War On Women on tour with Bad Religion, Alkaline Trio

The Bad Religion / Alkaline Trio tour with War On Women has been rescheduled and is happening this fall! Details and links to tickets while they’re still available HERE!

Death Before Dishonor hits the road in August!

Catch Death Before Dishonor back on the road this August, including a run in Texas with Madball! Dates and info are HERE!

We're Opening a Record Store so we've Raided The B9 ARCHIVE

Over the past six or so months as we've prepared to move our office, we've been cleaning, organizing and packing. During that process, we've dug out all sorts of rare recordings from our archive that we'd forgotten we had, special sessions that had been filed away.

We've been sharing updates about the old Beverly Glass building that we're moving to, and the renovation that Chris Wrenn has been doing there over the past few months. What we haven't really talked much about is that the new office will also have a RECORD STORE! Our own dedicated retail space where you can get everything Bridge Nine, but also records from our favorite bands and labels too.

Last year, we released our "Raid The Vault" mystery boxes where we included test pressings and out of press variants of records from our discography, which helped us secure the space that will be our new HQ. Now, in the spirit of Record Store Day and to help us get across the finish line moving and renovating the building, we're offering our "Raid The Archive" boxes - which include FIVE special recordings, circa 2003-2009. This collection includes two new LP's and three new 7 inches that pull from Bridge Nine's heavy hitters during those years (featuring a very special unreleased recording from a band that we tried to sign back then, but couldn't), each housed in a full color glue-pocket jacket. If you are a fan of mid-2000's Bridge Nine, you will definitely want to get your hands on this! Order HERE!

This is a pre-order item. Due to the recent delays at pressing plants we anticipate this collection shipping in September, so please be aware of that. We will be sending updates as everything comes in, and hope to ship sooner than that!

Celebrating 10 years of Ceremony's 'Rohnert Park'

Before 2020 comes to a close we're giving Ceremony's 'Rohnert Park' a proper 10th anniversary celebration! Released back in June of 2010, "Rohnert Park cemented Ceremony’s legacy as a once-in-a-generation California punk band, and indeed one of the all-time great, quintessentially California bands, period. It’s no wonder that, ten years on, its reputation has only grown." -A.M.N. A definitive release for both the band and Bridge Nine.

To commemorate this, we're giving 'Rohnert Park' our 25th anniversary silver vinyl treatment. We've pressed a one-time edition of 1,000 copies on silver vinyl, housed in black and white printed jackets on silverboard with expanded liner notes.

We're also launching a limited 7" single of 'The Doldrums (Friendly City)' with a previously unreleased b-side, "Into The Wayside Part V", unearthed from the original 'Rohnert Park' recording session and mastered by Will Killingsworth. A one-time edition of 1,500 copies.

'The Doldrums (Friendly City)' single is available digitally today on all streaming platforms and pre-orders for both records are now live!

War On Women announce new album 'Wonderful Hell': Listen to the title track

A lot has happened since War On Women burst out of Baltimore’s activist community in 2010 as an unapologetically intersectional feminist hardcore punk band. In their early days, even some of their peers found their politics “extreme” but in the years since, feminism has undeniably gone mainstream, as evidenced by the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements and superstars like Beyonce incorporating it into their personal brands. There’s also been backlash, from the growth of the alt-right out of misogynist message boards, to an actual rapist landing in the White House where he’s spent the past four years pouring gasoline on the flames of hatred and division, rather than striving toward unity.

That’s all to say, that in the midst of this tumultuous period of American history, and especially with the crucial 2020 election looming on the horizon, War On Women’s unrelenting vision and ferociously vital messages are more necessary than ever before.

Their new album Wonderful Hell (out digitally October 30th + physically on November 13th via Bridge Nine) is a call to action, even when every step forward feels like it’s met with a landslide back. The title track, which unintentionally echoes John Lewis’ notion of “good trouble” as a catalyst for change, emerged during a period when vocalist/lyricist Shawna Potter was feeling exhausted and overwhelmed by life in the Trump era. “I think it expresses something that a lot of people are feeling. Like, ‘Okay, we had our moment. Now it's time to get back to work. We can't let this happen again. We can't endure another four years of this,’” she comments.

