Category Archives: Talk

Harder They Fall #4: Pre-Orders Up Now

Posted on by

Line Of Sight: Pic by Jeff Laisch

In a break from our scheduled programming, just a quick announcement that the latest issue of my very occasional punk fanzine Harder They Fall is now available for pre-order.  Issue 4 weighs in at 44 solid pages of content. No adverts, no filler. Interviews with Rancour from Wales, Ill Natured from Australia, Guilt Ritual from New England, xServitudex, Dan Duggan of Unholy Majesty/The Break In/Santa Carla and The Monster Merchants, Tom Pimlott of Arms Race/ Violent Reaction/Standpoint/ Marco Abiatello of Payday, Dan Capman from Firm Standing Law and Peter Falkous of Thirty Seconds Until Armageddon/ Grace/Vengeance Of Gaia/ Break It Up/ Jinn etc. Phew!

Alongside all that there’s the usual daft anecdotes and articles along with a slick layout courtesy of Falkous. This ones coming out via Static Age publishing so check it out HERE if you want to grab one!

March Of the Damned – This months demo round up

Posted on by

Well it’s been a while. Despite my best intentions of keeping the blog updated weekly, they stumbled and expired on the side of the highway like some knackered old tramp on a hot day when confronted with the greater evil of  an academic deadline looming on the horizon. Consider this update a palate cleanser for me then rather than an omen of things to come. I don’t know if or when I’ll be resuming regular posting/editing here. I don’t plan on leaving it entirely in abandons care but there’s a fallow season upon us.

To business then, first up is the demo from  World Of Difference. They are a new straight edge band that, if memory serves me correctly, contains former members of the Dublin group Bang Bros amongst others…. Continue reading →

“Wrote for Luck” Connor on creating Damus Nostre

Posted on by

I had a chat with my lad Connor about his BPRD pointman character “Damus Nostre” and taking him from a loose concept to a fully formed RPG character….

One of the things I enjoy most about roleplaying games is converting my ideas for a character onto my uncontaminated sheet of A4 paper and, with this being a BRPD game, the only limits the player has when creating their character is their imagination….although this is apparently somewhat limited in my case!

In my mind one of the things that makes the Hellboy universe fun is the concoction of the occult and the links to the real world, and I really wanted my character to embody that heady mix of influences. Like The Happy Mondays I wanted to blend lad rock (the investigation aspect of BPRD) with house music (those esoteric tendril MM has running through his world). As the rest of the party had somewhat normal human looking characters I took the opportunity to be the dick head of the group by combining influences from 16th century Europe and modern day doomsday cults and conspiracy theories. Continue reading →

Neo Tokyo Drift – Akira turns 30

Posted on by

Author: David Ager

What’s that, mate? You love future bikes? I do too. And what was that? You like laser guns and people that swell to a thousand times their normal size like they’ve been filled with Sunny D? I like that too. It may have been that strange combination of interests that means I ended up loving Akira, or maybe it’s the fact that if you have even a passing interest in science fiction then it’s almost impossible not to like Akira (even if you don’t understand it.)

It’s Cyberpunk week on Corehammer and when Nate threw the question out to everyone to see if they’d like to talk about something Cyberpunk that was close to their hearts, I knew that top of that list for me was Akira. I first saw Akira at a friends house when I was about 13, at the time we were obsessed with Metal Gear Solid, his Desert Eagle BB gun & these large figurines you could buy of SWAT and SAS figurines from a weird shop in Hull. Looking back at it now we were probably going the direction that several school shooters took but luckily my friend showed me a frog he’d killed and we didn’t speak after that.

Continue reading →

An ode to the Rue Jules Verne

Posted on by

Distorted Japanese neon signs, reflected in the pooling rain on a Shinjuku sidewalk. High tech low lives, mirror shades, cyberspace decks, smart drugs, riding on light, neural data jacks, androids, replicants & and the infinite possibilities of technology. This was the future I signed up for and it was glorious.

