What We Have

So no post yesterday, this was due to 3 reasons, firstly because I did an extra post on Saturday, secondly it was a bank holiday and finally I spent the whole day at the Rucktion Damage Control fest, featuring la crema della crema of the UK's hardcore talent. It was easily the best show I've been to this year and by that I mean the whole thing was quality, granted I've seen better bands this year but not a single show that I've been too in 2007 since coming back from Rome matched yesterday's.

The show reminded me of how lucky I am to have this scene so readily available and one that is growing rapidly and expanding to frontiers that I would have never imagined so I thought it was about time that UKHC got some attention on here.

One of the early bands on was Hellbent Diehard. Formed in 2004 they comprise of 3 old skool UK heads that have been part of the scene for a long, long time. I remember them playing their first show while I was away in Italy and being majorly gutted to hear reports that when I got back that the show was not only amazing but that Hellbent were one of the day's highlights. Never mind. I've been lucky enough to see them many times since that day and each time it has been more and more impressive. This demo is impressively recorded (thanks to Sam the man's home studio, he is also the drummer) and brings out the fullness of the beats and riffs. Clearly their material is heavily influenced by their surrounding UK scene but the band also bring in influences from Cleveland and New York bands to create and even dirtier, grittier sound.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/8me8hz - Hellbent Diehard Demo 2004

The band have been long working on their impending full length, which they told me yesterday is coming, they just need to record and trust, when it does drop its gonna be some heavy shit because they have progressed immensely from this demo, so keep watching here - www.myspace.com/hellbentdiehard

Now giving you a fuller flavour of the UKHC scene is this impressive document by the almighty Rucktion records. This took a long time to come together but was worth the wait as most of the tracks featured here are exclusives to the comp. Hellbent Diehard also feature here and sound like a completely different band as the heaviness and intensity are amplified tenfold to bring forth a devastating track that beckons well for that aforementioned full length. There are some of my favorite UK bands on this, including, Blades Of Unity (Maniacs from Liverpool) Ninebar (London's answer to Bulldoze), Diction (Croydon's finest) and TRC (not 1, not 2 but 4 vocalists). The UK bands are becoming so much more popular now, thanks mainly to the efforts of Knuckledust through the years they have opened doors for bands like TRC and Diction to play the mainland and finally get the recognition and respect they deserve.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/18kedj - Time For Some Rucktion

I haven't uploaded all the tunes because its still readily available from www.rucktionmusic.com, so if you feel what you hear, then buy it.