAKING HARD.



This is a full on dude raging band. Lots of good dudes, lots of good tunes. A little hard, metal edge, but rippin good. And live?? Forget about it. This will kill you live. These guys will give 110% even if there is only one dude in the audience. AND somehow, every dude in the band will pull excellent stage dives on that one kid without missing a beat. That's how good they are.

ps. I was just kidding about that dark all day shit. They're really from Maine. Just because they live in Canada doesn't mean they are REALLY from the great white north.

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.

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.