EP 285: 2007
Criminal Damage / Rampage / Madball / Stout / Framtid / Carbonas / TUI / etc
Killer episode this week on the pod. Check it out here, here, or here.
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2007 saw the debut of the Iphone. More importantly, Criminal Damage put out their 2nd LP. For real though, 2007 was a good year for hardcore. On one hand you had of what would be now sometimes be referred to as the No Way scene in full stride with bands like Government Warning and Direct Control coming off putting out classic LPs in the years prior, and a slew of others dropping records as well. On the other end of things, Trapped Under Ice put out their demo signaling a sea shift in that lane back to a ‘90s NYHC bounce. Bitter End released their first LP as well, putting their own Texas touch on modern NYHC. And speaking of the original thing, both Madball and Agnostic Front put out LPs in 2007.
Fest culture was now in full swing. 2007 saw Sound and Fury and This Is Hardcore return for their 2nd editions as well as the debut of Rain Fest in the Northwest, and the 3rd edition of Chaos en Tejas in Austin. No matter what style of hardcore you were into, there was something for you to get into in 2007.
Here are our lists:
Let’s get into mine…
Criminal Damage “Victory” No Solution LP Feral Ward
There’s an outside chance that some goon will bop me in the back of the head for saying this, but we all know it to be true so what the hay: most American Oi! blows. Somehow Criminal Damage was able to buck that trend for three LPs, probably because they went directly to the best source possible for inspiration: the 1981-1982 Blitz catalog. Okay, and maybe a dash of the Attak 7”s.
“Victory” kicks off with a simple, perfect lead that ties the whole song together. The song sounds mean, yet has tinges of sadness and nostalgia tucked in there too—the winning combination that the FrOi! bands would deliver a decade later.
Madball “Stand Up NY” Infiltrate The System LP Ferret
Madball’s run from 1989’s Ball of Destruction through 2000’s Hold It Down is one of the best runs in the history of hardcore. I don’t think you’d find anyone who would compare their next three-LP run to it, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some great songs peppered throughout their later catalog. One of those is the last song off their 2007 Infiltrate The System LP, titled “Stand Up NY.”
It starts with the guitarist alone playing a simple three-chord riff before the drums kick into a slow head-bob tempo. It hits a ring-out on the guitar when Freddy comes in with the first lyrics in a way that’s reminiscent of the track “Look My Way.” The stand up New York chorus gets delivered over Hatebreed-esque chugga then the song moves into a mid-tempo pace for the 2nd verse before looping around again. In the final salvo, they hit that the intro riff again before flipping it into a chugga part while Freddy shouts out all the boroughs of New York City. This section represents the only 30 seconds of my life where I wish I didn’t live in Oxnard or San Diego. It’s that good.
Rampage “Ox Must Plow” Limit of Destruction LP Lockin’ Out
We talk about YOLO being an important ingredient in hardcore songwriting mix on the pod sometimes and Rhode Island’s Rampage definitely doesn’t lack in it. Their best song is “Ox Must Plow” off their 2007 LP Limit of Destruction—53 seconds of hardcore perfection.
It kicks off kind of similar to “Ready To Fight” by Negative Approach, an anthemic singalong over a stompy mid-tempo floor tom beat. Then it breaks into a loose but intense scissor beat cuz fuck it, why not? They circle back to the opening section again with a different set of lyrics, this time extending the mosh. It ends by hitting the scissor beat again and then wrapping with a short doo-dat section and a final vocal exclamation.
Look, the “Ready to Fight” formula is a tried and true one. It’s basically impossible to fuck this type of song up. Loosly follow the blueprint and your band will have at least one good song. Shit, I’m not just a booster of this idea, I’m also a participant as evidenced here with the Retaliate song “In My Life” from 2006.
Your turn.
Stout “Sleep Bitch” Sleep Bitch CD Ruction Records
I don’t really know how to explain the difference between OG tough guy mosh core and metalcore but I will attempt:
Sure, Stout sounds nothing like ‘80s hardcore. They’re drop-tuned, the vocals are guttural and there’s way more mosh parts than fast parts. But you could never accuse them of being metalcore. This is 100% hardcore—the hard style—a style that when bands get it right is tops for me.
