Cold Front 1995 demo

There has been a long tradition of groove-oriented hardcore in and around NYC. Just think of bands such as Leeway (post-'Born To Expire'), Enrage, Breakdown, Crown Of Thornz, Fahrenheit 451, and so on. A band that definitely deserves to be in this list is Cold Front. I feel Cold Front is mostly known for being one of the bands Mike Dijan (Crown Of Thornz, Breakdown, Skarhead) was in. However, he wasn't part of the band until the late '90s, and as you can hear on their 1995 demo, that didn't mean they sucked. On the contrary, this is a really good & solid demo. Excellent stuff.

Unfortunately my copy of the demo didn't come with a lyric sheet, nor does it mention a line-up. But the Cold Front myspace mentions the line-up on this demo as: 'M.S. - Vocals, Nick B. - Guitar, Harry - Bass and Harry Minas - Drums'. All 3 songs would be re-recorded for the 1996 self-titled CD (Mike Dijan, while not playing on this album, did produce it). For more info on this band, check their myspace. In the meantime, enjoy!

BTW, my apologies for the bad sound-quality. The levels on the demo-tape are off the scale and I'm not exactly a sound-engineer.

Cold Front 1995 demo
Cold Front myspace

Review: The New Enemy - Shakedown EP

The New Enemy, from Toronto, requested a review of their 'Shakedown EP' on OnexPath. Even though this blog is not really meant for current hardcore, The New Enemy's sound is deeply rooted in old hardcore & punk, and this 6-song, 15-minute EP is good enough to warrant a review.

The 6 songs on this EP show a band that has listened numerous times to bands such as Poison Idea, Good Riddance, Strung Out, etc, while mixing it with a more modern sound and song-writing approach... One of the few current day bands I can think of to compare this band to is Smoke & Mirrors especially in the harder more hardcore-oriented songs, even if The New Enemy goes for a more punk/hardcore-oriented sound.

Opening track 'Tim Horton Hears A Who', is the perfect showcase for their sound, with the heavy intro that quickly shifts into a more punkrock oriented track while keeping the heavier guitar-sound. A great song that's over before you know it at 1 minute and 28 seconds. The 4th track, 'Level 2 Scapegoat', has the most modern sound, with more abrasive and choppy guitar riffs, while maintaining that late '80s/early '90s hardcore/punk feel this band is going for. 'Shelf Life', the final track, features some sweet lead-guitars leading into a very modern-sounding breakdown with some 'ooh-aah-ooh' backup vocals. Sounds like a strange combination, but they make it work somehow. Unfortunately, while 'The Pony Collector' is the stand-out track on this EP stylistically with its country/folk-like intro, it also stands out as the worst track on here to me. Overall, 5 good tracks out of 6 is a pretty good score, and I can wholeheartedly recommend this EP and this band.

Another thing that speaks for this band is that this EP, as well as their 1st EP 'Outsourced', is available for free download, including artwork. So give this band a chance.

The New Enemy (myspace)

Caption - Emotions To Sever CD

Seriously good 'emotional' hardcore from '97 (I believe) that should've gotten way more recognition than it did (altho they were pretty big in their home-state of Alabama apparently). Which is rather unfortunate cuz this is a great CD. With an average length of 6 minutes, these 6 songs are filled with great build-ups and climaxes, intense music, tortured vocals, and accompanying lyrics dealing mostly with failed relationships and such. Especially 'Now More Than Ever' is really good and shows that this band had a lot of potential. You can just imagine the kids in their hometown of Birmingham, AL sing along to this band quite a bit. I feel this band would do pretty well with the current crop of kids who dig bands such as MLIW, The Hope Con and such. Underrated band. Members moved on to Catchfire, but Caption sounds nothing like that band. Give it a chance!

Caption - Emotions To Sever CD

Goredrome - Endzeit 7"

Released in 1994 on Equality Records, this is Goredrome's only proper release as far as I know, apart from a track on a compilation. Goredrome from Germany was a pretty short-lived band unfortunately. I really like this 7" and it's a shame this band sorta sank into obscurity. At times this 7" reminds me of Starkweather, especially 'Wavelength'. Everything about this 7" from 1994, from the artwork to the pics of the bandmembers to the lyrics to music & vocals, is very gloomy and dark, and well done. Don't pass up on this one!

Apart from the 2 songs on this 7", they also did a song, 'Kobe', for a grind/crust compilation called 'Rudi Rat vol.6', which is still available, and can be ordered here. After this band, some members ended up in bands such as Basalt and Kurushimu, both of which are grindcore bands from what I know of them. Either way, enjoy these 2 songs.

Goredrome - Endzeit 7"