For those of you who were unable to attend the MDF this year, I went on Day 3 and caught a few bands and kept my Twitter buzzin’ throughout the day until I crapped out after BLACK BREATH’s killer set. Check out all the posts at http://twitter.com/pastepunk

We got a lot of love from the Twitterverse of the guy wearing a JUDGE tee and drinking a Natty Boh (thanks to the intrepid retweeters at the Org)!

We’ll be back in a bit. Huzzah.

Germany’s FEET FIRST are a big, bruising five-piece metallic hardcore band that signs in both English and German. It’s interesting mix, made more complex by the band featuring two prominent vocalists, one who sings and shouts with a substantial amount of hip-hop flow, and the other taking to the front with death metal growls (reminds me of a bunch of Erie PA hardcore bands from the 90s, or the grimy works of 25 TA LIFE/COMMIN’ CORRECT). Several songs from the band’s latest release, Heaven. Home. Hell., can be streamed on their MySpace page.

Raise your hand if you thought that INTEGRITY would be around for more than 20 years. In a puzzling, unpredictable, and yet still-mostly-awesome career arc, the legendary hardcore band continues to reinvent itself every few years when all of the right creative energies align. When the band released To Die For almost seven years ago [...]

Victory Records has dramatically increased its metal presence over the last few years, and it is back again with a new free MP3 sampler just before Memorial Day. This year’s edition includes brand new songs from SISTER SIN, ILL NINO, ALL OUT WAR, CORPUS CHRISTI, GRAVE MAKER, PATHOLOGY, and WRETCHED, and relatively recently material from OTEP, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, TAPROOT, EMMURE, CARNIFEX, DESTROPHY, and more. The first half is up for download today, with the rest on Friday (requires Tweet, Facebook post, or email list sign up).

SAFETY WORD ORANGE – On Your Mark. Get Set. (Self-Released): These guys are a pop-punk band like CARTEL are a pop-punk band. You can hear the punk elements just barely in their sound, but the emphasis is truly on the pop aspect – the craftsmanship of the hooks, the rich textures in the guitars and vocals. “Refined” is what I hear in SAFETY WORD ORANGE… they’re not breaking any new ground, but just doing the best they can to perfect a very hard to perfect style. Lead vocalist Jason Mason has a big ol’ voice and the backing vocals are a plus. RIYL: THE DANGEROUS SUMMER, MAYDAY PARADE, ALL TIME LOW.

IMADETHISMISTAKE – Bow and Quiver (Bermuda-Mohawk Productions): Oddball emo/indie with occasional horns (a smooth saxophone and bratty french horn), and the distinctly awkward vocals of Kylewilliam Campol. The takeaway from Bow has to the spoken/sung vocals, which basically direct tone and tempo traffic on this full-length. Part slam-poet, part battered-crooner, Campol’s efforts amplify the quirky tics in the music, not unlike LOOK MEXICO colliding with an emo Beastie Boys… or something. Maybe it’s like Max Bemis trying to read words out of a book that has exploded into flames. When the band lets loose on “Weak Week,” it makes me wish they played fast more often.

IRON RAIN – Silent Sins EP (Panic Records): This came out in January but shouldn’t be off anyone’s radar just yet. The Chicago band delivers a knockout of 90s style metallic hardcore ala UNBROKEN, SLUGFEST, and HOPE CONSPIRACY. The screamy vocals are solid, but it’s the dead-on dynamic between the busy drumming and the crunchy, snarlin’ guitars that hold your attention. A little of dramatic atmospheric tension leaches in midway through the EP, adding to the heft of the moment, and allowing some rest between the rolling waves of punches. Great band name too.

OCTAVES – Greener Pastures (Hotfoot Records): Hotfoot has been on a tear lately with quality releases from KILLS AND THRILLS, RENAE, and now one from Baltimore’s OCTAVES. Greener Pastures doesn’t take genre-classification easily, like most modern hardcore/screamo bands, and the songwriting lacks a linear vision (which isn’t a bad thing, mind you… unless you’re waiting for the breakdown, and it never comes…). EVERY TIME I DIE seems like an obvious influence, but OCTAVES pack more chaos and whirlwind energy, or at least make me think about ETID before they become a professional rock band.

Richmond, Virginia’s FIRE & ICE have been around for a little more than two years now and feature former members of IRON BOOTS. The band’s main influence comes from early NYHC, when the vocals were still fairly decipherable, and mild undercurrent of groove packed an extra punch. The band has released two 7″s, Gods and Devils, and Grim on Triple B Records, and the label is currently taking pre-orders on a CD digipak with both 7″s plus additional material.

July 13th will etch itself into a day of awesomeness with Hydra Head’s releasing of a ISIS/MELVINS split 12″ and a split 10″ from TORCHE/BORIS too. The former features a previously unreleased ISIS song as well as the song “Way Through Woven Branches,” the Japanese bonus track to Wavering Radiant. For the MELVINS, its two songs from their most recent full-length, but reworked and “highly altered.” The four songs overall clock in around 24 minutes.

TORCHE and BORIS contribute one song apiece, with TORCHE’s being their first shot of new material since their breakthrough Meanderthal full-length. BORIS’ track is a 12 minute noise/space/metal mindmasher… and we would likely expect nothing less from these Japanese all-stars. Check out Hydra Head’s site more info.