Sham 69 frontman Jimmy Pursey has written in with a statement on the upcoming North American tour booked by his ex-bandmates. Pursey and guitarist Dave Parsons have both laid claim to the band name following a bitter split earlier in the year. The group planning to tour this August under the name Sham 69 will feature Parsons, bassist Rob Jefferson, and drummer Ian Whitewood and new vocalist Tim ‘Scazz’ Scargill.

Pursey commented:

It would be more understandable for you to feel how angered I am by the representation of SHAM 69 , being portrayed as something that you and I know it isn’t! The band never was and never will be anything to do with Oi! The band never set out to make money or play millions of gigs around the world, it was an ideology and as near as damn it, a diary of the outside world as how I saw it day by day…

My annoyance and anger is over Dave Parsons bringing over, to the good ol USA, his version of MY band and thinking that he can try and release an album, to which, going back to December 2005, I first penned the lyrics and musically arranged with [former Sham bassist] Matt Sargent.

He also speaks of a song penned for the album titled “Hollywood Hero,” a track inspired by the war that the frontman has since decided not appropriate to release. In the below statement Pursey explains his reasons for not wanting it to see the light of day. .
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The Bled has posted another new song from their forthcoming release Silent Treatment. You can check out “You Should Be Ashamed of Myself” on MySpace.

Silent Treatment, the follow-up to 2005’s Found In The Flood, is scheduled for release September 25.
Source Continue reading The Bled: “You Should Be Ashamed of Myself” →

Avenged Sevenfold has unveiled the track listing for their forthcoming self-titled, self-produced release. Avenged Sevenfold, the follow-up to the wildly successful City Of Evil, will hit stores October 16, 2007.

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I honestly wasn’t sure when I’d actually be able to get this update up, because God (or whom/whatever) knows it wasn’t happening at 2 in the morning after my commute home from the Big Apple. Fortunately for you, work decided to not call me this morning for a shift, and that I’m pretty stoked on considering I’m leaving in a few hours for Philly to see Armalite, the Ergs!, Pink Razors and the Steal. How ’bout you?

• 1980s hardcore (con?)tributers New Mexican Disaster Squad‘s recent digital EP, Peace with Nothing (soon to be at peace with vinyl)
• Suburban Legends hope you find their new album to be Infectious
• A live review of multiple Red Leader Records bands that played last night at NYC’s Knitting Factory, notably Polar Bear Club
• The big league debut from everyone’s favorite major label pop-rock act coincidentally named like a 2006 Saves the Day album: Sound the Alarm‘s Stay Inside
• Several more over at the Punknews Review page

Source Continue reading Friday, August 10, 2007 →

The folks at Alternative Press have worked over A Wilhelm Scream and have uncovered a number of details on their follow up to 2005’s Ruiner. The new record will be titled Career Suicide (not to be mistaken for, well, Career Suicide) and will hit stores on October 09, 2007 via Nitro Records.

The 13 track, roughly half hour full length was recorded by Bill Stevenson, Jason Livermore and Andrew Berlin at Colorado’s Blasting Room studio.
Source Continue reading A Wilhelm Scream to release “Career Suicide” on Oct 9th →

Deathwish Inc has merged with punk / hardcore label Malfunction Records. The latter will now operate as an imprint under Deathwish, with the Deathwish staff running the day-to-day operations for both entities.

Malfunction was founded by longtime friends Linas Garsys and Tru Pray in 1999. The label has released music from bands like Internal Affairs, Ceremony, Cast Aside, Count Me Out, Bitter End, The Hope Conspiracy, Meltdown, XO Skeletons, Piece By Piece, Give Up The Ghost, and more.

Malfunction plans releases for this fall, including new music from Bitter End, Trash Talk, and Reign Supreme. Bitter End’s Climate of Fear will hit stores on September 11th. The label has an audio player online streaming music from the record.
Source Continue reading Deathwish Inc. merges with Malfunction Records →

One of the staunchest DRM advocates, Universal Music has finally capitulated and decided to test unprotected downloads with consumers. Like many other labels, Universal had previously agreed to only provide digital stores with copy-protected versions of their songs, but the notion has proved less popular with consumers over the past few months. Major labels including EMI have begun selling music without restrictions, primarily through Apple’s iTunes Plus service.

The catch is that while Universal is “testing” the market, they’ve opted to do so by omitting the popular iTunes store and choosing RealNetworks’ Rhapsody, Wal-Mart and Amazon’s download services. Of course, the problem with testing using those stores is that almost no one uses them. It is somewhat self-fulfilling to release DRM-free music on stores with tiny audiences, and then declare that no one wants DRM-free music.

At the same time, the decision is not entirely surprising as Universal has become wary of Apple’s domination of the digital music industry and the corresponding power it has over the majors. Despite being the largest of the major labels, the company has seen increasing pressure to adapt to the modern marketplace.
Source Continue reading Universal tests DRM-free music files →

Underground Operations has signed Saskatchewan’s Holly Springs Disaster.

The hardcore band will be releasing their debut for the label, titled Motion Sickness Love on September 11th. A track from the album can be found on their myspace page.
Source Continue reading Underground Operations signs The Holly Springs Disaster →

Philadelphia’s Barlights have posted two tracks from their upcoming 7″ / EP titled Wild Eyes For Wild Hearts. You can check out “Unbreak My Heart” and “Midnight” at their MySpace page. The tracks are currently being mastered at Derron Nuhfer’s Sarlaac Studios in Gainesville, FL. A full length is in the cards as well.

Simi Valley, CA ‘s Secret Wars have posted the demo track “Armed to the Teeth” MySpace page. The song will end up on their full length It Costs A Lot To Look This Cheap. The group is currently finishing up the writing and plans to hit the studio in late 2007 to record. This is also where I mention the Beyonder to prove my nerdness.

California’s The Malheruex have posted songs from their new self-titled EP to their MySpace page. The five piece sites Emery, Minus the Bear and Spitalfield as influences.
Source Continue reading Barlights, Secret Wars, The Malheruex →