Striking Distance have announced that they will play two shows this July! First up, they’ll be playing on Friday, July 22nd in Baltimore, MD as part of the record release show for End It, a fantastic hardcore band and one of my recent favorites. Then, they’ll be playing Saturday, July 23rd in Richmond Virginia with fellow heavy hitters BURN, Crown of Thornz, Naysayer and End It. These will be incredible shows so check them out if you can.
100+ Years of New York Hardcore in One Show
Label owner Chris Wrenn (center) pictured with Agnostic Front’s Mike Gallo (left) and Vinnie Stigma (right) at the kick-off of their New York United tour on May 5, 2022.
AGNOSTIC FRONT, SICK OF IT ALL, and CROWN OF THORNZ kicked off the East Coast leg of their New York United tour last Thursday, May 5th at the Middle East in Cambridge, MA and we were blown away by all three performances. This is an opportunity to enjoy a combined 100+ years of New York hardcore in one show and I couldn't recommend it enough. The ability these musicians have to work a crowd is absolutely amazing. Be sure to check out this tour when it comes through your town (dates listed below)!
Agnostic Front perform at the Middle East in Cambridge, MA on May 5, 2022.
Sick Of It All perform at the Middle East in Cambridge, MA on May 5, 2022.
eBay Test Press Auction
We just tossed up another round of test pressings on eBay to help raise funds for some big upcoming projects. This week we have the following...
Backtrack 'Lost In Life' LP (limited to 20)
No Warning 'Ill Blood' 2xLP (limited to 20)
Bent Life 'Never Asked For Heaven' LP (limited to 20)
Backtrack 'Lost In Life' LP (limited to 20)
Crown Of Thornz 'Nothing But Tragedy' 7" (limited to 20)
These will all end around 12PM EST on Sunday (3/5). Get your bids in here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/b9closet
Bridge Nine 2015: A Year in Review
Bridge Nine's 20th anniversary came this year, but aside from some retrospective goodies for long-time followers of the label, we stayed busy putting out fresh releases (with a few reissues sprinkled in). Here's a look at our slate of releases from B9's platinum year in chronological order along with some personal thoughts.
At the bottom, check out a free sampler via Bandcamp and Spotify with tracks from all our artists with 2015 releases.
BRIDGE NINE 2015: A YEAR IN REVEW BY BRIAN SHULTZ
January
13th: BoySetsFire - The Misery Index: Notes from the Plague Years [vinyl reissue]
BoySetsFire's bold and ambitious fourth album is one of my favorites of theirs, with anthems like "Requiem" and the bravely horn-addled yet intense "So Long and Thanks for the Crutches", so it was cool to have a hand in its release history with this new reissue. I remember seeing them live for the first time touring on it almost a decade ago and despite the small crowd at the time, they played their hearts out. This unintentionally almost-10th anniversary reissue is basically mandatory for fans--it looks good on complementary teal and white variants and includes a big poster insert.
27th: Caravels / Octaves - Split EP
This split EP is a rare co-release from B9, as we teamed up with Topshelf Records and their band Caravels to release new material from them and our own Octaves. Neither band had come out with new stuff since 2013, so it was nice to have two acts that play unique strains of modern post-hardcore in harmonious ways deliver fresh songs.
February
10th: War On Women - War On Women
Our first proper full-length release of the year was a total powderkeg: a fierce and volatile album that garnered quite the reaction--some ignorant Facebook users, sure, but mostly spiritual liberation as summed up by this one fan's feedback: "HELL FUCKING YEAH! EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH HARDCORE MUSIC!". The co-ed Baltimore punk quintet made their first huge musical statement, releasing a record that, per their name, tackled a wide array of contemporary feminist issues in both confrontational and humorous ways without skimping on Propagandhi-style aggression or riffs. There's an occasional theater to this record that revives Dead Kennedys' necessarily over-the-top social critique, too, while also melding punk, metal, and hardcore influences in newfangled ways.
