There’s always that one destination festival people call home. For metal heads it’s Wacken Open Air in Germany. For cruise enthusiasts it’s 70,000 Tons Of Metal. For hardcore it’s This Is Hardcore. Many people I’ve talked to love this festival and call it like a place they can get together with friends and see bands they love.Continue reading →
There’s always that one destination festival people call home. For metal heads it’s Wacken Open Air in Germany. For cruise enthusiasts it’s 70,000 Tons Of Metal. For hardcore it’s This Is Hardcore. Many people I’ve talked to love this festival and call it like a place they can get together with friends and see bands they love.
World Be Free occupies a very particular space in the in today’s musical landscape. A sort of hardcore supergroup featuring members of Terror (vocalist Scott Vogel), Judge (drummer Sammy Siegler), Strife (guitarist Andrew Kline) and Gorilla Biscuits (bassist Arthur Smilios), World Be Free is not the sum of its parts or a reflection of hardcore in 2016. Full length début, The Ant-Circle (Revelation), is more of a simulacrum of the New York and DC hardcore sounds of yesteryear with the occasional dash of pop-punk hooks.
And as an homage to those reverential 1980s bands, The Anti-Circle seems to check all the boxes. There’s an economical approach as 14 tracks come and go in less than half an hour and with only one clocking in at over three minutes. ‘Shake the Ghost’ and ‘Never Slip’ are fantastic examples of making the most with just the necessary musical ingredients.
However, while World Be Free’s riffs and lyrics were designed with the intention of channeling the vitality of their musical heroes, The Anti-Circle feels likes its spinning wheels. When Vogel bellows “You’ll never be a part of my world,” or “The times have changed” it doesn’t come across as empowering or intriguing as it isn’t saying anything Black Flag didn’t already say in 1981 (albeit in a much more satirical tone). And since its treading such familiar creative waters it, songs like ‘World Be Free,’ ‘All These Colors’ and ‘Breakout or Busted’ fail to distinguish themselves from one another.
That’s not to say that there aren’t successful moments of musical reverence to be found on The Anti-Circle. While probably the most tuneful song of the bunch, ‘Empty Things’ impresses with Kline’s melodic guitar lines. Also when World Be Free decides to shift gears and speed up they can generate some worthy slam dancing like in ‘I’m Done.’
World Be Free has a great album within them. It’s all a matter of them addressing the line between impression and homage.
Day 2 of Wrecking Ball didn’t start until after 1 PM, so people had ample chance to recover in spite of the after parties. The early day belonged to bands on the outdoor Music Park Stage and the Heaven Stage. Early bands such as Yuck, and and Basement woke kids out of their stupors. Fans who showed up early got a treat seeing Mutoid Man’sStephen Brodsky pull double duty later on with legends Cave In. Another highly anticipated group was the return of Glassjaw in only their second show back in action. They really brought it back with their set chock full of hits. Other early bands of note included Girlpool, the excellent Appleseed Cast, and screamo legends Thrice. Later on Desparecidos and American Nightmare brought the swelling crowds at witnessing their respective sets to their knees. American Nightmare in particular has been killing it live and tonight was no exception. Finally Coheed And Cambria closed the night in epic fashion. Wrecking Ball, we are already looking forward to next year. Thanks again to Boston Chuck Photograpyfor the great shots from a packed photo pit!
The crowd outside Wrecking Ball, by Boston Chuck Photography
With destination concert events being the next big thing, every city is trying to come up with an even to put them on the map. Atlanta has pulled off an impressive start with the first annual Wrecking Ball at the venerable Masquerade venue. Judging by the success with the lineup and the response from the crowd, we have every reason to believe this fest will be a round for years to come. Even though if you Google the fests name, you still get that silly girl Miley and her video, the fest unironically had their own wrecking ball too, with people doing the Miley pose in jest. And the bands on day one wrecked the stage and had fans from all over wrecking their bodies in the Atlanta summer heat to the mostly punk rock extravaganza. Descendents may be long time veterans of the scene, but they performed with more energy than most bands half their age. Judge brought the old-school beatdown sensability. The heady minds in Failure were an anomaly on the bill, but a welcome one that added to the diversity of it. Their new album The Heart Is A Monster (InResidence) is killer. Back to the punk side of things Modern Life is War, The Get Up Kids, TheMovieLife, SamIAm, and Title Fight all brought it big time. Pianos Become The Teeth is another band that had their own crowd on hand for this show. The outdoor stage added a real specialness to this event, and those bands seemed to really relish the true fest feels. Shot here for Ghost Cult by Boston Chuck Photography, day one of Wrecking Ball more than set the tone for the rest of the weekend. Day 2 coverage coming soon!
Descendents, by Boston Chuck Photography
Failure, by Boston Chuck Photography
Judge, by Boston Chuck Photography
Modern Life Is War, by Boston Chuck Photography
Pianos Become The Teeth, by Boston Chuck Photography
The Wrecking Ball ATL has announced their lineup, taking place on August 8-9, 2015 at The Masquerade in Atlanta, GA.
Coheed And Cambria Descendents Thrice Desaparecidos Glassjaw The Get Up Kids American Nightmare The Lawrence Arms The Movielife Title Fight Judge Basement Samiam Braid Yuck The Appleseed Cast Modern Life Is War Cave In Knapsack Blacklisted Pianos Become The Teeth Frankie Cosmos The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die Small Brown Bike Their/They’re/There You Blew It! Foundation Girlpool Old Gray The Coathangers Make Do And Mend Beach Slang Cayetana Brick + Mortar Criminal Instict Superheaven Pet Symmetry Somos Mutoid Man Sorority Noise Bellows Adventures Microwave Big Jesus The Weaks Told Sland Spraynard Petal Slingshot Dakota Free Throw Blis. Halfling West Point Northbound
The 2015 edition of United Blood Fest lineup is now set for March 27-28, 2015 at The Canal Club in Richmond, VA and will feature:
Judge Breakdown Terror Cold World Down To Nothing Code Orange Crown Of Thornz Rotting Out Harms Way Bracewar Criminal Instinct Give Stick Together Barge Blistered Broken Teeth Break Away Forced Order Freedom God’s Hate Hardstripes Heavy Chains Malice At The Palace Malfunction Mizery Snails Pace
It is hard to believe German modern thrashers Dew-Scented have been issuing music for over two decades, and have built quite the underground following over the years. Their latest release Insurgent is a collection of three new songs, seven live tracks and cover versions of various favorites of the band.Continue reading →