Double Torture - Ich Kann Nicht Mehr

Review: Cracks & Scars - Stick To Your Guns

You build up a reading audience and network with labels and distributors through your (e-)zine, which makes you think it would be cool to sell records for yourself through a mailorder and then before you know it you are releasing music yourself! Not quite sure if that's the deal with the fresh new label Aggrobeat, but it could be since owner Paul is also behind Oi! Oi! Webzine and Aggroshop Mailorder.

Doesn't really matter though, it's probably the story of a 100 other labels. All that matters is that there are enough labels out there to keep on dropping releases of all those new, good, bands that keep on rising up these days, such as Cracks & Scars.

To be honest, when I heard I was receiving this album I checked them out on Youtube to find out what this band's about, and I was a bit dissapointed in what I heard and expected more from it. But to base a opinion on a single song can be deceiving and after hearing 'Stick To Your Guns' several times now I can say I'm pretty happy with the outcome.

Yes, vocalist Frank reminds me by times of Roger Miret, and yes it annoys me. But overall both Cracks & Scars and Aggrobeat released a pretty powerful and solid debut album with catchy streetcore / streetpunk songs and strong sing-a-long anthems provided by the band and a good and rich looking packaging provided by the label. I think it's something both parties can be proud of!

Game News: Archos GamePad

Gaming on portable devices like smartphones or tablets is hot! Mainly because you (most likely) always carry one of the two with you (unless you still live in the stone age) and the games on it are free or dirt cheap. The only problem with them is that the controls who don't support the touch screen (you all know what I'm talkin' about...) are sometimes pretty tough to play on a phone or tablet! Archos comes with the solution!

Coming this year they will drop the Archos Gamepad! A 7" tablet with a 1,5 ghz processor that runs on Android 4 with a 8 gig harddrive and... a build in gamepad! It will go on sale for 150 euro / dollar and I personally can't wait for it. Too bad I recently bought a Samsung tablet, but I'm sure my girlfriend wont mind me buying this one if she gets the old one... Right?

News: Razorblade Sign US Deal with Longshot Music

Razorblade signed with Longshot Music for the American release of their upcoming album 'Days Of Glory'. Longshot Music will only publish the vinyl release and will be in coöperation with Rebellion Records.

 

News: Cracks & Scars Debut Out Now!

New Dutch based label Aggrobeat, who will focus on anything from Oi! to reggae just released the debut album 'Stick To Your Guns' (cd version) from Cracks & Scars hailing from Germany. A promo copy was in the mailbox today so expect a review any time soon!

Game News: Under Defeat HD

Under Defeat is a 7 year old game that came out first in the arcades in 2005 and later on in 2006 it was one of the last games that came out on Sega's Dreamcast (RIP). Earlier this year a HD upgraded version of this shoot 'em up got released in Japan on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. European fans of the shmup genre can get ready and buckle up, because UK based Rising Star Games is preparing a release for this fall! Stay tuned for more information and a review when the time's there for some bullet hell action!

Video: Hard Resistance - Conform.Consume.Obey.

Belgian hardcore formation recently released their comeback album 'Lawless & Disorder' through Strength Records. Today they dropped their first official promotional videoclip of the album from the song 'Conform. Consume. Obey', check it out!

Lifestyle: Rollin' Down South

On the 2nd of september RAAF (Rotterdam Art Adventure Food) presents the first rollin' down south! A route of 9.5 (or 13 for the die-hards!) kilometers through the Rotterdam-South for all (long)boarders of Rotterdam and beyond. RAAF provides you with a map which takes you to the best parts Rotterdam-South has to offer. It's not all just ghetto you know... RAAF HQ provides the rest of the day with lunch, art and music. For more information check RAAF's website!

News: Vitamin X Are About To Crack!

Vitamin X are about to drop their 5th album, 'About To Crack' on Tankcrimes! Once again expect some sweet looking artwork, amazing vinyl and fast rippin' hardcore punk produced by Steve Albini from these Dutchies!

Video: Green Day - Oh Love

The video of Green Day's first single 'Oh Love' of the upcoming album '¡UNO!' premiered tonight, check it out below!

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¡UNO!' is set for release on the 25th of september and is part one of a serie of three records called '¡UNO!', '¡DOS!' and '¡TRÉ!'

