Comeback Kid have announced themselves as back in the house with their latest full length release “Symptoms + Cures“, another incredibly powerful collection of 11 songs which do not let you down as an avid fan of the group. Currently on yet another massive world tour, make sure you get to see these guys live and check out this record – it’s just plain good!

» check out Comeback Kid and their tour dates on MySpace

Ice Age is not yet another band which has popped up out of nowhere – they consist of current and former members of This Is Hell and The Backup Plan so if you like this direction of music, then you know that you are in for a treat. This first full length release is great from beginning to end – no boring songs that you want to skip: metal/hardcore/punk all mixed into one big explosion which already has me hooked!

For whatever reason I just couldn’t get the music embeded for Ice Age so head over to one of the two links below for some streaming music:

» Ice Age’s latest album “Dead Kings” streaming on Punknews.org
» Ice Age on MySpace

Since I’ve got a bit more time on my hands and I’ve been wanting to push this part of Europeskate for a long time, I’ll be investing more time in posting bands and musicians on the site beside the usual delivery of skateboard related news.

Kicking it off this week is the loud, guitar-filled, tight-riffed band “Kills And Thrills” out of Long Island, New York. They released their second record entitled “Liars” just this year and I really like what I’m hearing!

» Kills And Thrills MySpace page

CRUEL HAND is the latest band I want to let you know about and I am SOOO happy to have finally discovered these guys. East Coast hardcore all the way from Maine and if you are a bit lucky you will be able to see them live on their current massive tour – right now on their way to Europeskate’s home town Hamburg, Germany so I’m going to get a few mates together for a good evening out this coming Sunday (August 1st 2010)!

With the their third album entitled “Lock & Key” about to be released, be ready for this onslaught of massive metallic riffs and throathy vocals which will get just about any gig rocking in minutes! CRUEL HAND is Chris – Vocals, Nate – Guitar, Cam – Guitar, Jeremy – Drums, Seger – Bass. Listen in to the latest album stream below.

» Cruel Hand on MySpace
» Bridge Nine Records – Cruel Hand page

New week and tons of new music – getting it started off this week is the band Noise By Numbers – here’s some basic info about the band from Jim DeRogatis before you get to dive in and let your ears enjoy the vibrations:

“Though two of its members have much higher-profile pedigrees — Dan “Vapid” Schafer has played in Screeching Weasel and the Riverdales, as well as leading the Methadones, and Jeff Dean is in the Bomb — their new collaboration, Nosie By Numbers, with bassist Rick Uncapher (Textbook) and drummer Jimmy Lucido could easily be overlooked outside the punk underground, and that would be a shame. Noise By Numbers draws inspiration from the fertile ’80s indie-rock scene of Husker Du, the Replacements, Dinosaur Jr. and their ilk as well as classic Chicago punk sounds like Naked Raygun and the Effigies to inject a heaping dose of sing-along melody into every propulsive and hard-hitting groove, making for an instantly familiar yet somehow distinctive and fresh-sounding formula.”

The long awaited debut album from These Monsters ‘Call Me Dragon’ was recorded at Foel Studios, Wales with Chris Fielding (Electric Wizard, The Klaxons, Napalm Death) and it demonstrates a completely original, guitar-driven group of musicians that are a pleasure for the ears. With their usage of large vintage amplifiers, loads of drums and high energy live gigs, These Monsters deliver a sound that will envelope you and they are developing a reputation as one of the most exciting underground bands in Great Britain today.

They are currently on tour with Coheed and Cambria through the UK so if you like what you hear, here are the gig dates:

9 July 2010 Leeds Brudenell Social Club
10 July 2010 Bradford Zuu Bar
12 July 2010 London The Lexington
13 July 2010 Brighton The Freebutt
14 July 2010 Bristol The Croft
15 July 2010 Reading Play
17 July 2010 2000 Trees Festival

I’ve attached a video and some of the These Monsters MySpace songs for your pleasure + the These Monsters ‘Call Me Dragon’ track listing:

1) Call Me Dragon
2) Dirty Messages
3) Who Is This Tall Sick Man
4) Biggie and Tupac
5) Harry Patton
6) Space Ritual
7) Deaf Machine

» These Monsters Facebook page
» These Monsters MySpace page

Pretty hard to find any information about Dead Mechanical out of Baltimore, Maryland but they have just brought out their second full-length album entitled “Addict Rhythms”, 12 song record which takes a few spins to get in your head the right way and then you just want to keep listening. Let us know what you think and maybe they’ll find a way to make it over the Atlantic to play in Europe!

