Massachusetts-based Defeater has been making waves in the heavy music scene since their inception in 2007. The band, known for their narrative writing style and avant-garde take on hardcore, began the recording process last week for their second full-length album. This new album (title TBA) will follow the same conceptual format as their prior releases, 2008’s Travels and 2009’s Lost Ground EP, and will be another musically precise album that will redefine the term “forward-thinking music”. Vocalist Derek Archambault said, “While I can’t give up all of the details on the storyline quite yet, let’s just say that this new album will incorporate themes and characters that the listener has been introduced to already, in addition to bringing some new stuff into the mix. The writing process thus far has been very personally gratifying and I can’t wait to have another chapter of Defeater’s story out for the world to hear.”

The band will spend the next month holed up at Getaway Recording Studio in Wakefield, MA, interestingly enough with their guitarist, Jay Maas, at the helm recording/producing. Maas owns and operates that studio, and has recorded bands like Bane, Cruel Hand, Soul Control and many others there. Maas commented, “The scope of this record is likely the biggest undertaking I’ve done for any band I’ve engineered. The combination of being in Defeater and recording Defeater is great – I feel like my talents as an engineer have developed to a very professional place, as have my skills as a songwriter.” Musically, Defeater’s new material will “…sound like Defeater. Like Lost Ground, we don’t want to be afraid of trying something new and writing something that ‘doesn’t sound like us’”, said Maas. Archaumbault continued, “Having Jay on board working on the record in addition to being in the band is great and gives us creative control over all facets of the record from start to finish. I’m already really happy with where we are at thus far in the writing and recording process and I can’t wait to announce the surprises we have in store for this album.”


With two releases already under their belt and tours across the globe with bands like Polar Bear Club, Comeback Kid and Make Do and Mend, 2011 is sure to be the biggest and best year in Defeater’s career thus far. And while something called "a new artistic peak for hardcore” (Punknews.org) and “the perfect definition of modern hardcore” (Lambgoat.com) will be hard to top, this second full-length effort is sure to do it. Look for this yet-to-be-titled album to hit shelves in early 2011 and stay tuned for upcoming tour announcements for Defeater in North America and abroad.

Cruel Hand is proud to announce their slot on the upcoming 2010 Persistence Tour in Europe! Presented by M.A.D. Tourbooking, the Persistence Tour 2010 will feature some of the biggest bands in hard music: Sick Of It All, D.R.I., Blood for Blood, Unearth, Evergreen Terrace, Cruel Hand, and Casey Jones, and will span 10 days across Europe in December. Cruel Hand vocalist Chris Linkovich said, "We are very excited to have the opportunity to be a part of M.A.D.'s Persistence Tour. Sharing the stage with SOIA is something that we've wanted to do for a long time. And Maine has always been huge supporters of Blood for Blood - their Soulless EP was one of my first 7 inches - so this tour really brings things full circle for me in those aspects. Also really excited to see D.R.I. and we're also looking forward to hanging with our homies in Evergeen Terrace and Casey Jones." In its 10th year, M.A.D.'s Persistence Tour has featured Agnostic Front, Biohazard, Sepultura, H2O and many other stalwarts in heavy music in the past and is one of the best tours in the world.

The Persistence Tour will mark Cruel Hand's second European jaunt on their newest album, Lock & Key, which came out this past July. Lock & Key is garnering stellar praise from publications like Revolver Magazine ("...Cruel Hand sonically reference the primal thrash of Metallica's Kill 'Em All as much as they do the stompy NYHC of Madball's Set It Off..."), Alternative Press ("...some seriously intense hardcore... blistering speed and ferociously heavy breakdowns...") and Decoy Music ("... one of the best hardcore bands in the genre") and is one of the most anticipated albums of the year.

Cruel Hand is out on the road for a few more weeks alongside Bane, Trapped Under Ice and Alpha & Omega in the USA. Check out all of their tour dates here!

*photo by Dan Rawe

H2O is all the way around the world in Japan right now! They still have to hit Nagoya, Chiba and Tokyo through September 5th - be sure to check them out if you live in Japan! Tour dates and show information can be found here...

*photo by DinoPtero

Cruel Hand is on tour in the US for two more weeks alongside Bane, Trapped Under Ice and Alpha & Omega. The tour hits Austin, TX today then heads southeast and finally up the eastern seaboard towards their final appearance at Kaboom Fest in Worcester, MA on September 12th.

Check out the band on the road and if you haven't already, pick up a copy of Cruel Hand's new album Lock & Key (it's fucking awesome) at B9STORE.COM.

Lastly, peep some new live footage of Cruel Hand from their show over the weekend at Chain Reaction in Anaheim here and here.

*photo by bigxred

After DYS's explosive reunion show in front of over 1,000 fans at the Gallery East “xxx All Ages xxx” event and movie shoot yesterday, Bridge Nine is proud to announce that they will host the band's exclusive webstore! A full line of merchandise will be available online for the first time ever: shirts, hats, stickers, limited edition posters and more. DYS co-founder and bassist Jonathan Anastas said, “In our search for a partner to help with merchandise for our show, we insisted on integrity, an understanding of hardcore, it’s audience, an ability to look forward, not just backward, and a design ethic that would appeal to both the long-time and new fan. Looking at what they had done with bands like Death Before Dishonor and Antidote, Bridge Nine was the obvious choice.” Continued Jonathan, “The process in preparing for the show was so great, we decided to expand our relationship to include ongoing e-commerce.”

Bridge Nine Records owner Chris Wrenn commented, "Bridge Nine is so proud to host the exclusive web store for DYS, as they are a band that helped make hardcore what it is today. Personally, I am a huge fan of the band and that, coupled with their recent appearance at the “xxx All Ages xxx show,” made this a no-brainer for us. DYS merchandise has never been available in this level of variety and we believe there is a market and a fan base.” To kick-off the storefront, Bridge Nine unveiled four DYS t-shirt designs today along with a hat, DYS stickers and limited edition screen-printed poster commemorating the “xxx All Ages xxx” show. Wrenn continued, "We made 4 shirt designs that incorporate the band’s most iconic, original elements and slogans, but modernized them – still keeping the designs true to their roots.”

DYS, short for Department of Youth Services, and inspired by Alice Cooper’s classic song “Department of Youth,” formed in Boston, MA, during the 1980s. The band was founded by Dave Smalley (who went on to front Dag Nasty, ALL and Down By Law), bassist Jonathan Anastas (who went on to be a founding member of Slapshot). Members included guitarists Andy Strachan and Ross Luongo, drummers Dave Collins, Chris Foley (ex-SS Decontrol) and Jack Clark. DYS released their legendary debut album Brotherhood on SS Decontrol's XClaim! label and their self-titled Crossover follow-up on Modern Method, disbanding shortly thereafter. DYS left behind a legacy of Straight Edge and Youth Empowerment-based songs as well as a trademark Boston Hardcore sonic palette.

Check out the DYS store at www.B9Store.com/DYS.