News: European Hardcore Party 2012

First Eindhoven, then Maastricht and now after a few years of abscense the European Hardcore Party returns to Hamme, Belgium. I don't know where it is, but I still have some time to figure that out, because the festival isn't until the 1st of december. In the meantime some new names got announced today, which means the line up is now:

Spider Crew, The Last Resort, Hard Resistance, Tech 9, Do Or Die, Crawlspace, No Turning Back, Deafness By Noize, Razorblade, Discipline, Convict, All For Nothing and Lost In Da System.

More names plus the headliner will be announced soon!

Games: Neo-Geo; Return Of The Mack!

When you are a game collector and got expensive taste, the Neo-Geo systems is where it's at. The MVS (arcade), AES, CD and pocket carried some of the most collectable games back in the day, and still today some of the games are worth hundreds, or in some cases, thousands (!) of dollars. Since I sold all my Neo-Geo stuff a few years back I got a little excited when I heard the news a couple of months ago that Neo-Geo would get back on the consolemarket!

I got a little less psyched when I found out it would be a, rather simple, handheld, but now the excitement level is back up again when I saw the full package! Not only do you get the slick looking handheld with twenty SNK classics on it, but you also get a docking station that looks just like the old AES system with an arcade stick, and the best part of it is... you can connect the docking station onto your tv and play all those classics once again.

So, why would you buy this for 200 bucks (and most likely 200 euro's) if you already got or had the original systems, the compilations that came out through out the years for various other systems and what not? Because it's nostalgic and can only be understood with the few who owned an AES system back in the day, just like me...

Neo-Geo X Gold drops worldwide on the 6th of december and has the following games pre-installed:
3 COUNT BOUT
LEAGUE BOWLING
ART OF FIGHTING II
MAGICIAN LORD
ALPHA MISSION II
METAL SLUG
BASEBALL STARS II
MUTATION NATION
CYBER LIP
NAM 1975
FATAL FURY
PUZZLED
FATAL FURY SPECIAL
REAL BOUT - FATAL FURY SPECIAL
THE KING OF FIGHTERS '95
SAMURAI SHODOWN II
KING OF THE MONSTERS
SUPER SIDEKICKS
LAST RESORT
WORLD HEROES PERFECT

News: Gewoon Fucking Raggen Release

Yes! Demo tapes! They still get released! And I still love 'em! Rotterdam area based band Gewoon Fucking Raggen just released a tape of 17 minutes with 16 tracks of pure hardcore violence!

Pick it up at one of their shows, or contact them through their Facebook and they'll hook you up with some 'Kruiskade Deathwish'!

This also reminds me I still have to pick up a tapedeck...

Review: Noi!se - Pushing On

Noi!se is in my humble opinion one of the leaders of the new wave of American Oi! and streetpunk bands debuting soon with a full length album on GMM Records. But since their start in 2009 they put out three vinyl releases and for those suckers who don't own a record player those slabs of wax got put together on one handy cd by Longshot Music and Step-1 Music.

So what you get is the 'Walks Besides Us' 7", 'This Is Who We Are' 10", the split ep with The Gestalts and then some on a disc in a nifty looking digipack with fifteen top notch tracks that remind me of The Bruisers 'Cruisin' For A Bruisin''. Not too bad to be compared to with if you ask me!

I have high hopes for Noi!se's future and I can't wait to hear the upcoming full length. Noi!se ain't noise, can't put it simpler than that!

Review: The Ducky Boys - Chemicals

It's been a while since I have listened to The Ducky Boys, but it seems like they're back and stronger than ever! Earlier this year they made their comeback with 'Chasing The Ghost' after radio silence of six or so years, and just a few months after this seventeen (!) track comeback they're back to hit us up with another four brand new tunes up for grabs at the Bandcamp site of their label State Line Records.

Altough The Ducky Boys were on GMM Records back in the day, they were never your typical streetpunk band. They always had a significant sound that seperated them from the rest and you either loved or hated it. In 2012 not much has changed and it's all for the better of it. With excellent songs and good use of the vocal capabilities of the band members they still stand out of the crowd with a sound that is almost un-streetpunk like.

Hopefully they keep on releasing good work like this with just a few months in between, that's one way for making up of not releasing anything for six years...