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200 Words Or Less

Alpha & Omega

Devil's Bed
6131 (2008)

You know when George sings on Blacklisted's Heavier than Heaven, Lonelier than God and you really liked that grungey overblown style? Oh wait that was me. Anyhow... now you can have an entire five-song EP chock full of that over the top wailing. Not only do you get that you also get some headbanging metallic hardcore that falls somewhere between … Read more

200 Words Or Less

All Hype

Response
Bus 125 (2008)

Michigan's All Hype had the unfortunate job of opening a six-band bill show that had no local openers and I believe only ten people paid. Gotta love MPLS hardcore showing their support for bands that don't come from their cul de sac in the burbs. Anyhow, All Hype were great and did an In My Eyes cover, so naturally I … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Fucked Up

Year of the Pig (Reissue)
Matador (2008)

A re-release of an EP that came out last year from this overrated punk band from Canada that someone inked a deal with indie's scared cow of a label, Matador Records. If you haven't heard Fucked Up in a while you may remember a time where they wrote sarcastic bites of simple punk rock. If you listen to then now … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Hammer Bros.

The Kids are Dead
Welfare (2008)

I'm getting too many records that sound exactly like The Kids are Dead. It's another moshy metal crossover type hardcore album that is sweeping VFW dance floors all over the nation in '08. Sure, sometimes they play fast, sometimes Hammer Bros. goes for the menacing metal stomp. Either way, I've heard all too much of it this year. I'm sure … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Jumpercable

Jumpercable
Monkey Wrench (2008)

Awful intro that thankfully goes into speedy hardcore reminiscent of bands from the early part of this decade. It's fun and moshy. They even have a song that begins with a sweet simple bass line and some guitar feedback whine. There was a time when every band sounded like this and had names like Ten Yard Fight, In My Eyes, … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Last Lights

Demo
Independent (2007)

This band sounds like The Suicide File with the spazzy noise of Panic and some chunky riffs of Hope Conspiracy all mixed in. I guess it's time for hardcore bands to recall a half a decade ago when bands from the Northeast played venomous spite-filled mid-tempo rocking hardcore. I'm already chair moshing to the breakdown in "There's No One Good … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Scream Hello

Smart & Stupid
Red Leader (2008)

Super melodic emo-pop with wimpy vocals. Your girlfriend is going to like this band more than you will. It's cute and catchy but a bit too sugary sweet for me. I like the fact that it reminds more of The Get Up Kids and The Promise Ring than any of that garbage clogging up the stages of Warped Tour with … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Signs of Hope

Choices Made
Detonate (2008)

I thoroughly enjoyed CT's Signs of Hope full-length First and Foremost and was pleased as punch to see their new EP in my mailbox. If you aren't familiar with Signs of Hope, they play fast hardcore that sounds like everyone else but it doesn't matter since Signs of Hope does it so well. Choices Made ventures into the ground of … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Stay Sharp

Four Songs
Monkey Wrench (2008)

I remember lurking various bands Myspaces and coming across this Philadelphia band. I remember liking it, I also remember saying something about how Stay Sharp sounded like Lifetime. What's not to love? Well now this four-song EP is rocking in my boombox and now Stay Sharp remind of Holding On's Question What You Live For album. Yes, it's more fast … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Cold Snap

Didn't Your Mother Warn You About Creatures in the Night
Independent (2008)

A three-song demo of slow droning somewhat melodic hardcore named after a Suicide File song. Cold Snap tries to recall the heydays of Boston hardcore when American Nightmare and Panic ruled the roost, but come nowhere close to the emotional outpouring of either band. The vocals are highly annoying in their screeched running out of breath quality. The songs themselves … Read more

Young Widows

Old Wounds
Temporary Residence (2008)

So, Young Widows makes the jump to a new label and to be perfectly honest, this change of scenery for the band seems much like a new beginning rather than an update on an old sound. While the band's previous album, Settle Down City, is a continuation of the work which the group were pursuing as Breather Resist (Young Widows' … Read more

GZA

Pro Tools
Babygrande (2008)

Wu-Tang Clan member GZA - aka The Genius - is back with his first solo offering since 2002's Legend of the Liquid Sword. But it's not like GZA hasn't been busy. The six-year span has seen a collaborative effort with Muggs of Cypress Hill, a new Wu-Tang Clan album last year, and, in-between, collaborations too numerous to count. Pro Tools … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Population Reduction

Each Birth a New Crime
Tankcrimes (2008)

Like weed? What about beer? Okay, here's the clincher: what about loud as shit cynicism rammed into your sloping skull at diarrhea speed? Yeah? Check out Each Birth a New Disaster, the first album by Population Reduction, a two man grind band from San Francisco that drills your eardrums with blast beats, the blackest of thrash riffs, and death metal … Read more

200 Words Or Less

They and the Children

Home
Kill Normal (2008)

What if Deathreat cited Pink Floyd as an influence? Or Isis listened to more d-beat? The result would be spacey and sludgy, ambient while devastating. While these seem like polar opposites in the world of dense music, Connecticut's They and the Children blend these styles with near perfection on their final release, Home . The ebb and flow of this … Read more

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