STABBED IN BACK / THE SCANDALS: Split EP New States: 7″

STABBED IN BACK is a melodic hardcore band from Albuquerque, New Mexico and was started in 2004. THE SCANDALS are a punk rock band from Bayonne, New Jersey and was started in 2004 as well. 

STABBED IN BACK starts off their two songs with “Under The Black Flag” a fast-paced punk song that has the band playing with a vengeance, with a great guitar solo, shouted vocals with some gang vocals, pummeling drums and throbbing bass add up to a killer start. “100 Proof” is a great cover of 88 FINGERS LOUIE and keeps the intensity up with inspired playing. Up next is THE SCANDALS with their first song “The Motions” which has a harder and heavier punk sound with gruff lead vocals, lots of gang vocals and woah-ohs, thick bass, thundering drums mixed with the rumbling bass, and tasty lead guitar playing. “Needle and Thread” has those great gruff vocals and lots of background vocals, plus more inspired guitar playing.

A really short, but well done four song single that has two bands complimenting each other’s styles and having every song being high quality, not just throw aways. Totally worth checking out, so go to the website, or have your favorite store order you a copy.

https://www.facebook.com/sibnm  http://stabbedinback.com/

https://www.facebook.com/NJscandals  http://thescandals201.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Dangrecordsmusic  http://www.dangrecordsmusic.com/

 

SAMUEL CALDWELL’S REVENGE: Nonstarter: CD

This quartet from Denton, Texas plays punk rock with hints of metal and hardcore and with tons of feeling. This EP shows off the huge amount of talent they have and the emotion that they wring out of every note.

“The Real Lost Boys Of Sudan” has a fantastic guitar sound right out of the scum rock bands like NASHVILLE PUSSY, and adds just a touch of sheen to the wicked leads to keep it a bit more metal, the rough vocals added to the ripping guitar really give it a nice punky, metallic gloss. “Inside Every Cynic is a Disappointed Idealist” has a more punk rock sound than the first song and keeps the great guitar playing in the hard rock / metal arena, the heavy drums mixed with the bass lock together for a kick ass punch that get you moving. “The Agents of Intolerance” goes further into punk mixed with hardcore and has enough energy to power an eighteen wheeler and has a ton of melody as well. “Roothogs” goes into the more metal end of the spectrum, but succeeds in not making it generic, but infusing it with guts and power. “Tea-Bagging America” is another metal influenced song with guitar playing that just devastates the landscape. These guys really show a lot of diversity on here with the ability to go from one genre into another and still make for a cohesive album. The level of their skill on this album shows that they have the right stuff to get songs locked into your head and make them stick.

This was a definite winner from start to finish and proves that punk rock can have a bunch of other pieces in it that still keep the punk rock going and will be a treat for people into metal as well, without going into metalcore or losing that punk edge. SAMUEL CALDWELL’S REVENGE put everything they have into this and the payoff is fantastic.

https://www.facebook.com/SamuelCaldwellsRevenge  https://www.facebook.com/Dangrecordsmusic

http://www.dangrecordsmusic.com/

PERDITION: Hispaniola: CD

This quartet from Fort Worth, Texas put out their debut ten song album filled with melodic punk and tons of humour, but they’re not just a bunch of goofs, they kick ass! With one great song after another, you can be sure that you will be smiling and rocking while listening to this album.

The album has raspy, melodic lead vocals, bouncing bass, roaring riffs and pounding drums all doing their part to give you an album that has catchy songs and captivating melodies that will have you hitting replay on this album. The band plays with heart and energy enough to give other bands a lesson in how to have fun. Although the songs are upbeat, the lyrics show a more down mood and give you a real insight to the real feelings and thoughts of the band, and making the songs not seem cynical or a drag is a definite talent that they exploit. The mix of the street punk and more melodic punk is a treat when played with the intensity and skill that PERDITION have in spades, especially because the songwriting is so good and the band truly sound like they love what they did on this album. “Gatorade Punch”, “Beartown”, “Cricket Dance”, “I Don’t Get Drunk, I Get Awesome”, “Why Buy the Cow When You Can Have the Sex for Free”, “Race For The Rabid”, and “El Oso” were great melodic punk / street punk influenced songs that got the thumbs up from me.