Recorded with the band’s guitarist and co-founder Brooks Harlan alongside J. Robbins at his Magpie Cage Studios in February 2020 and completed in April (when in a COVID-19-free timeline the band would have been on tour with Bad Religion), Wonderful Hell is the first War On Women album to feature the band’s current lineup of Potter, Harlan, bassist/vocalist Sue Werner, guitarist/vocalist Jennifer “Jenarchy” Vito, and drummer Dave Cavalier. The record opens with the explosive “Aqua Tofana,” which references the notorious 17th-century “husband killer” poison, and pokes fun at misogynists who’d imagine feminist musicians as jonesing to destroy all men, rather than convert them to the cause. But as War On Women mix lines from Shellac’s classic vengeance plea “Prayer to God” with their own, it’s easy to imagine their brutally tongue-in-cheek barbs could get MRAs shaking behind their 4chan screen names.

Wonderful Hell 's steadfast rager “White Lies” is a takedown of systemic racism and those who complicitly watch—and even benefit from—institutions that openly favor one group over everyone else, while “This Stolen Land” confronts the gall of leaders who declare refugees and migrants “illegal” as they govern from land violently seized from Native Americans. And like War On Women’s previous albums, Wonderful Hell includes plenty of songs that aim straight at the jugular of gender disparity. “Her?” lists the petty but politically lethal criticisms leveled at woman who dare to be visible in public office, while “In Your Path” takes on gender-based violence with lyrics adapted from chants introduced by Chilean grassroots feminist collective Las Tesis.

Like the title track, the anthemic “The Ash is Not the End” and the magnificently slow-burning closer “Demon” acknowledge the natural feelings of wanting to give up or self-destruct in the face of insurmountable adversity—feelings Potter says she has experienced herself. "In those songs I'm giving myself the advice to keep fighting. I'm just hopeful that someone else who needs to hear that message will find strength in it, too," she says.

But while War On Women offers listeners space to vent their anxieties and frustrations, they ultimately challenge them to find their inner strength and build the world they want to live in rather than burn down what’s left of this one. "The thing is, we don't have a do over,” Potter says. “We don't have a time machine. We can't snap our fingers and start from some other place. All we have is right here, right now. So what can you do right here, right now, to help?"

So take a breath, recharge, and then join War On Women— because it's time to raise some Wonderful Hell.

B9 Needs Your Help

Dear friends,

Like most other small businesses affected by COVID-19, Bridge Nine experienced a series of setbacks and difficulties throughout the beginning of 2020. Things have undoubtedly been tight as we have dealt with a new normal of a closed office, furloughed staff, and limited resources, but we have persevered and have been working hard to support our bands and customers.

Unfortunately, "when it rains, it pours." We were informed by our landlord that the building Bridge Nine has been in for the past 13 years is now being sold. We are now facing either a sizable increase in our rent or, more likely, we will have to relocate -- both options that will present significant financial challenges outside of our usual commitments. We know that our fans and customers are dealing with their own hardships so please know that we are not looking for handouts. In an effort to fundraise for Bridge Nine's next chapter, we are asking those who are financially able to consider helping us get through this with one of the following exclusive options in our store:

1. Buy a "RAID THE VAULT" Mystery Box

Every time a record has been pressed, Chris has kept a few copies for the Bridge Nine archive. Every test pressing, each color of vinyl - we've put a few aside in what we jokingly called our "Vault". Well, the time has come to empty it! Each "Raid The Vault" Mystery Box you purchase includes a random and very exclusive Test Pressing of a Bridge Nine release as well as three out-of-press variants of records the label has released over the past 25 years. All of the heavy hitters are included and nothing is off limits. Each box is $100, we are accepting multiple orders, and while we won't be taking requests, we know you won't be disappointed. Every person who purchases a Raid The Vault Mystery Box will also be entered into a drawing for a FULL BRIDGE NINE VINYL DISCOGRAPHY, which includes one copy of every vinyl record that Bridge Nine has released!

2. Buy a "25 Years of Bridge Nine" Pack

Since 1995, we've been working on releases for our favorite bands. Our 25th anniversary showcase (originally slated for next month) may have been bumped for the foreseeable future, but it's still our year to celebrate and this t-shirt helps illustrate two and a half decades of Bridge Nine through the label tees we've made over the years. This package includes a black 25th Anniversary t-shirt & die-cut sticker, as well as a 21"x21" organic cotton bandana. 

