HIVE MIND

Band: HIVE MIND

Genres: Punk / Hardcore / Screamo / Emo-violence / Skramz / Grind / Noise
Related artists: ?.
Country: Bloomington, Indiana USA
Years Active: 2015-present
Song: "An Ambiguous Utopia"
Album: "Demo"
Year: 2015
For fans of: Phoenix Bodies, Daughters, Mara'akate, Clancy Six, The Great Redneck Hope, .gif from god, Heisse, Hospital, Under A Sky So Blue, Love Lost But Not Forgotten, Makara, Oktober Skyline, Seyarse, Textbook Traitors, Usurp Synapse, Letters To Catalonia, and Discordance Axis aka PROPER SCREAMO.

Label(s): Zegema Beach Records / Friendly Otter Records
This post's artist is from the November 2016 Mix. This is track #3.

You can download: the December 2016 Mix#12 right here or get the new January 2017 Mix#1 here.

HIVE MIND are a four-piece grindy, screamy hardcore band from Bloomington, Indiana. We were first introduced while I was on the maiden voyage of мятеж during the second show in Bloomington and then the following day at Warp Zone Fest in Illinois. The band's abrasive style and lack of bass caught my attention from the get-go. The fusion of early Daughters, Phoenix Bodies and Discordance Axis is a lullaby to these ears, but is likely to perforate your eardrums unless you are accustomed to such venomous and unrelenting noise. Below you can hear my favourite tracks from the 2015 'Demo' cassette that I helped release on Zegema Beach Records along with my good friend Olin at Friendly Otter Records as well as all of the live videos I captured whilst on tour with HIVE MIND last year.

The 'Demo' begins with "An Ambiguous Utopia" as a static/noise intro that is met with pummeling drums, guitars and banshee screaming a mere 13 seconds in, and by 40 seconds they have transitioned to a massive and dirty breakdown hella reminiscent of one of my all-time Indiana faves, Phoenix Bodies. Excellently titled "Meat Hook" steps up next to let loose absolute fuckery that goes pretty batshit crazy after the 30-second mark and incorporates the closest thing to a metal influence on the 'Demo'. "The Duality of (un)Man" marks the middle of the EP and is my personal favourite, as it houses an absolutely unreal and destructive breakdown at 1:01 preceded by over 20 seconds of awesome buildups and teasing. "Time Cube" is the shortest track here at 47 seconds but manages to pack a fucking wallop, to say the least, with closer "Hyperdrive" following with a 59-second blast of caustic, angry and chaotic hardcore that sounds like emo-violence to me. The packaging of this release is also worth mentioning, as vocalist Cory Lamping created an awesome slip sleeve o-card with lyric shell. I don't really know what to call it, besides fantastic.

In 2017 HIVE MIND will be releasing a split EP with, barring any unforeseen changes, an unreal band that I can't divulge yet. So look out for that news because that will likely be one of the best splits of the year. In the meantime, if you are aching for more HIVE MIND (and you should be!) read their interview with IDIOTEQ right here.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2015 - Demo cassetteEP (stream/donate/download here) [buy cassette here]

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(2015) HIVE MIND - "The Duality of (un)Man" (from 'Demo')

(2015) HIVE MIND - "An Ambiguous Utopia" (from 'Demo')

(2015) HIVE MIND - live @Warp Zone Fest

(2015) HIVE MIND - "An Ambiguous Utopia" live @Sarah's Basement

(2015) HIVE MIND - "Time Cube" live @Sarah's Basement

(2015) HIVE MIND - "Meat Hook" live @Sarah's Basement

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HIVE MIND additional links

Facebook

Bandcamp

Interview w/IDIOTEQ

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FOLLY

Band: FOLLY

Genres: Punk / Hardcore / Metalcore / Ska
Related artists: Captives, Mix Tape and Hoover Flags.
Country: Sussex, New Jersey USA
Years Active: 1997-2008 & 2011 (reunion)
Song: "Forfeit Sundials"
Album: "Resist Convenience"
Year: 2006
For fans of: The Suicide Machines, (early) Codeseven, Saosin, Recover, Beloved, Callahan, The Bled, 7-10 Split, Versus The Mirror, Lyed, In Reverent Fear, I Am Alaska, Shai Hulud, Boys Night Out, Bury Me Standing, (early) Cave In, Inside Out, Cold Craving, Circles Over Sidelights, Secret Arms, Fall Silent, Jude The Obscure, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, This Day Forward and In Pieces.

