Interview with Laura Jane Grace of Against Me!

Armed with a hefty set of new songs, punk rock act Against Me! are getting ready to release their seventh record. Going by the title Shape Shift with Me, the record comes 2 years after the bands’ critically acclaimed Transgender Dysphoria Blues record and 4 years after frontwoman Laura Jane Grace coming out as a transgender woman. This end of year will also mark the release of Laura’s memoir Tranny : Confessions of Punk Rock’s Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout, set to hit the shelves on November 15th through Hachette. Here to talk about the band, her book and her recent years since her coming out, Laura was kind enough to spare some time to grant us a phone interview.

So you’re about the release your next album in a bit. To start things off, could you explain the title of the record, Shape shift with me ?

Well Shape Shift with Me is a title that I kept gravitating towards. Its a line from one of the first songs written for the record and it kind of fitted the theme of being in motion, not really knowing what the changes are or what they mean but wanting to have someone come along for the ride all the same. 

Could you give us a quick rundown on what the album is about?

Well this record was written on the road. We spent 2 years touring for our last record, Transgender Dysphoria Blues. In between every tour our home base was the studio in Michigan where we recorded the record, which is run by our engineer and tour manager Marc Hudson. In between every tour I’d have one or two songs written, so we’d demo them and at the end of two years we realised that we had a record ready to be recorded. There’s a part after being on tour after two years where you’re like “Okay, time for a break”, but this time we just felt like going right ahead to record the songs. We were scared that if we did take a break the urgency behind them would be gone, the moment would be lost on them. We wanted to capture the songs fresh from where they were coming from. With that being said, with each song being written while on tour, each tour was a different adventure and I can look at the record and know where I was for each track, what my feelings where and what it looked like. The song Delicate, Petite, and other things I’ll Never Be on the record was written in the winter, and I remember demoing the song and looking out the window of the studio and seeing nothing but pure white snow everywhere and overall bleakness. I can still close my eyes and see that when I hear that song. All This (and More) was written while driving back from the end of a tour and I can still picture the way the interstate looked and how the city looked coming up ahead of us. A lot of personal memories attached to the record. 

So the album is more of a journal from your experience on the last few tours?

In a way it is a journal, and a lot of it is also a response to the fact that at the same time I was also working on finishing a book, which is about looking back at the past, going through old journals and reconciling te past. With so much going on in one area, with this record I wanted to focus solely on the present, on the now, on the way I felt right then. That’s the way it had to be in order to write a record while writing a book, they had to be opposites in that way. 

The album cover for the record carries some strong imagery.

I guess it’s mainly about what it means to the viewer. I think it’s interesting because it identifies, based on your own emotions, what I means to you, which was the point. So much of the record is about relationships ; it’s about falling in love, being in love, falling out of love … and with relationships there are power dynamics. Being someone who’s openly trans, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about gender and the way it plays into those power dynamics. I heard someone who saw the cover say that it was misogynistic and I definitely see how they can see a misogynistic image, but I also heard about a man taking offense because he thought it was against men. Then you’ve also got other people that don’t have those issues. What the people say, they see. If they have issue on it, they identify the societal problem that needs to be worked through, examining what ways gender plays in the power dynamics in relationships and thinking about what would happen if we took gender away from the equation. Do those power dynamics still develop and play out? What does it mean? After transitioning, I found myself in positions where I would experience an emotion that I previously associated as being a “male” emotion before realising that emotions really don’t have a gender. It’s been really eye opening and it’s something that I continue to explore. 

Has your stance or perspective on gender changed in any significant way since your transition?

Constantly changing ! My understanding of it is constantly changing and I’m constantly thinking about it. I’ve been trying to understand it more, seeing it from different viewpoints. I think it’s healthy, not being locked into something or being rigid. Figuring out what it means to love from a genderless standpoint and the roles of gender in relationships are things that I still think a lot about. You wonder “Is our relationship only about fucking?” Is fucking only about procreation? Is it really what it’s about? Is that why society is the way it is? Are we just programmed to reproduce? If we take away that urge and instinct, what meaning does love then have? What meaning does fucking have? When you strip love of gender, you strip love of all of those things. I’m not at all saying that I have the answers, I’m still trying to figure it out.

