Johnny Cash Remixed is as the name states a remix of some of the best (or at least the most famous) Johnny Cash songs. With the passing of Johnny Cash it seems like there is more and more releases/material that is coming out. I wouldn’t say this is the best Cash release in the past few years but it is still very good.

The quality of the album is great which is to be expected with many great “analog” samples of Cash in many (all?) the songs. Many of the artists that were involved were really able to manage a stunning display or creativity while still keeping a “feel” of a Johnny Cash song which was really important to me. Johnny Cash isn’t simply an artist you can copy or recreate. You have to go above and beyond what most artists are capable of; and many of the artists were able to achive this which was a great suprise to me.

Kennedy covering Sugartime, Pete Rock covering Flosom Prison Blues and Count De Money covering Big River really stand out as artists who were really able to understand what the songs were about and “got them”. These guy went above and beyond re-creating the Cash songs.

The 1 big downside to this album is the snoop dogg remix which is the biggest piese of crap I have heard in the long time. When I saw the artists who were involved in the remixes the first thing that came to mind was how pissed I was going to be at how bad he would handle the song. I don’t know who thought snoop dogg would be capable of covering (any?) I walk the line without completely destroying the song. He goes above and beyond with his remix to show how much of an artist he is NOT and how much of a douchebag he is. I could go on about how awful snoop dogg remixes the song (for many many more pages) but I will just leave it at simply being so bad it almost ruins the entire album if it wasn’t for so many real musican and artists doing such a stunning job and carrying his excrement filled ego.

Should you check this album out? Hell yeah you should. If your a hardcore Cash fan you most likely will not buy this because of your music preference, but everyone else will love this album. Its a great combination of rock and various other artists styles of music (hiphop, electorinic, mixing, sampels).

I walk the line (Snoop Dogg)
Big River (Count De Money )
Get Rhythm (Phlip Steir)
Doin’ My Time (The Heavy)
Coutnry Boy (Sonny J)
Leave that Junk Alone (Alabama)
Portof Lonely Hearts (Midnight Juggernauts)
Folsom Prison Blues (Pete Rock)
Straight A’s in Love (Troublemaker)
Sugartime (Kennedy)
Rock Island Line (Wolf)
Belshazzar (Machine Drum)
I heard that Lonesome Whistle Blow (Apparat)

The Eruptors “Bad time to be having a good time” is the first release for this Ireland based band with a release date in the early months of 2008.

This release was a pretty fun listen too with quirky fast songs with a traditional punk rock and roll sound with a bit of UK style rock added into the mix which always adds something to a bands sound for people in North America.

The album is fast with a few really good songs that really stand out (One minute decision). I will admit though that I like nearly all their unreleased demo songs then about 1/2 of the songs on this album. It could be that the album I received was a pre-release without nearly as many songs as the release did so I might not be hearing every song that is on the album.

All in all “Bad time to be having a good time” is a great album to check out. I would rather see them live though because it seems like the album dosen’t grab the full power that this band would carry live.

Track Listing

Dawn of the earth
theme from the Eruptors
insert #1
Gravelrash
One minute decision
Unleash the dogs of war
Insert #2
Battlestar Eruptica
Insert #3
My baby’s not at home
Insert #4
Devils got angel’s wings
Skate fast@ Die Hard! (album everion)
Return to the dawn of the earth

Born Dead (or Born/Dead) is a DIY hardcore/ Crust punk band from Oakland, California. Born Dead was formed in 2000 following up the break up of the band No Options (2 origional members).

The Final Collapse is the latest release by Born dead following previous releases in 2006 which was a split with Peligro Social and a limited tour relase of Repetition in 2005.

This new release by Born Dead is a crusty snotty agressive release simular to their previous releases. I love the crust punk, and I can honestly say that these guys fucking rock! These days it’s pretty hard to find any crusty/ hardcore punk bands; and even harder to find GOOD cust punk. The Final Collapse is a brutal hard as nails album. The lyrices are what you would expect in a good hardcore/curst band. Politically charged, open your eyes style of music and lyrics. The album comes with some great cover art and thankfully all the lyrics (something needed on all curst/hardcore albums!).

The final Collapse is very hard. Not to the point where all you hear is noise and grunts which I was very happy about. I do enjoy hearing the vocals instead of trying to decipher what they are saying to the lyrics sheet.

This is the second release by Trap Them off Deathwish Inc. If you were a fan of their previous album you will love this new one. Séance Prime is a more technical album (not to say the previous album wasn’t!) with lyrics that are just as aggressive and intense as the previous release. This newer album is also in my opinion much harder. Not just in sound but in lyrics.

The lyrics are the best part of Séance Prime. I’m a bigger fan of intense lyrics then intense sound. Anyone and be hard and aggressive in sound, but usually lack in the lyrics department. But Trap Them not only has an amazing thrashy sound but lyrics to back up their music’s attitude.
Unfortentlly the album is a bit short with only 5 songs, but the 5 songs are really worth checking out!

Track Listing

www.trapthem.net

WTLM or Welcome to the Last Millennium are a European band from Geneva city Switzerland. This is the first album by these guys with the band playing shows and working on the album since 2004.

WTLM really shows us that the punk rockers and Switzerland really can rock! The album covers a broad spectrum of music styles, from stright up anthem punk rock to Ska to even hip hop. The majority of the songs are in English with 1 song in Swedish.

This album is a blast to listen too, it’s fun, fast at times and then cools down and speeds up when you least expect it. This album has a little bit for everyone. Even though the band switches between different “styles” of music they do it very well. The songs that switch from hard packing punk rock to ska has great progression between them with the band bringing a similar sound into each song, which sounds strange but it really makes the album really enjoyable to listen to.

