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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