MADE IT!

I made it! Finally found an application that allows me to post directly from my BlackBerry to this blog without goin thru too much pain in the ass! So siked now I can post from everywhere! How to make a hoe look more cuter? Hennesseys shots and smoke more Buddha!

IRON BOOTS

Allright, first interview here at Soulcraft! I feel like a real dickhead making it public after almost one year I received it (Flza sent it back at me on the 2nd of July 2008), anyway, here it is… just to remember one really good hardcore band of the last years!

First of all introduce yourself: who are you? What do you do in life? How much do you like the Cro-Mags?

I am Flza, I played drums in Iron Boots,  I enjoy NY Hardcore, watching movies, hanging out. I work construction for a living.  I install heat and air conditioning. My love for the Cro-Mags is beyond this world. I aspire to be as good as Mackie one day. I even named my dog Mackie. Another band I played drums in (Victim) played with FVK (Cro-Mags) for our record release and Mackie watched our set and afterwards told me I was really good. Basically it made my whole life.  I’ve been inspired by that dude for so long, its the best compliment ive ever gotten. He used my drums that night too and afterwards I wouldnt change the set up for like a month. I also have a Cro-Mag Life tattooo as well as own an O.G. Age of Quarrel Promotional Poster. I’m scared to hang it up.

Now let’s talk about Iron Boots – how did it all start out?

We (Jesse, Dave and I) were all on an insane warzone kick. Dave was still in high school, probably like 17 or so, he definately prayed at the alter of Raybeez. We just decided we needed to do a band together, I had been in seperate bands with both of them, and me and Jesse were always hanging out writing songs, so we figured we’d put some to use. We just wanted to sound like Warzone. We lived, breathed, ate, slept Warzone. We didn’t care about sounding too much like them, for us, the closer we sounded the better. I pretty much tried to play like Lukie Luke as much as I could. And I think it was just natural for us all. We all pretty much just listened to NY stuff for along time already. It was just natural progression. Our boy tommy who was in the band for all the records is like a guitar phenominon, he could play every Metallica song solo included when he was like 14 and Murphy’s Law is his favorite band ever so he was the prefect dude to do a Warzone style band. and the Scrappy is like a Harley Jr. the dude is good at Bass, its insane.

On the 31st of May you guys played your last show, what pushed you to call it quits?

Well, our boy Ryan Braces (who played in the band for a while) was getting married, and wanted to have a crazy bachelor party show, and we were one of his favorite bands and we were already talking about calling it quits, anyway he asked us to play and it just made sense. So we said deinatley! We’ve had line up issues alot, we would get offers to play crazy shows or tours and everything would be ready to go then, one thing or another would fall apart at the seams. So it kinda just discouraged us from moving foward, we were getting a rep for being huge flakes so we just didn’t try to do anything, we were like “we’ll just cancell it anyway, fuck it” then of course we were just kinda stagnant for a while, ocassionally we would try to get things going again but it just never panned out.

From 2003 to 2008 you guys released one demo and two amazing 7″s, was there an LP in the work?

Yeah there was, we wrote about 10 songs with the plans of doing an LP. It was going to be on Parts Unkown Records in the U.S. and Powered Records in Europe. We actually recorded the music twice, for the most part. The first time we got all but solos and vocals recorded on 8 of the new songs. But after listening to it we thought it just sounded like shit (the recording) I didnt like the way the drums sounded and didn’t like the bass tone really. So we said fuck it, and tried again. The second time, all of my drum stuff was locked in a storage unit where we practiced at because no one payed the rent. So I had to use some drums the guy had at his studio and use his cymbals which were cracked and sounded like donkey shit. So obviously we werent going to finish that session. Then we weren’t really happy with the songs and got an idea to re-work the songs, we actually did it, we re-worked them and we all stoked on them. It was definatley a progression of EZ green stuff, but we never took the next step. We’re cursed man…

I love the two songs on the “Generations” compilation, when were those songs recorded? Did you record more unreleased tunes during that session?

Actually both songs on the Generations comp were recorded at the same time as the Easy Green e.p. originally that 7″ wasn’t supposed to come out. 2 songs were meant for the Generations Comp, 2 songs were meant for a split with Cold World and 2 were meant to be exclusive tracks for our CD discography. But Cold World told us they were calling it quits so we decided to make it a 7″ instead.

Which one is your favorite of the records your released and why?

Mine is definatley definatley Easy Green. I love the tone of the record, I love how we kinda progressed from just sounding like Warzone, to adding alot of other influence, (Cro-mags,AF, Altercation) I feel like I reached a new high with my goal of playing like Mackie. Everything about it I was just a lot more happy with. I think the lyrics were more grown up you know, War Dogs is about our friends and families being sent to war. Where we live is a VERY heavily Military populated area. My family is military, my dad is in the navy my brother is in the army. A lot of kids we grew up with made a choice to join the military. That’s just us saying thank you to them, putting their life on the line. The main dude who that was written about (our boy Jeb) went to Iraq and back a couple times. He killed people, saw a lot of shit people in their 80′s will never see.  It’s just crazy to me people would be so selfless.

You guys have toured a lot, although you unfortunately never made it to Europe… favourite show/tour and cool tales from the road?

