From the inbox:

Blues/Punk duo, MELISSA & PAUL just posted a new song for free download on their Bandcamp page. You can stream/download it below. Live Hard, their upcoming 6 song 10″ is slated for release in April on Gruff Beard Records/Bedside Manner Collective. There will also be a very limited run of tapes on Star Beat Music. “Summer” is not on the upcoming album; the duo merely wanted to release something nice as they wait for the records to be pressed.

- Liking this a lot; unique, sharply delivered female vocals…

- From CODE ORANGE KIDS to ALL AMERICAN REJECTS… Song is from the band’s upcoming album Kids In The Street, out March 26th. Catchy, but seems kind of busy with too many moving parts…

- Deathwish announced their signing of these guys last week. Cycles was released in October 2011 via MayFly Records. Intense stuff, kind of reminds me of a short(er) song take on MAJORITY RULE.

- Great quote from guitarist Ade Mulgrew on the video, “It’s an old school buried-alive-in-coffin concept…”

• HIT THE LIGHTS – Invicta
• BLEEDING THROUGH – The Great Fire
• THE BIG SLEEP – Nature Experiments
• TS & THE PAST HAUNTS – Gone and Goner
• ASTRAL DOORS – Jerusalem

From the inbox:

Hollister, California-based metal/hardcore crossover LEADERS have joined the Facedown family. Before going through a line-up and name change in 2011, Leaders shared the stage with Flyleaf, Blindside, and Brian “Head” Welch as ALLORNOTHING. Now, Leaders are storming onto the hardcore and metal scenes with their powerful debut album Now We Are Free. Comprised of 10 tracks engineered by Zack Ohren at Castle Ultimate Studios (As Blood Runs Black, All Shall Perish, In the Midst of Lions), Now We Are Free blends metal and hardcore influences seamlessly and is a must have album for fans of Hatebreed and Living Sacrifice.

Leaders will be taking their live show on the road and will be on tour for all of 2012. The band describes their live shows as “powerful, intimate, and real. With enough character and groove to the rhythm that it makes you want to move.” Now, they look forward to touring with a solid line-up and new music. “We love to give it our all when we play shows so that everyone can see the passion we have.”

Leaders will release Now We Are Free, their debut full length with Facedown Records on March 27, 2012, but you can hear the first single “Conviction” via Facebook.

- I should have given this full-length more attention in 2011…

Earlier in the week AbsolutePunk’s Jason Tate put together a retrospective on his favorite Drive-Thru Records releases. While the label was one of the biggest lightning rods for debate during its prime existence, it’s hard to argue with the influence and impact it left on pop-punk during the early 2000s (for better or for worse). The words Hit or Miss feels incredibly appropriate here. Jason put together an Rdio playlist in support of the article, which is probably the best “Greatest Hits” style for the label ever assembled.