Playing Hardball With Madball
Until recently New York's Madball were just a memory amongst the hardcore community until the group reformed and signed a deal with cult hardcore label Ferret Records owned by long time fan Nora singer Carl Severson. Legacy has the honour of Zeuss in the production chair whose previous credits include fellow hardcore groups Hatebreed, Throwdown and the mighty Shadows Fall.
In true hardcore fashion Legacy opens with the blasting Adapt and Overcome. Instantly you can recognize that this is a proper straight up hardcore band.
Behinds These Walls is heavy enough to incite a circle pit and hits you round the head before you can see where it came from. H.C. United and Worldwide have the ethos of equality and unity amongst the hardcore scenes across the world in Freddy Cricien's lyrics. Madball have the down-to-earth approach with their lyrics incorporating the themes of friends, family, life and everything hardcore.
Madball have the old school edge of their NYHC brothers Sick Of It All and Agnostic Front, whilst having the thrashy edge of their Connecticut cousins Hatebreed. Whilst some bands will go melodic, Madball stick to the same formula and make a solid record and established sound.
From the word go, Legacy has all the great elements of a hardcore album. Gang vocals, empowering lyrics and short punk rock structures, making three minute songs of pure aggression. These hardcore legends will be showing the younger bands how it is done on the Sounds Of The Underground Tour this summer and whipping their butts at the same time. A welcome return from an essential hardcore band.