Label(s): Self Released / Twisted Crown Records / New World Records
This post's artist is from the November 2016 Mix. This is track #5.

You can download: the December 2016 Mix#12 right here or get the new January 2017 Mix#1 here.

Do I love FOLLY? Nope. Are they good? I mean, yeah, I guess. It's not so much is the band good or not, but did they have a few good songs and/or parts, and the answer to that is yes. What did those songs sound like? They were generally melodic metalcore with a lot of screaming. What did the band sound like? Melodic hardcore meets ska. So I'm going to quickly discuss a few albums and songs and then conclude this post.

First, the closest and most apt comparisons are The Suicide Machines Codeseven, Callahan, The Bled, I Am Alaska, Secret Arms and In Pieces as the bands mixes the thick and breakdown laden metallic hardcore with excellent screamy vocals that have a few different variations. FOLLY began in 1997 during the members' high school years. After releasing demos in 1998 and 1999 they released their first EP in 2001 called 'For My Friends' which is a strange mix of pretty weak ska (although I'm definitely no expert on the genre) and moshy, metallic hardcore. After another demo in 2002 they dropped 'Insanity Later' in 2004 with pretty positive response, including Shai Hulud describing them as Death Ska, which I think is interesting but not overly relevant to band's sound, especially once 2004 hit. I find the songs generally displaced when the cleaner, melodic parts creep in and think the band would have benefited from dropping them altogether. I find that every song released after 2003 has some amazing parts, but no single song is amazing because of being bogged down by mediocre tangents. Even so, this is a must listen for anyone who likes the likes of The Bled, In Reverent Fear and perhaps even Norma Jean.

In 2006 they released the LP that I first heard by the band titled 'Resist Convenience' and is the closest thing to a major label and produced record, with much of it coming across as The Bled. This is another decent album worth checking out for fans of moshy, technical hardcore (although I do get a bro-type feel from them now and again). I was unaware until writing this review, but FOLLY self-released a digital/cd EP titled 'These are the Names of the Places We Broke Down In' in 2008. These final songs pretty much put to rest any notion of the band playing ska music anymore, which I commend. The songs are a natural progression from the 2006 LP but incorporate the heavier elements from the 2004 LP instead of becoming tamer and more publicly accessible.

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DISCOGRAPHY
Click )==>here<==( to download the band's two LPs in mp3 form.

1998 - Demo EP

1999 - Demo cdrEP

2001 - For My Friends cdEP

2002 - '02 Demo cdEP

2004 - Insanity Later cdLP (download here)

2006 - Resist Convenience cdLP (download here)

2008 - These are the Names of the Places We Broke Down In cdEP

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(2008) FOLLY - "Odessa, Texas" (from 'These are the Places That We Broke Down In')

(2008) FOLLY - "Potland, Oregan" (from 'These are the Places That We Broke Down In')

(2006) FOLLY - "Broken (demo version)" (from 'Resist Convenience') official music video

(2006) FOLLY - "Forfeit Sundials" (from 'Resist Convenience')

(2006) FOLLY - "Historian" (from 'Resist Convenience')

(2006) FOLLY - "Operation: Work, Lift-Face" (from 'Resist Convenience')

(2004) FOLLY - "The City is Drowning" (from 'Insanity Later')

(2004) FOLLY - "Sweet Water Death" (from 'Insanity Later')

(2001) FOLLY - "For My Friends" (from 'For My Friends') official music video

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FOLLY out of print LP discography download

(download here)

