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Doom Day, Only Attitude Counts, and Hate xxx Edge…

Doom Day - Count Your Useless HoursAmong the latest and greatest from Germany's Superhero Records is "Count Your Useless Hours", the debut full-length from Doom Day. The album seems to have been quite an undertaking, what with the lineup crossing international borders in the UK, Germany, and Bulgaria with current and former members of Devil Inside, Jaylan, Vendetta, English Dogs, and The Prodigy (Huh!?), among others—not to mention a fucking slew of guest vocal performances from members of 25 ta Life, Ryker's, Sworn Enemy, 100 Demons, and Hate Squad. The result is 12 tracks (plus four bonus cuts from the band's 2006 demo) of in your face and energetic metallic hardcore with your usual dose of burly vocals, crunchy midpaced breakdowns, and chugging fast-paced power chord rhythms. However, while the core of the material is indeed rooted in the typically expected tenets of this style, there's a cool sense of dissonant melody that creeps into some of the chord phrasings to give the songs a slightly different sort of aesthetic that's unexpected and helps to differentiate the band from the norm. Plus, there are fuckin' loads of blazing lead runs that shift from metal-based tapping and explosive bursts of speed to the borderline rocked out bends of raw, chaotic punk. Speaking of which, on rare occasion there's just a little bit of a punk rock sort of vibe to some of the chord progressions and vocal arrangements, too (think The Exploited circa "The Massacre" or something). It's cool, though, because these differing influences all come together to form a cohesive whole, and the guest vocal spots actually add to the record as well—as opposed to making things feel disjointed. Hell, even the demo tracks fit in perfectly with the rest of the album, as they sound like they're basically the same recordings, just with different vocal contributors. I'm not sure if this is a one-off sort of "project" thing or not, but it's a damn solid offering and I'd certainly be glad to hear another record from 'em at some point, so... I guess time will tell!

Doom Day "Sea of Hate"
Doom Day "Love is Dead in Metropolis"

Unfortunately, I'm not seeing this rager in any US distros yet. Interpunk and Surprise Attack Records have carried the label's releases in the past, so maybe they'll be stocking it within a few months, but for now email the label or hit up the band on MySpace to check on ordering information.






Only Attitude Counts - Return the FavourReleased sometime last year, again by Superhero Records, "Return the Favour" sees the return of longstanding Austrian hardcore act Only Attitude Counts—whose name I've heard numerous times over the years, but I believe this may be the first time I've ever actually heard their material. It's good shit, too. Nice, heavy, NYHC-styled hardcore with thick production and a good dose of Madball and Agnostic Front influences. They tend to focus on memorable, energetic tracks built largely around fast-paced power chords fronted by gruff shouting, interspersed with solid midpaced breaks that catch some nice groove without coming across as forced or particularly "moshy" or what have you. It's angry and aggressive, but they're not beating you over the head with anything, which is a perfect fit for the niche of hardcore that they're operating in. I will say that something about the cover art sort of gives off the impression that this might not be a very good record, but nothing could be further from the truth. There's definitely nothing mind-blowing here, they basically stick to the formula that they know and do so well, but that's fine by me. There's really not much more to say, they tear through 11 tracks in just under a half-hour and call it a day, so... hey, fuck it, it's good stuff. I'm really surprised that I haven't encountered any recordings from these guys prior to this. Go figure!?

Only Attitude Counts "Purify"
Only Attitude Counts "Right Now/Right Here"

This one's only $8 from Surprise Attack, so make the grab if you like what you hear:

Surprise Attack Records






Hate xxx Edge - On FieldBack to the newer Superhero Records releases, "On Field" is the debut "full-length" (though it's only about 20 minutes long) from Germany's Hate xxx Edge. Surprisingly enough, they don't really sound anything like One Life Crew, but I bet they're fans on some level, because they're certainly not out to make friends or feign "political correctness" with tracks like "Motherfuck", "Bloody Violence", or "Suck My Dick", eh? After all, they are called Hate xxx Edge, right? So, as expected, it's heavy hardcore rooted largely in the old school style with little added dashes of metal here and there, as well as the ultra burly vocals often employed by European bands. There's actually somewhat of a street punk sort of thing going on under the surface in rare instances where minor hints of melody or subtly rocked out power chords pop up, but for the most part it kind of strikes me as similar to some of the earlier Madball stuff but with lower, gruffer vocals and less groove/feel. They're basically on the right track with this stuff across the board (I love the great bass presence in the mix), but I'm not entirely sold just yet as it sort of feels like something's missing. A thicker, harder-hitting crunch would definitely help the guitars, but it's really more of a songwriting thing. The pieces of the puzzle are on the table, but they haven't quite nailed it yet in terms of energy level and overall impact, so there's nothing particularly memorable at the moment.

Hate xxx Edge "Face Up to It"
Hate xxx Edge "Real Side"

As with Doom Day up above, I'm not seeing this one in any US distros yet, so email the label or contact the band via MySpace if you're interested.

Comments

  1. I have the Attitude Counts CD, got that from very at a point last year, and your spot on Andew, raw ass shit. I’m gonna check out those other 2 bands, especially Doom Day, (not to be confused with Doomsday (a band I’m sure you’d love, hehe :P) on Goodlife).

    4.26.2007 | By xBenx

  2. why so much metallic hardcore all the time these days? i miss the diversity!

    4.26.2007 | By GrindTylerCore

  3. they suck! a disgrace to our edge, file it under horrible eurocore.

    4.29.2007 | By kluzehellion

  4. At least they are trying…

    5.14.2007 | By Ingo

  5. Very good site. Thanks!

    7.9.2007 | By cheap discount airline tickets

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