3. Buy our first 25th Anniversary Mystery Item

We're custom designing and making a few surprise items over the next year as we celebrate this milestone. This exclusive item celebrates a big chunk of the label's catalog. You're not going to know what this is until you receive it, but that's half the fun! Grab one while you can for $20.

4. Buy a Mystery Poster Tube

We started offering this a couple of months ago and the response has been great, but if you haven't ordered one yet, get on it! We'll pack a poster tube with 30+ promotional posters of all sizes. Tubes are $25 and if you like Bridge Nine, you're guaranteed to get a bunch of stuff you're going to be stoked on (with no folds and creases!)

5. Buy a Bridge Nine T-Shirt

Pick up a Bridge Nine t-shirt or other merch item to show your support. We even have a new design featuring BRIDGE NINE spelled out in the notable letters of our bands logos from over the years. White ink on a black 100% cotton t-shirt. Can you spot all of the bands that we pulled from?

6. Buy a Bridge Nine "The First Nine Years" Box Set, or the accompanying book

We still have about 100 or so box sets of the 1,000 that we pressed. We also have an overrun of the 128 page book that is included inside, so if you've slept on the box set, help us out and pick one up!

And if a five 7" box set isn't your speed, you can now grab the book by itself for just $10!

7. Grab a Brick of 20 Mystery CDs for $20

Collect CDs or know someone who wants new music? Get 20 random CDs in one box for just $20 while we clear out some space in our warehouse!

Bridge Nine Announces Buried Alive EP Release Slated for August 21

Bridge Nine is excited to announce that we will be releasing Buried Alive's new EP "Death Will Find You" on August 21st! The EP will feature 2 brand new songs, their first in 20 years, and 2 re-mastered songs from their split with Reach The Sky. The band picks up right where they left off, bringing you a serious dose of hard hitting urgent metallic hardcore. Sign up to become notified when pre-orders drop at b9store.com/buriedalive

About Buried Alive
Hailing from Buffalo NY and featuring Terror's Scott Vogel on vocals, Buried Alive were known for their unique metallic edge and, despite their short-lived existence, proved to be one of the most influential hardcore bands from the late 90's. From touring with the likes of 7 Seconds, All Out War, and Hot Water Music to releasing now classic records with Victory, their brief few years cemented their place in hardcore's history. Twenty years after their initial breakup, Buried Alive are back and ready to release "Death Will Find You", an EP featuring two brand new songs and two re-recorded songs from their split with Reach The Sky.

NOTE: This item is a PRE-ORDER and will ship on, or around, the release date of August 21st

Test Press Auction to support Campaign Zero

Over the past 25 years, Bridge Nine has released albums by artists speaking out against various injustices, and a particular focus has been on violence at the hands of the police. While this is something that has been experienced by members of the hardcore punk subculture, it has undoubtedly been felt disproportionately more by people of color. Just as these bands have raised their voices in the past, and us as fans with them, we must likewise raise our voices now and moving forward to speak out against the vast injustices being experienced by our BIPOC friends.

Bridge Nine Records stands in solidarity with everyone who believes that black lives matter, rejects white supremacy, and works towards dismantling systems of oppression and fighting racial injustice. With our office still closed due to Covid-19, these are the steps we are starting with:

• Bridge Nine has started this off with a $500 donation to Campaign Zero, an organization advocating local, state, and federal policy solutions to address police violence.

• We are opening the Bridge Nine vault and auctioning off 17 test pressings from our catalog, with 100% of proceeds going directly to Campaign Zero. The auction begins Friday, June 5th and concludes Tuesday, June 9th. Check out @B9auction on IG and comment your highest bid on the record of your choice, or email an offer to b9auction@gmail.com

• We will be donating 100% of all Friday, June 5th Bandcamp sales to Campaign Zero.

This is only the first step in our efforts, but the next step will be working together with our bands, vendors, and music industry colleagues to examine how we can further these necessary actions. There is a "Contact Us" form on the Bridge Nine website - I encourage your ideas and feedback on how this label as well as the hardcore punk community can come together to support real change.

