A New Enemy - S/T

Aside from The Misfits (obviously) this band right here is probably my favorite New Jersey band. Heartfelt hardcore punk, sincere lyrics, awesome vocals, catchy melodies, songs about skateboarding and a Bad Brains cover. What more could you ask for?

Singer went on to front Robot Whales, Spanish Bombs and probably 19872817978972987 other awesome bands I'm sure, but I have always liked A New Enemy the most out of his projects.

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Greyarea - Fanbelt Algebra

Haven't posted in a while. Not really sure why to be honest, but to make up for it I offer one of the best albums ever.

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The Gaslight Anthem - Acoustic AP Session

Nerdery Pt. III

Someone on the Gaslight message board posted this, and now I am posting it here.

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The Gaslight Anthem - Live in Boston

Gaslight Anthem Nerdery Pt. II

This is a live set from when they played Boston on August 17, 2008. This was the day after the record release show in NYC which was incredible. The quality isn't great but I thought it would be a lot worse. It hasn't kept me from listening to this a hundred times already. ENJOY!

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The Gaslight Anthem - Live Acoustic on KEXP

For all the other Gaslight Anthem nerds, I have a live acoustic set + interview for you. Just Brian but it is still pretty delicious and I enjoy hearing the songs played acoustically. ENJOY!!

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The Bouncing Souls - How I Spent My Summer Vacation

I figured I would make a Souls post seeing as how I am seeing them tonight (for maybe the 20th time) with GREYFUCKINGAREA and Sick Of It All & I am ridiculously excited. Best Bouncing Souls record. The end.


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Behind Enemy Lines - The Global Cannibal

This has been the only album I have been listening to lately, and by lately I mean the past four or five days. If you're unaware of this band, they are a ridiculously awesome crust band with ex-members of Aus-Rotten and The Pist. Think of a faster Aus-Rotten but a lot heavier. Politically charged punk just the way I like it. Listen and love it.

Favorite Track: Global Cannibal

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Chain Of Strength - What Holds Us Apart 7" / True Till Death 7"

No review needed, just going to say that this is the way the songs were supposed to sound in all of it's raw and passionate form.

DOWNLOAD TTD HERE!!
DOWNLOAD WHUA HERE!!

Lariat - Means Of Production

I had recently found myself going through my cd collection and looking for albums that I haven't listened to in quite some time. Means of Production by Lariat was one of the albums that I dusted off the shelf and put in the cd player only to remember why I purchased this album in the first place. Putting it in brought me right back to Hellfest 2001 which was the first time I had seen and heard them and I remember being completely blown away by their set. I remember there being a pretty large sing-a-long to the song "Cubicle" (which is on their split with At War With Shadows) and just being pulled in by everyone screaming "This is not forever, we are not immortal/If you knew you were dying tomorrow how would you have lived today?" Unfortunately that was the only time I had caught these dudes live. Excellent hardcore and crust influenced metalcore with a big political agenda to boot. Think Unbroken meets His Hero Is Gone meets Deadguy...kind of. Just give this a listen if you have not heard them, this release will NOT disappoint. I know I say that about a lot of things, but I MEAN IT!


Favorite Track: Monsanto

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WATCHMEN TRAILER!

This is my nerdy side coming out. I saw this trailer last night when I went to go see The Dark Knight (which is the best movie ever, mind you) and I cannot tell you how ridiculously stoked I am for this. I was kind of worried about how Dr. Manhattan was going to look but I think he looks spot-on. HURRY UP 2009!!

Immortal Technique - Revolutionary Vol. 2

I know it has taken me a little while to update the blog, my internet has been down, I've been in NYC for a few days and yesterday I was pretty much bed ridden all day, but it's all good beause I am back now. Over the past week or so, I have been listening to Immortal Technique more than any other artist, and I have been listening to this album more than any other album. Tech has recently put out an album called The 3rd World which is pretty incredible in itself and has sparked me to rock this album after some time. After not listening to it for a few months and rediscovering it, I completely forgot how much I truly love this album. Immortal Technique delivers the left-wing based lyrics that he is typically known for that still ring true and hold as much water today as they did five years ago when this album was released. Politically relevant and often very witty, IT never trades in a true thought or belief for a weak rhyme. Actively speaking out against both major and independent record labels alike, Technique has proven that he has and is accomplishing what he wants to on his own terms, and I can definitely respect that a lot. Any cat that is truly making music for themselves gets my seal of approval.

Favorite Track: Internally Bleeding

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Torche Video PLAYING BOMB STRING

Ok, I lied. I'm not linking or reviewing any albums right yet and it also isn't hip-hop, but I love this video and have been watching it nonstop. Torche plays the bomb string they're known for and it SHAKES THE CAMERA! So good, I love it.