24th: Alcoa - Parlour Tricks
Alcoa's sophomore full-length is actually a strong contender for my personal favorite album we released this year, so it's natural to say it deserves more recognition. Derek from Defeater has been quietly progressing this project since its genesis in the mid-2000s or so, and it's really seemed to peak on his fleshed-out full-length releases, a consistently enjoyable blend of alt-country and more generally alternative pop-rock leanings. His second album here tones down the bright recording of 2013's Bone & Marrow a bit, but the songs are somehow more powerful in subtler ways. I love the earnest, sadder stuff on here, like the stripped-down, darker "always chasing me" and the chamber feel of "come & go". Then there's my favorite track, "for holden", with the best chorus Gin Blossoms forgot to write during their heyday.
March
24th: Agnostic Front - Police Violence EP
Our relationship with Agnostic Front has yielded a prolific amount of cool stuff, including reissues of their classic foundational releases, the United Blood EP and Victim in Pain LP, as well as their seminal Live at CBGB album. This teaser EP we did for their new album, just as we did for their last one in 2011, steals some of the more old-school-leaning, thrashy material from their 11th (!) full-length, The American Dream Died, and includes an anthemic, burly B-side, "Same Old Story", exclusive to the release. The colors are sick, honestly, complementing the EP title and theme in a pretty brutal way (black and blue, pool of blood, and blood spatter).
April
14th: Gallows - Desolation Sounds
We had to sit on this album for a while before finally letting this side of the world hear it, as we helped Gallows get their new record out to U.S. fans for the second time in a row. This is another neat chapter in their evolution, bringing in more of the occult feel they've developed in this stage of the career with an accessibility that make certain moments sound like radio rock from an alternative universe. It's still dark and has plenty of punk bite, though: standout "Leather Crown" is a Fucked Up-style ripper, and the heavy, brooding "Chains" pounds the pavement hard.
May
12th: After the Fall - Dedication
After the Fall are actually old friends of mine--namely singer/guitarist Mike, whose band I've been following and watching play live since at least 2004, before we met. A genuine guy that just values friendship, loves punk and the power manifested in a short, well-written and aggressive but melodic song, it shows in spades on their fifth and newest album, Dedication. The whole thing is a heartfelt memorial to one of their original members, Brian J. Peters, who lost his battle with cancer in 2013. Every song tackles a different angle of Peters' personality or untimely passing, and it all ties together to paint a portrait of a seemingly great guy who touched everyone around him in profound ways, and it does so with a bright, melodic and catchy veneer the band have developed impressively over their decade-plus tenure.
19th: Modern Pain - "Peace Delusions" b/w "Kill Yr. Idols" single
This early version of "Peace Delusions" was the first sneak peak we got from Modern Pain's forthcoming full-length, which was initially self-titled before the band decided to go with the first single's name anyway. There's a slightly different aural aesthetic to this earlier version of the track, giving the short two-track single its own vibe--the exclusive B-side, a cover of Sonic Youth's "Kill Yr. Idols" offers insight into the band's unique approach to hardcore (more on this later), and is pretty spot-on as well.
June
H2O - Four Song 1995 Demo [reissue]
Before we started rolling out promo for H2O's new album, we did this fun little thing that looked back at their very beginnings. This was a reissue for the fans that weren't around the first time in 1995 for the release of their original demo tape, putting all four songs from the Don Fury demo session (recorded just after Christmas 1994) on a yellow tape limited to 200 and hand-numbered by Toby Morse himself.
August
14th: Crown of Thornz - Nothing But Tragedy EP
Holy Christ did this 7" take forever to press. I guess if you were waiting for new Crown of Thornz material, a few more months was nothing at that rate--the NYHC act hadn't delivered new music since 1998. It was very cool to work with a classic and forward-thinking act of the mid-1990s NYHC scene, but it was cooler to have them come back and not just rehash what they were originally doing or pander to fans. These are two longer and still aggressive songs that really are in their own category of hardcore.
September
4th: Modern Pain - Peace Delusions
Modern Pain are another band that have certainly fashioned their own category of hardcore, and it's quite a good one--noisy, fuzzy and blown out, sounding like a lost relic of the '80s underground. This album is sick from start to finish, maintaining a blistering intensity through all its noisy divergences. It's unpredictable and rather hostile, leaving the listener with a weird, unsettling feeling by its end--in a good way. though. At this moment in hardcore, there's no other band out there quite like them.