Sleep Bitch the album sounds thick and mean, somewhere between the 1st Sheer Terror album, the Darkside NYC demos and pre-Victory Blood For Blood—so basically shoutout Alan Blake. The title track the kicks the whole thing off is straight up diabolical, with vocalist Thaddeus Stamps laying down some of those most seared-into-your-brain lyrics there are.
I'm the noxious gas that will kill your kids
lay them on their backs
turn their souls to black
in the small of my back the Pachmayrs packed
to help you with those Z's 45 ACP
The Sandman cometh it's time for sleep.
Sleep bitch, sleep bitch, sleep.
They’re from Baltimore not Thousand Oaks or Pleasanton, that’s for sure. Jesus.
5. Totalitär “Nej VI Ska Inte Ha Nåt” Vi Är Eliten LP Prank
Totalitär’s final LP Vi Är Eliten is a great swan song for a band with one the most consistent catalogs in the history of hardcore and “Nej VI Ska Inte Ha Nåt” is the best song on it. It starts with the guitarist playing the verse riff by itself twice before kicking in with a fast D-beat on the crash before the singing comes in for the verse. There’s a little guitar lick on the front end of the chorus that ties the whole thing together and makes the track so memorable. That and the perfect guitar solo which sounds like it was plucked off the end of Social Distortion’s “Mass Hysteria.” Just total hardcore punk perfection from these all-time Swedish greats.
Carbonas “Trapped In Hell” S/T LP Goner
Zero Boys meet the Adolescents meet the Ramones—The Carbonas ruled. “Trapped In Hell” is a GOATed track off their final LP. It starts with just bass and drums before the Oozin’ Ahhhs kick in. Then it’s pure uptempo-midtempo snotty punk perfection. Shout out to the drummer’s right hand. There was a time when I thought that the bowl of macaroni and cheese I got from Abdullah the Butcher’s House of Ribs and Chinese Foods was the best thing out of Atlanta, but this tune has me second guessing that.
Framtid “A Price of Apathy” Split w/Seein’ Red 7” Hate Records
Not much to say about this one, it’s just another track from Osaka, Japan’s Framtid. Is everything chasing the dragon of Under The Ashes? Maybe, but this song is short, mean, and the production is savage but loud and not all muffled. Plus the track is 1:38 so you know it’s crucial.
Trapped Under Ice “Heavy Thoughts” Demo 2007 7” Flatspot
Some people make the argument that this demo changed everything. That’s debatable but this is undoubtably the launching pad for one of the biggest and best hardcore bands of the last 20 years. They came out the gate nearly fully formed—armed with a clear mission of what they were aiming to delivery musically and a swag which was as infectious as the tunes. Chris swooped the stone cold classic off the demo, “Reality Unfolds,” so I took “Heavy Thoughts” cuz I thought it showed remarkable confidence that you rarely see on a demo. It’s so laid back in almost a District 9 “Behind Red Tape” way in the first section before kicking into an early version of their signature sound throughout the rest of it.
Wasted Time “Leech / No Shore” No Shore E.P. 7” Grave Mistake
Folks refer to the No Way scene but Grave Mistake had just as big of a peace in it. Here’s Wasted Time with an absolutely crucial twofer of ripping roots hardcore. Great song writing, performances, and a perfect recording for the style. Rip it and get out. Hell yeah.
Social Circkle “Life Crisis” I’ve Got Afflictions E.P. 7” No Way Records
Super catchy uptempo-midtempo hardcore punk jammer. Great recording. Catchy chorus. What more do you want?
2007…a pretty good year for the core, eh?
My band Subversive Intent released a our debut LP this past Friday, May 1st, on Rebirth Records. I’m super proud of it and can’t wait for you to hear it…on vinyl, when you order two copies. So do that and in the meantime jam it here or wherever you stream music. Records should be shipping in the next couple weeks.
Upcoming Subversive Intent gigs:
Check out Kev’s band FALSE SALVATION. Upcoming False Salvation gigs:
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