Dude I don’t know, I don’t have a favorite tour, certain pieces of each tour… but not a whole tour. We played CBGB’s which was a highlight of my life. Now especially that it’s gone, it was such a huge goal. The first time we played Canada was insane, especially Montreal, we went like 8 hours out of our way to pick up Hoodrack (War Hungry) so he could roll with us, that dude just makes a trip fun. He did a little Intro for us and we busted in Clobberin’ Time, I for real felt like I was at CB’s in like ’87. The shit was so hard. We had DTN dudes fill in for us alot, they did a whole week in california with us (we leached off them) that shit was so cool. We played the first Sound And Fury that week, they helped us out with an east coast weekend like the next week, David played guitar Vinnie Stigma style (unplugged) it ruled. We hit the jersey shore hard. I for real can’t narrow it down. You have no idea how bummed I still am that our Euro tour got cancelled. It would have been insane.  Dead Stop’s last show. OOF

Tell me more about Victim and Stone Thrower (if I remember correctly) – what happened to those bands?

Victim was Me, Jesse, Scrappy Tommy and our Boy Snooky (old school dude for the VB scene, one of my best friends, he took me under his wing when i started going to shows) it was basically a more metal, crossover, meets Ball of Destruction worship band. We started Victim before Iron Boots actually. It was alot of fun, I’m really proud of the Victim LP. Definate NY influence. We called it quits at the beginning of the this year. We were just tired of playing the same show over and over.

Richmond, is it really the best place one will ever be? Any cool bands to check out at the moment?

I love Richmond, it’s been one of my favorite places especially for shows for years, I just moved here a year ago and Dave Boots lives here now too. There’s always stuff to do. The river’s my life right now. I take my dog there at least a couple times a week. It’s a young city. VCU is the the biggest school in Virginia so theres so many college kids every where, you can ride a bike or scooter everywhere. It’s just fun.

You definetly paid a good tribute to NYHC, list your top 3 NYHC bands, LP’s and 7″s…

It changes from time to time but its always in the same ballpark. Right now its:

LPs
Leeway – Desperate Measures
Cro-Mags – Best Wishes
Crown of Thornz – Mentally Vexed

EPs
White Devil – Reincarnate
Burn – Shall Be Judged
Alone In A Crowd

All so hard, all so creative.

Now that Iron Boots is over, are you guys into other bands or planning to do some new ones?

Actually yeah, Me, Hunter (Bracewar) Groater (DTN), Dave(IB) started something, it’s pretty Leeway influenced. Of course other NY bands as well but so far Leeway’s Desperate Measures is a big influence. I’m really stoked on it. Also I have another band with Ryan Braces called No Values, its’ not NY style, it’s fast kinda Suicidal Tendencies and Violent Minds style stuff. A little something different.

Last question: should we consider Iron Boots done for good or is there any hope for something new in the future?

You know I would go ahead and say it’s down for. I’d like to release those songs we wrote but we can’t ever get anything together so I’d say were done.

End this however you want…

Yo, thanks to you for the interview. Thanks to everyone in Europe who was into us. It was a big goal of ours to play Europe, sorry to let you down. We had a lot of fun with the band and that’s all we really set out to do. So goal accomplished. “Everybody out there. Always keep the faith”

REVIEWS #4

Because of this lack of updates some of these are pretty old, still these are some records that I’ve really enjoyed in the last months…

BIRDS OF A FEATHER – THE PAST THE PRESENT [Refuse Records]
myspace.com/xbirdsofafeatherx | refuserecords.prv.pl

I feel stupid reviewing this record almost one year after JP gave it to me last summer at Fluff Fest, no doubt procrastination is a big problem for me… anyway, at least I’m reviewing this while pre-orders are being taken for the vinyl version of the record, which is also featuring a 12″-sized book entitled “The Past The Present 1982-2007: A History of 25 Years of European Straight Edge” written by Marc and JP, documenting the history of the European straight edge scene through bands going from Lärm to Eye of Judgement as well as Mainstrike and whatever else can come to your mind! Musically expect the good old youth crew sound always backed by Bigma’s socially conscious and positive minded lyrics. Get your hands on the LP + book, definately a European hardcore must-have!

CRUEL HAND – PRYING EYES [Bridge 9 Records]
myspace.com/cruelhand | bridge9.com

Started as a side-project featuring members of Outbreak, this band got many people siked since their first 7″ came out in late 2006. Anyway, since then this band managed to put out an amazing LP, tour both the US and Erope and finally sign a deal with Bridge 9. In fact here they are releasing their B9 debut, “Prying Eyes”. Believe me if I say this is going to be one of the heaviest records released this year, and the 12 songs featured on this LP, a perfect mix of hardcore, metal and crossover influences, can only confirm what I’m saying. Aggressive and brutal are the best words to describe the sound of this band, bringing faster parts with some pretty heavy breakdowns, sure to be the soundtrack of some heavy moshing during their live shows. These dudes are constantly touring, so be sure you don’t miss the chance to have some fun on the dancefloor!

DANNY DIABLO – HARDCORE 4 THE COLD HEARTED [Countdown Records]
myspace.com/lordezec | countdownrecords.com

When you hear the name Danny Diablo you pretty much know what to expect, and this release once again confirms that the DD / Countdown Records combo is nothing but a winning team! After more than ten years of activity it’s time for this NYHC icon to have a collection release… and here it is! On these two CD’s you can find more than 50 songs that include Crown of Thornz, Skarhead and Icepick material as well as Lord Ezec’s solo projects featuring guest appearances of OG dudes such as John “Bloodclot” Joseph, Freddy Madball, Lou of Subzero, Craig Ahead, Roger AF, Danny Boy and Everlast of House of Pain, Skinhead Rob, Necro and many others… grab this shit and go TCOB!