Continue reading →

Freyja’s Wrath – Interview With Bad Squiddo

Posted on by

Bad Squiddo Games, not content to rest with its already heaving catalogue of practically attired female ass kickers, has launched a new Kickstarter – Freyja’s Wrath. Complete with Shieldmaidens, axe wielding warrior women, and Goddess Hel herself.

You want to know more about that? Of course you do. I had a chat with Annie, head mistress of Bad Squiddo, about her mission, motivation, and of course – her maidens. Enjoy.

Continue reading →

New Year/ Same old shit it’s the January Mosh Round Up

Posted on by

Look, I don’t normally place much faith in statistics but according to the data analysis thing in the back end of WordPress, these hardcore round ups have become quite popular. I can only assume that the extreme music world has finally recognised my immense talent for discovering good bands and writing hilarious words about them for you, the little people. To capitalise upon that interest we’ll be shifting the monthly round ups to a bi-weekly schedule for as long as I can be arsed to write them. I tend to pick and choose stuff that I personally enjoy for publication here. If you want to read the mean reviews I suggest you head on over to my author feed at Apathy & Exhaustion

Ok to business, lets take a look at Hangman  from Long Island. Hadn’t checked out these guys before but they played some shows with Higher Power on their recent US tour and I heard good things so let’s give them a go. Vile Decree is the name of this new 7″ on Flatspot Records.  Hangman set out their stall on opening track Pesticide, mid paced chugging malevolence. There’s groove and scorn in abundance and when the mid paced break in Coming To shows up I challenge all of you not to screwface and bob your head like you’re mean mugging in a Biohazard video or some shit. Set a rubbish bin on fire, wear shades indoors, take a mean dog for a walk etc.

Abandoned crunches into view and for some reason I’m reminded of the Full Contact songs from the NY Hardest comp even though I havent thought about that record in fifteen years. Brian from Long Island miseries Neglect drops a guestie on this cut and his tombstone drawl provides a dynamic contrast to the Hangman vocalists cleaner style. Overall a pleasing listen, recommended for fans of mid nineties New York hardcore and urban fonts. You can listen to them HERE Continue reading →

Drifts Get Deeper- December Mosh round up

Posted on by

The sky has taken on a bleaker quality than usual, the first proper snows of the season have arrived and that showy wanker round the corner has got his big Christmas lights up. Winter has finally come upon us. As I sit here during the seasonal perineum that squats between Christmas and New years I took the opportunity to stick on my wellies and wade through the tide of absolute shit that laps at my door 24/7 aka this months massive pile of demos and EP’s. Here’s three things I thought were good.. Continue reading →

November Hardcore round up – Part 1

Posted on by

Let me tell ya readers, we are truly living in some coptic times. Maybe it’s the state of the world that’s got the youth riled up. Not a day goes by without some jackass banging another nail in the coffin of a hopeful outcome for this planet. Sucks for the world but hey great for angry music. My inbox has been inundated with so much fresh well executed hardcore, that it is almost getting boring to review it. With quality at such a consistently high standard it becomes very difficult for a writer, even one as erudite as I, to keep coming up with new ways to describe cool shit. To that end I actively encourage shitheel bands to get in touch with their ham fisted racket, so that I once again have a reason to hack up my scorn first thing of a morning. Anyway the hour is late and I’ve got shit to do so lets crack on with it shall we?

Continue reading →

Jagged Visions: The Devil and Joseph Wilding

Posted on by

It is often said that ‘The Devil is in the details’ and that is certainly true when discussing the meticulous work of Chester based artist Joe Wilding. His illustrations are dense with visceral ideas and hang heavy with sinister mood and potent symbolism. And whilst the man himself is as genial and personable as anyone you’d care to meet, his artwork never fails to horrify or stir a funeral mood. It’s this duality that makes Joe such a pleasure to collaborate with. I caught up with him recently to peer behind the veil and discuss the ideas behind his new series of limited prints (available HERE )…
Continue reading →