11th: H2O - Skate! single
This was another teaser single we did, featuring two tracks from H2O's then-forthcoming and looong-awaited album, Use Your Voice, so we could finally get some new H2O out there sooner rather than later. There was a "Skate!" music video that came out around the same time as well, which the band roped in friend and pro skateboarder Steve Caballero for (he plays guitar on the track too!) and which features some pretty interesting footage of a teenage Toby Morse. These are definitely two of the faster songs from the record, making for a quick appetizer, and the limited-to-1000 7" seems to be a pretty sought-after item now.
25th: BoySetsFire - BoySetsFire
BoySetsFire proved their reunion album wasn't a fluke with this new self-titled effort, which also probably came out of nowhere for fans as it was announced just a month-and-a-half in advance. It's packed to the gills with sterling examples of their signature sound, running the gamut from huge anthems ("Savage Blood") and desperate-sounding numbers ("Cutting Room Floor") to upbeat, Rise Against-style cuts ("Heaven Knows") and juddering, Snapcase-esque hardcore ("Coward"), all with their incensed, politicized rage retained.
October
9th: H2O - Use Your Voice
H2O hadn't released a studio album of new material since 2008, so Use Your Voice was a long time coming--luckily it was worth the wait. The band came back hard with this jubilant and honest album that touches upon every enjoyable stripe of the melodic hardcore and punk spectrum while elaborating on all sorts of topics clearly important to frontman Toby Morse's heart. He expounds on the pure joy of skating as a young misfit, his love of pop music, social unrest, and even an ode to his wife (which mixes things up a bit, offering a different chorus tone from the band than we normally hear). They definitely cut 11 tracks any fan of H2O should love without pandering or phoning it in.
November
20th: Malfunction - Fear of Failure
The phrase "demo submission" has become sort of a misnomer, as most bands who get in touch with the label about working with us tend to offer fully-formed, finished releases without a home (and they're often terrible, or make no sense for us to release). Malfunction was the rare case of a demo submission being an actual demo submission, from a band that had been on our radar for some time, and also, actually good. They gave us three pre-production demos that showcased an exciting new chapter in their musical evolution, and the resulting album, Fear of Failure, fully delivered. Their first full-length is harsh, heavy and uncompromising, a fantastic entry of '90s metallic hardcore revival that pulls a little bit from an often overlooked scene.
BRIDGE NINE 2015: A YEAR IN REVEW BY BRIAN SHULTZ
January
13th: BoySetsFire - The Misery Index: Notes from the Plague Years [vinyl reissue]
BoySetsFire's bold and ambitious fourth album is one of my favorites of theirs, with anthems like "Requiem" and the bravely horn-addled yet intense "So Long and Thanks for the Crutches", so it was cool to have a hand in its release history with this new reissue. I remember seeing them live for the first time touring on it almost a decade ago and despite the small crowd at the time, they played their hearts out. This unintentionally almost-10th anniversary reissue is basically mandatory for fans--it looks good on complementary teal and white variants and includes a big poster insert.
27th: Caravels / Octaves - Split EP
This split EP is a rare co-release from B9, as we teamed up with Topshelf Records and their band Caravels to release new material from them and our own Octaves. Neither band had come out with new stuff since 2013, so it was nice to have two acts that play unique strains of modern post-hardcore in harmonious ways deliver fresh songs.
February
10th: War On Women - War On Women
Our first proper full-length release of the year was a total powderkeg: a fierce and volatile album that garnered quite the reaction--some ignorant Facebook users, sure, but mostly spiritual liberation as summed up by this one fan's feedback: "HELL FUCKING YEAH! EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH HARDCORE MUSIC!". The co-ed Baltimore punk quintet made their first huge musical statement, releasing a record that, per their name, tackled a wide array of contemporary feminist issues in both confrontational and humorous ways without skimping on Propagandhi-style aggression or riffs. There's an occasional theater to this record that revives Dead Kennedys' necessarily over-the-top social critique, too, while also melding punk, metal, and hardcore influences in newfangled ways.