Tracklist for Addict Rhythms:

01. Addict Rhythm (2:19)
02. Sidewalks (2:13)
03. Baltimore Calling (3:27)
04. Feathered Creatures (1:05)
05. Film At Forever (2:53)
06. Watchpost (3:04)
07. Last Show (2:03)
08. A World Of Mistakes (2:03)
09. All These Weathermen (2:19)
10. Binghamton Calling (2:57)
11. Pictures In The Hall (2:45)
12. Under The Leaves (3:18)

» Keep up with Dead Mechanicals on their MySpace site

I have another great band for you today – Disaster Strikes! Boston’s most politically-active and inspirational hardcore punk band is back with a scorching vinyl 7″ record preachin against corporate greed and imperial politics!

Forged in collaboration with two East Coast underground legends – Producer Richard Marr (Toxic Narcotic, A Global Threat) and Engineer Jeff Lipton (Dropkick Murphys, Dead Milkmen, Sebadoh) – “The Interrogation Sessions EP” by Disaster Strikes also features new Disaster Strikes guitarist and Boston transplant Josh Sawhill, formerly of SoCal hardcore heavyweights All or Nothing HC.

» Check out the Disaster Strikes website

Looking for new bands is always a good way for me to spend an evening, listening to what the web world has to offer – the amount of new bands is staggering but it does have a lot of positive side effects.

My latest tip is “The Damned Things” – a band which has been mixed together with members from The Fall Out Boy, Anthrax(!) and Every Time I Die. Yeah, that’s what I first thought: what a combination and I was not disappointed. These guys have two songs out right now on their MySpace site and are currently on their European tour. I’m craving for more! Listen in and have a read through their band bio below:

With members of Anthrax (Scott Ian, Rob Caggiano), Every Time I Die (Keith Buckley), and Fall Out Boy (Joe Trohman, Andy Hurley), The Damned Things are undoubtedly a musical force to be reckoned with.

While each individual in the band has experienced their own successes, The Damned Things’ debut Island/Def Jam album, which combines their love of classic rock anthems and powerful melodies with a heavy metal intensity, turns out to be much more than the sum of the separate parts.

Once you hear songs like “We’ve Got a Situation Here” (“I’ve been waiting patiently/For the crowd to gather… I don’t ask for much/But I want what I can’t afford”), “Black Heart,” a laid-back break beat rhythm with a prog-rock tinged bridge, and “A Great Reckoning,” a song Ian says “reminds me everyday why I got into Rock music in the first place.”, it’s hard to believe The Damned Things haven’t been playing together most of their lives.

“This is an amalgam of three very different bands,” explains Fall Out Boy guitarist Joe Trohman, who was first introduced to Anthrax’s Scott Ian three years ago, when the two became fast friends and immediately began writing together. “It seemed unlikely, but it turned out we were on the same page musically. We were both interested in putting together a heavy/classic-rock, blues-oriented, riff-based band while trying to stay away from what makes that sound generic and overplayed.”

Alumni of their own pre-Fall Out Boy metal groups, Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley began collaborating with Anthrax’s Ian and, eventually, his bandmate, guitarist Rob Caggiano.

“We started out with no expectations,” says Trohman. “We never intended for this to be a side project. It just happened.”

“We’re trying not to over-think it,” chimes in Ian. “Nobody’s arm is being twisted to be here. We’re just doing it as we go along, and this is the natural progression. […] We’re able to do things exactly how we want to do them by keeping it simple and comfortable for everyone.”

The final piece of the puzzle was getting Every Time I Die vocalist Keith Buckley on board. Trohman, a big fan of the singer, had been friends with him for a couple of years. While he and Scott were listening to an Every Time I Die CD in the car, Ian urged him to contact Buckley and see if he would be interested in joining them.

“The opportunity came at the right time,” says Buckley, who also contributes lyrics. “I had a desire to do something a little different. To be able to come together to challenge, not only us, but also the fans of our bands, seemed too exciting to pass up. This allowed me to take some elements from Every Time I Die and expound on them. I’ve just sort of reversed the ratio of singing to screaming. But anyone who’d been listening to our last few albums had realized that this was a vocal style that I was interested in exploring.”

