For the past four years, This Is Hardcore has been a shining example of what is good in the current punk and hardcore scene. This years lineup seems to be no exception and features reunions from GUNS UP, FLOORPUNCH, THE SUICIDE FILE, and REACH THE SKY. Epic. All the info and lineup as of now can be found below or at ThisIsHardcoreFest.com: August 14,15,16 PHILADELPHIA, PA Once again at the Starlight Ballroom/ Club Polaris 452-468 N.9th Street (between Callowhill & Spring Garden Sts.) Philadelphia, Pa 19123 BAD SEED BANE BITTER END BLACKLISTED COLDWORLD CONVICTED CRUEL HAND CUT IT OUT FLOORPUNCH FORCEFED GIVING CHASE GUNS U HAVE HEART HOODS KNOW THE SCORE LET DOWN MINDSET MOTHER OF MERCY MY TURN TO WIN PULLING TEETH REACH THE SKY REIGN SUPREME SHIPWRECK STRENGTH FOR A REASON SUICIDE FILE THE CARRIER THE KILLER THE MONGOLOIDS UNTIL THE END WISDOM IN CHAINS

Sure people still freak out about the decline of the music industry, but it seems like small mom & pop indie record stores are somehow still surviving and going strong. This saturday is “Record Store Day” and all your favorite stores are hopefully throwing big parties. You can check out the full list of events here, but our money is on the free in-store Bouncing Souls performance at Generation Records in New York City. Certainly not to be missed!

CONVERGE have been fairly quiet over the past year or so, but thankfully, the Massachusetts based supergroup is finally back with some new material. The group posted up a short video preview of their recording process and let me be the first to tell you: It’s heavy. Watch it here and check out CONVERGE on their short US tour starting next week. 03/23 – Allston, MA @ ICC Church w/ The Hope Conspiracy, Ceremony, Rise and Fall, Pulling Teeth, Coliseum 03/24 – Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place w/ Ceremony, Coliseum, Rise And Fall, Pulling Teeth 03/25 – Cleveland, OH @ The Grog Shop w/ Ceremony, Coliseum, Rise And Fall, Pulling Teeth 03/26 – Lemoyne, PA @ Championship w/ Ceremony, Rise and Fall, Pulling Teeth, Coliseum 03/27 – Brooklyn, NY @ Europa w/ Ceremony, Coliseum, Rise And Fall, Pulling Teeth 03/28 – Richmond, VA @ United Blood Festival w/ Ceremony, Coliseum, Rise And Fall, Pulling Teeth, and more 03/29 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Church w/ Ceremony, Pulling Teeth, Coliseum, Genghis Tron 05/01 – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean 10PM show w/ Indecision, Wait In Vain 05/01 – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean 6:30PM show w/ The Hope Conspiracy, Disnihil, Poison Planet, Boiling Over 05/03 – Chicago, IL @ Burning Fight Book Release w/ Unbroken, Threadbare, Reach The Sky

It’s like 2001 all over again! Check out the dates below: April 18, 2009 @ First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN April 19, 2009 @ People’s Court – Des Moines, IA April 20, 2009- April 21, 2009 @ Metro – Chicago, IL April 22, 2009 @ The Eagles Club – Milwaukee, WI April 24, 2009 @ Crocodile Rock – Allentown, PA April 25, 2009 @ Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ April 26, 2009 @ Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY April 28, 2009 @ Highline Ballroom – New York, NY April 29, 2009 @ Club Zoo – Pittsburgh, PA April 30, 2009 @ The Trocadero – Philadelphia, PA

Despite having just released the heavy, heavy Station last year, post-rockers RUSSIAN CIRCLES are hitting the studio again to record their follow up. Before they do, the duo will be rocking the Midwest and East Coast on a short jaunt to preview some new material and rock faces off with the old tunes. All dates includes SWEET COBRA and LICHENS, except May 1st, 2nd, and 3rd which will just feature RUSSIAN CIRCLES and LICHENS 4/22 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Mix Tape Cafe 4/23 – Indianapolis, IN @ Radio Radio 4/24 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick 4/25 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop 4/26 – Baltimore, MD @ The Ottobar 4/27 – Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell’s 4/28 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church 4/29 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Smiling Moose 4/30 – Louisville, KY @ Skull Alley 5/1 – Chicago, IL @ The Bottom Lounge 5/2 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club 5/3 – Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock

You think by now that fashion labels would have learned about a little thing called a “copyright” and that by ripping off one of the most revered bands in punk history, you may piss off a few people. The latest victim comes from Forever 21, who decided to re-appropriate the MINOR THREAT logo for use on their own designs. Real original, right? Check out the full brew-ha-ha over here and see the offending shirt.

Sure, it’s exciting that PAINT IT BLACK have new tunes coming out this year and sure it’s awesome that they’re now on Bridge 9. More importantly though, Dr. Dan and crew have set up a Twitter where you can follow all of their crazy antics. Where else can you see photos of band members shirtless in the van or read about exploding cars on the highway? Exactly.

The crappy state of MySpace’s proprietary player has been something people have been griping about every since it launched a few years ago. However, as of a couple of days ago, the social networking site quietly relaunched the next version of their player. The player now has a shiny new interface and (gasp!) actually works and lets you jump to various points in a song without crashing your browser! If you’re looking for some new music, I recommend checking out some of the new tracks that Silversun Pickups, Cursive, or Strung Out have posted.