Layout

So I was a little bored and messed around with the colors for this thing. Nothing great really but the black just seemed a little too boring and I didn't even like looking at this blog much anymore. When I have a few more extra minutes, I will change it around again to make it suck even less.

I'll have a few new albums linked soon, I PROMISE!. I keep linking older releases but I will try to get some newer jams on here. They are probably going to end up being hip-hop albums for a little while because that is all I have been really listening to lately. Whatevs.

John Brown - King Of Da Burbz MIXTAPE

Remember the dude from Ego Trip's The White Rapper Show on VH1? Yep, this is him. All of life's mysteries have been solved and questions have been answered. My life is now complete. Duh.
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The Lawrence Arms - Oh! Calcutta!

This is the most recent, though really not all that recent, release from Chicago's The Lawrence Arms, and it is easily my favorite record of theirs. On this album, The Larry Arms still blend the East Bay sound and Chicago sound like they have always been known to pull off, but it is a little less Jawbreaker and a little bit more of themselves. I think the band has always done a good job of taking what they know and mixing it well with their influences but I feel that this is an album they can call their own. The songs for the most part are a little bit shorter in length and I believe it to be lyrically leaps and bounds ahead their previous albums. I am by no means trying to knock their older work, I LOVE everything this band has released, but nothing they have put out has knocked me on my ass as much as this one and in the same way that Oh! Calcutta! did when it was first released. This is one of those albums that helps me every time I get into a little funk and I hope it has the same affect on some other people that it does for me.

Favorite Track: Cut It Up or Are You There Margaret? It's Me, God.

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Alkaline Trio - Help Me 7"

A while ago I had posted the Help Me EP that had three songs from the new full length which actually dropped today. This is not that. This is 7" with a single edition of the version of "Help Me" and also has a Tegan and Sara cover on it of the song "Wake Up Exhausted." The cover is pretty excellent. Get into it.

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David Lee Roth Isolated Vocal Track

Why post THIS?? Because it cracks me up.

Lion Of Judah - Soul Power

I'm going to keep this one extremely brief. If you haven't heard this 7" by now I would be pretty surprised, but it's definitely worth checking out. The best EP Lockin' Out Records has released in my opinion. Burn meets Rites Of Spring meets Bad Brains. Love it.

Favorite Track: Soul Power

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The Miracle Mile - The Future History

This is the final release from California's The Miracle Mile. Four original tracks of honest, sincere hardcore that the band became known for and a cover of Nirvana's "Territorial Pissings" that is pretty spot on and surely tickles my fancy. I do however feel that the version of "Pushing Play Is Not Enough" that is featured on this release isn't as good as the version on the Coastal Flooding 7" compilation in my opinion, but I do appreciate how raw this version is and it captures the essence of the band pretty well. The four original songs on this EP are very solid and each one can definitely stand on its own, but they all seem to be lacking in comparison to any of the songs released on their earlier work on "Where The Heart Is." While this 7" definitely gets me excited and miss the band, it doesn't seem to give me the chills that their prior release has done for me. I love this album and it is definitely worth picking up if you can indeed find a copy, but if you happen to be like me then you'll find yourself reaching out to pull "Where The Heart Is" off of your shelf before grabbing this to listen to. And for those of you who aren't aware, members can be found making music in Dangers and Final Fight.

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Screeching Weasel

I was recently directed to this site which contains every Screeching Weasel release. Enjoy.

One Up - The Single

This is unfortunately the final release from one of my favorite straight edge bands from Philadelphia, PA. I was lucky enough to see One Up three times, the first two being completely awesome and a whole lot of fun while the third wasn't as great. You could tell the band was on their way out and it was a shame to see them go like that, but they were still great while they were around regardless. This final release leaves us with two songs, one original and one Texas Is The Reason cover. Honestly, for a long time I was a little bitter about this being their final release, but after putting this on for the first time in well over a year, I now truly appreciate the record for what it is. I wish they could have recorded enough material for a full length or something more than just a single, but I am pleased with their final recorded original song and the TITR cover is pretty on par. I don't know, maybe this band was nothing special to a lot of people, I know a lot of people wrote them off as just another generic straight edge band with Youth Of Today style vocals, but they did mean a lot to me at the time and I still find myself listening to them every so often wishing that they were still together. I also find that the vocals are a billion times more enjoyable than Youth Of Today, but if you know me then you know how much I really can't stand that band anyway. Once again I digress. Anyway, check this record out and buy it if you enjoy, buy a copy. It is still up for sale on RevHQ.