H2O – NOTHING TO PROVE [Bridge 9 Records]
myspace.com/h2ofamily | bridge9.com

Finally, after a 7 years long wait, New York’s hardcore legends are back with a brand new record – and let me assure you it was worth waiting this long! After being around for more than 13 years, they couldn’t pick a better title for this record, as they really have nothing to prove at the point they’re at right now. The formula remains the same: hardcore in its purest form with a lot of melody and catchiness, great lyrics and an energy equal to no one around these days. If you were among those who were let down by their last effort “Go!”, as some people said when it came out, this record is definately going to bring you back on a heavy H2O trip. I really don’t know how they managed to do this, but there is no single song on this record that won’t stick in your mind and that you won’t find yourself humming while driving or walking in the street. Just like everything they released in the past, this is going to be a true classic!

IRON AGE – THE SLEEPING EYE [Cyclopean Records]
myspace.com/ironagetexas | cyclopeanrecords.com

Long-anticipated by last year’s “The Way Is Narrow” 7″, the new Iron Age record is something I was really looking forward to… unfortunately, not having too much time because of work and touring kept me out of date on this and I didn’t even know it was out, and when I did, it was already sold out (in a day?! amazing!)… curiosity pushed me to download it as soon as I heard t he news, so here I am listening to one amazing metal record, yeah, that’s what it is, it ain’t cheap metal played by a hardcore band, this is good metal played by an amazing hardcore band! Crossover influences of bands such as Crumbsuckers and Corrosion of Conformity perfectly melts with heavy metal and doom atmospheres. Tee Pee Records is re-releasing this in August to the masses, must grab this masterpiece!

OLDE YORK – EMPIRE STATE [Countdown Records]
myspace.com/oldeyork | countdownrecords.com

Two good friends involved in this release, my brother Luca of Countdown Records and my good NYC friend Blake Farber – the first one’s putting out this record while the second one’s playing guitar on it! Was really looking forward to hear this record and believe me, as soon as you put this into your CD player you’ll be brought back in time to CBGB’s matinees. While a lot of band nowadays are trying to get back to the NYHC thing, this is some real NYHC here, influenced by the likes of Warzone, Sick of It All and Breakdown, their fast and furious style is bound to turn heads. One old New York glory brought back on here too, Eddie Sutton of Leeway, featured on the song Talkin’ Smack. Plenty of good and danceable tunes here, so just make sure to grab this if you want some real New York hardcore!

RANCID – LET THE DOMINOES FALL [Epitaph]
myspace.com/rancid | epitaph.com

Six years passed since their last studio album and I’m pretty sure everyody into these legends of punk rock couldn’t wait anymore to listen to the new record! To be honest I was really excited when I heard the single “Last One To  Die”, it featured every single element that made Rancid what they are now, the catchiness and the intensity that only a classic band like them can keep through the years. Listening to the whole record you can hear how they got back to their earlier sound, the dope bass lines, the rocksteady influences, Lars and Tim unique vocals… it’s all there! Some say it’s already a classic, can’t say that as pretty much their whole discography is, but undoubtely an amazing new chapter in their career!

REMAIN – OUT OF ANGER [Not Just Words Records]
myspace.com/remain | njwrecords.com

Featuring ex-members of The Dead Scenestars and Spirit 84, this band already got me pretty siked with the first 7″ that came out a couple of years ago, and I must admit I really couldn’t wait to get this LP to see what was up with these guys right now. All I can say is that my expectations were fully satisfied – nothing has changed about them, they’re still all about straight to your face hardcore. The 14 songs featured on “Out of Anger” are strongly influenced by bands such as Judge, Floorpunch, Right Brigade and No Warning, with some amazing mosh parts here and there, a strong NYHC vibe, all topped by an energy equal to few. Within way too many hypes and meaningless poses, Remain’s taking back some real deal with no frills!

RUINER – I HEARD THESE DUDES ARE ASSHOLES [Bridge 9 Records]
myspace.com/ruiner | bridge9.com

Baltimore’s Ruiner are the perfect example of how a good DIY mentality and hard work can get you good results. These dudes started out by releasing everything by themselves and are now a world touring band releasing records on one of the biggest hardcore labels around right now. After 4 years as a band here they are with their 2nd release on Bridge 9 Records, which is  a collection featuring their “What Could Possibly Go Right” EP, their split with Portugal’s Day of The Dead as well as their first demo ever. Here’s a record to be considered a proof of dedication and loyalty to being a hardcore band.

THE RIVAL MOB – RAW LIFE [Lockin Out Records]
myspace.com/therivalmob | lockinout.com

I had never heard of this band until the first show of our US tour in March when we played The Democracy Center in Cambridge, MA and one of the band on the bill was in fact The Rival Mob. I must admit that even though I was as stoned as an orangutan I really enjoyed their show, these dudes decided to bring back some really old and unusual shit, influnced by bands such as Abused and Warzone what they do is straight up hardcore, some sweet mosh parts here and there, everything played fast and with no frills, shit is real! After the show their singer was cool enough to hook me up with this LP that I spin from time to time to enjoy some good ‘core!