Given the title of your previous record, Transgender Dysphoria Blues, would it be appropriate to see Shape Shift with Me as a more assertive, which seems to also seems to be the case with the title of your book: Tranny: Confessions Of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout.

I wasn’t really thinking about that with the album title really. I don’t think being a “Shape shifter” is necessarily a trans theme. Anyone can be a shape shifter. I think the idea of shapeshifting plays into the idea that the body is just a vessel, that we’re more than the body and that you should have active control over it. Body modification is something that I’ve long experimented in, starting with being a teenager and getting piercings and tattoos. It’s something I even think about in terms of plastic surgery and stuff like that. It’s about having a control over your body and playing an active part in it, being open to the way your body changes naturally, because your body will change. You grow old, you decay, but that doesn’t mean that you have to be a slave to that. It can be an empowering thing.

Do you feel like your status as one of the most widely known transgender rock musicians has come in the way of some of your personal privacy? 

Sure. In talking about releasing a book and stuff like that, I don’t feel like I have much privacy (laughs). I have very little of it most of the time. When you’d like to start a new relationship without any attention from the media or anything like that, starting a new relationship is hard. Having those outside pressures on it makes it only harder. I just try to push all of that out though, it doesn’t affect me on a daily level, I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it but I am definitely aware of it. 

Do you feel a certain degree of responsibility as a result of having received this attention?

I think that there is a certain amount of responsibility, if you have a platform, to use it to draw attention to important issues as opposed to trivial things that don’t really matter. I get more fulfilment out of using my ability to do an interview if it brings other people to it.

I’d like to talk about your upcoming book. What was the intention behind its release and what made this the right time to do it?

Well my book is based on journals and I kept them since I was 8 years old. I started working on putting everything together in a book about 4 years ago. I felt like there was so much weight, be it metaphoric emotional weight or in terms of how many memories I needed to reconcile that before moving on. Then there’s also the physical weight of having so many journals (laugh), so many boxes that I have to carry with me everywhere I go. I needed to do something with it, I needed to have a reason for carrying these things with me for all of these years. So before another 10 years of journals would go by, I felt like this was the time to do it, and there was already a lot of work involved to go through it all.

How long did it take to put it all down?

Well I’ve been keeping the journals since I was 8 years old, and I went through every single journal and transcribed it. It was over a million and a half words. The book is probably about 80 000 words long, so to edit it all down was a lot of work. I think most authors have the problem of not having enough material, but I just had way too much. Having someone like Dan Ozzi really helped me to sort out what was important and what wasn’t. Since I’m so closely tied to everything, it all seemed important to me at first. 

Going back to an older track of yours to which your book title makes reference to: your lyrics to I was a Teenage Anarchist sparked off a response (a while back) from Tim McIlrath from Rise Against on Architects. What was your reaction to the track?

I don’t know, I got a laugh (laugh). It felt like he was misinterpreting my song, but thats’ fine. We’ve toured tons with Rise Against. It’s been a long time, but we used to know them back in the day. At the time it just seemed like posturing, you know? Like “Okay, whatever, sure. You’re more revolutionary than me. You can have it”.

Do you feel a certain growing distance between yourself and some of the scenes you used to be affiliated with back in the day?

I do for sure, and I think that a lot of the time it was coming from “opposites”. For me, I was into activism and political theory and revolution before I got into a band. Then the band took me more towards a way that was more about focusing on the music, simply because I wasn’t able to be anywhere for any extended period of time or be a part of a group anymore. I think that some other people were not coming from that same place and decided to get into activism as they started the band, that their band was going to be about activism. Sometimes it seems almost fake to me. Where is the real thing that you’re doing? Where is your actual activism other than getting up on stage and saying that you’re an activist doing something for the world. Instead of telling people that you’re doing amazing things, just go do it. As a die-hard anarchist, I will always feel suspicious of people trying to lead people. I fear leaders.

