MADBALL - "HARDCORE LIVES" (New York Hardcore Icons unleash their new album via "NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS", released June 2014.)

MADBALL - "HARDCORE LIVES"

("NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS"; CD)

(Running time: 17 songs in 36:04 minutes, 15 regular songs, two bonus songs.)

(Label site "NUCLEAR BLAST EUROPE": http://www.nuclearblast.de/de)

(Label site "NUCLEAR BLAST AMERICA": http://www.nuclearblast.com/en/)

Yeahr, Hardcore days up here right now, hahaha, so it may could seem with yesterday the review on the new RYKER'S masterpiece came up and now my review on the new MADBALL album "HARDCORE LIVES" follows it promptly, hm, and you may could easily and with a lot of justification say that currently this are the Legends of Hardcore days up here on your dear "MANSLAUGHTER THUG LIFE" blog. So, okay, enough of the introducing small talk, now straight onwards into the action, my review on "HARDCORE LIVES", the newest MADBALL offspring, so here we go: Don't ask me why but somehow and for what reasons ever I missed out on the precursor full length "EMPIRE" so far, so this is my first real meeting on full length distance with MADBALL since their "INFILTRATE THE SYSTEM" album from 2007. (Damn it, seven years... really seven years... fuck... where did all the time go...!?!) And what shall I say... I mean, MADBALL had pretty much always been total favorites of me, myself, and I since I first listened to them back then in 1996 when I was 15 years young and MADBALL released their personally for me lifechanging "DEMONSTRATING MY STYLE" masterpiece, a incredible important band for me, back then, since then, still today, and probably this won't ever change as long as my mind is still in check. (So, even more, don't ask me why "EMPIRE" always was under my radar so far... think I need to change this really drastically some day soon, finally.) So it was clear to me that "HARDCORE LIVES" would be an album that I really fucking needed to have. And so, right when it hit the record stores, yes, I bought it promptly and directly. And it took me pretty much by storm, one hell of an incredible strong album, a true masterpiece. MADBALL managed to create a fresh and totally grapping and surprising and incredible tight, strong, massive, heavy, and just, yeah', creative great New York Hardcore album that knows to blend and melt all what NYHC is made of into one and this on a damn fucking great outstanding level of quality. Great, really greater than just great, really diverse and smart songwriting and strong and strongest songs done by skilled musicians. It's through and through a real or better a true MADBALL album with all the trademarks we know and love this band for, but at the same time it's a really fresh, new and young, an exciting and grapping album from start to finish over all the distance. Freddy delivers his very charismatic and just pure sheer full force vocals (and covers a wider distance of different singing styles which means also melodic and pretty clean singing styles than ever before) with hell of truckloads full of energy, passion, heart and soul and just pure authentic attitude, backed up by grooving and moshing, cracking and chugging, furious raging and mercyless down beating guitar riffing, a sawing and very bulky bass work, thundering drums, broad and fat widescreen gang shouts, and all is wrapped up in great arranged and composed grapping songs that offer a great and wide  range of grooving rhythm work and furious assaults on everything and everyone in sight as well as a great range of pace from mid paced Oi! fuled stompers like the larger than life anthem "DOC. MARTEN STOMP" up to blast speed ragers we get it all. And, oh yes, the level of quality on where this all happens on is an incredible high level of an amazing quality. And also, just to tell it you by the way, we get also a lot of great and strong guest singers on here, and especially the performances of Scott Vogel/TERROR and the in every way awesome Candice Puopolo/WALLS OF JERICHO who simply participates in the best and most strongest song on "HARDCORE LIVES" titled "BORN STRONG" really cultivate this album in every way. So, if you ask me, then my favorites would be "BORN STRONG", "THE BEAST", "DOC. MARTEN STOMP", "HARDCORE LIVES", "THE HERE AND NOW", "TRUE SCHOOL", "BEACON OF LIGHT", "MY ARMOR", and "FOR THE JUDGED", but you won't do anything wrong when you start to discover this very album here with listening to any other one of the songs, all is just pure gold - maybe the mentioned ones are just pure platinum, of course. All comes in a phenomenal artwork and with truly great lyrics, as well as the production sound is a pure bomb, period. This is the real deal and the whole, complete package so I think all is said, this is definitely one of the best albums of 2014 no matter out of which certain particular genre of music and if you are by any means somehow into Hardcore then to buy and praise this album is your damn duty, so if you still don't have it so far change this promptly and as soon as possible and right now go out and get it. An amazing statement and the album name couldn't be a better one and with an album like this it is simply just and totally true: "HARDCORE LIVES"!!! Oi! /// Andy

(10 of 10 points)

(Band contact: https://www.facebook.com/madballNYC)