Cheech-Keep Your Pimp Hand Strong
(NGS Records, 2004)


Forgot all of your fancy adjectives, Cheech plays hardcore the way it was meant to be, fast, memorable and downright ugly. Think along the lines of say Blood for Blood crossed with a bit of the heavier NYHC bands like the Cro-Mags or Sheer Terror and you basically have an idea as to what Cheech is all about.

This is a band that the scene needs right now too. There are too many bands playing metal and trying to pass it off as hardcore. Sorry, but Swedish death metal played sloppily with the addition of a few breakdown riffs to me just isn't hardcore. You need to feel the passion and the anger. Cheech manages to convey a boatload of angst on this little piece of plastic. They play with a sense of urgency, but they aren't without humor. You can also tell that they have a lot of fun playing this style of music. Some of the more groove oriented riffs were totally made for stage jumps.

The production is surprisingly clean and really lets the bands sound come through. They aren't the heaviest band, but the guitar tone has a lot of crunch to it and it rings through crystal clear. The bass drums are just a little bit clicky, but the snare sounds amazing. It has a natural ring and it never becomes lost in the overall mix. For an album coming out on a fairly small label this has a better production then some of the bands on the bigger hardocre labels.

Along with Terror and a few other bands, I'd say Cheech are definitely among the best bands playing straight to the point hardcore these days. It's fast, played with passion and isn't afraid to throw in a few laughs. In a time when bands take themselves way too seriously, Cheech stands out like a sore thumb.

Cheech Website

Internal Bleeding-Onward to Mecca
(Olympic, 2004)


Despite almost having a completely new line-up Internal Bleeding haven't stumbled with the new album, instead they have reinvented themselves and have written the best album of their careers. It leaves the experimentation of their previous album behind and with the exception of one instrumental song this album is a complete juggarnaut of heavy riffs and pounding rhythms.

The band has always been groovy but on this new album they have brought in a lot of hardcore styled rhythms and breakdowns. They manage to take the deathgrind that they are known for and just have totally bring it to the next level. The blasts are faster, the groovers more pronounced and the vocals are much easier to decipher and really sit well on top of the music. A lot of times it's said that a bands newest album is their best album thus far, but that truly is the case with this album. Fans of the earlier stuff might not agree, but I think the earlier stuff is fairly awful myself. Onward to Mecca however shows the band bulldozing with more power then ever.

The production is simple, and perfect for the bands bass heavy style of death metal. The drum sound is tight and really allows the blasts to cut through the mix. I like the natural ring that the drums have as well. The snare sounds amazing, especially during the blasting sections. The guitar sound is bass heavy, but still manages to have a well rounded tone that isn't a very typical death metal guitar sound. This is also the bands best sounding album to date, which is a welcome change to these ears because the band has always had varying quality in production.

I was somewhat expecting the band to just retread the same waters with this album, but that couldn't be further from the truth. This cd propels the band to front of the pack as far as deathgrind is concerned.

Olympic Recordings

Bloodlined Caligraphy-The Beginning of the End
(Strike First, 2004)


Raging metalcore is what BC specialize at, and within the first 5 seconds of the first song it's clear why this band is now signed to Facedown Records. The band manages to be sickeningly heavy, yet has a great sense of dynamics, and isn't afraid to throw in some straight forward fast hardcore riffs to let everyone know what scene they come from.

Like a lot of hardcore bands these days breakdowns are a huge part of the bands sound. The band manages to squeeze every last ounce of energy out of the breakdown riffs, but I think it's the more melodic riffs that really make the band shine. Some of the riffs really surprised me and almost had an Iron Maiden like feel to them. Others are a bit more along the lines of what you'd expect from the genre, a bit more emo or indy rock influenced. Don't let that fool you though, the band is very heavy, they just know when to throw in melody to keep things interesting.

The vocals on this thing are just plain sick. The vocalist, Ally, is just phenomenal and has one of the heaviest voices you'll ever hear. It's defnitely proof that woman are just as potent vocally as men. If not more so in some cases. They rips and tears her vocal chords most of the time, but also growls with the best of them at times as well. One of the other members of the band contrbutes clean vocals as well, which adds a lot of diversity to the vocals on the album.