Track Listing

Sound and Fury’s self titled album is set for release in June (June 26th). This is the first release for this Toronto based band.

This self released album is a skull rattling intense album that will get you singing along and stomping your foot. Every song on this album is full of energy and straight up rock and roll. These guys can get anyone to rock with them at their shows with all the power this album holds. Their live shows are entertaining as the band seems to go out of control when they play.

You will be able to check these guys out at Warped Tour this year (from what I understand at least) and should be one of the bands to check out. They are by far in the top 10 bands I will be checking out this year.

Track Listing

www.soundandfuryrocks.com

Bane show review, Knitting Factory, Spring 2008 by Roya Butler.

Ah, Bane in New York City’s Knitting Factory: non-stop straight-edge hardcore at its finest. Boston’s Bane plugged their gear in, and from the first force of front man Aaron Bedard’s strong vocals and heavy and energetic 3-chord and punch-packed drum backing from the band, fans were singing along in unison while moshers threw themselves across the floor. Bane made it clear they were excited to play New York City.

Bane’s merchandise booth was jam packed with fans waiving their money and pointing to shirts. Personally, I fell in love with their black shirt with gold glittered ‘BANE.’ Inevitably, Bedard gifted me with a shirt and a hoodie. I can’t express enough how much this band RULES in every way!

As for their performance, spectacular is an understatement. When Bane came on stage, the crowd did not let up. Non-stop chaos ensured, as everyone cleared the merchandise area and packed in around the stage—the pit turned into a whirlwind of bodies kicking around, while crowd surfers toiled to get on stage with the Band.  Bedard was moving like he had caught fire, despite the kids jumping on stage and grabbing the microphone to scream along with him. If there was a lack of snarling from the band, judging from the smiles on the faces, it was because they’re having too much fun to break their stride.

An interview with Bedard proved him to be engaging, witty, charismatic, and incredibly enigmatic. He spoke much of their travels through Europe and Japan, and articulated his love for other cultures as well as for mother America; he determined, though, that nothing beats American Hardcore. He further expressed his strive for forever one-uping each album they create. The Note, out on Equal Vision, 2006, is explosively fierce and should not be missed. Bedard expressed that with the arrival of the drummer’s new baby, the band was only doing a month long tour, which included Boston, New York, California, and Japan.

Being at the Knitting Factory made me realize how much I missed hardcore shows tremendously, and the best compliment I can give to this tour is that, despite the fact that they only played a few cities, they played my favorite one, New York. The energy and love from the fans and band reminded me why these concerts are still worth paying for.

The last album album from hardcore band Good Riddance is a live record of their last performance in their hometown Santa Cruz, California, recorded on May 27th, 2007.

The live set is really long, and more than a record, it sounds like a greatest hits, with songs taken from all of the band’s full lengths, ep’s and also rare split albums and seven inches. The live show Good Riddance put up is really awesome, with raw energy, sweat and strong energy, so strong you can feel the crowd around you while listening to this CD with eyes closed.

Among the songs, you can hear the hits “Heresy, Hypocrisy, and Revenge”, “More Depalma, Less Fellini” and “Yesterday’s Headlines” along with the old classics “United Cigar”, “Mother Superior” and “Last Believer”, and the anthemic tunes “Waste”, “Shadows of Defeat” and “Shit-Talking Capitalists”. Best moment of the show to me is probably when Cinder from Tilt goes on stage to sing “A Credit To His Gender” but I do believe Russ Runkin and friends really put a strong effort in this, and I bet we all miss Good Riddance already.

You can purchase “Remain In Memory - The Final Show” here.
Fat Wreck Chords’ big sale on Good Riddance back catalog releases.

www.vagrant.com

http://www.myspace.com/thebled

This is the third release by the Bled.  The Tucson, AZ band recorded “Silent Treatment” in Baltimore, MA  with the help of Brian McTernan.

Silent Treatment is a aggressive, and sometimes intense album that supersedes the pervious releases by The Bled.  The songs titles flocculate between heavy and aggressive songs to a few more melodic heartfelt songs. The heavy songs are the ones that really caught my ear like “Platonic Sleepover Massacre” which was one of my favorites on the album.

The band has a really interesting sound, with many hardcore underling sounds and I would guess influences.  I don’t know if I would call The Bled hardcore though, or if the band would want to even be classified in the hardcore category. Like I said they have some of the hardcore sounds and a few of the songs are just downright aggressive, but the album comes off as more artistic and aggressive instead of just aggressive as most hardcore falls into.

All in all this album is a great 3^rd release by The Bled.  Go check out their myspace and check out a few of their songs and if you dig them like I do you can order off their myspace as well.

Track Listing

1 Shadetree Mechanics
2 You Should Be Ashamed Of Myself
3 Three’s Away
4 Asleep On The Frontlines
5 Platonic Sleepover Massacre
6 Starving Artiste
7 Silver Lining
8 Some Just Vanish
9 Breathing Room Barricades
10 Beheaded My Way
11 My Bitter Half

 
www.myspace.com/dlitb
 
This is the type of punk rock I love. Insane, out of control punk rock with snappy funny lyrics. Don’t look in the basement.  These guy s are really fast paced with a few anthem style songs but always a bit cooky, always fast and a bit of horror theme thrown in for good measure.

You can really tell these guys have a bit of vandals and Guttermouth influence (in the insert you can see flyers on their walls for both) which is always good in my book. Guttermouth has always been one of my guilty pleasures I try not to mention to most people.  Their not exact duplicates of either bands and do not ripoff “the sound” of either bands; but if you do like either of these bands you will really dig Don’t look in the basement. This CD is well worth the $6 bucks they have it listed on their myspace  so go get it. And if your in the New York area go check them out as their local to that area.