TRAP THEM – SEIZURES IN BARREN PRAISE [Deathwish Inc.]
myspace.com/trapthem | deathwishinc.com

Allright, this is one of the hardest, heavier and most intense record that came out in 2008, get a fucking clue. People talked about this band called Trap Them and their descriptions didn’t really fit my taste so that I never really got to listen to them until we had the chance to play a show with them on their European tour last year with Grief… I stood open mouth from the first to the last song and ran to their merch table to grab an LP right after the show was over, couldn’t sleep on a band like them! It is pretty hard to define what these guys sound like, all I can say is that their heavy and abrasive sound is something unique and intense, backed by some truly awesome lyrics. The story of a ghost town called “Barren Praise” that will without any doubt make you think about your own life, at least that’s what it did with me…

Now playing:

• Cormega – The Realness
• Diplo DJ set yesterday night was the shit!
• Black Friday ’29 – The Pursuit of Happiness

Resurrection – Take 1

Haven’t updated this shit in a long time, think the time has come for a comeback… last months have been damn busy and after a shitload of touring in Europe (had the chance to share 10 days on the road with the Cro-Mags) and my first tour in the US, that we shared with La Crisi, I had to get back a working my ass off to get some cash. In the meantime I got a BlackBerry that, as I don’t have a computer anymore (one of the reasons there’s chances there’ll never be a paper zine) will give me the chance to update this blog from the road… Working on a new band called Dreamcrusher and will fill in on bass for a couple of shows with Payback and then it’s time for another Strength Approach European tour, this time with Gold Kids and Lifend! Can’t wait! So if you want just keep an eye out on all this shit! It ain’t hard to tell.

Now playing:

• Gast – Underground Legend
• Thievery Corporation – Radio Retaliation
• Non Phixion – The Future Is Now
• Rancid – Life Won’t Wait

REVIEWS #3

BITTER END – BITTER END [Deathwish Inc.]
www.myspace.com/bitterend
www.deathwishinc.com

Less than a year after releasing their first LP “Climate of Fear”, here’s San Antonio, Texas’ hardest, Bitter End, back with some new material: 7 inches of wax featuring 3 new songs that do nothing but keeping alive the legacy of brutality of their previous efforts. These new tunes definately bring their metal influences to a new peak, showing an even more mature band, resulting as the perfect mix of Slayer, Best Wishes-era Cro-Mags and NYHC bands such as Killing Time, Breakdown or Leeway. Introduced by 2 minutes of pure Slayer-esque metal madness, the band delivers the two songs, “Purgatory” and “Power Struggle”, with extreme intensity and power, alternating thrashing riffs with some slow-paced breakdowns with true style! Fifteen minutes of hardcore that does nothing but confirming Bitter End as one of the best bands around right now!

CEREMONY – STILL NOTHING MOVES YOU [Bridge 9 Records]
www.myspace.com/ceremony
www.bridge9.com

If you haven’t heard of Ceremony, you’ve probably been living in a cave for the last couple of years, or are just too dumb to listen to them. Anyway, theren’s no doubt that this band is going to live a pretty deep mark in the hardcore scene for the years to come, and their new record is yet another proof of this statement. I can’t think of too many bands that are able to play hardcore in such a violent way, with such a punk attitude and such an incredible intensity. They melt shotgun-fast parts with slower and gloomier parts, and at times you don’t know if you’re listening to a 2008 hardcore band or to an early Swans demo. I don’t have too many words on this band, they’re all useless, just get this record. Now.

COLD WORLD – DEDICATED TO BABIES WHO CAME FEET FIRST [Deathwish Inc.]
www.myspace.com/thecoldworld
www.deathwishinc.com

This first Cold World full-length has probably been one of the most awaited records this year and, I must admit it, just like it happened with every single thing they released in the past, it took me a couple of listens to get into the new CW sound. From first to last, the 15 tunes featured on “Dedicated To Babies Who Came Feet First” is a bag of bricks thrown at you from a mile-high skyscraper, moshaholic hardcore with strong Biohazard (Billy Graziadei’s the producer of this record!) and Life of Agony influences. Lyrics on this record perfectly picture the life of people living their 20′s in this modern world, a jungle of hardships and violence. As usual rap and hip-hop influences pop up here and there through some pretty sweet interludes. Featured on one of the songs is Floorpunch’s Mark Porter as well as Blacklisted’s George Hirsch. Since day one, Cold World set themselves apart from the crowd, this record confirms that they’re true leaders of what’s going on today in hardcore.

COMMON CAUSE – THE POWER TO CHANGE [Powered Records]
www.myspace.com/commoncauseoc
www.poweredrecords.com

What else can pop to your mind when you hear names such as Eyeball, Damage Control or Onward if not youth crew hardcore and straight edge? Started in 2005 by singer Dan and guitarist Jon, Common Cause’s been shaking grounds since their first demo-tape, and that couldn’t have been different considering the 5 songs featured on it. After a 7″ released in late 2006, here’s their debut LP and yeah, you got it, it’s great! Eight songs that are strongly influenced by Youth of Today, Hard Stance, The Abused and Straight Ahead, still, in my opinion, with some Oslo hardcore elements thrown here and there. These guys are touring machines, and I’m pretty sure they’ll be hitting your town, so make sure you don’t miss them!

