Desperate times call for desperate measures. Taking up arms against a wave of authoritarianism and despair, North Carolina's premier hardcore band, Catharsis, has recorded a new full-length album, "Hope Against Hope." This record picks up where their last material left off, continuing to push the envelope for what hardcore can do. Catharsis don't retread the ground they broke on their previous albums, but press forward into ever more abrasive and dynamic territory. Politically, they remain uncompromisingly radical in their lives as well as lyrics. This is not a band that has slowed down, toned down, or mellowed out.
Glower from Hamburg: Armed with knowledge of and influenced by sounds from classic and contemporary Hardcore & Melodic HC, Metal, and the German Punk scene, the Hanseatic quintet has distilled a stirring and inciting brew of seething musical frenzy and ferocity as an outlet to address and process inevitable Weltschmerz and irritation.
ANARKUSS is a Berlin-based band composed of AL (who’s played in bands like MILEMARKER, HELLBENDER and CHALLENGER) and ANNEEE (who’s played in bands like BIG EATER and CAREBENDER).
Catharsis
Sticking to their roots in the do-it-yourself underground, they are releasing the album through CrimethInc. in the United States, Refuse in Europe, and No Gods No Masters in South America. The band recorded the drums with Benny Grotto at Mad Oak Studios and tracked the rest themselves. For the backing vocals, Catharsis tapped the vocalists of some of their favorite hardcore bands: Poland's Next Victim, Brazil's Point of No Return, and North Carolina's own Scarecrow and Vittna. Mixed by Kurt Ballou at God City Studio and mastered by Scott Crouse, "Hope Against Hope" is as explosive as our times.
Twenty-four years have passed since Catharsis released their last record, the split LP featuring "Arsonist's Prayer," though they did complete another song from that session for their discography in 2012. But they have been playing regularly together since 2013, adding Jimmy Chang (of Undying and Sect), who left the band in 1995, to the lineup that recorded the "Passion" LP. It was high time to record another album, making the most of material that has come together across two decades. In fact, Catharsis has never sounded better.
"Hope Against Hope" is an assault on a self-destructing society and a beacon of inspiration for all who are determined to survive.
Glower
From a psychological point of view, anger is the only basic human emotion that sets people apart, a coping mechanism free from the function of bonding with other people: thus, an autonomous emotion. Rage, as a propelling emotion fueling Tatendrang (the urge to act), is the ideal vehicle to change and address discomfort and disagreement on a personal, social and political level — the classic, foundational, and timeless tropes of Hardcore and Punk.
Hamburg upstarts glower (meaning: to look or stare with dislike, discontent, or anger) have more than enough on their plate to address and in their sullen sight: from everyday sexism in all its sudden and structural appearances to the faint swoon accompanying sexual violence, the capitalistic pressure on societal and personal scales, as well as the direct and interpersonal fury fueled by double standards. Glower, a product of sudden fortune and friendship, navigates the post-2020s world.The current world where intimate and international struggles sit and can be felt crammed side by side in the suburban trains scarred by capitalism, structural sexism, and social media with all its derailed collateral damage. Armed with knowledge of and influenced by sounds from classic and contemporary Hardcore & Melodic HC, Metal, and the German Punk scene, the Hanseatic quintet has distilled a stirring and inciting brew of seething musical frenzy and ferocity as an outlet to address and process inevitable Weltschmerz and irritation.
Short and simple, scathing and striking, Glower are here to stay and have already left a mark in the scene with only a couple of minutes released and a handful of promising gigs played. With an abundance of promising potential, you’d better make sure you don’t end up in their spiteful stare. -Walter Wahnsinn Jr
Anarkuss
ANARKUSS have released two tapes on their own label and now have a self-titled “full length” CD/CS on Exotic Fever Records. The band is politically vocal in a positive and hopeful way, as well as personally displaying the classical PMA/ DIY attitude. The instrumental set-up is simple and direct, with rock n roll energy but you can understand the words. The motivation is to share music and ideas, connect with like-minded people, and participate in strengthening the infrastructure of underground alternative culture that opposes the mainstream.
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