24th: Alcoa - Parlour Tricks
Alcoa's sophomore full-length is actually a strong contender for my personal favorite album we released this year, so it's natural to say it deserves more recognition. Derek from Defeater has been quietly progressing this project since its genesis in the mid-2000s or so, and it's really seemed to peak on his fleshed-out full-length releases, a consistently enjoyable blend of alt-country and more generally alternative pop-rock leanings. His second album here tones down the bright recording of 2013's Bone & Marrow a bit, but the songs are somehow more powerful in subtler ways. I love the earnest, sadder stuff on here, like the stripped-down, darker "always chasing me" and the chamber feel of "come & go". Then there's my favorite track, "for holden", with the best chorus Gin Blossoms forgot to write during their heyday.
March
24th: Agnostic Front - Police Violence EP
Our relationship with Agnostic Front has yielded a prolific amount of cool stuff, including reissues of their classic foundational releases, the United Blood EP and Victim in Pain LP, as well as their seminal Live at CBGB album. This teaser EP we did for their new album, just as we did for their last one in 2011, steals some of the more old-school-leaning, thrashy material from their 11th (!) full-length, The American Dream Died, and includes an anthemic, burly B-side, "Same Old Story", exclusive to the release. The colors are sick, honestly, complementing the EP title and theme in a pretty brutal way (black and blue, pool of blood, and blood spatter).
April
14th: Gallows - Desolation Sounds
We had to sit on this album for a while before finally letting this side of the world hear it, as we helped Gallows get their new record out to U.S. fans for the second time in a row. This is another neat chapter in their evolution, bringing in more of the occult feel they've developed in this stage of the career with an accessibility that make certain moments sound like radio rock from an alternative universe. It's still dark and has plenty of punk bite, though: standout "Leather Crown" is a Fucked Up-style ripper, and the heavy, brooding "Chains" pounds the pavement hard.
May
12th: After the Fall - Dedication
After the Fall are actually old friends of mine--namely singer/guitarist Mike, whose band I've been following and watching play live since at least 2004, before we met. A genuine guy that just values friendship, loves punk and the power manifested in a short, well-written and aggressive but melodic song, it shows in spades on their fifth and newest album, Dedication. The whole thing is a heartfelt memorial to one of their original members, Brian J. Peters, who lost his battle with cancer in 2013. Every song tackles a different angle of Peters' personality or untimely passing, and it all ties together to paint a portrait of a seemingly great guy who touched everyone around him in profound ways, and it does so with a bright, melodic and catchy veneer the band have developed impressively over their decade-plus tenure.
19th: Modern Pain - "Peace Delusions" b/w "Kill Yr. Idols" single
This early version of "Peace Delusions" was the first sneak peak we got from Modern Pain's forthcoming full-length, which was initially self-titled before the band decided to go with the first single's name anyway. There's a slightly different aural aesthetic to this earlier version of the track, giving the short two-track single its own vibe--the exclusive B-side, a cover of Sonic Youth's "Kill Yr. Idols" offers insight into the band's unique approach to hardcore (more on this later), and is pretty spot-on as well.
June
H2O - Four Song 1995 Demo [reissue]
Before we started rolling out promo for H2O's new album, we did this fun little thing that looked back at their very beginnings. This was a reissue for the fans that weren't around the first time in 1995 for the release of their original demo tape, putting all four songs from the Don Fury demo session (recorded just after Christmas 1994) on a yellow tape limited to 200 and hand-numbered by Toby Morse himself.
August
14th: Crown of Thornz - Nothing But Tragedy EP
Holy Christ did this 7" take forever to press. I guess if you were waiting for new Crown of Thornz material, a few more months was nothing at that rate--the NYHC act hadn't delivered new music since 1998. It was very cool to work with a classic and forward-thinking act of the mid-1990s NYHC scene, but it was cooler to have them come back and not just rehash what they were originally doing or pander to fans. These are two longer and still aggressive songs that really are in their own category of hardcore.