DEAL WITH IT – END TIME PROPHECIES [Dead & Gone Records]
www.myspace.com/dealxwithxit
www.deadandgonerecords.com

Deal With It caught my attention since their “World Coming Down” 7″ released last year; seeing them live, even though only one time, had me liking them quite a lot; well, this first LP makes me shout “Oh shit!”. All I can say is that “End Time Prophecies” rocks from the beginning to the end, from the amazing artwork by Ed Repka to the last chord of the last song. While their previous record sounded like the band was still kinda confused about where they were heading, this new material shows a much better band in terms of songwriting, while lyrically the concept behind this record still rotates around the condition of humanity nowadays. Cro-Mags, Killing Time and Leeway-driven hardcore to make your feet stomp. Grab this shit – humanity is history.

ENERGY – INVASIONS OF THE MIND [Bridge 9 Records]
www.myspace.com/thisenergy
www.bridge9.com

First time I heard of Energy was through their interview on There’s Nothing Like It Fanzine #2, but I honestly didn’t listen to the band in that occasion. I now find myself listening to their Bridge 9 Records debut full-length “Invasions of The Mind” and, even though I can’t say I missed on something huge, this band is definately an interesting one. The 11 songs of melodic hardcore featured on this record take inspiration from a huge range of bands, going from Ignite to AFI, from the Misfits to Gorilla Biscuits and the result is pretty cool. This may not be a record I’d take with me on a desert island, but it definately a damn catchy one! These guys will be on tour with H2O, Bane and Cruel Hand in the US, and with Slapshot and All For Nothing, so check them out!

HAVE HEART – SONGS TO SCREAM AT THE SUN [Bridge 9 Records]
www.myspace.com/haveheart
www.bridge9.com

I still remember listening to the first Have Heart demo and thinking how much these guys were good, seeing them 5 years later being still around and getting better and better is simply amazing, and it shows how hard work ethics and dedication pay well in the end. This new chapter in HH’s story marks yet another evolution in their sound and, in my opinion, overall as a band. Musically they’re kinda picking up where they left off on “The Things We Carry”, although getting emotion and power to a new level, while lyrically things here get more and more deep and personal. I’m pretty sure we all agree that this is a one of a kind band, and the10 songs they crafted for this record do nothing but confirming this, as well as setting new standards for the generations of hardcore bands to come.

INTERNAL AFFAIRS – DALEK [Triumvir]
www.myspace.com/internalxaffairs
www.triumvir3.com

The news of Internal Affairs splitting up bummed me out so fucking much, especially because they were about to embark for another European tour, and I got so damn siked to see them once again. Anyway, before parting ways, the band recorded a 12″ EP, released by Orange County based streetwear company Triumvir, featuring an amazing artwork by renowned artist Dalek. Released as an amazing pack featuring 4 different vinyl colors as well as 2 t-shirts, the record itself features 4-tracks of Internal Affairs trademark: fast, thrashing and pissed off hardcore, with poisonous lyrics and an icing on the cake made of a good dose of breakdowns and nice mosh parts. Although I’m pretty sure we will all be missing this amazing band, there’s no doubt we once again have another good Internal Affairs record to listen to! Internal Affairs x Dalek x Triumvir – forever.

RHYTHM TO THE MADNESS – WELTSCHMERZ [Powered Records]
www.myspace.com/rhythmtothemadness
www.poweredrecords.com

I can’t do anything about it, I love this band. Since the day I’ve listened to the 2 songs featured on their demo-tape I’ve been saying they’re the best band that came out of Europe recently, try to prove me wrong. The follow up 7″, “Soul Doubt”, did nothing but proving that, while this debut LP, well, it just shreds. Line-up has changed since their last release, with Ced from Rise And Fall joining on 2nd guitar, making things heavier than ever. Seems like these dudes have been listening to a lot of Slayer and Motorhead along with the Cro-Mags – a lot of grooves, solos, thrashing riffs and heavy breakdowns in these 8 songs, written on their search for the truth, on their crusade against devilishment. Hardness like never before from these Belgian soul survivors, a record you MUST NOT sleep on.

WAR PIGS – NO HOPE, NO FAITH, NO POINT [Leave 'Em Records]
www.myspace.com/warpigshc
www.myspace.com/leaveemrecords

Straight outta Doylestown, Pennsylvania comes War Pigs, which is, like I’ve already previously stated, one hell of a band! This first 7″ they’re putting is at the same time the first release for Ohio’s Leave ‘Em Records – and what an amazing release it is for both parties involved. Something as good and as original as this is not too easy to find nowadays, and it’s just lovely: a mixture of the most classic hardcore with AC/DC, Black Sabbath and Stooges influences – hardcore meets rock’n'roll in its purest form, with a simply amazing result! These 4 songs are able to get these dudes away from pretty much everything that’s going on today, and let me tell you I expect even better things from them in the futre, as I don’t wanna think about how good an LP from this band could be! Get it at THIS link.

WHILE YOU WAIT – A LIFE FOR A LIFE [Indelirium Records]
www.myspace.com/whileyouwaitmusic
www.indeliriumrecords.com

Straight outta Italy, and featuring past and current members of an endless list of bands, While You Wait is a pretty young band. Born in 2007 from an idea of the man behind Indelirium Records, the band started working really hard writing tunes to put out their debut release. Finally, after a demo used to spread their name, here’s their debut MCD “A Life For A Life”. The record features 6 songs in which you can hear some strong influences from band ranging from American Nightmare to From Ashes Rise, going through Go It Alone and Grade. Vocals are damn harsh and the quality of the recording definately played a nice trick. Overall, if you’re into the latest breed of hardcore, melting melody and aggression, this is definately a band you have to check out!