So you still consider yourself an anarchist but keep this aspect separate from your music.

Well I don’t see why there should be an obligation. There shouldn’t be the need to continually state that in your music. It should just be representative or already there if that’s the case.

I guess the title of I was a Teenage Anarchist goes back to the frustrating part where people put meaning into something you didn’t say. The song is called I was a TEENAGE Anarchist, and the past tense of “was” is because I’m no longer a teenager. I’m 35 years old. I WAS a teenage anarchist, I’m NOW 35 years old (laugh). So that’s what the past tense meant in that. It’s also just a stupid song. The title too, is inspired by I was a Teenage Werewolf, I liked the way the movie title sounded so I wanted to have song title like that, and now people take that as a complete disavow and whatnot, it’s just absurd. 

To finish off, could you name one of your favorite albums, movies and books?

Favorite movie: I’d have to say Blade Runner.

Favorite book: Frankenstein, the original Shapeshifter.

Favorite album: I’m going to go ahead and say Shine by Crime & the City Solution, a recent favorite record that I’ve been listening a lot to. 

Interview by Robin Ono.

A huge thank you goes out to the Staff at Him Media as well as to Laura for making this interview possible!

Be sure to keep up on the bands’ latest updates through their website and  social media pages.

Against Me

Official Website

http://www.againstme.net/

Official Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/AgainstMe/

Defeater - Abandoned

Having grown up with punk music and having spent a fair share of my teenage years with hardcore punk, I've always kept a held a close relationship with the genre and its' spirit, more so than with metal music. Out of all of the various scenes, one that has always stuck out for me personally was the Boston scene, home to some of the most gripping, powerful hardcore acts and to some my very favorite bands in the genre, including Defeater, returning here with their 4th full-length album "Abandoned"
Continuing in their tradition of narrative concept albums, "Abandoned" follows the story of an unfrocked catholic priest struggling with his past and his faith. As you might've probably guessed by now, the album certainly does not lack much in the way of ambition this time around, which makes for a fairly promising premise. With this current full-length effort, Defeater also return with a more polished production and a recovered vocalist sounding angrier than ever. While this album doesn't fundamentally change all that much from the bands' exceptional back catalogue, I couldn't help but feel as though the album were somewhat lacking some genuine angst and emotional depth and nuance that helped flesh out their previous narratives so vividly.
Production wise, I also felt as though the vocals were a little too much on the forefront, unfortunately overlooking some of the great passages of the album and keeping us from reaching a full, immersive listening experience. The lyrical leitmotivs present on the album helped glue the album together in a coherent concept, though I couldn't help but feel as though the focus of the album production was misdirected towards the concept rather than the bands' explosive energy and which brings these albums to life.
The album features some left-hooks such as "Unanswered" and the post-hardcore driven "Penance", while other tracks seem to fly by without leaving much of an impression.
Overall, I do admit to expecting more from this release. Nevertheless, while "Abandoned" comes out as a mixed bag of songs, the album is still worth checking out for some of the albums' strongest tracks, and while some of the others didn't do much for me, I trust the bands' lively energy and talent enough to be able to bring out their hidden colours in a live setting.

Defeater
Official Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/defeaterband
Official Website
http://defeater.me/

Manbeast, Raindance, Bandit and Triumph in Wilmington

Mornings like this one tell me I have a problem. I've barely been awake fifteen minutes and I'm writing a review of a show that took place in some kids garage. Yet, it's kind of beautiful. Last night I saw four great bands (I hoped to see more, but got lost on the way their) and had the kind of night you don't forget. After all, how many shows do you go to that have a bonfire going on just outside? The sort of quintessentially American show that I still haven't gotten quite used to, this sort of performance demonstrates the pure liberation found in this type of music.