With the quality that PERDITION showed on this album, they are a definite crowd pleaser and have the ability to play more acoustic songs like “The Narwhal Bacons At Midnight” and the thoroughly epic “Bitch, I Hold Babies All the Time”. Grab this album, go see them if you can and support a band that truly is far from average, they really grab your attention and hold onto it.

https://www.facebook.com/theperdition  https://www.facebook.com/Dangrecordsmusic

http://www.dangrecordsmusic.com/

THE CIVILLAINS: The Final Hour: CD

This is the debut full length album from this Stockholm, Sweden punk band that mixes up the street punk and throws in some RANCID for a mixture that brings the fists up, the beers down your throats and the good times with them. They put out twelve tight songs that kick ass right from the start to the finish.

“Smartbomb” is like an explosion of punk rock energy blowing up your speakers with the exuberance of the playing, the great gruff vocals, the gang chorus and the melody that just grabs you. “Lost Wager” has great buzzsaw guitar playing and the gang vocals will make you sing along and get you wanting to grab a buddy, put your arms over their shoulder and raise your fists and just go wild. “Streetcorner Preacher” and “Up To You” are two songs on here that were on their self-titled EP, and they kick ass on here every bit as much as they did previously. “Fourtwentytwo” is a rip-roaring punk rock song that has a great old school punk sound mixed with some great gruff vocals. “Turncoat” has a catchy chorus that will have you shouting it out and wanting to hear it live, because if it’s this good on the album, the live version would be incredible. “The Final Hour” has energy and power, plus great gang vocals and the chiming guitar really was fantastic. The band does have a lot of RANCID’s sound on here, but they inject their own emotion and talent into every song that you can’t stop listening to them and loving every bit of this release. The band really has a ton of talent and the vocals from the band as well as the lead vocals really are outstanding on here, as well as the huge amount of melody that they infuse in every song. “Damage Control”, “Nine To Five”, and “Get Back Up” were other stand outs on the album.

The quality from this band is outstanding, from the self-titled EP to this release, not one ounce of the excellent musicianship or songwriting has faltered, they actually ramped things up a notch or two and made a great debut album that they should be proud of. I highly recommend this album and hope that they continue putting out the same high quality punk rock in the future…you’ve got a fan for life!

https://www.facebook.com/thecivillains  http://www.thecivillains.com/

https://www.facebook.com/sniperhillrecords  http://www.sniperhillrecords.com/

THE CIVILLAINS: Self-titled EP: 7″

This four-piece band from Stockholm, Sweden plays fast-paced and hook-filled punk rock that grabs you as soon as you hit play. This four song EP is only available as a 500 copy release, so go out and grab one.

Starting with “Sewer Rats”, a street punk song with a touch of RANCID mixed in kicks off the EP with a winner. Slightly gruff lead vocals, great background vocals, guitar playing that throws out some tasty licks, rumbling bass and thudding drums with a catchy chorus gives us a great treat of what’s to come. “Stuck On Repeat” keeps the high energy going with strong vocals and a great guitar solo with a shout along chorus. “Streetcorner Preacher” is a fantastic quick-paced song with one the fattest bass lines going throughout the song and the gang vocals really add to the great energy on this track. “Up To You” is a great song with the band playing their hearts out and the hook is just addictive, plus the great harmonica solo really gives the song the extra push into excellent.

Four songs, each one as good as the previous one and each one a new favorite song. The band does have a fair bit of RANCID overtones, but they have so much talent and energy that they totally pull it off and made a stellar EP.

https://www.facebook.com/thecivillains  http://www.thecivillains.com/

 

THE PALE FACES: Another Such Strange Bird: CD

THE PALE FACES hailing from Leicester, UK are a lo-fi, experimental, noise band that mixes it all up with garage rock and runs with it. This three-piece takes a very indie feel and sound and turns the droning and dissonant sounds into a goulash of delicious delights that keep you coming back for seconds.

