The Last Stand

Review by Nick Shore | Smutlife

More New York bands you say? Well, Brooklyn’s The Last Stand have officially arrived on the scene, playing a refreshingly traditional, no-frills brand of straight up hardcore. Comprised of members from Shutdown and Inhuman, the four piece have assembled themselves into a brand new unit, utilizing influences and experience from their prior projects to ink a handful of tracks laced with intoxicating aggressiveness. With over a decade long track record in the scene, The Last Stand are making waves with the release of their crushing self titled EP. Read more

Skam Dust: Corona Warrior

Words & Interview by Steve DiLodovico | Smutlife

Skam Dust. You know that kid; the one that runs with them legendary DMS All-Stars. He’s part of a cast of grimy MCs and Hardcore royalty like the Shotblockers, Madball, Danny Diablo AKA Lord Ezec. Skam Dust rose from the womb of Skarhead with a background forged in the hardest NYHC and a throat full of shrapnel. Skam only recognizes real: you can hear it in his verses and you can feel it in his voice. He is New York to the core: Corona, Queens: Spaghetti Park to be exact. It’s the kind of stomping ground that breeds Legends. Read more

Freddy Madball deals out some Catholic Guilt

CATHOLIC GUILT – FREDDY MADBALL’S SOLO ALBUM IS OUT NOW!!!  Appearances from RANCID, VINNIE PAZ, TRAVIS MCCOY (GYM CLASS HEROES) REEF THE LOST CAUZE AND SLAINE (LA COKA NOSTRA), ‘London Calling’ featuring Rancid is up NOW at myspace.com/freddymadball.

Freddy Cricien, known forever as Freddy Madball for his role as vocalist for the legendary hardcore group Madball, has announced the release of his solo album titled, Catholic Guilt. The album contain’s Freddy’s tough-as-nails vocals but with different muscles flexed.

“I’m doing everything on this album, singing, rhyming and yelling, rhyming being the focal point.” says Freddy. While Madball have always had an urban beat to their sound, Catholic Guilt has all out boom bap beats and rock breaks. DJ Stress The White Boy (produced/remixed for Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes, Tyga, Reef The Lost Cauze and more) provides the bulk of the production along with LD (LDEEZLE productions, Pitchfork Hardwear).

Read more

The Politics of Hardcore Punk

By Damon W. Root – Reason

Writing in the Village Voice, rock critic Jason Buhrmester celebrates the new 25th anniversary re-issue of Victim in Pain, the landmark debut album by New York hardcore punk band Agnostic Front. Featuring 11 songs clocking in at around 15 minutes, Victim in Pain combined the rapid-fire sound of bands like Black Flag and The Ramones with Agnostic Front’s own uniquely aggressive style. The result was an underground classic that has influenced bestselling artists ranging from the West Coast ska-punks Rancid to the metal bands Slayer and Pantera. As Buhrmester correctly observes, Victim in Pain “deserves to be ranked within a stage dive’s distance of Velvet Underground and Ramones classics on any list of important and influential New York records.”

Buhrmester also makes an absolutely essential point about the history of the famous New York rock club CBGB, which first opened its doors in 1973 and played host to many of the great punk, hardcore, and New Wave bands before closing its doors three years ago. “When CBGB belched up its last breath in late 2006,” Buhrmester writes, “the parade of nostalgia focused on Blondie, Television, and other ’70s bands, largely ignoring the ’80s, when hardcore bands like Agnostic Front kept the club afloat.”

Read more…

Freddy Madball is full of Catholic Guilt

Freddy Madball is a New York hardcore legend. That’s a fact. Anybody who wants to deny it can step on up right now and we’ll see what happens. Yeah, that’s what I thought.

The kid’s been rocking stages since he was literally a pre-teen. Act like you don’t know; but dude’s entire family is the NYHC scene. He was raised by his older brother Roger Miret of Agnostic Front fame and fostered by another AF legend Vinnie Stigma. He’s shared stages with every band of any importance that came out of New York’s Lower East Side Hardcore scene and has recorded some of the genre’s most classic material. As a matter of fact; just the other day I was talking with a good friend of mine and we were reminiscing on Madball‘s first 7″ Ball of Destruction. His quote was something along the lines of “yeah, that first Madball record is about as close to flawless as you can get.” Ever since that record dropped Freddy has been steadily putting it out there: from Madball to Hazen Street to his newest venture alongside long-time friend and producer DJ Stress.

Read more