Manbeast were the first band to go up (That I saw at least) and they had the kind of wonderfully insane energy that makes hardcore so enjoyable. Unfortunately, I could barely hear the vocals, but that didn't disguise how goddamn angry these guys are. While they're not necessarily old school punk some of the songs certainly have that vibe and it helps to create a sort of otherworldly experience that is in fact accentuated by taking place in a tiny garage out in the suburbs. They are speaking to the spirit of the American youth and that in and of itself is beautiful.

Raindance are the first band I remember clearly. Standing in the front row as they were about to kick off, I lean over to my friend Jack and ask "Do the guys suck?" and was pleased to say they did not. In fact they tore the roof off the place with a rather poignant sonic attack. Their bodies moving in unison they guided the crowd into a a strange new world, one marked by a sense of freedom from the oppression of a culture we have grown to hate. It sometimes takes a while for me to really start getting off at a show, and there was a clear transition for me during Raindance's set, somewhere along the line, I started to get off and go nuts.

Bandit were the third band I saw, this now being the fourth or fifth time I've seen them. As always, they delivered a wonderfully tight and brutal set. With no clear setlist in mind, they blazed through what they had prepared, their energetic stage antics keeping the crowd fully engaged. By the end of the set, they had won over everyone in the room and it seemed like things were going to explode. Ridiculously loud, Bandit understand how to win through a combination of songwriting skill and ungodly volume. When Jack left his guitar on an amp to feed back to close out the set and simply frontmanned I got the impression that perhaps the band might be even better with him just singing and another configuration of musicians behind him,,, As is though, Bandit were fun to watch, it's exciting to see this youth crew rising up to conquer the world!

Finally it was time for local melodic hardcore heroes Triumph to close out the night. Unafraid to embrace more stereotypically metal elements like guitarmonies these guys have a decisive energy guiding them forward. They manage to capture a lot of emotion in their live performance too. The break that featured only screams and acoustic guitars was especially touching. With their penultimate song, one that had a crowd singalong I got a sense for how much they meant for this scene. Their attitude of perpetual gratefulness was a pleasure to watch too. At the end of the day, they gave us a perfect closer, something the crowd could bond over, leaving us together, all friends.

This is the kind of evening that speaks to the perpetual magic and heart rending glory of hardcore and its related genres. As I sit here in bed, now a trifle more awake jamming Pentagram and wondering about what is to come I can't help but feel confident in my knowledge that, if nothing else, I will always have last nights stripped down DIY magic to guide me through the darkness. The four bandsd I saw allowed me to get into something greater, something deeper, and find a part of myself in some kids garage in Wilmington.

Find them on Facebook!

Manbeast: https://www.facebook.com/manbeasthc

Raindance: https://www.facebook.com/RaindanceHC

Bandit: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bandit/598271890207961

Triumph: https://www.facebook.com/triumphhc

Icon of Destruction, Sound of Memories, Zero Negatif and Bleed in Paris

It's Saturday night, regular readers know what this means, another show. While the venue was kind of out of the way and frankly subpar, all four bands I saw gave it their all and gave me reason to see them again. These are all groups who have a prominent role on the French metal scene and it was fun to see them all playing together. Now as I sit in my apartment and listen to my dumb neighbors having a loud and obnoxious party, I cast my mind back, to an evening spent with friends and brethren, metal family time that I wouldn't miss for the world.

First up was Icon of Destruction, a memorable symphonic death metal group who I first saw live a little more than six months ago at Openwall Fest. I was immediately struck by how memorable and powerful some of their songs are. On tracks like Under Darkened Skies as soon as the keyboard kicked in I was taken back to when I first heard them play. It speaks to the enduring power of this group and makes me want to see them again, Icon of Destruction know how to play death metal and bring their crazed attack to the audience on the wings of eagles from hell. One of the most promising Parisian bands, let's just hope they can hold on to one guitarist for more than two gigs.

Sound of Memories were up next and they absolutely killed it. I've seen these guys four or five times live now, but this may have been their best performance from a purely musical perspective. Their singer Flo has come to a much better understanding of how to use his voice and bring the attack to the fore. Meanwhile, the band has employed a lower tuning which allows for the bass parts to really shine through and creates a crushing bottom end. Sound of Memories are always an exciting live band, but tonight they shined brighter than ever before, thus really getting at the true magic of the music. This is a group who don't screw around, they deliver tight, powerful sets you won't soon forget.