DYS announce UK / European tour this summer

Boston hardcore legends DYS are heading to the UK and Europe this summer! Catch one of the dates below:

5 August 2020 - London Amersham Arms UK
6 August 2020 - Blackpool Rebellion Festival UK
7 August 2020 - Leeds Bloodstains Festival UK
8 August 2020 - Duffel Brakrock Festival BEL
9 August 2020 - Eindhoven Blue Collar NL
10 August 2020 - Wiesbaden Schlachthof GER
11 August 2020 - Berlin Wild At Heart GER
12 August 2020 - Hamburg Monkey's GER
13 August 2020 - Leipzig Spirit Festival GER
15 August 2020 - Francavilla al Mare Frantic Festival ITA

Death Before Dishonor premiere new video for "Freedom Dies"; Kick off west coast tour with Madball tonight

Death Before Dishonor have launched a brand new music video for “Freedom Dies”, a track off of their new album ‘Unfinished Business’. Make sure to catch DBD on their west coast tour with Madball and Section H8, which kicks off tonight.

Death Before Dishonor tour dates:
Feb. 25 - Fresno, CA @ Strummer’s w/ Madball, Section H8
Feb. 26 - San Diego, CA @ Brick by Brick w/ Madball, Section H8
Feb. 27 - Los Angeles, CA @ 1720 w/ Madball, Section H8
Feb. 28 - Bakersfield, CA @ Jerry’s Pizza & Pub w/ Madball, Section H8
Feb. 29 - Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction w/ Madball, Section H8
March 1 - Berekely, CA @ 924 Gilman w/ Madball, Section H8
March 3 - Seattle, WA @ Highline Bar
March 4 - Portland, OR @ Dante’s
March 5 - Sacramento, CA @ Den of Sin

XXX Fanzine Issue No.4 Digitized; Featuring Circle Jerks, Suicidal Tendencies, Husker Du, and more

We've digitized the original issue #4 of Mike Gitter’s xXx Fanzine! This issue features Circle Jerks, Suicidal Tendencies, Husker Du, Peace Corpse, and additional content that did not make the book. You can read issue #4 in its entirety HERE. xXx Fanzine founder Mike Gitter had the following to say about this issue...

Cranked out at the end of Hardcore ‘83’s high tide, xXx #4 was a fanzine poised on promise, but was still the product of an ambitious high school senior on his way to, well, “getting there”. The cut-and-paste layouts, the rudimentary writing and yet-to-be half-toned Paul Johnson photos (printed in the St. John’s Prep photo class darkroom) marked xXx as little more than another Boston area zine cribbing its inspiration off local stapled-together brethren like Suburban Punk (later, Suburban Voice), Frontal Assault and local HC bible, Forced Exposure. Based on where xXx was at, at that point in history, you shouldn’t be reading this some 35 years later. But I digress.

Not that issue #4 didn’t have its highpoints. There were the interviews – hardly Playboy-worthy profiles, but “not bad” as fanzine interrogations went. There were notables to be found like Pomona's Peace Corpse, but we we also walked in the shadow of future titans. For example, Bob, Grant and Greg from Husker Du were happy to oblige an interview in parking lot of The Channel at their second Boston area gig with SST labelmates, The Minutemen. Where the Huskers’ inaugural Boston gig at Maverick’s earlier in the year was a blur of rampant speed and roughshod melodies, pulling largely from the Twin Cities trio’s then binary salvos of Land Speed Record and Everything Falls Apart, their December 1983 Beantown gig - touring on the back of their landmark Metal Circus EP - gave the still hardcore-inclined, pre-“college-rock” era fans of Husker Du a taste of the Zen Circus come.