This EP is too much of a tease. Now that I know what the band is capable of I can't wait to hear the bands debut full-length for Facedown. If you are into metalcore that isn't afraid to kick up the tempo, and that isn't afraid to try new things, then you need to check out Bloodlined Caligraphy right now.

Strike First Records

Alove for Enemies-Broken Pledge
(Strike First, 2003)


The line between hardcore and metal doesn't even seem to exist anymore. Hardcore bands are becoming heavier and heavier, and Alove for Enemies is as heavy as they come. Burly guitar riffs are met with scathing vocals, all backed by a tight rhtyhm section. The band however doesn't stick to the usual cliches of the genres. The riffing itself while heavy is still mainly hardcore based. You won't hear much death metal coming into the sound. They are just basically a really heavy hardcore band.

I find that the vocalist in this band has a very unique voice. It's harsh, yet still sounds clean and isn't completely undicipherble. It adds originality to a band that while definitely amazing at what they do, really isn't breaking down any walls within the genre. The band is a hardcore band plain and simple. They aren't trying to reivent the genre, they are just having fun playing the genre that they love.

This EP is only 6 songs, but I would have liked to see the band include a few more fast songs. The song Bloodflower features faster almost thrash like riffing and is actually my favorite song on the album. I'm definitely a big fan of the slower moments as well, but like I said I bit more speed would have been nice.

Things are just really starting to happen for this band, so if you haven't checked out the band and you are into heavy hardcore you really owe it to yourself to check them out.

Strike First Records

Time in Malta-Alone with the Alone
(Equal Vision, 2004)


It's been too long of a wait for this album, but when the band kicks into the opening track it's like the wait never happened. Time in Malta is back with their most pissed off and heavy album yet.

It's not really a departure from the last album. You still have the melody, the post-punk elements and the unique clean vocals. But wrapped around the bands sound is more heavy riffing then ever before. It's not like they've turned into a typical metalcore band either. They've just upped the heaviness of what they've done in the past.

The production is amazing and sounds a lot more natural then Second Engine did. The guitar sound is very straight forward and has the amp cranked to 10 sound that hardcore music needs. Everything is tight, but it's definitely raw. No energy is taken away from the album with studio sheen.

Time in Malta is truly an original band. They bring together elements of rock, metal, hardcore and even post-punk. Alone with the Alone shows the band in fineform. Don't miss out on this one!

Equal Vision Records

Alexisonfire-Watch Out!
(Equal Vision, 2004)


Well, the debut cd was good, possibly great, but Watch Out takes the band to the next level. The songwriting is more consitent, the production is better, and the band itself is just better now.

The album is actually a bit more mellow then I was expecting. Musicially it's still melodic, rocking and heavy at times. But the amount of screaming has been cut back quite a bit. Clean vocals are really the focal point here and the singer/guitarist steps up the plate and knocks it right out of the park.

The production on their debut flat out sucked. You could tell the band had potential but the recording seemed sloppy. This time around the band is rock solid tight and the production is much more on their side this time.

It annoys me when people call this band typical. They're one of the few original bands in this genre. If you think they sound like everyone else, I think you need a hearing test.

Equal Vision Records

Misery Signals-Of Malice and Magnum Hear
(Ferret, 2004)


Coming from the ashes of 7 Angels 7 Plagues, Misery Signals have stolen claim to the metalcore genre with this new album. Heavy hardcore has just recieved the kick in the teeth it has needed.

Misery Signals is fairly similar in style to 7 Angels. Both bands were heavy, but Misery Signals is just better in every possible way. The riffing is insanely heavy, usually staying fairly midtempo, but not at the expense of energy or technicality. Even when the band throws in a hint of melody, there are a lot of little flairs and intricate weaving riffs. They tend to challenge themselves and always come out on top. They don't struggle to hold things together at all.

The production comes courtesy of Devin Townsend and is just mind blowing. The guitar tones are rich in texture and just unbelivably heavy. It's definitely not debatable that this is a very metallic sounding album. I think that more bands need to work with metal producers opposed to producers who mainly record metalcore and hardcore bands. It makes a world of difference.

This is hands down the best metalcore album of 2004. I known the year isn't over, butI don't see anyone topping this anytime soon.

Ferret Music