September
4th: Modern Pain - Peace Delusions
Modern Pain are another band that have certainly fashioned their own category of hardcore, and it's quite a good one--noisy, fuzzy and blown out, sounding like a lost relic of the '80s underground. This album is sick from start to finish, maintaining a blistering intensity through all its noisy divergences. It's unpredictable and rather hostile, leaving the listener with a weird, unsettling feeling by its end--in a good way. though. At this moment in hardcore, there's no other band out there quite like them.
11th: H2O - Skate! single
This was another teaser single we did, featuring two tracks from H2O's then-forthcoming and looong-awaited album, Use Your Voice, so we could finally get some new H2O out there sooner rather than later. There was a "Skate!" music video that came out around the same time as well, which the band roped in friend and pro skateboarder Steve Caballero for (he plays guitar on the track too!) and which features some pretty interesting footage of a teenage Toby Morse. These are definitely two of the faster songs from the record, making for a quick appetizer, and the limited-to-1000 7" seems to be a pretty sought-after item now.
25th: BoySetsFire - BoySetsFire
BoySetsFire proved their reunion album wasn't a fluke with this new self-titled effort, which also probably came out of nowhere for fans as it was announced just a month-and-a-half in advance. It's packed to the gills with sterling examples of their signature sound, running the gamut from huge anthems ("Savage Blood") and desperate-sounding numbers ("Cutting Room Floor") to upbeat, Rise Against-style cuts ("Heaven Knows") and juddering, Snapcase-esque hardcore ("Coward"), all with their incensed, politicized rage retained.
October
9th: H2O - Use Your Voice
H2O hadn't released a studio album of new material since 2008, so Use Your Voice was a long time coming--luckily it was worth the wait. The band came back hard with this jubilant and honest album that touches upon every enjoyable stripe of the melodic hardcore and punk spectrum while elaborating on all sorts of topics clearly important to frontman Toby Morse's heart. He expounds on the pure joy of skating as a young misfit, his love of pop music, social unrest, and even an ode to his wife (which mixes things up a bit, offering a different chorus tone from the band than we normally hear). They definitely cut 11 tracks any fan of H2O should love without pandering or phoning it in.
November
20th: Malfunction - Fear of Failure
The phrase "demo submission" has become sort of a misnomer, as most bands who get in touch with the label about working with us tend to offer fully-formed, finished releases without a home (and they're often terrible, or make no sense for us to release). Malfunction was the rare case of a demo submission being an actual demo submission, from a band that had been on our radar for some time, and also, actually good. They gave us three pre-production demos that showcased an exciting new chapter in their musical evolution, and the resulting album, Fear of Failure, fully delivered. Their first full-length is harsh, heavy and uncompromising, a fantastic entry of '90s metallic hardcore revival that pulls a little bit from an often overlooked scene.
Malfunction added to The Life & Death Tour
Malfunction have replaced Heavy Chains on The Life & Death Tour, which kicks off in two days. The full stacked lineup now includes Bane, Turnstile, Backtrack, Forced Order, Mizery, and on all dates between August 9 and 28 except Chicago, Malfunction. Select regional openers include Power Trip, Death Threat, Bitter End, and Crown of Thornz. Check out details below.
More info on Malfunction's upcoming full-length debut, Fear of Failure, coming soon as well.
