Baltimore Brutality

Saw this Baltimore-based hardcore band last weekend and I really fucking dug 'em. Crazy-ass NYHC influenced five-piece that tore up the front of the place and almost eclipsed the headliner in sheer insanity. Here's their 2013 EP for your listening pleasure, a somewhat cheesy rapcore-esque title aside the record has some great grooves, breakdowns and a general "Fuck You" attitude. Looking forward to their upcoming (within weeks as of this writing) full-length Nonstop Feeling - they played some songs off of it which absolutely killed (especially "Gravity" - fucking awesome). Keep up with the guys here and here.

Break It Down

Dropping Anchor

Aah... what a blast from the past. Passing around an ounce of blow while driving down to celebrate the millennial New Years in New Orleans and this was like the one CD we had in the car for the whole fucking trip. Man, that was a fun jaunt down I-85. Made it down in record fucking time, too. Anyways, JCS had a pretty solid following in Richmond (shit, they were only like one state away) and floated down to play the now-defunct Flood Zone a few times. While I liked their quasi-hit "High" (beaten to death by zillion hours played of BMX XXX), the opener "Dropping Anchor" is definitely my fave - a rocking fucking tune that takes me back fifteen years every time I hear it. The rest of the album is just as good - a bit of a foray into the nü metal world notwithstanding - pop this one in at your next party and I'm sure you'll get some smiles. Enjoy.

Remenisce

Drudgery

Solid sludgecore from Maryland mixes the better aspects of black metal and grindcore into a miserable mash of screaming groove-heavy noise. This 6-song EP barely lasts 15 minutes but it's a great ride - a gritty, lo-fi, feedback-heavy assault recorded by two dudes who are either musical virtuosos or fucking insane. "Cowards Of The New Age" and "Bleached" are my favorite tracks but I'm an aging sucker for fast fucking songs with cool riffs. The band is still active it so head north up I-95 and check the boys out. Enjoy.

Matt and Nick