Now playing:

• Bad Brains – Quickness
• Ol’ Dirty Bastard – Return To The 36 Chambers
• House of Pain – House of Pain
• Madball – Demonstrating My Style
• HR – Charge

GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION 2008

Allright, summer 2008 has unfortunately come to an end, and it’s been without any doubt the best time of my life! I finally found some time to update this blog in between tours, shows, festivals and work.  After the European tour with Strength Approach in June finally came the H2O + Strength Approach European tour, which was a real blast. When it comes to hardcore, these 5 dudes from NYC are the real deal, something pretty hard to find nowadays… plus you MUST check their new record “Nothing To Prove” for it’s simply amazing! After almost a month on the road, that got me to see tons of amazing bands such as Death By Stereo (party posse ain’t over yet!), Ice Cube, Life of Agony, Agnostic Front, the Wu-Tang Clan, Merauder and many others, just a few days home to get some rest and it was time for Fluff Fest (CZ), Hageland Fest (BEL) and Sucks N Summer Fest (GER) to have even more fun! The rest of August was spent working and recovering on lost sleeping hours. To end summer in the best way I had an amazing trip to Ieper Fest (BEL) to check otu the best European hardcore festival. Although the new venue sucks pretty bad, and weather didn’t help either, I had an amazing time and had the chance to meet a lot of people I haven’t seen in a good time.; the bill was amazing as well, featuring bands such as H2O, Have Heart, Verse, Shipwreck, Bloodclot, Pulling Teeth, Fucked Up, Backfire!, Rhythm To The Madness, Rise And Fall (4 guitar cabs, that’s amazing!) and way too many others! As you can understand, all this stuff kept me away from working on the fanzine which will be out as soon as possible but well, “as I look back now on this summer vacation, I realize I’ll always be guilty by association”.

Now playing:

• Cold World – Dedicated To Babies Who Came Feet First
• Ice Cube – Raw Footage
• H2O – Nothing To Prove (fuck yeah, I ain’t tired of them!)

STAY COLD

Just to keep you updated, Soulcraft ‘zine and Countdown Records have joined forces into Power-Load webstore… this solution is just temporary for as soon as I’ll be back from the H2O + Strength Approach Euro tour we’ll start working on a brand new store, fully redesigned and featuring an amazing catalogue… be sure to keep your eyes opened for this, as you’ll find a lot of interesting stuff in the webstore! In the meantime, check the available stuff @ www.power-load.com

Work on Issue #1 is going really good, tons of reviews ready, tons of great pictures will be featured, interviews with Cold World and Internal Affairs, a Chung King special article too with people such as Tim McMahon and his majesty the record collector Sebastiaan D’Hertoge… it’s going to be great!

In other news, a couple of days ago I was in Florence for the Lion of Judah / Trapped Under Ice / Dirty Money show, which turned out to be pretty cool, these bands really shred on stage. All of the guys in the bands are great people, it was a great night and had the chance to meet tons of friends… unfortunately bad luck stroke on the Trapped Under Ice and Lion of Judah guys as, the day after the show, their van was broken into and tons of stuff were stolen, including money and passports. You know you have to support these guys, 100% genuine hardcore dudes: the tour will keep going so go out to all of their shows and help them out, buy merch and records. If you want, you can also make a donation through PayPal (check the picture below)… just do it!

These are the remaining shows of the tour:

29/06 – Hengelo @ Innocent (NL)
30/06 – Ibbenburen @ Scheune Cafe (Ger)
01/07 – Paris @ Le Klub (FRA)
02/07 – Newport @ Le Pub (UK)
03/07 – Hull @ Ringside (UK)
04/07 – Liverpool @ Korova (UK)
05/07 – Birmingham @ The Ben Johnson (UK)
06/07 – Colchester @ Cambridge Arms

Now playing:

• City And Colour – Bring Me Your Love
• Iron Boots – Easy Green
• Megadeth – Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?

REVIEWS #2

[ Click on record covers to buy! ]

ANGER – DESTINATED [Sliptrick Records]
www.myspace.com/anger
www.sliptrickrecords.com

The first time I heard of Anger was last year when their drummer Senna filled in on drums for some shows with The Difference. He was playing in this melodic hardcore band from Vicenza and they had just started recording their new record, which had to be released on San Francisco, CA’s Sliptrick Records. Last time I met Senna he was kind enough to give me a copy of “Destinated”, their brand new record. I already knew he was an amazing drummer and a nerd about high quality music, but I honestly didn’t expect this record to be so well played and produced. Why? Cause the band has been able to release such a great product by recording it all by themselves at the Anger Room, their own rehearsal place, mixing it later on at Hate Studios. Well, what you get on “Destinated” are 12 songs of pure melodic hardcore the way bands used to do in Cali back in the 90′s. If you’re into bands such as Satanic Surfers, Lagwagon et similia, you’ll love Anger!