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RINOA

Band: RINOA

Genres: Punk / Post-Rock / Post-Hardcore / Emo / Emotive Hardcore / Screamo / Ambient
Related artists: Devil Sold His Soul, Crydebris, Chariots Of Symmetry, Thaed, Viatrophy, Tek-One, Hospitals, Perry Bryan and Ancients.
Country: Essex, England UK
Years Active: 2007-2010
Song: "Memory"
Album: "An Age Among Them"
Year: 2010
For fans of: Viva Belgrado, La Parade, We Never Learned To Live, Devil Sold His Soul, Envy, Milanku, Mono, Young Mountain, Mogwai, Evylock, Vi Som Älskade Varandra Så Mycket, Mesa Verde, Dominic, Suffocte For Fuck Sake, Old Soul, Beloved, Amanda Woodward, Sed Non Satiata, The Solexine Chaper, Captain, Your Ship Is Sinking, Black Heart Rebellion, Les Deux Minutes De La Haines and Godspeed, You! Black Emperor aka PROPER SCREAMO.

Label(s): Eyesofsound
This post's artist is from the November 2016 Mix. This is track #10.

You can download: the December 2016 Mix#12 right here or get the new January 2017 Mix#1 here.

epic, driving, massive sprawling soundscapes littered with beautiful little towns surrounded by a mysterious and seething, evil forest. Much like Viva Belgrado, Young Mountain and We Never Learned To Live, RINOA is able to find an absolutely perfect balance of powerful and tranquil post-rock, post-hardcore and screamo. The serene post-rock is dripping with the sweat of atmospheric instrumental bands like Mogwai and Godspeed, You! Black Emperor although much more straightforward and direct, showcased by the song "This Land Will Hold Their Wings". "Sol Winds" is a nice halfway point between the the soft and heavy while "Fires in the Distant North" sees the tipping point that sends the band down some angrier and darker paths (albeit that middle section), with both of the aforementioned songs clocking in at nearly 7-9 minutes in length. "Memory" is the fucking jam. This shorter (as in less than five minutes...4:59 to be exact, hahaha) track builds on its post-hardcore self like waves on the shore until 3:34 when the entire album topples under the accumulated weight of heavy elements, and it's fucking beautiful, that destruction.

Preceding the phenomenal LP I've just referenced, RINOA dropped an initial demo cd titled 'Rinoa' and it's a good introduction to the band much more than a decent debut. The four songs close with the heaviest track the band ever recorded, called "Atlantis", that is 5:02 of awesomeness. After the demo and before 'An Age Among Them' RINOA released a split 12" with the band Bossk, named after the Star Wars bounty hunter. These two tracks include the demo version of "Fires in the Distant North"as well as the exclusive "Eyes Open" which is a fucking banger and not unlike my favourite songs from the other two releases, "Atlantis" and "Memory".

So yeah, if you haven't heard of nor heard this band I would highly recommend checking them out, especially considering all of the attention (and rightly so) that Viva Belgrado is getting, because RINOA seriously sounds like those Spaniards...just five years earlier. I have a download available but only of the final LP, as I have a few friends working on getting me the 2008 and 2009 releases so we can all bask in the hypnotic and crushing entity that was RINOA.

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DISCOGRAPHY
Click )==>???<==( to download the band's complete discography in mp3 form.

2008 - Rinoa cdEP

2009- Bossk split 12"EP

2010 - An Age Among Them cdLP (download here)

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(2010) RINOA - "Memory" (from 'An Age Amont Them')

(2010) RINOA - "Sol Winds" (from 'An Age Amont Them') official music video

(2010) RINOA - "Fires in the Distant North" (from 'An Age Amont Them')

(2009) RINOA - "Eyes Closed" (from 'Bossk' split)

(2008) RINOA - "Antlantis" (from 'Rinoa')

(2008) RINOA - "Above the Oceans" (from 'Rinoa')

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RINOA out of print mp3 'An Age Among Them' download / additional links

(download here)

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