With Trohman and Caggiano handling the production duties, the group began writing and recording songs mostly in Brooklyn, Chicago, and Buffalo (where Buckley resides). The template began to take shape, combining those elements of classic rock with the heavier aspects of Anthrax and Every Time I Die, and the hook-laden choruses of Fall Out Boy.

“We’ve Got a Situation Here” is probably the best example of The Damned Things’ hybrid approach.

“Musically, it’s a good representation of the band,” says Trohman. “It has the sludgy riffs, but there’s a catchy chorus, a tempo change breakdown, and some leads/solos. There’s a real bluesy feel to the verses. [It’s] everything the group stands for.”

“It represents what I love to do,” nods Ian. “I love playing guitar, writing songs and performing shows. This is just another outlet to do that. It didn’t start out that way, but it’s turned into something much bigger, which is really exciting, considering we created this out of thin air three years ago.”

According to Buckley, The Damned Things name was inspired by the lyrics in Ram Jam’s ‘70s version of Ledbelly’s “Black Betty.”

As for his own lyrics, Keith says he’s concentrating on being less oblique, though he writes about the same conflicts: how to reconcile his home life with that of a touring musician. “The words are a little less heady or ethereal, more personal, wide-reaching and straight-forward than Every Time I Die,” he says. “I’m expressing the same ideas, but more clearly and explicitly with a broader scope, less heavy and metaphorical. I’m surprising even myself. It’s showing me a side of myself I honestly didn’t know I had. I’m getting emotions out I wasn’t even aware of. You can’t dance around what you’re trying to say when you’re this personal.”

While they’ve all experienced a degree of success, every member of The Damned Things acts like there’s something still to prove, and part of the exhilaration of it is starting over, going back to the reasons they first started playing music.

“I feel like I’m giving birth,” laughs Trohman. “It’s painful and necessary at the same time for me to get this record made. It’s really coming together the way I envisioned it in my head.”

“This is still all so new to us,” says Scott. “There’s no baggage yet. We’re still very much in the honeymoon period. I remember what it was like to be in Anthrax back in 1984. It’s just really exciting to get to do that again. I’m in a new band again. It’s a blast.”

And now, The Damned Things get set to take their show on the road. After a debut show at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn in June (“Right across the street from where we recorded most of the album,” says Joe), the group will head over to Europe and hit the van for the Download Festival with Rage Against the Machine at Donington Park in the U.K. and more.

“It’s all about playing these new songs for people,” says Trohman. “It doesn’t matter that we’re in Fall Out Boy, Anthrax or Every Time I Die. To most of the audience, this will be a new band. They might think they know what to expect, but when they hear it, they’ll be surprised.”

“I can’t wait to find out what kind of band this is going to be live,” says Keith. “Once we get on-stage, there this aura, mood and energy.”

“What these shows are going to be like, I have no idea,” admits Scott. “I don’t think it will be hard for us to go on-stage and have it look and feel like a band. That’s the last thing I’m worried about at this point.”

Three years in the making, The Damned Things are ready to play for you.

“We’re all really psyched about this,” enthuses Joe. “This is a refreshing change of pace for all of us. It definitely helps that we like each other. And maybe when we go back to our regular bands, it will be better for us as individuals and for the music.”

“All of us came together as people and musicians incredibly smoothly,” marvels Scott. “If we had to force any of the parts, this wouldn’t have happened. It was kind of like our dream scenario…but it actually worked. It’s one of those few and far between situations that I’ve ever found myself in.”

The Damned Things. It’s not what you think.

Rainy outside today and I have a day off (yeah, another German holiday) so I’m checking out bands I haven’t heard of much before like I do once and a while. Today I seem to be in a melodic punk mood as the guys from “The Real Danger” out of Rotterdam, The Netherlands have really made it into my skull while I’m typing away on my laptop. Easy going music, no frills, just straight forward easy listening music with some good vocals and a band that backs it up well. Listen in to some of their latest efforts right here and I’ve thrown in a video clip as well.

Oh yeah, they have an upcoming release of their second full-length album, ‘Making Enemies’. The album consists of 11 brand new songs, a re-recording of the song ‘Someday soon’ and a cover song as well. A total of 13 songs. Let’s see if also head over towards Hamburg?

» The Real Danger website
»