Recommend by the fellas in LIPONA, New Bedford, Massachussettes’ HALF HEARTED HERO vibrantly deliver speedball melodicore in the vein of bands like RUFIO, THE FULLBLAST, and any one of the NOFX-inspired bands of the late 90s. The group will be releasing their new full-length Defining.Refining on June 1st, on Fastlife/Set Sail/Farewell Party Records (sounds like a European release!). I highly recommend checking out the band’s new material on their MySpace page.

- I think this is my first repeat entry for a “Release of the Day.” It truly is hard to believe that this is a 20 song collection that’s a mish-mash of splits, EPs and b-sides, and not a perfectly conceived and executed full-length album. Pick it up from Suburban Home Records right now for $5.

Before POISON THE WELL embarks as one of the main attractions on the “10 for $10 Hardcore Summer Tour”, the group will be playing a series of shows with SILVERSTEIN, THE SLEEPING, and OCEANA. Here are the dates:

6.23 Toledo, OH @ Headliners
6.25 Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre
6.26 Fargo, ND @ Aquarium
6.29 Omaha, NE @ Sokol Underground
6.30 Des Moines, IA @ People’s Court
7.3 Indianapolis, IN @ Emerson Theatre

I find myself very torn about this discography being compiled and released.  First off, CIV’s Set Your Goals has been among my favorite records since it’s release in 1995 (and I often can be heard debating that the album’s hardcore songs are some of the best ever written), but the follow-up Thirteen Day Getaway disappointed [...]

Metal Blade metallers JOB FOR A COWBOY have a brand new song titled “Unfurling a Darkened Gospel,” streaming here. The tune is from their upcoming full-length, Ruination, which is the follow-up to their breakout 2007 recording Genesis.

Hardcore bands and major labels still make strange bedfellows. There always seems to be a tension in the setup that has the band trying to sound selectively heavier, while the typically glossy recording quality tugs in the opposite direction. Why do labels insist in having producers and mixers like GGGarth and Andy Wallace turn their [...]

1. NINJA GUN will be supporting FAKE PROBLEMS on a three week tour in late July and early August. Suburban Home has posted an album stream of NINJA GUN’s full-length, Restless Rubes, here.

2. Speaking of streams, TAKING BACK SUNDAY’s fourth full-length, New Again, is playing briefly on the band’s MySpace page. New Again marks the band’s second release for Warner Brothers.

3. Issue Oriented Podcast Episode 43 is out now. This one features host Ronen Kauffman talking it up with Chris Wollard (HOT WATER MUSIC, THE DRAFT), and Pulin Modi of PETA2.

4. GOD FORBID video for “War of Attrition”

New York hardcore veterans KILLING TIME have posted three “sample” tracks from their upcoming full-length Three Steps Back. This will be the band’s first studio recording in 12 years, since the 1997 release of The Method on Blackout Records. You can check out the songs here.