COLOSS – SONGS OF HATE AND EMOTION [MVHC/Hellnation]
www.myspace.com/colosshc
www.hellnation.it

After being on hiatus for a couple of years, Rome’s Coloss are back with a brand new record, proudly self-produced by the band and distributed by the almighty Hellnation Recordstore. This new effort pretty much picks up where the band left when they stopped in late 2005. Well, “Songs of Hate And Emotion” is an explosive work featuring 14 songs in less than 13 minutes of fast and powerful, thrashy and ironic punk hardcore reminiscent of Born Against and 80′s hardcore in general. I must admit that although I’ve never been a huge fan of this kind of fast hardcore, Coloss is one of those bands that I make an exception for, and the more rockish influences on this new record make it even better! Stop sitting around at home and get this right now!

CURTAIN – ALBATROSS: DEMO MMVIII
www.myspace.com/curtainhardcore

It’s been ages since there’s been a good hardcore band coming out from Rome, so I can’t explain how excited I am about these guys. I still hate myself for missing their first show! Featuring past and current members of To Kill, The Difference, Final Words and Drawing A Life, these guys bring a breath of fresh air in a stagnant and boring hardcore scene which is the one we have in Rome right now. When I heard that these guys were doing a band I just couldn’t wait to hear some material recorded, for I knew exactly what to expect, and I obviously I wasn’t let down when this Demo was made available. The four songs featured on “Albatross” show strong influences by bands such as Verse, American Nightmare, Unbroken and Go It Alone, but the guys still manage to add their own original touch, like they did with all their previous bands, managing to make it sound both hard and melodic, backed by some really good lyrics. The demo is available for download on their MySpace, so check it out and always keep an eye on them!

IRON AGE – THE WAY IS NARROW [Dead & Gone Records]
www.myspace.com/ironagetexas
www.deadandgonerecords.com

Iron Age. Where can I start with this band? Well, there’s no doubt that if they formed in NY in the mid 80′s these guys would have been on the Profile Records roster side by side with bands such as Leeway and the Cro-Mags, probably touring with Corrosion of Conformity or Obituary… things went differently, these guys formed in Texas and are undoubtly one of the heaviest bands around right now. Their first Demo displayed their potential, their “Constant Struggle” LP confirmed with. Now, after the “Burden of Empire” 7″, the texan riff-machine is back with another 7″ while they’re working on their 2nd LP, “The Way Is Narrow”. Two songs on this piece of wax: on the A Side we can find the new song which gives the title to this record, a mastodontic 5 minutes song of pure heaviness and metallic influences; B Side features the cover song “Satori Pt.1″, originally by Japan’s Flower Travellin’ Band, a must hear. Can’t wait for the new LP…

NO TURNING BACK – STRONGER [Reflections Records]
www.myspace.com/noturningbackhardcore
www.reflectionsrecords.com

I think we all agree on the fact that, when it comes down to hardcore, if you combine passion, dedication and a lot of hard work, in the end you always get good results. Well, No Turning Back is the living proof for this statement. Going strong for the last 10 or more years, the kings of Brabant are back with a brand new full-length after two years spent around the globe to promote their “Holding On” record. Their new record “Stronger” is just another proof that these guys are here to stay, always going stronger and unwilling to give up. As strange as this may sound, with the 14 songs that make this record, also featuring guest vocals by Down To Nothing, Cold World and Enemy Ground, they managed to raise the level of brutality in their music making “Stronger” one of the hardest record released in Europe in a good time. The formula is still the same, harsh NYHC-influenced hardcore that won’t make you stand still in a pit. Watch me rise as you fall!

PAYBACK – BRING IT BACK [Countdown Records]
www.myspace.com/paybackhc
www.countdownrecords.com

The kings of Roman hardcore are back! After releasing their third record “Kings of Nothing” last year, the guys got in touch with Countdown Records to release this new effort “Bring It Back”. Well, this actually isn’t a new record, as it only features 4 new songs, but along with these 4 tunes you’ll get the re-mastered version of their two previous records, “Keep Your Friends Close” and “Don’t Break The Bloodpact”, which have been out of print for the last two years or more. Since day one, these guys have dedicated their heart and soul to bringing back old school hardcore in Rome the way bands like Warzone, Cro-Mags and early Agnostic Front did in New York back in the days. The whole thing is backed by a strong street-core attitude, which makes them really interesting, plus once you these guys rocking a stage believe me you’ll be impressed! One of the new songs also features Mr. Roger Miret on vocals, so you know what to expect…

TRAPPED UNDER ICE – STAY COLD [Reaper Records]
www.myspace.com/underdaice
www.reaperhardcore.com

Nowadays it doesn’t take too much for a band to be described as “hard”: just throw a mosh part here and there, go to the gym, listen to Alpha Omega 24/7, wear an OG Cro-Mags shirt on stage and create your hype. Anyway, there’s a huge difference between this and being really hard. Well, not a lot of bands around these days deserve this description, but Trapped Under Ice are undoubtly one of them! I must admit it did take me some time to get into this band, but once you realize what this band is all about you’ll just love them. This Baltimore band gained a lot of popularity during the last months, and that’s what they deserve, for the amazing blend of NYHC that falls somewhere between Breakdown and Crown of Thornz is just brutality at its best. The 6 songs featured on “Stay Cold”, topped with one of the best artwork seen to date, will be the soundtrack to some pretty bad violnece at their live shows. Once again Kitzel’s Reaper Records comes out with an amazing release!

