Bayside – New Cathedrals
[Gumshoe Records]
9/10

Bayside’s Anthony Raneri is the next in a recent string of vocalists who have set out to prove that they do not need a band to make great music. With his first solo release, New Cathedrals, Anthony shines in a solo setting just as well as Ace Enders, Dustin Kensrue, and others. “Sandra Partial” starts off quickly with a folky backdrop of casual snare rolls, strummed acoustic guitar and Anthony’s impeccable singing. The song builds up amazingly to a finish that includes a standup bass accompaniment that slowly deconstructs into a piano run that brings to mind that “vaudeville closing time” feel. Anthony’s vocals have always been easily accessible and genuine. That is most apparent with his solo work. Prime examples include his use of conversational tone on “The Ballard Of Bill The Saint”. The lyrics act as paint and Anthony’s delivery is the brushstroke that paints a brilliant picture. The only negative to this debut is that “Lead Follow Fall” is the least engaging vocal performance although the musicianship on the track is fun and original. All in all, the five tracks on New Cathedrals show Anthony Raneri at his best vocally and most diverse musically.

Dead Swans – Anxiety And Everything Else
[Bridge Nine Records]
10/10

UK’s Dead Swans are back after an extended absence and are ready to regain their title as one of the best modern hardcore bands around. In order to achieve this, they went to Cro’s Nest Studio, where they recorded Southern Blue, to record their new entitled Anxiety And Everything Else. “I’ve Been Trying To Leave” gets the release off to a quick start while grabbing you around the throat and never relenting. The chugging guitars, rhythmic drums, and periodic bass sighting on the end leading to “Summer Of Hate” is an instant classic and will tease show goers into thinking a breakdown is coming. The bass gets the spotlight shined on it on the middle of “Summer Of Hate”, and like a champ kills the section and proves it belongs in the mix. Dead Swans does more teasing near the end of “Dead Until Dark” as they alternate between two-step and mellow sections. This all melds into song structures that breaks molds and keeps the listener on their feet. Dead Swans knows that great releases are crafted around great songs, not by how much someone can dance to it. This is further backed by the fact that the bass and drums have such a major role in the sound as a whole. Every musician in the band is highly talented in playing, songwriting, and crafting songs that there is no doubt why they are so highly rated in the hardcore scene. Then to top it off with a nice fresh cherry, the vocalist is highly skilled and brings the sound full circle into a package that anyone can instantly get into and love. Anxiety And Everything Else is the band’s welcome back gift to us after they went silent after their full length debut, and it may very well be the best present they could have ever given to us.

Loma Prieta – I.V.
[Deathwish Inc.]
9/10

The Bay Area, home to some of the most influential punk and hardcore acts to grace the genres, is where Loma Prieta calls home. They have recently signed with Deathwish Inc and recorded their newest album I.V. “Fly By Night” instantly showcases the band’s hardcore foundation, but on top of that the band has added some sludge almost post-metal icing on top of the cake. And this icing is what separates Loma Prieta from the rest of the pack. It creates the band’s unique sound while still saying in the confines of the Bay Area’s scene. The vocalist is good, but does not really stand out from the crowd thus becoming the salad to the meat that is the musicianship. “Trilogy 4 ‘Momentary’” features top notch drumming, spectacular guitar work, and a chaotic nature of the sound that results when all the parts fit together and continues this throughout the last two parts of the trilogy. Instrumentally, they would most resemble Converge, and could one day reach the amount of success Converge has if the band continues to work at it. Songs like “Uniform” with the music and message behind it being pure spectacular truly makes I.V. a release to not take lightly. Loma Prieta is making sure the listeners realize that the music they make is theirs and they will not change nor quit making this type of music.

Dead Icons – Condemned
[Bullet Tooth]
4/10

Kentucky’s Dead Icons have recently announced their signing with Bullet Tooth, their release Condemned, and that the debut would be recorded at Warrior Sound Studios and mastered by Jamie King. After a few DIY tours and releases, they are now proudly signed and poised to breakout with Condemned. Only one problem, the musicianship is mundane and by the numbers that the listener is disinterested quickly and the vocals fail to impress enough to keep any of the remaining attention. “The Longer You Wait” in under two minutes, yet it still somehow feels like it drags on and has a slow pace to it. The guitars do not venture out of a basic riff on any of the songs, nor does the bass have any moments like it should. One of the major issues here is that Kentucky is not a hardcore hotbed, so this type of halfhearted attempt at hardcore can fly and gain a solid enough following. If Dead Icons was in the Boston, New York City, or Baltimore scenes they would not survive over six months. Condemned, is one of the worst attempts at hardcore that has been released in a while. Dead Icons should soon die out and everyone will be able to move on while forgetting this release.

Today, January 30th 2012, we have decided to celebrate the hardcore genre by having our first ever Audiopinions’ Hardcore Monday. Throughout the day our posts will be exclusively hardcore related. We will start here with a history lesson on the genre and a stream of Take Offense’s newest single “(We All Live) Under The Same Shadow” then we will have posts at Noon, 2 PM ET, and 4 PM ET! Throughout the day, we will be posting hardcore related updates over on our and . Feel free to join in on the discussion by using #HardcoreMonday on twitter or commenting here or on Facebook!