“Girl From The Past” has the early ’80s sound of experimentalism and noise, but creates a textured song that compels you to relisten to the sounds being explored on this track. “O Mummy O Daddy” brings out the dirty garage-rock doused in organ and a groove that forces you to move along to it in your chair and is exceptionally memorable, especially the vocals that have a ton of distortion on them and go from being kind of blase to screamed. “Eat You Alive” has an interesting keyboard sound that incorporates a little bit of gothiness with the haunting vocals that would have made a huge splash on mix tapes back in the ’80s. “No Kisses Blues” brings back a nice swaggering groove that harkens back to the ’60s and mixes it up with noise and creates a cool jam. “Sweet & Sour Sixteen” has a ’60s pop sound mixed in with the rocking groove and gets you moving along to the song and wishing that it was at least twice as long. “Island” is a very interesting slow song that has a ton of atmospheric sounds and gothy vocals that kind of make it sound like a song that would be on a horror movie soundtrack…very cool. “A Thing Called Man” has a definite post-punk edginess to its sound and then the more goth-like sound of a ’60s influenced SIOUXSIE SIOUX vocal takes over for “Soul Connection”. “Dark Lips” is a very interesting experimental track, almost trance techno-like that has some great screaming at the end. “Black Swan” begins with more screams, dissonance and noise and slips into being more melodic with returns to the sound of the beginning of the song mixed in and gives listeners a very noise filled, but complete and fitting end to the album.

The band isn’t trying to be the most proficient and technical players, but that’s the charm, noise can be just as technical as a precise guitar lick or drum fill and every bit as exciting. THE PALE FACES have given us an albums of mind-blowing textures and sounds and adds a colorful palette that should make their faces just a touch less pale.

https://www.facebook.com/ThePaleFaces?directed_target_id=151265665030086

https://www.facebook.com/goodtimerecordings  https://soundcloud.com/goodtime_recordings

http://goodtimecollective.bandcamp.com/

BIGBLAST: All Saviours: CD

BIGBLAST is a French melodic hardcore band that has a female as the lead singer. They play powerful, melodic hardcore with political lyrics and musical influences from RISE AGAINST to PARAMORE. In 2008, they released their first EP Deaf To The sirens and their first full-length entitled All Saviours came out in January of 2012.

Emi on lead vocal has a strong and very melodic voice  that brings a lot of character to the songs, Liom and Seb on guitars put a lot of great leads and solos on these songs that will surprise you at how proficient they are, Jérome on drums and Greg on bass really carry the bouncy melody on the album. The band really gels and gets you in a great mood with the aggressive, but harmonious music that grabs your attention right away. The strength of the songwriting and the depth of the playing really shine on this album, taking you away to a place where you can totally escape to and lose yourself in the euphoria of music that transcends the average and flings you into the stratosphere, away from the crappy day you might be having and put a smile in your heart. Some songs that stuck with me were “Something To Sing About”, “Hostages In Our Own World”, “Tonight We Own This Place”, my favorite “Everything Changes”, “No Repents”, “Invisible Enemy”, “Waiting For The Go Signal”, and “A Revolution A Day”.

A fantastic debut album that really gets lodged in your head and forces you to listen to it again, and then you just fall more in love with it. I really have nothing more to say except that you need to get this album and turn it up loud, sing along to it and feel good while doing it.

https://www.facebook.com/bigblast.band  http://bigblast.bandcamp.com/

http://bigblast.fr/bigblast-female-fronted-melodic-punk-hardcore-band/

http://crazerecords.chez.com/  http://www.badmoodrecords.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/BAD-MOOD-RECORDS/242367713336

http://www.culture-punk.com/  https://www.facebook.com/sirkelpitmusic

http://sirkelpit.bandcamp.com/album/all-saviours  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Maximise-Records/147268705334930

http://maximise-records.tumblr.com/

CHARGE 69: Resistance Electrique: CD

Formed in 1993 in France around bassist Caps (formerly PKRK) and drummer Laurent (former Skaferlatine), the band also includes guitarist Mumia and vocalist Verole on this album. All the songs are in French, but great punk rock transcends language barriers.