THE LIFE & DEATH TOUR 2015 f/ Bane, Turnstile, BACKTRACK, Forced Order, Mizery, MALFUNCTION [8/9-8/25, 8/27-8/28]:
8/6 Rochester, NY @ The Harmony House
8/7 Holyoke, MA @ The Waterfront Tavern**
8/8 Howell, NJ @ Gamechanger World
8/9 Richmond, Va @ Canal Club
8/10 Greensboro, NC @ Greene St
8/11 Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum
8/12 Jacksonville, FL @ Underbelly
8/13 Atlanta, GA @ The Drunken Unicorn
8/14 Houston, TX @ Walter's****
8/15 Dallas, TX @ Sons of Herman Hall****
8/16 San Antonio, TX @ The Korova****
8/17 Phoenix, AZ @ Club Red
8/18 San Diego, CA @ Soma
8/19 Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction
8/20 Los Angeles, CA @ Los Globos
8/21 Oakland, CA @ The New Parish
8/22 Reno, NV @ PB&J's
8/23 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Music Garage
8/24 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater*
8/25 Merriam, KS @ Aftershock Bar and Gril*
8/26 Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge*/***
8/27 Cincinnati, OH @ Legends*/***
8/28 Detroit, MI @ Magestic Cafe*/***
8/29 Toronto, ON @ The Rockpile*/***
8/30 Montreal, QC @ Les Foufounes Electriques
8/31 Amityville, NY @ Revolution
Also playing:
* - Power Trip
** - Death Threat
*** - Bitter End
**** - CROWN OF THORNZ
Crown of Thornz stream 'Nothing But Tragedy' EP at Scene Point Blank
Crown of Thornz are now streaming their upcoming EP, Nothing But Tragedy, in full at Scene Point Blank. The EP is due out August 14 and is available for pre-order now as a 7" and/or digital download atB9Store.com.
Crown of Thornz were an NYHC mainstay during the mid-1990s alongside acts like Madball, H2O, and Vision of Disorder. Street-wise and charismatic graffiti artist Lord Ezec spearheaded the band in 1994 with high school friend (and future Shelter member) Franklin Rhi, recruiting future Breakdown member Mike Dijan. They would quickly become a live favorite on the scene with energetic and tight performances that ignited crowds with their musically and emotionally heavy style that drew inspiration from Cro-Mags and crossover-era Agnostic Front while ruminating about love and hate dichotomies, senseless violence, and contemplative introspection. Their recorded output was limited: There was only 1995's Train Yard Blues EP on then-hardcore pillar Equal Vision Records, and 1996's Mentally Vexedfull-length on local cornerstone Another Planet. But both releases found attention worldwide, and the band would tour all over on them until their demise in 1998.
Now, we are excited to present Crown of Thornz's first recorded output since a 1998 split single with Aggressive Dogs. Nothing But Tragedy features two new tracks: "The Kiss of Death", a somewhat more straightforward representation of the CoT sound that nonetheless moves their thudding, mid-tempo hardcore style forward. The B-side is "No Reason Why" (not to be confused with the Gorilla Biscuits classic), an epic, darkly affecting rock song, the likes of which CoT have never quite approached, with a booming, heady chorus to boot.
Crown of Thornz debut new song at InEffectHardcore.com, pre-orders for 7-inch launched
Crown of Thornz have premiered a new track over at InEffectHardcore. "The Kiss of Death" comes from their upcoming 7", Nothing But Tragedy, which is now available for pre-order at B9Store.com with a new shirt design. The Nothing But Tragedy 7"/DL will be out August 14.
Crown of Thornz were an NYHC mainstay during the mid-1990s alongside acts like Madball, H2O, and Vision of Disorder. Street-wise and charismatic graffiti artist Lord Ezec spearheaded the band in 1994 with high school friend (and future Shelter member) Franklin Rhi, recruiting future Breakdown member Mike Dijan. They would quickly become a live favorite on the scene with energetic and tight performances that ignited crowds with their musically and emotionally heavy style that drew inspiration from Cro-Mags and crossover-era Agnostic Front while ruminating about love and hate dichotomies, senseless violence, and contemplative introspection. Their recorded output was limited: There was only 1995's Train Yard Blues EP on then-hardcore pillar Equal Vision Records, and 1996's Mentally Vexedfull-length on local cornerstone Another Planet. But both releases found attention worldwide, and the band would tour all over on them until their demise in 1998.
Now, we are excited to present Crown of Thornz's first recorded output since a 1998 split single with Aggressive Dogs. Nothing But Tragedy features two new tracks: "The Kiss of Death", a somewhat more straightforward representation of the CoT sound that nonetheless moves their thudding, mid-tempo hardcore style forward. The B-side is "No Reason Why" (not to be confused with the Gorilla Biscuits classic), an epic, darkly affecting rock song, the likes of which CoT have never quite approached, with a booming, heady chorus to boot.