Outside of the Black Flag/SST Records axiom, Suicidal Tendencies’ Mike Muir might have been one of the most “hardcore” and hardest working personalities out there, carving a lane that even today pledges its allegiance to no one but the Suicidal Army. When ST unleashed their self-titled Frontier Records debut it was a shock to the system in a way few then-recent records, since maybe “Damaged”, had been. Suicidal had the total package. They were an anomaly and a success in spite of - and because of – themselves. For starters, Suicidal had a dangerous street rep spelt out in the pages of scene bibles like Flipside. Songs like “I Shot Reagan”  “Institutionalized” scaled heights no one imagined and ended up as KROQ radio semi-hits.  Then there were the Glen E. Friedman shots of Suicidal Tendencies’ crew decked out in Ric Clayton’s hand-drawn Sucidal Cyco button-ups on the back of that record. They had a crew of Venice vatos that were a Suicidal Nation unto themselves. Mike Muir put in the work: playing and promoting gigs as well as scrawling out plenty of “through the mail” interviews to spread the Suicidal gospel  (which involved physically slapping and stamp on an envelope and heading to the post office) -  one of which he was nice enough to do for that issue of xXx.

Now with a spate of reunion gigs, including a US re-debut at Punk Rock Bowling, announced as pen this intro-screed for xXx#4, the Circle Jerks’ place in punk and hardcore history is indisputable. Paul Johnson’s cover shot of Keith Morris wagging his tongue at a Channel crowd in late 1983 is pure, point-perfect punk attitude. Interviewed in the back dressing room of the South Boston waterfront club, the Jerks were on a high at the time, ploughing across America supporting their Golden Shower of Hits LP with a lineup that’s amongst their strongest to date with the rhythm section of Saccharine Trust giant Earl Liberty on bass and drum legend Chuck Biscuits supporting Keith and guitarist Greg Hetson.  Confronted by a teenaged xXx editor, the ever-affable Keith was good enough to endure questions about comparing the Jerks with his legendary stint as OG frontdude for Black Flag, as well as the usual queries about “the scene”. Now, 36 years later, it’s great to see the Jerks are back – at least for the moment.

Flipping through these pages, it’s plain to see that xXx #4 was a solid cross-section of a scene about to shift. Bands were cresting, putting out their finest and starting to think about calling it quits ala Minor Threat and the Misfits, both of whom played their last shows in the Fall of that year. The “Best of 1983” list contained the likes of Youth Brigade’s Sound & Fury, Scream’s Still Screaming, DYS’ Brotherhood and a lil’ classic from Minor Threat called Out of Step.  That issue also contained reviews of future classics from The Faith, Crucifix, Stranglehold and a pulverizing platter called Earth AD by the Misfits, just  to name a few. Add to that a few bona-fide ads (mostly paid for with record trades) including Deep Wound, advertising their Radiobeat Records EP and Jerry’s Kids announcing their landmark Is This My World? LP, it felt like the fledgling xXx may be getting it together.

- Mike Gitter

January 2020

Agnostic Front announce east coast tour with Sick Of It All

The Godfather’s Of Hardcore themselves, Agnostic Front, will be hitting the east coast this Spring with fellow NYHC legends Sick Of It All. Tickets for all shows go on sale January 31st @ 10am local time.

Agnostic Front / Sick Of It All — 2020 Tour Dates
4/23/2020 Boston, MA @ The Middle East
4/24/2020 Quebec City, QUE @ Le D’Auteull
4/25/2020 Montreal, QUE @ Foufounes Electrique
4/26/2020 Toronto, ONT @ Lee’s Palace
4/27/2020 Detroit, MI @ The Shelter
4/28/2020 Pittsburgh, PA @ Crafthouse
4/29/2020 Virginia Beach, VA @ Elevation 27
5/01/2020 Charlotte, NC @ Epicenter Festival
5/02/2020 Louisville, KY @ Diamond Pub
5/03/2020 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
5/04/2020 St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill
5/06/2020 Austin, TX @ Barracuda
5/07/2020 Dallas, TX @ Trees
5/08/2020 Houston, TX @ White Oak Upstairs
5/10/2020 Daytona, FL @ Rockville Festival
5/11/2020 Atlanta, GA @ The Loft
5/13/2020 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
5/14/2020 Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
5/15/2020 Syracuse, NY @ The Lost Horizon

Slapshot announce European tour celebrating 35 years

Slapshot has announced European tour dates this spring to commemorate 35 years of hardcore. The tour kicks off May 18th in Milan, IT

H2O announce West Coast dates with Gorilla Biscuits

H2O will be hitting the West Coast in March supporting Gorilla Biscuits. They will be joined by Urban Sprawl, Overtime, and Tuck Knee on select dates. The tour kicks off in Denver on March 26th.