Many people don’t love newer, darker Nofx phase with more varied songs, piano parts, dark introspective lyrics with lots of word play, but I love it. This, maybe last studio album of these skate punk legends continues where last one called Single Album left off. Songs are more up tempo and more energetic with beautiful, yet somehow melancholic melodies, Don’t Count On Me is one of my personal favorites with such superb vocal interplay between Fat Mike’s, Hefe’s and Melvin’s voice. I can also hear lots of Cokie The Clown(Fat Mike’s alter ego) in some songs. Also, band grew and gained a lot when Karina Denike joined on keys and backing vocals, the songs gained such great richness. Nofx also take verbal attack on the scene with Punk Rock Cliche, the song to which lyrics I can relate totally in many ways. The music is basically fast skate punk, but versatile, with reggae, ska influences, also I would dare to say progressive punk rock in many ways. Fuck Day Six is a great dark song about rehab, autobiographic and strong. Gone With The Heroined, which was called before Scarlett O Heroin on one of those seven inches series, finishes this ten song album in an incredible but darkened way. This is dark skate punk rock tour de force and if it is the last one by this legendary band it is a worthy legacy.
Minus Youth are hailing from Stuttgart, Germany and this is their new e.p. This one contains four songs of metallic hardcore, not unlike All Out War, Earth Crisis, but with some street punk roots touches like Madball. I really enjoyed this one so much. Lately, I really enjoy these newer releases of hardcore scene and bands coming out, so many and I am glad after being thirty years in the scene that this is still thriving and pumping scene alive and well and will never die. Music of Minus Youth is aggressive, up tempo and also thrash metal influenced in guitar parts but still hardcore to the bone. My personal favorite on this little e.p. is Sun, title song containing breaks and speed, just what any great hardcore anthem should have. Vocals are harsh, backing gang vocals too, but in all there are no death metal singing masked in hardcore, this is a great hardcore shouter on mic here. Also, song I must highlight is Tens to Thirties. Great e.p. and great hardcore band.
Sarneghera? are another band coming from mighty Italian underground scene. This is their new e.p. containing 4 songs. The music of this band is hard to describe. It is basically hardcore in its roots, but it also has many prog elements carefully mixed with melody and post core here and there, with also some metal/crossover outbreaks as a surprise. The lyrics are interesting and original because they are a mix of English, Italian, Spanish, French, Latin and ancient Greek and reborn in a new language called Smoothiesh. There are some fast hardcore punk parts quickly evolving into cold melody of space and than back again into anger and despair. Vocals are at times screaming angry, but most of the times they are sung melodic, but not in a snotty annoying way, but good. This is maybe a bit pretencious, but great and original hardcore opus.
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 