Rise Against decided to surprise us with their brand new e.p. containing songs that were actually recorded in the same session as previous full length album Nowhere Generation, So, these five songs continue where the last album stopped, delivering blistering melodic hardcore with politically charged lyrics that are somehow also personal and talking to each and every one of us. Last Man Standing and This Time Is Personal are somehow my personal favorites with Tim´s vocals being trademark that you recognize anytime you awake in the middle of the night. This band just can´t disappoint with their music. Unfortunately I have never witnessed them deliver their mighty set live, but I plan to correct that mistake one day. Great surprise by great band.
Illinois has always been fertile ground for great melodic pop punk and punk rock so Real Friends are hailing from there and this e.p. contains three songs, one being an acoustic version. This is ultra melodic punk rock with pop punk sensibility which successfully mixes aggression of punk riffs with melody, harmony in multiple vocals and great lyrics. Always Lose is my favorite of these three songs and this little e.p. just engaged my appetite for listening to this band more and more. Now I am going to check out their other releases for some more quality pop punk.
Sweden has always been great fertile ground for awesome bands and Tear Them Down are from Gothenburg and this is their second full length album. This band has been in the scene since 2010 and did many European tours and also went to Japan. This one features 13 songs of hardcore punk mayhem. It is a nice old school hardcore punk with 80ies influences, fast and strong to make your fist pump in the air with joy and energy in your heart. But, there are also some I would say garage punk, melodic skatepunk and more skatecore influences. My personal favorites are anthems like Sacrifice and also Total Control which I am sure are live favorites to sing along, stage dive and bring smile to your face. Vocals are harsh, shouted in hardcore way, but also transform to more melodic singing and it works perfectly along with harsh and singalong backing vocals. Some of the songs from this album like As We Go Down I listened to over and over again to check out how great they are. Fantastic hardcore album!
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 