MADBALL Sets It off!

The Kings of New York Hardcore played a mean set at The Studio at Webster Hall on December 19th. The Hardcore titans celebrated the release of their latest offering “Empire” (released on October 10th), as part of the "East Coast Empire tour". Joining Madball were openers Incendiary, Lionheart and Bitter End. This was the last show of the tour.

As soon as Freddy Cricien, Hoya Roc, Mitts, and fill-in drummer Ben Dussault (ex-Throwdown) stepped on stage, the crowd went wild. The "kids" were hungry for some Hardcore, the real deal Hardcore that has been Madball's trademark since 1988. Madball performed a devastating set that had the whole floor shaking like an earthquake.

Despite of flaws from the sound guy at the beginning of the set, the action was non-stop. From the moment they kicked off their set with their classic song "Set It Off" (which you can view below), all the way to their classic staple shout "Hardcore Still Lives", Madball brought the beat-down. Freddy Madball and company know their roots and their fan base, proof of this is when they sing in Spanish, these tracks always sound the hardest! Just saying.

The new tracks from "Empire" were very well-received and had the audience singing and swinging hard, specially to "All or Nothing" (the band recently recorded a video for this song in Brooklyn), and "R.A.H.C. (Real American Hardcore)": an instant anthem that hopefully will stick to their already violently classic setlist.

Madball have nothing to prove at this point in their career. Their music and legacy speaks for itself. The bruisers live, and they won’t go out without a fight.

We want to thank Madball for so many years of amazing music, and for supporting Horns Up Rocks since day 1! Huge shout-out to Cuz Joe from Black N Blue Productions for putting this epic show together! \m/



Related links:
Madball
Black N Blue Productions

INKED by Javier Samaniego

BLACKDIAMONDSKYE at Madison Square Garden

On Friday night, Madison Square Garden welcomed the "BLACKDIAMONDSKYE" tour. The national tour features Alice In Chains, deftones and Mastodon. A lineup that is simply unmatched by any tour thus far in 2010. Both 3 bands represent different times in music, in which they have managed to become huge influences on many bands thanks to their statuses as flag holders. As we all know, Madison Square Garden is the dream venue for any musician to perform at, and Alice In Chains, deftones and Mastodon all made history together. Let us tell you about this magical night.

Earlier this year, we ran into Mastodon's singer/bassist Troy Sanders and drummer Brann Dailor at the Slipknot show at Madison Square Garden and told them: "You guys will be on that stage very soon!" Both of them sighed and smiled. Fast forward 7 months and they are opening the "BLACKDIAMONDSKYE" tour at the worlds largest arena. Thankfully we arrived just as Mastodon were starting their set with their song "Naked Burn", and we were very happy to witness this historical event. Mastodon warmed up the crowd with songs like "Divinations" and "Colony of Birchmen". The band kept blowing peoples minds throughout their 8 song set, which was concluded with "Blood and Thunder".


Then it was time for Sacramento's deftones to take over center stage at Madison Square Garden. From the get-go the band was on point and Chino looked and sounded phenomenal. It was evident that Chino needed to change his lifestyle in order to improve his performance-ship and after hearing members of the crowd say: "The deftones are back, Chino is definitely back!" It was evident that the band is in fact, back in style.

They opened their set with "Rocket Skates" and got the crowd grooving, then they got into Around the Fur mode and played "Around the Fur", "Be Quiet and Drive", and "My Own Summer". After a few new songs from their latest album "Diamond Eyes", the band played all the crowds favorites like "Change (In The House of Flies)", "Engine No. 9" and they left in a very high note after playing "7 Words". The deftones owned Madison Square Garden, and we expect them back within the next few years on their own headlining tour.

Then it was time for Alice In Chains to headline Madison Square Garden. As many of us know they are missing their original front-man Layne Staley, who died in 2002 from an overdose. In our opinion they have proved all skeptics wrong, and Alice In Chains did justice by bringing in William DuVall to replace Staley. Any doubt doubt anyone had on his performance before their performance, was quickly washed away by his amazing performance-ship and original stage antics.


The band kicked off their set with "Them Bones", which immediately made the crowd lose their minds. During the next hour and a half, Alice In Chains performed songs like "No Excuses", "Down in a Hole", "Rooster", "Man In The Box" and ended the amazing music night with "Would?". What impressed us the most about Alice In Chains, was the fact that all their older songs sounded timeless, their stage presence was intact and the light show was simple yet colorful.

If you get a chance to catch the "BLACKDIAMONDSKY" tour, do your ears a favor and take them to this sonically perfect tour.





Here is a clip of Alice In Chains opening with "Them Bones":


The Black Diamond Skye Tour:


Related links:
The Black Diamond Skye Tour
Official Site of Alice in Chains
Official Site of the deftones
Official Site of Mastodon

IMPRINTED by Jo Schüftan (Founder of Horns Up Rocks)

From Bliss to Devastation - Exclusive Interview and NEW songs!

From Bliss to Devastation is one of the most promising bands from the current batch of artists coming out from the New York area. Not only are they really cool guys but they are focusing on diversifying their music, without compromising their identity. We had a chance to interview the entire band backstage at The Gramercy/Blender Theater. Here are the results of that great chat! Enjoy!

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RELATED LINKS:
FBTD on MySpace

From Bliss to Devastation - Lost In Failure VIDEO (4-22-2010)

After running like a maniac from work to my place to grab all my stuff and from my place to the Gramercy Theater, I arrived as Long Island's From Bliss to Devastation was opening the "Wrath of Sanity" tour. I immediately ran inside and recorded some video of them rocking. Here is the band performing "Lost In Failure". Enjoy!



RELATED LINKS:
FBTD on MySpace