The penultimate group was Zero Negatif and I must say their unique blend of nu metal and modern hardcore was pretty interesting. These guys have a unique approach and it was cool to dig into their sound. In particular, their bassist is simply insane, choosing to simply jump into the pit after his bass amp blew out. Overall Zero Negatif have some exciting tracks with a punishing groove and wicked beats. Nevertheless, these guys still could develop their sound a bit more to become truly distinct. As is though, this is a very solid local extreme metal band and longhairs from Ile-De-France should definitely check these guys out live if they get a chance.

Bleed were the final group I got to see and they were even better then when I last saw them in February. A few things struck me here that I didn't even register last time. First off, they have a new bassist, which allowed their singer (Who was having what seems to be his last gig with the band) to be a lot more flexible. The guitar solos are truly impressive, blistering and vicious, filled with all sorts of juicy ideas that will grab your ears. This is a band you need to see live, even if their modern metal looks might suggest the contrary, these guys know how to bring the heavy stuff. Thrash metal to tear your ears out, this group has big things in store for them.

In closing, tonight was one of those shows that just gets at the spirit of the underground. It's not often that you find four bands this good on a bill and it speaks to the talent of Thanatos Productions. Icon of Destruction are simply one of the most memorable groups in the scene right now. Sound of Memories meanwhile have an approach that few bands can mimic, putting them at the top of the local melodic death metal scene. Zero Negatif are interesting to say the least and with some evolution will get at something greater. Lastly, Bleed understand the enduring power of their music and will thrash until death. So we join arms, hair beating violently, a legion of brothers and sisters, all in thrall to the eternal magic of metal.

Find the bands on Facebook!

Icon of Destruction: https://www.facebook.com/IconOfDestruction

Sound of Memories: https://www.facebook.com/soundofmemoriesofficiel

Zero Negatif: https://www.facebook.com/groupezeronegatif

Bleed: https://www.facebook.com/bleedparis

Dead Like Swansea-Fragile Man

Metalcore tinged djent fronted by two screaming men. God, this is a good day to be listening to metal. Dead Like Swansea hail from a dying town in Arizona, a town where things haven't been looking up in years. So they rise, with a djent inflected sound that is heavy, passionate, and able to capture your soul. Djent destruction in its purest form Dead Like Swansea have the rage and their new record Fragile Man is a powerful debut, showcasing a band who with a little bit more polish could go on to help front this rapidly rising new wave of djentcore.

The thing is, these guys play their own unique brand of metal with a ferocity born of desperation. There is a very real rage here and it is only compounded by having two vocalists. The thing is, these guys know how to play off each other, how to create music that reflects their hearts and souls. Meanwhile, the guitar riffing is very tight and gives a strong forward motion to everything. One issue I have though is that Dead Like Swansea are often not as heavy as they should be and it leaves the sound a bit thin. Yet as a whole, the songs on this record flow together in an elegant way and are easy to fall in love with. They left me begging for more!

In conclusion, Dead Like Swansea have done something special with their new release. Fragile Man understands the meaning of djent, yet brings so much more to the table. It suggests an exciting future for these Arizona purveyors of prog perfection. In short, if you want a band who understand the spirit of their genre and want to bring it forward with an incredible violence and power then Dead Like Swansea is the band for you. Though they could get a thicker sound their attack is vicious and undying. I foresee big things happening for these young men who just refuse to give up!

Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/deadlikeswansea?fref=ts

Warm Up Day Three with Pervert Asshole, Lokurah, My Mental Health Degrades, Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition, Benighted and NAPALM DEATH

So now Warm Up is said and done, Napalm Death have played, blown my mind and left me begging for more. The bands I saw today were all great and the food surprisingly top notch (and pretty darn cheap too!) I saw all my friends from the first few days of festivaling and a lot more fans were here for the top bands. Fortunately not too many people showed up so we got to get a really personal experience for every concert, and let me tell you, it's INCREDIBLE to get to see a band like Napalm Death with less than a hundred people in the room. So now we are left with one thing to do, the review of the third day of the festival! I'm sitting in my kitchen exhausted at one in the morning let's do this thing.