The history of hardcore and the stream of Take Offense’s “(We All Live) Under The Same Shadow” AFTER THE JUMP!

Hardcore began as an offshoot of punk rock with Black Flag seen as the originators coming out of Los Angeles in late 1977. While keeping the band format of singer/guitar/bass/drum, the hardcore sound was noted for being more rhythm based, as opposed to punk rock’s emphasis on melody. Hardcore also featured screamed vocals, gang chants, spoken word sections, breakdowns, and distorted guitars that still persist today. By 1981, notable California hardcore bands Circle Jerks, Bad Religion, Social Distortion, Suicidal Tendencies, The Dead Kennedys, and Wasted Youth had formed.

With the increase in bands and the amount of success the punk bands were gaining, the need for labels popped up. Again the hardcore bands contrasted punk rock, who wanted to sign with major labels, by creating and releasing their records by themselves. The most notable being Bad Religion’s Brett Gurewitz founding Epitaph Records. Epitaph has obviously diversified their genre base from their earlier days, though their punk sub-label Hellcat Records was founded and is still owned by Rancid’s Tim Armstrong, but the formation of these types of labels helped move hardcore to the forefront.

While all of this was happening on the west coast, the east coast also had a few rumblings of the hardcore movement. The first east coast hardcore band was D.C.’s Bad Brains while Boston’s roots started out with DYS, Negative FX, and SS Decontrol and their members forming a militant straight edge group called the Boston Crew. The Boston Crew’s hardline attitudes became the roots for bands like Ten Yard Fight and Blood For Blood. Washington, D.C. is attributed for the creation of hardcore dancing which has become commonplace at ever show now. Then came what might have been the hardcore shot heard around the world.

D.C.’s Bad Brains moved to New York City in 1981. This move led to an influx of hardcore bands in the area that included The Beastie Boys, The Misfits, and Agnostic Front. The New York City scene was also home to the world famous CBGBs. By the mid 1980’s, though the hardcore scene had fragmented so much that crossover thrash took hold of the spotlight. Corrosion of Conformity, Suicidal Tendencies, and Agnostic Front were all a part of this crossover thrash movement.

Late 1980s saw most early hardcore bands and scenes broken up, with the only exception being New York City. The Youth Crew were, in a nutshell, angry straight edge youths. Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits were both apart of the first wave of this movement. This wave led to the more popular second wave of Earth Crisis, Snapcase, Integrity, Strife, Hatebreed, Blood For Blood, and Shai Hulud. This second wave is seen in part as the forerunners of what we call now call metalcore.

Drive Like Jehu (post-hardcore) and Converge (mathcore) along with metalcore started branching off from the hardcore sound while a wave of bands that included Battery and H2O had a new-found interest in the “old school sound”. The 1990s also saw the extreme success of Victory Records and Trustkill, now Bullet Tooth, Records. Both labels have found success throughout many hardcore bands as well as bands from the offshoot genres of hardcore..

Presently, straight up hardcore has begun to gain prominence again with the newer wave of bands that includes Dead Swans, Hoods, Trapped Under Ice, Stout, Backtrack, Turnstile, and Defeater. Labels that primarily or exclusively focus on hardcore still exists in the form of Reaper Records (New York founded in 2004), Bridge 9 Records (Boston founded in 1995), and Deathwish Inc (founded in 1999) among others have also helped to keep the “true” or “old school” hardcore sound alive.

Silverstein – Short Songs
[Hopeless Records]
10/10

Silverstein has been around since 2000, and has remarkably only had one album not chart, their debut. For a post-hardcore band to stay together this long with a great record of success, one may be wondering what the key is. Yet the key is quite simple, write great songs that the listener can connect to. And for the first eleven years, Silverstein has done that. Now the band wants to challenge themselves by releasing an album of originals and covers that are no more than ninety seconds long. This project is aptly titled Short Songs and is seen by the band as an extension of Rescue. The album opener “Sick As Your Secrets” quickly gives the sense that Silverstein has found their edge and urgency back and this continues through “Sin & Redemption”. Shane Told’s vocals are still top notch and bring to mind memories of the first few albums that were heavier than the newer ones. “Brookfield” switches up to the softer side of their sound that has helped propel their success. Musically, the album features the bass prominently more than once, which helps bring the mindset of the album into more of a hardcore/punk style album. This mindset and the songs provided throughout the originals are amazing and flawless. Short Songs may be the shot in the arm needed to make it another twelve years in this industry. Onto the covers, they start with “Short Songs” that featured nine different guest vocalists and was most likely a fun song for everyone involved. One of the best covers featured on the release is “Good Intentions” which was originally done by Gorilla Biscuits. It fits perfectly into the Silverstein mold yet was a straight up hardcore song that the cover works amazingly. The band’s cover of Green Day’s “The Ballad Of Wilhelm Fink” is the second best cover of the album and sees Shane Told channeling his inner Billie Joe Armstrong. This all equals out to a perfect album and a sort of a rebirth for the band.