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Straightjacket Nation - Cheap Kicks Single

I have heard of this band mentioned before but never really bothered to check them out. I heard they were playing with Career Suicide and are from Australia, but other than that I didn't and still really don't know too much about them. What I do know is that I was lucky enough to see them play twice this weekend in New York City and they were one of the most intense bands I've seen. EVER. I regret not checking this band out earlier and I regret that I was only able to purchase the Cheap Kicks LP and 7" when I am now aware that they have a handful of other releases. This is really good aggressive, infuckingsane hardcore punk rock. If Career Suicide and Government warning had a baby on speed then that might give you something half as intense as this band truly is. Check this release out and if you ever have the chance go see them, who knows how long it will be until the next time you have the opportunity.

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Our Cross To Bear

This is a video of my band playing a song at our first show. It took place this past Saturday at a barn in Montgomery, New York with Election Day, Like Wolves, Countess of Persia and Better Days.

World Burns To Death - Totalitarian Sodomy

Dudes from bands you know and love. Personally my top 5 in d-beat style bands. I'm not giving this a full review or description because it will be 20 pages long about how this band is better than 99.999% of music out there, just check it out and buy the record.

Favorite Track: ALL OF THEM

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Black Dove - No Future/No Fate

So I actually only heard about Black Dove for the first time last night. My friend Chris saw them play upstate and said this would be right up my alley, and he was right. Dirty crusty style punk rock from former members of Still Crossed. No Future/No Fate is an in your face release comprised of an intro and nine tracks of intensity. The music is great, while somewhat the standard to this style of music, but it was the vocals that really draw me in. There are a few parts throughout the album where some of the chord progressions sound a little odd and catch me by surprise, but at the same time I appreciate that because it doesn't feel like I have heard this release a million times before. Definitely not completely original by any means but these dudes seem to put their own spin on it. The only complaint I have with this album is on the eighth track, the drummer seems to get a little happy with the double bass in places I feel do not deserve to be abused by it. The drumming is spot on throughout the rest of this record though. This release is definitely worth checking out.

EDIT: Apparently this was recorded with only a single kick peddle & that actually slightly changes my view on this album for the better. My apologies, and please check this release out and buy it!

Here is the tracklisting since the mp3s aren't tagged properly. Sorry!!

01 HORDES OF LAMPADS
02 EMPIRE OF DUST
03 DIRGE OF THE HILLS
04 SAVAGE CHILDREN
05 BLACK DOVES
06 WHY DO BABIES CRY
07 NECROBUTCHER
08 DOOM DREAM
09 MJÖLNER

Favorite Track: Hordes Of Lampadas

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Election Day - Demo

Election Day is a melodic hardcore band from all over Western New York. It is a little difficult to compare them to any band because no bands come to mind as a direct influence or rip off at any point, but I can see vague resemblances to Dag Nasty and maybe a hint of Champion from time to time. The vocals, lyrical content and the structure of all of their songs seem to set them apart from a lot of modern day hardcore bands of the same style and I can truly appreciate that. I remember the first time hearing them (maybe a year or so ago?) and it was like a breath of fresh air to hear a current hardcore band of this style playing it the way it SHOULD sound. I don't remember being floored by a demo like that in quite some time and I haven't had that feeling about a band's demo since. Go to the band's myspace page, stream all of their songs and if you really enjoy what you hear, go to the Secret Jams myspace page and purchase a copy of the demo 7". One of my best friends Chris put this record out and he put a lot of work into making the vinyl happen and I know him, the band and the buyer would all equally appreciate the purchase of one of the records. I hope you enjoy the music as much as I do.

Favorite Track: Sector 4

Bust Out!- Unfinished Demo

Yep, another one of my bands. Bust Out! was a hardcore band again based out of Orange County, NY that I played bass in. This band was in the vein of Biohazard, Cro-Mags, Killing Time & Leeway. This is a demo we recorded that was never completed. Some vocal parts weren't finished. The rest of the band would probably kill me if they knew I uploaded this considering this recording isn't really supposed to see the light of day, but I figure more people have heard it than we wanted to initially so why the fuck not? (Try to) ENJOY!

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Cursed - III: Architects Of Troubled Sleep

After catching wind of their recent breakup earlier in the week, I became thoroughly bummed out with this news and decided to deal with it by listening to the newest, and in my opinion best, Cursed release. Cursed was one of those bands that every time I made an attempt to see, something either came up which prevented me from attending the show or they just happened to cancel. I have always been a fan since I first heard them & knew that anything with members of Haymaker, Chokehold and The Swarm were involved in was going to be both important and intense, and after this final release of theirs I am deeply regretting missing out on the opportunity of seeing them live. This album is one of the more violent records I have heard in a while, from start to finish ranging from slower sludgy parts to crusty influenced grindy blast beats, the riffs and drumming are sure to grab your attention and not let go. I believe III to be their most mature and most cohesive album while not losing an ounce of the chaos in their music they have been known to pull off quite well. The only complaint is that the quality is a bit iffy on this release, but it isn't so bad as to be distracted by it while listening to the album. Definitely a must have for any fan of Cursed.