The first band I saw today was Pervert Asshole, now here is a band who are wonderfully decadent in a live setting. Be it their guitarist, who wears a Mexican luchador mask or their singer who parades about gyrating freely in his underwear these guys are the definition of extreme. Their music is gloriously over the top and their new album title 'We Say Fuck a Lot' pretty much sums up their entire ethos. In other words, Pervert Asshole are the kind of thing that is gloriously offensive, gaining power through raw decadence, the kind of band who will make fun of you, if only because they think its funny. Not to be taken seriously and a blast to see live, Pervert Asshole will definitely be getting more coverage on Two Guys in the future.

Up next was Lokurah bringing their own brand of thrash metal madness to the fore. Tossing in touches of metalcore to an overall thrash derived sound these guys are pretty ferocious live. Throughout the early part of their set they were plagued with technology and mixing issues and I think it limited peoples ability to get into the music. Yet once they had a couple of songs with no problems people started headbanging and it became clear that Lokurah are quite a powerful live group. This is a band who come on and play tight and heavy thrashcore until heads are banging all around, and really, what more can you ask for from a local thrashcore band? Suffice to say, these guys know how to deliver and I'd like to see them again soon.

Then, My Mental Health Degrades charged on to the stage and delivered thirty plus minutes of destructive metalcore madness. Their music is melodic and powerful, the kind of hardcore that I genuinely enjoy, even if I think the performances can be a little silly sometimes. One of the coolest parts of their set was when the singer from another local melodic hardcore band, All My Memories, came onto the stage to perform some songs with the group. They went over so well I almost feel like the band should be doing a two vocalist thing. On their own though these guys are still stellar, the music is powerful and they know how to connect in other words, this is definitely a band I'd recommend to a friend.

I then took a break for dinner and too talk to some of the bands as well as a few of my good friends who I don't get to see as often as I like. These selfsame friends started telling me about the band to come, Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition a band who were apparently just as brutal as their name. By god were they right. With a grinding rage ripped straight from Origine Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition are violent, destructive, and totally triumphant in creating some glorious death metal that ripped my head off for the entirety of the set. Sure there music isn't intelligent or classy, but it certainly rips faces off and shows a band who have been dedicated to brutality for longer than I have been alive. These guys aren't going to stop soon, so you NEED to check them out and become a slave to their incredible heaviness.

The second to last group was French metal heroes Benighted who had a ton of local punters out to worship them. Their set was violent and vicious, the kind of thing were people (including me) were getting bruised and bloody from the very first song. Benighted's music is a sort of deathgrind with no respect for the normal rules of the genre, instead just opting to blast heads off with an attack that will hold you in thrall for hours. I could have watched them play an entire other set they were simply that good. Coming at it with a lot of energy and a vicious dedication to their music it was exciting to see these guys play, they definitely deserve their place as mainstays in the French scene.

And now on to the big guys. Napalm Death. The name says it all, legends in their lifetimes these guys have been doing this for more than thirty years and their performance is delivered with so much expertise you can not deny the bands greatness. As I headbanged in the front row I realized how impossibly lucky it was that we got to see Napalm Death in this super intimate setting. The band was tight and destructive as I imagine they always are (This was my first time). What I'm trying to say is that the sheer ferocity that Napalm Death attacked their set with was inspiring to me and their lyrics blew me away (as they always do) I especially liked how open they were with their message, aware that they are bringing good to the world. In short, I NEED to seem them again as soon as possible.