Lacuna Coil – Dark Adrenaline
[Century Media]
8/10

Lacuna Coil first made noise in 1999 with the release of their full length debut In A Reverie. Their third release Comalies, is marked as one of their best albums and the first to gain the band the following they have now. This led to the breakout album Karmacode that was enjoyable but it left something to be desired. Shallow Life saw the band gaining more fans and album sales, but with that came more separation from the sound that got them to this point. This history lesson has now made it to the present, Dark Adrenaline. Tracks like “Kill The Light” hints at the more atmospheric approach of their earlier albums, but still relies heavily on the recent rock sound that has brought the album sales they expect now. Vocalists Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro are as amazing as ever and are still on the same page together. Their contrasting styles and tradeoffs throughout the album never feel forced or overpowering. Since the vocalists are still top notch, this album should be great right? Wrong. Musically, this album is a batch of hard rock/alternative metal songs with almost nothing sticking out to excite you. There are some hidden gems in the songs, like the guitar solo found on “Upsidedown”. To give the band some credit; the same members have been together for over twelve straight years, and staying stagnant musically would end up burning them out. This does turn into a double edged sword as we know what their capable of, and the listeners are stuck listening to mundane instrumental work under the vocals. The high note of all this is the fact that Dark Adrenaline is a better offering than Shallow Life. The hints of the older styles creeping into the new direction leaves some hope that maybe they can find that happy medium that will please fan old and new.

Punchline – So Nice To Meet You
[Modern Short Stories]
6.5/10

Pennsylvania’s Punchline is back with their new EP So Nice To Meet You. The release has already been successful due to word of mouth, social networking, and their devoted fan base they have crafted since they formed in 1998. Was all the hype warranted though? The released starts off with “Universe” and while the beginning starts off a bit weak, the track begins to turn around at the first instance of the chorus. The vocals are still strong, but the instrumental work is a bit basic and lacking a wow factor to draw people in. It turns what could have been a great release into only a solid release with a batch of good but uninteresting songs. Punchline still has some life in them, they just need to focus and release a beast of a follow-up.

Abigail Williams – Becoming
[Candlelight Records]
9.5/10

If there is one thing that anyone can say about Abigail Williams, it would be that the band has never released the same album twice. Every release is vastly different than the last. The original Demo/EP Gallow Hill with its very metalcore but blackened base. 2006′s Legend bringing the sound to a more settled black metal sound but still touching on popular metal influence. The bands first full length In The Shadow of A Thousand Suns being very heavily influenced by Norwegian Symphonic metal in the vein of Dimmu Borgir and Emperor and bringing then band more into the music worlds attention. Beginning with their last album the band seemed to regress into a more raw, and less polished sound. With long time keyboardist Ashley Ellyon out of the picture to tour with Cradle of Filth, the band shrank to a three piece and released In The Absence of Light.

Right off the new album “Becoming” released on Candlelight Records, somehow does something very few bands in this genre are able to pull off. Founding member and Producer Ken Sorceron, is able to give the “kvlt” or Lo Fi Black metal essence that its fans thrive on while being clean, well produced, and crisp. You would almost mistake this for an nice warm Analog recording but I was informed by Ken that it is indeed Digital.

This album falls into the atmospheric sound popularized recently by bands like Wolves In The Throne Room and are an obvious influence, however don’t take that to mean that this is a copycat album. It has a unique feel all its own. Unlike bands like Wolves In The Throne Room, who are more focused on nature and elements, Becoming has more of a frighting atmosphere, even at times a quasi 70′s Supernatural feel ( A la Dario Argento). This leaves you with a very lonely, depressed and inward mood… something that is indeed a goal I would presume.

In particular, songs like “Radiance”, with eerie and almost inhuman growls and the brilliantly disturbing string arrangement’s on the closing track “beyond the veil”, really make this album stand out among the sea of new albums. Abigail Williams may have traded off the polished production for a more stripped and raw sound, but this album is what I feel to be the band coming into their own and setting standards.

Aborted – Global Flatline
[Century Media]
8/10

I have been a fan of Aborted for quite a few years. The cover of The Archaic Abattoir drew me in and I was not unreleased in my purchase. There was just something about the way the band are able to be catchy and dynamic metal core elements, while still being a good truly pulverizing and brutal metal band.

Global Flatline is no different. While I can’t say that Aborted has really broken any new ground on this album, they still deliver. Produced again by Jacob Hansen (Hatesphere, Heaven Shall Burn, Tyr), released on Century Media, and including ex members of Abigial Williams whom are Ken Bedene and Mike Wilson. This is something I couldn’t really expect to go wrong.

There is a nice mix of song styles and feelings on this album that keep it fresh throughout the listen. One of the standout tracks is the slightly blackened and down tempo Expurgation Euphoria, with its piano undertones and creepy low spoken moments, but still remains nice groove and stays heavy.

While this album is everything you come to love about Aborted and Sven de Caluwés’ Vocals, it does seem to lack a tad bit of the ferocity of some of the previous albums, but just a tad. The dynamic song writing, deep grooves and clean solos do more than make up for any lack of “brutality. If you don’t agree, then buy the digipack and “Nailed Through Her Cunt” should fill that void quite nicely.