VARIOUS ARTISTS – A CLAUDIO [Claudio Con Noi Records]
www.hellnation.it

All cops are bastards, no doubts about this… well, in this case we can shout it loud and clear! In November 2007, an SS Lazio supporter was shot dead by a cop on the highway while he was travelling to a football match: in this occasion there was no division between AS Roma and SS Lazio supporters, both ran into the streets fighting against police oppression and injustices. During the riots, Claudio was arrested and is now awaiting trial. To support Claudio through these hard times, four bands from Rome joined forces and released a benefit 7″ with one song for each band. On Side A, Pinta Facile stands out for the Oi! side of this record while Payback keeps the standards high for roman hardcore; on Side B we find Grand Theft Age’s harsh streetpunk and The Fourth Sin’s abrasive and violent thrashing hardcore, something between the Cro-Mags and Slayer. Buy this release if you want to help out a guy just like you and me, who still believes that A.C.A.B. is an important statement!

Now playing:

• Think I Care – World Asylum
• Integrity – Humanity Is The Devil
• Editors – An End Has A Start

WE ALL DIE ALONE

What’s up fellas! Just came back from the Strength Approach – Brake For Nobody Euro Tour 2008, which turned out to be a real blast… 10 days spent on the road with some great people, sleeping, eating 24/7 and luckily none of the plans we made have failed (apart from no factory outlet stops allowed). Met some amazing people (shoutouts to Maximilian Zangara, Valentina Bears, zio Capoccia, Jeni @ Cutlove Tours, Lionheart xxx, Ben Ok Pilot, Joe Ellis, Turns To Black, Tom @ Double Crossed Records, Ben, First Death, Bitter End, Meltdown, 50 Lions, Anchor, Kingdom, Anger, Free Mosh Team, Starbucks, Sanifair showers, the Subversiv in Berlin, the Gerber in Weimar, the Buntes Haus in Forst and way too many other people!), some not, but everything went smoothly and had a great time with the 5 guys in the band. Shows were amazing, highlights being the German ones and the one in the UK with Bitter End and Meltdown (the hardest band around!). Good news from this tour is the deal between Strength Approach and Macbeth Footwear, which will provide the band with sneakers to rock the stage. A tour report by band’s singer Alex will be featured on Issue #1, which is due to be released in July or August, depending on my exams. The shows on this tour, which displayed the energy of the new line-up, were just a warm-up for their European tour with H2O that will kick off on the 26th of June in Den Bosch (NL) and will end on the 19th of June in Elz (GER), while H2O will have a couple more shows in Europe. The brand new H2O record, “Nothing To Prove”, will be out on the 20th of June on Bridge 9 Records, you must check it out.

Photogalleries are at these links:

• Soulcraft MySpace profile – CLICK HERE
• Strength Approach MySpace profile – CLICK HERE

Some new stuff available on our webstore, including the new Iron Age 7″ which is simply amazing, out on Dead & Gone records. Lot of more stuff has been added to the store, anyway it will be soon moved to another website, as Soulcraft Webstore will collaborate with Power-Load, webstore run by Countdown Records. Some news concerning D&G Records: pre-orders are up for the new Deal With It record “End Time Prophecies”, which is going to be the “Alpha Omega” of our millenium. The band uploaded three new songs on their MySpace profile that are pure insanity, CLICK HERE to listen to them. Here’s how the label describes the band’s new record: “We’re happy to announce that we’re taking pre-orders for ‘End Time Prophecies’ which is a record we’re really proud to be releasing. Deal With It has poured everything into this record and they have produced something we have never heard from a UK band. This record is a representation of a whole lot of effort, conviction and passion.

They have created a record which honours the memory of old New York hardcore and its mythos but have stamped it with their own distinctive mark. Bleak riffs marry bleaker lyrics which spit out a scornful wake up call reflecting current planetary chaos. 12 tracks which hit hard but also have something definitive to say – a real rarity in today’s hardcore climate of posturing, jealousy and whinging. Fans of ‘Alpha O’ Cro Mags, The Icemen and Breakdown will get a buzz out of this.

To cap it all off the LP features artwork from Ed Repka (Megadeth, Nuclear Assault etc) which perfectly encapsulates the vision of singer Mike. Sweet huh?”

So don’t waste your time and rush to www.deadandgonerecords.com to pre-order your copy and get the chance to enter a draw to win a test press of “End Time Prophecies”…

Now playing:

• Oasis – (What’s The Story?) Morning Glory
• Digitalism – Idealism
• Danny Diablo – Thugcore 4 Life

DEDICATED TO BABIES WHO CAME FEET FIRST

That’s it, it’s finally going to hit the streets! Deathwish Inc. has finally announced the release date for the new Cold World record, entitled “Dedicated To Babies Who Came Feet First”. From the 22nd of July (pre-orders will be made available before this date) we’ll be able to mosh to 15 new songs written by this Wilkes-Barre, PA hardcore machine. This new record has been produced by Mr. Billy Graziadei (Biohazard’s guitarist)… can you imagine how hard this is going to be? Three songs have been made available and can be found on the Deathwish Inc. website. While the first two songs, “Roaches And Rats” and “How Deep”, stand next to the band’s previous material, the latter, “Time To Brak Down”, draws many more metal and crossover influences, with tons of Biohazard and Life of Agony thrown in… simply amazing! At this point just keep an eye out for pre-orders (which I think will also feature a digital download) and let’s just wait for the record to spin in our record players. I seriously expect this to be the “Age of Quarrel” in 2008.

Work on Issue #1 is going smooth, lots of good things are going to be featured! Everyone interested in having records reviewed, ads published, naked pictures on cover or whatever else, just get in touch!