In conclusion, today was an incredible event, even more so than the previous days of Warm Up Festival. Not only was it topped off by one of the most impressive live sets I have EVER seen (And to give you a sense of scale, I've seen thirty one bands since September 1st) but all of the other bands on the bill were really well picked and fit well with the whole idea behind the festival. I sincerely hope I can come to the festival next year, Warm Up is intimate and fun, the sort of thing that creates memories that will last a life time. With a wonderful familial atmosphere and great vibes all around I just have to congratulate the team behind this event for a job well done.

Find the bands on Facebook!

Pervert Asshole: https://www.facebook.com/ZombieCatHouse?ref=ts&fref=ts

Lokurah: https://www.facebook.com/lokurahmusic?ref=ts&fref=ts

My Mental Health Degrades: https://www.facebook.com/mmhdband

Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition: https://www.facebook.com/scdmusic

Benighted: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Benighted-official/102125209845927

Napalm Death: https://www.facebook.com/officialnapalmdeath

Demented Sanity-Legacy

Now HERE is a metal band. Demented Sanity are a group who claim that 'we will break your fucking neck' and by god do they do it well. Best defined as melodic hardcore these Israeli metal warriors are not afraid to go out and crush skulls with their tight and powerful sound. Note though, that this is more than just a melodic hardcore record, at times it is possible to hear the clear influence of bands like At The Gates or even In Flames. Their new record Legacy shows the introduction of a new kind of metal, melodic, vicious and ready to grind your bones to dust.

Here's the thing about Legacy, it combines a variety of styles and does it in a way that makes sense. There are melodeath passages that are followed by breakdowns. Not only does this broaden the appeal of the music but it showcases the power that Demented Sanity have as songwriters. Another thing I really like about this record is the hectic approach that some of the riffs have, it really emphasizes the essentially hardcore nature of the band. A great example of this is in the song Shell which has a completely face ripping riff to start off the madness. Meanwhile the layered nature of some of the riffs make Legacy transcend mere metal and become something of an instant classic.

In short, Demented Sanity's latest release is promising, powerful and pure. Its polished nature makes the music a lot more accessible, yet the raw energy that is so readily apparent is not at all stifled. Add in the fact that these guys are from Israel and you start to realize the magic that seems to be rising up around Demented Sanity and their music. These guys are ready to take their music to the next level, the only thing to do now is see if they can get the few breaks they need to really amp things up to eleven! I for one can not wait for their next release!

Find them on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/DementedSanity

The Departed-Steal The Crown

There isn't a lot of solid hardcore punk anymore, most of it has faded away or gotten boring, rarely do I find a hardcore punk band who really carry on the flag of intelligent rebellion. Yet today I have gotten to spin the new record from The Departed entitled Steal the Crown a 26 minute prothalmion to the greatness of one of the best up and coming hardcore punk bands in the world. Not relying purely on raw rebellion but also powerful hooks and catchy riffs their is something more to this record that most hardcore albums don't relyl have, making it catchier and a lot more meaningful.

What makes this record special is the way the band does not shy away from hooks and sing a long parts, and in fact encourages them. This makes their songs a lot more accessible, and simply enjoyable. While some of the true hardcore punk aggression may be lost its more than made up for in baying choruses and roaring guitar parts. In other words, these guys are just fun to listen to and they are clearly having fun as they make their music. Toss in some intelligent lyrics and you have yourself quite the record, an album that you can both mosh to, and listen to on a much more serious level, something very few artists in any extreme music genre succeed in doing today.

So, if your looking for a melodic hardcore record that is a lot more listenable and significantly easier to connect with than most stuff on the modern scene then Steal the Crown is the album for you. For years through many tours and releases The Departed have been building up to this and it seems like now they have finally got it together as they blaze through the albums twelve high energy tracks. If you are going to listen to this record prepare yourself for a melodic hardcore band that will push the boundaries of what is possible and take their genre to a whole new level.

Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/thedepartedgyhc

Counterparts-The Difference Between Hell and Home

Counterparts have been crafting simply brutal melodic hardcore since 2007. They are very much a part of that excellent New England hardcore scene and their new record The Difference Between Hell and Home is a wondrous testament to the glory that modern hardcore has. With cool melodies and simply unforgiving hardcore riffs this is a very powerful record. Being the groups fourth studio release in four years these guys are nothing if not productive and I'm glad to say that The Difference Between Hell and Home is a fitting sequel to the monster of a record that was 2011's The Current Will Carry Us. 

What really sets some of these songs apart is the way they harness a true aggression and then add some cool melodies on top. While most modern metalcore is very toned back and dismisses its punk origins on The Difference Between Hell and Home Counterparts seem to do exactly the opposite. Songs like Slave show the crushing might of the band, yet they are also not afraid to use some nifty melodies to accent their heavier parts (A good example of this might be Curse). The songs are overall pretty short, yet I think the longer ones allow more time for atmosphere to be built up, I especially like the albums second longest track Compass. I also think that the band should completely do away with the clean vocals (which are thankfully limited on this record), those parts, while not bad are definitely not their strongest moments.

In conclusion, if you're looking for a stellar melodic hardcore record then The Difference Between Hell and Home is the album for you. With soaring melodies and unforgiving riffs fans of what originally made metalcore great will adore this record. As the band fades out more and more of their clean vocals their sound gets progressively stronger and I think their is a clear evolution going on here. It leads me to believe that the sequel to The Difference Between Hell and Home could take the genre to a new level. The band certainly has the potential and the chops. To finish, if you want a record with pumelling riffs and great melodies then this is something you're going to want to check out when it drops July 23rd!

Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/counterpartshc

Lantern For a Gale-Cut Throat Blues

Lantern For a Gale is an impressive melodic hardcore band from the town of Belfast Ireland. With their powerful riffs and crushing momentum they have crafted an impressive and tasty single with Cut Throat Blues a modern day testament to the magic that real hardcore has. Filled with an old school hardcore energy and all of the rage that made the genre so successful in the first place Cut Throat Blues completely eschews the modern day hardcore posery for something heavier, more violent and generally just punk. At a little less than eight minutes the only thing this record leaves the listener wanting is more. Lantern for a Gale are clearly very talented musicians and I'm very excited to hear how their sound develops in the future, they could single handedly bring the scene back to its roots, they're simply that good. With their great songwriting and intelligent lyrics my faith has been restored in pvre hardcore punk. And if you're still doubting the groups greatness, check out their album art, all arguments are invalid.

Listen to them on Bandcamp!
http://savouryourscenerecords.bandcamp.com/album/cut-throat-blues

Shai Hulud-Reach Beyond the Sun

Shai Hulud are one the giants of hardcore, their music is powerful, aggressive and intelligent, something that many a metalhead can love. With a discography as influential as theirs I had to ask myself, can the new Shai Hulud record meet their old standards? I am very glad to say that they can, even going so far as to surpass their previous work with a new classic that goes back to the original ethos of melodic hardcore and resists the influence of mid 2000s metalcore bands. Reach Beyond the Sun is a moving hardcore record that showcases the go for the throat mentality that has made Shai Hulud so popular.

The songs here are ferocious and filled with the raw anger and disillusionment that made Shai Hulud's classic material so good. The hardcore side dominates yet there are still quite a few tasty melodic riffs to be had. I particularly like the guitar line on the eponymous track Reach Beyond the Sun (Which probably should be the album opener) It shows off what makes the band so good, with a melodic guitar attack that is hidden under a cascade of hardcore punk aggression. Overall the songwriting is very tight and it maintains the crashing and uncoordinated feel that is so crucial to having a true hardcore record.

In sum, Shai Huluds latest release is a testament to what modern hardcore can be. At once melodic and face ripping this is a unique effort that manages to spurn all of the bands that claim to have been influence by them. Instead Shai Hulud quite literally manages to 'reach beyond' and create something that is purely theirs. Asides from a few issues with track listing Reach Beyond the Sun is one of the greatest metallic hardcore records to come out in a long time and certainly one of my favorite records of 2013 so far.

Check them out on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/shaihuludofficial

Buy the Album!