Album of the Month... February 2015

Eternal Misery by No Zodiac

19 Feb 2012

Tonight at The Camden Enterprise

If you're around London this evening then you need to get down to this show at The Camden Enterprise, even though it states Star of Kings on the poster the venue was recently changed. Closest tube station is Chalk Farm, doors are open at 17:30 and it's only £6, what a bargain! Don't miss out on this! Check out the bands playing:




14 Feb 2012

I Want You Dead: 'ΑΩ'

I Want You Dead - ΑΩ

There have been a lot of decent hardcore bands coming out of Greece, like My Turn & Eternal Hated, but this is one of the heaviest and fierce records I’ve heard in a while from this country.  A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a band called I Want You Dead asking me to listen to their brand new EP entitled ΑΩ, being their second release and a follow up to We Are the Legions of Scums from 2010. They certainly live up to what they wanted to achieve, delivering some of the most negative and hateful music to their audience.

ΑΩ contains 4 tracks of pure remorseless and bloodthirsty dark hardcore with some of the most pummelling sludgy style guitar riffs. If you’re into negative hardcore then you need to check this band out as they are on a whole different level. There are a lot of themes covered in their music including disgust on the world, vengeance, hatred and making a stand against authoritative figures. Every track is a terrifying flurry of heavy sludgy guitars with smashing drum parts and the vocalist belting out raw, throaty screams of evil and dirty lyrics. The sound quality of this record is awesome too, considering how down-tuned and heavy their sound is.

From track one, All Colours Pitch Black, you can already sense the increase of the sludge sound compared to previous material. I am not complaining though, as I feel they have progressed into something stronger and have a greater impact. This fresh feel combines some elongated down-tuned guitar riffs but splits this up with some quick hardcore punk sounding outbursts and faster drums, most prominent during Cvits. In my opinion the track Black Sails stands out to me and is my favourite song on the EP; the song structure is perfect and doesn’t hold back on attitude or weight. Even though there are a vast amount of sludge elements to this record the sound quality and production is crisp and is a great listen.

Easily one of my favourite records from 2012 already, and it’s only February. ΑΩ is a superb release, with some of the heaviest and aggressive music going. A very well put together EP, which I highly recommend. I’m also a fan of the art work! Get your copy here.

Check out the band here:

1 Feb 2012

The Hardest Season: 'Dawn'

The Hardest Season - Dawn


Recently I received an email from Dale Robinson who is the founder of the record label Enjoyment Records. He sent me a link to a band called The Hardest Season who are from Italy and asked if I would review their full length Dawn. After the first listen all I could think of was ‘Wow, why haven’t I heard this band before’; their music is pretty impressive. Taking more of a push from the sounds and influences of bands such as American Nightmare and The Hope Conspiracy, this record combines everything great from this style of hardcore but also adds further heavier elements in the vein of Rise and Fall. Personally I feel that this record could be aimed at all areas of the scene as there seems to be a bit of everything for everyone.

Dawn is the follow up to their self released Demo and EP (which I am still to get hold of) but I am pretty sure it cannot be as refined as this album. This is a record you need to listen to at maximum volume to obtain the best satisfaction for your ear drums. The quality of the instrumental parts is fantastic, not a single chord out of place and everything is tightly held together. From the introduction track Confessions there are constant frantic guitar riffs and intense drum beats combined with furious screaming vocals. The next track Dead Romantic quickly turns the tables of sounds into something darker and heavier cutting to a catchy moshing sound. There is a perfect balance between the well-structured instrumental melodies and the vicious sludgy breaks, particularly apparent in Sleepless and The Storm. This music is fast and keeps you on your toes with raw, screaming vocals containing so much passion and emotion.

It’s not all about the quick drums and fast paced riffs that are enticing about this album though; The Forward combines some pleasant sounding guitar melodies, adding contrast between the Tear Valley Sickness Blues and The Storm, breaking them apart in an effective change of pace. Twentyeight to Ten is another catchy track that contains more energetic heavy riffs and towards the end there are some toned down gang style vocals bringing an accomplished feel to the end of the record, finishing with Last Fuckin’ Scarred Lines.

I really got into this record and it’s fresh sound from Italian hardcore. The sound is very emotional but effective with the perfect amount of heaviness and melodies creating an all round compelling full length. You can check out one song from Dawn on their bandcamp. If you like it then I suggest you pre-order it.