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.

A friend described this album to me as "bizarro no warning worship route five years too late.. with the edge." He then went on to discuss Suffer Survive for WAY too long. Unhealthy long. From his long discourse on Suffer Survive I couldn't tell if he loved or hated the new album from Down To Nothing. He then followed by saying, "it's like they made a murder weapon lp with Down To Nothing's singer."



Now, I can't recall ever hearing Murder Weapon, but if I was to judge from that name alone ... The No Warning comparison is pretty evident upon a few listens. But in reality, it feels more like a metal crossover album to me. Of course, it isn't metal, but the vibe is very much there. I feel like the previous albums were rugged and raw. Then this one comes in all shiny and smooth with a few guitar leads. Everything seems super polished, which is sort of a bummer. When I think DTN, I picture Dave wearing some cut off camos, his varsity jacket, X'ed up, dropping serious knowledge on current topics and of course, the edge. This album doesn't give me that vibe.



Fuck, great look. I need a varsity jacket. How have I gone 10 years without one? Back to the subject, this album is chill enough. Not at all what I was expecting from this Richmond Crew, but overall, pretty chill. Different but good.

Now that I go down that path, it reminds me of Fastbreak's Whenever You're Ready. In the sense that it is departure from the previous work, but still enjoyable. In Fastbreak's case, a name change should have been in order. DTN is not that far off the mark though, thankfully. Can't wait to see these dudes in Providence. Word.

Monte Negro is a little out there. Don't listen to this album expecting punk rock or hardcore. Actually, you're probably more likely to find a chill Latin Sugar Ray.



If you can hang with slow beats, English and Spanish mixed vocals and plenty of cowbell, this album could be your summer 2007 jam. If you live in Puerto Rico, you have been rocking it since April. However, most main land Americans have to wait until August 2007 for it to drop. I'd suggest getting the grill ready and perhaps grabbing some tequiza. Then again, I'm vegan and straight edge. What do I know about either of those items? You may want to decided on your own accessories to this album.

Do you have a beard? Have you ever considered growing a beard? Now is the time to do it. This album drops August 7, 2007 so you'll have plenty of time to pick up some mustache combs and quit shaving.



Yeah, this album isn't for me. Maybe it's good, I wouldn't know. I just never could quite get into that whole Norma Jean, Coalesce, ... sound. It isn't for me. Is it for you? If it is, check them out on myspace. Get your pre-order in, do a dance, buy a shirt, whatever you want.



Creepy. No Sleep Records releases the record. No Sleep Studios does the layout to the record. Seems like a full service shop.

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.

Far From Finished hails from Boston, Mass. You can already feel my bias forming. Fear not, this isn't straight edge, generic hardcore (my cup of tea).


The comparisons to the Dropkicks are warranted. Boston, punk rock, ... you can see where it would come together. But without the Irish, beer fueled tunes, of course. This album is fucking catchy as hell, for sure. But it isn't my bag so I'm not expecting a million plays.

One note: I noticed they recorded the piano and organs in Worcester, Mass at "The House That Keif Built." Now, there can only be one Keif in all of Worcester. And this one is a legit dude. Here's the story about the first time I met him, probably 1998.

I was walking through the WPI campus when there was some "chick rock" (his words) show in Alden hall. I see this blitzed punk rocker hanging out in front of the building. He was probably wearing some punk/hardcore shirt and I stopped to chat him up. Of course, he was blitzed so you can imagine there was plenty of confusion.

Me: yo, I'm Murphy.
Keif: [ ramble, ramble ] name is keif [ intelligible gibberish ]
Me: [ confused, considering he was drunken lisping ] Keith??

You know where it goes from there. We then made plans for me to buy his whole record collection, but 9 years later, I still haven't seen any of it. HAHAH. Legit dude. I still see him at Raw Bar shows and around sometimes.


Check out this album. I guarantee it will have you head rocking, singing along. Especially if you can get into punk rocking.

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.