Via MySpace: Motherbox is stoked to announce a new release we have slated for April! This CD will be a four-way split CD with each band doing seven songs. THE BRISTLES NJ Street/pogo punk with releases on Beer City…[around] since 1992 just like Motherbox… Seven brand new unreleased tracks. ALLEGED BRICKS These guys are from DC and play oi/street punk; they have five releases in their nine year existence, the last being on Street Anthem Records. Four unreleased songs and three songs only available on a 7″. THE TWENTY TWOS DC street punk band that released stuff on Motherbox and Submit back in the 90′s … awesome aggressive stuff that needed to be brought back out for the masses! Five songs from 7″s, and 2 unreleased songs. – I have huge amount of sentiment for THE BRISTLES who were one of the first “real” punk rock bands that I got into around 1994-1995. Their Generation Annihilation EP (Beer City) is a classic platter of obnoxious snot rock.

From the inbox: Founded by Ryan Patterson (Black Cross, National Acrobat) over a half decade ago, and since solidified by Mike Pascal and Chris Maggio, COLISEUM have grown to become today’s quintessential contemporary hardcore/punk band. Successfully melding their progressive musicianship, punk fervor, and vital political/social awareness into one intense vision. Originally based in straight-ahead hardcore and classic punk, Coliseum have continued to progress with each recorded effort. Before finding a permanent home on Relapse records in 2006, Coliseum released music on both Ryan’s own Auxiliary label, as well as on Level Plane Records. Coliseum’s first full length for Relapse, No Salvation, was released in the summer of 2007 and was met by praise from critics and kids alike. To celebrate the longtime friendship between Coliseum and Deathwish, we are proud to announce the upcoming release of Coliseum’s True Quiet / Last Wave 7″EP. Featuring artwork by friend John Dyer Baizely (Baroness, Kylesa, Cursed), True Quiet / Last Wave gives us the first taste of Coliseum’s evolution since 2007′s No Salvation. The hook laden A Side “True Quiet” takes hold with its all too familiar story of self imposed isolation, told to a dc influenced metallic jangle. While the percussively driven B Side “Last Wave” serves as a hair raising commentary on the ethical and economical darkness of our present day. Both songs collectively embodying the honest artistry that defines Coliseum at their very core. A new Coliseum album is due out on Relapse sometime in the future… – One of these days COLISEUM will set itself up for an arena rock joke…

Via MySpace: “It has been a while since we’ve posted an update and we have a lot of exciting news to announce. First, we’re mid-way through tracking our 2nd EP, Pigeonholed. This album has marked a new evolution for the band and we think this might some of the best work we’ve ever done. It’s faster, more technical, and a more refined sound. Whereas Atlas was an introspective album, this EP is the opposite – the subject matter revolves around the current political climate and how we’ve all been dealing with the instability going on in the world. It’s going to be getting mixed by Mark Michalik (The Swellers, Much the Same) and we’re really excited to see how it’s going to turn out. If you haven’t read about it, it will be yet another free EP but this time we’ll be pressing it on vinyl as well!” link: myspace.com/lipona – Anagrams of LIPONA includes “Nap Oil” and “Pal Ion.”

I liked these records. For this year I’m giving up on numerical designations, distinguishing between EPs and full lengths in year-end categories and hoping, hoping that hearing about why I liked each record is more useful to you. All of the discs are worth your purchase, but the higher up you go, the more closer [...]

Whenever I see the words “choices made,” I think back to the GOOD RIDDANCE song of the same name from Ballads from the Revolution (and also on the first volume to our “Broken Lamps and Hardcore Memories” compilation). I view that song to be archetypal of modern hardcore after the youth crew era of the [...]

WE CAME AS ROMANS! The bland progressive emo metal band joins the ranks of THE FALL OF TROY, HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, and the BOTCH album, We Are the Romans. The band could have redeemed themselves if they had an awesome profile picture, such as this figurine of A ROMAN WITH A FREAKIN’ LION ON A CHAIN LEASH! Now that’s Roman! It’s only 46 dollars and five cents in US currency, and 70 dollars in Australian currency! You can check out the WE CAME AS ROMANS not-as-exciting profile picture of a young boy standing in front of a flock of birds here..

Another snag from Punknews.org, some concert footage from Blake Schwarzenbach’s new band THE THORNS OF LIFE just surfaced on Youtube. Yipee! The video quality is awful – It’s too dark to see much of anything except a few stray heads and the occasional camera flash. The audio, however, sounds pretty awesome, and will provide diehard Blake fans something to slobber over before a true release. You can check out those videos here. Thanks for the hard work Youtube user Apecasual! And for those that need a brush up on their highschool Lit, here is a Percy Bysshe Shelley poem where – I’m guessing – the band got their name.

From the inbox: Eulogy Recordings will be releasing “THIS IS HARDCORE FEST” (DVD) on February 17, 2009. This DVD was documented by Floating Boy Media. Includes both live performances and interviews. ”Hopefully these 2 hours will keep you as excited as we are for next year’s festival”, says Joe Hardcore (Founder of This Is Hardcore Fest). This Is Hardcore 2008 was filmed live at the Starlight Ballroom, Philadelphia PA August 29 to the 31 2008. Three days of the most stage dives, sing-alongs and hardcore bands we could fit into a weekend. With this being our third year we wanted to once again not only outdo our previous efforts but continue to expand on the concept that helped us bring the fest to the light of day. We’ve done our best to fill each day with nothing but pure hardcore, be it legends like NJ’s VISION or reigning kings BLACKLISTED and COLD WORLD. We are really proud to offer such diversity and excitement to the awesome scene we have going today. It is our hope to shed light on some of the hardest working and up and coming acts growing today as well as some old favorites coming back into the light. This Is Hardcore was 1000 plus kids being able to see the best and brightest and show their support without the interference of barricades or bouncers, yet still have all the bells and whistles of the big club setting. This year has been documented by our good friends at Floating Boy Media and graciously released by the mighty Eulogy Recordings. In releasing this DVD we hope to showcase the amazing scene that we’ve have today and also hope to shed light on the fest for those of you who couldn’t make the trip. Track Listing: Death Before Dishonor “Never Again” Blacklisted “Eye For An Eye”, “That Aint Real Much” Strength For A Reason ” Looking Back” Alpha Omega “Devils Bed” My Turn To Win “Best Goalie Ever” Vision “The Kids”, “Falling Apart” Brain Dead “Guilt and Shame” Poverty Bay Saints (“Six Pack”) Know the Score “Red Sox Nation My Ass”, “Ex Members Of I Don’t Give A Fuck”, “Safety In Numbers” The Mongoloids “Time Trials” Ceremony ” Throwing Bricks”, ” I Want To Put This To An End” No Turning Back “Stay Away” Comeback Kid “Wake The Dead” Cold World ” Cold World”, “Low Places” Fahrenheit 451 “Bring Yourself” “Shall Be Judged” Reign Supreme “Iscariot” “Still Unbroken” Down To Nothing “Skate or Die”, “Home Sweet Home”, “Smash It” Trapped Under Ice “Reality Unfolds”, “Skeleton Heads” Killing the Dream “Thirty Four Seconds”, “Still Unbroken” Deathcycle “Suffer” Maximum Penality “Life and Times”, “Acceptance” Violation “Stranglehold” Convicted “Cages” Ensign “Never Give In” Let Down “Never Again”, “Aggravation” Paint it Black “Atticus Fink”, “We Will Not” 100 Demons “Never Surrender”, “Forsaken” Wisdom In Chains “Dragging me Down”, “Land of Kings” Terror “Always the Hard Way”, “Keep Your Mouth Shut”