Favorite Track: Friends In The Music Business

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xclamationx - Discography

Yeah, I'm lame and I am uploading stuff from an old band of mine. I'll be doing this with some of my old bands from time to time. Maybe.

xclamationx was a straight edge fast hardcore band I played bass in. We were around from 2004-2006 & based out of Orange County, NY. Recommended if you like thirty second songs & Family Guy.

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Aesop Rock - Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives

At this point and time with his extensive touring, work with The Weather-
men, making numerous guest appear-
ances, making promotional exercise music for Nike, and being MTV's Artist of the Week back in late last year, I would be surprised if anyone involved in any form of underground music said that they had never even heard Aesop Rock. With his career now spanning over a decade and his constant work ethic of putting out album after album, this man has proved to be one of the best emcee's in underground hip-hop or even hip-hop in general. Aesop always finds a way to combine his original and fresh rhyme schemes with amazing beats laid down a lot of times by Blockhead or even sometimes himself. Constantly redefining himself with each release he also manages to redefine hip-hop at the same time, seemingly setting new standards for any rapper to reach. This EP was put out after Bazooka Tooth to hold fans over while he was able to write enough new material for the None Shall Pass full length, and this like much, well all in my opinion, of his other work does not disappoint one bit.

Favorite Track: Holy Smokes

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Fucked Up - The Line

Not much of a fan of Fucked Up to be honest, but some of the things they do seem to crack me up & this song is no different. This is their dis track on Billy Talent. (Sort of) oldie but goodie.


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Alkaline Trio - Help Me EP

Alkaline Trio are back with three new jammers. I believe two of these are going to be on their new full length Agony and Irony coming out in June. These songs are in the vein of Crimson, but in my opinion are A LOT better (I wasn't much of a fan of Crimson aside from a few songs like "Time to Waste" and "Mercy Me"). Matt lays vocals down vocals on "Help Me" and "Into the Night" and Dan lays down the vocals for "In Vein," which you might have actually heard if you happened to catch the latest episode of that crappy MTV show The Hills. I have always been partial to the songs that Matt has written and sang on a little bit more than Dan's, but the song that Dan lays the vocals down is probably the catchiest Alkaline Trio song to date and I haven't been able to stop singing along to this since I first started to listen to this. This is definitely a solid three song release from Alkaline Trio & I cannot wait until the full length drops.

Favorite Track: In Vein

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Screeching Weasel - Television City Dream

Truth be told, if I even have to give a review about this album, or any Screeching Weasel album for that matter, you deserve to drown. Me being an asshole aside, this is personally without a doubt my favorite release that these pop-punk rock veterans have released. I have a lot of emotional attachment to this album. I feel like I'm in ninth grade all over again every time I listen to it and this is definitely an album that has stood the test of time with me. While I never really openly considered it one of my favorite albums, it wasn't until recently I realized that it is. Poor review? Probably, go buy it anyway.

Favorite Track: Speed Of Mutation

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End Of A Year - We Understand Europeans Are A Sexual People

End Of A Year is back again with their familiar yet spot on style of DC Dischord style punk rock, this time with three new songs and one cover. While their sound has not changed dramatically, their song writing has definitely improved & these tracks are by far my favorite tracks that they have recorded. The only complaint I have about this recording is that I wish this had been a full length instead of just a 7" but if this is a taste of things to come from this band, you surely will not be disappointed.

Favorite Track: Let's Grow Old And Fat Together

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LOCAL MUSIC MIX VOLUME I

For my first post on this blog I wanted to do something just a little different to start off with. I made a little mix of a few of my favorite local bands, some past & some present. This is the first installment of the local mixes I will be making. I hope whoever downloads this gives all the artists a fair & honest listen. If you enjoy the artist, go and support them.

The tracklisting is as follows:

1-Gunslinger - Go Big or Go Home

2-Robots and Empire - Stampede

3-Burden Of Arms - The Dreamers

4-Severed Ties - The Strangling

5-Inner Dam - Dying Inside

6-Better Days - Bright Nights

7-Nobs - Paint Her Dead

8-When Dreams Die - Closure

9-Red Devil Suit - Whores and Cowards

10-Measured In Grey - Cigarettes and Whiskey

11-Ranges - Thunderfuck

12-Drowning Room - Sunday's Best

13-In Anchorage - The Emporer




DOWNLOAD HERE!!

Hope you enjoy!