This group of guys have the gang vocals, the blazing guitar playing, the meaty bass, thundering drums and the gruff, and firm lead vocals that I just love and they play their mix of old school punk rock mixed with a touch of street punk to give this a nice hard edge mixed with melody galore. There are shout alongs (Legitime Vengeance, Sans Concession), poppier songs (Contre La Montre), and all-out ragers (Reves Laceres) all mixed together and they pull every one of them off without a hitch and expertly, but after twenty years, what else could you expect? Every song on here is stellar and has more energy than bands with half the history that they have. With this much history behind them, bands usually slow down or get arty, but these guys just continue to burn brighter than a sun going supernova.

This was a complete treat with the album being a masterful example of a band playing with feeling and talent and not just rehashing the past, but going forward at one hundred miles an hour. If this is how good they are at their twentieth anniversary, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the next twenty years.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Charge-69/44092054239  http://www.charge69.com/fr_news.cfm

THE McGUNKS: Live For Five: CD

The MCGUNKS are a four-piece, high-energy punk rock and roll band from the Providence, RI / Boston, MA area that formed in the mid-1990s. This is their first live recording with no overdubs, and no studio crap, just the band kicking ass live.

With gruff, alcohol-soaked vocals, tons of gang vocals, and a band ripping through songs like they are trying to kill them with the power of their playing, this is the real deal, no fake crap, just guys playing their hearts out. The band does throw some cool things into the mix like the fantastic guitar playing and solo on “Man On The Side”, the cover of JUDAS PRIEST’s “Breaking The Law” called “Is Halford Gay” on here, the great banter between the band and audience, and the cover of KENNY ROGER’s “The Gambler” called ” Roger’s Roaster” on here.

For a live album, this shows that they don’t need to be perfect and super clean sounding, but this is actually really well recorded and stands head and shoulders above a lot of the live punk that has been released. I really need to see these guys live, the studio album was one reason, but hearing how good they are live just proves that I need to be at a show. Get this one and play it loud enough to make you think you are there with them, and don’t forget to drink a beer or six too.

https://www.facebook.com/mcgunks  http://mcgunks.bandcamp.com/album/live-for-five

The McGunks: Here Comes More Shame: CD

The MCGUNKS are a four-piece, high-energy punk rock and roll band from the Providence, RI / Boston, MA area that formed in the mid-1990s. This album is a re-release of Here Comes The Shame, but with three bonus songs added.

With songs titles like “Three More Beers”, “Drunk, Stoned, Broke & Alone”, and “Can’t Drink Here No More”, you kind of get the idea that they like drinking and having a good time, and you sure will when you listen to this album. Great punk rock with a touch of street punk added to give the choruses that gang vocal goodness, and gruff lead vocals that give the songs a nice edge to them. The energy level on this album is high with every song delivered like it wants to become your next favorite one. The band has the chops to get you up and jumping around with a beer in one hand and a fist in the air as you sing along to these memorable songs that get stuck in your head and make you have to play the album again and again. With guitars buzzing and playing fast, the pounding drums and the bouncy bass guitar playing, the band just shines like the sun after a week of cloudy days, just blinding you with the intensity.

These guys really surprised me with how much I loved this album and with every song being strong, well written, and played with emotion and excitement. If you haven’t got this one, you are missing out, this is one of the best punk albums that I’ve heard in a long, long time and it will get a ton of plays in my house.

https://www.facebook.com/mcgunks  http://mcgunks.bandcamp.com/