Terror drops off The Life & Death Tour; Crown of Thornz added to three dates
Terror have dropped off the upcoming Life & Death Tour with frontman Scott Vogel dealing with a recent back injury. The band posted the following message:
"The European tour is going great, thanks to everyone over here for making things so smooth without Scott. His back therapy is well and he will be back to full strength soon.
We have decided that it is best to not rush his recovery or force more shows until Scott has returned. After much deliberating, we are pulling Terror off the Life & Death tour. This is a real bum out for us as we were really looking forward to this one. The line up is amazing, please make sure you still come out to those shows and support that tour.
Also, you can expect us to put together a tour for the end of the year when the new record is out to make up for this one. "
The tour will now be co-headlined by Bane and Turnstile, with previously announced support from Backtrack, Forced Order, Mizery, and Heavy Chains. Select dates will now also have regional openers Power Trip, Death Threat, Bitter End, and recent B9 signees Crown of Thornz, who will drop a new 7" later this year.
THE LIFE & DEATH TOUR 2015 feat. Bane, Turnstile, BACKTRACK, Forced Order, Mizery [8/6-8/25], Heavy Chains
8/6 Rochester, NY @ The Harmony House
8/7 Holyoke, MA @ The Waterfront Tavern**
8/8 Howell, NJ @ Gamechanger World
8/9 Baltimore, MD @ Soundstage
8/10 Greensboro, NC @ Greene St
8/11 Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum
8/12 Jacksonville, FL @ Underbelly
8/13 Atlanta, GA @ The Drunken Unicorn
8/14 Houston, TX @ Walter's****
8/15 Dallas, TX @ Sons of Herman Hall****
8/16 San Antonio, TX @ The Korova****
8/17 Phoenix, AZ @ Club Red
8/18 San Diego, CA @ Epicenter
8/19 Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction
8/20 Los Angeles, CA @ Jewel's Catch One
8/21 Oakland, CA @ Oakland Metro
8/22 Reno, NV @ Jub Jub's
8/23 Salt Lake City, UT @ Club Sound
8/24 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater*
8/25 Merriam, KS @ Aftershock Bar and Gril*
8/26 Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge*/***
8/27 Cincinnati, OH @ Legends*/***
8/28 Detroit, MI @ Magestic Cafe*/***
8/29 Toronto, ON @ The Rockpile*/***
8/30 Montreal, QC @ Les Foufounes Electriques
8/31 Amityville, NY @ Revolution
Crown of Thornz to release new 7-inch on B9
Crown of Thornz were an NYHC mainstay during the mid-1990s alongside acts like Madball, H2O, and Vision of Disorder. Street-wise and charismatic graffiti artist Lord Ezec spearheaded the band in 1994 with high school friend (and future Shelter member) Franklin Rhi, recruiting future Breakdown member Mike Dijan. They would quickly become a live favorite on the scene with energetic and tight performances that ignited crowds with their musically and emotionally heavy style that drew inspiration from Cro-Mags and crossover-era Agnostic Front while ruminating about love and hate dichotomies, senseless violence, and contemplative introspection. Their recorded output was limited: There was only 1995's Train Yard Blues EP on then-hardcore pillar Equal Vision Records, and 1996's Mentally Vexedfull-length on local cornerstone Another Planet. But both releases found attention worldwide, and the band would tour all over on them until their demise in 1998.
Ezec would remain busy in the intervening years with various hardcore and hip-hop projects, but revived Crown of Thornz for 2009's Black N Blue Bowl and have been occasionally playing out live since.
Now, Bridge Nine is excited to present Crown of Thornz's first recorded output since a 1998 split single with Aggressive Dogs. Nothing But Tragedy features two new tracks: "The Kiss of Death", a somewhat more straightforward representation of the CoT sound that nonetheless moves their thudding, mid-tempo hardcore style forward. The B-side is "No Reason Why" (not to be confused with the Gorilla Biscuits classic), an epic, darkly affecting rock song, the likes of which CoT have never quite approached, with a booming, heady chorus to boot.
More info coming soon. Keep up with Crown of Thornz on Facebook.