An In Effect “Best Of” for 2012? Why the hell not! Throughout the year I have come across a TON of great music and this is a way for me to not only document what was great about 2012 but also maybe get some of you interested in some stuff you may have missed. Don’t see some of your favorite bands on the list? My heart bleeds for you, maybe they were too cheap or lazy to send something in for review. Don’t like my picks? Fine and dandy buddy, go start your own website and spend hours chasing these bands around and see if half of them will answer you. Seriously though, 2012 was a great year for this music and a lot of thought went into these lists and where certain things rank. Sometimes when a new record comes out you are really into it but a few months later it has lost some of its steam and sits on the back of the pile. Tried my best to balance it all out, be partial and here it goes…

ALL GRAPHICS: BAS SPIERINGS

BAND PHOTOS BY: ANNE SPINA, JAMMI SLOANE YORK, KEN SALERNO

The criteria for this top 10 was it had to come out in 2012 and had to be in the hardcore/punk realm or somewhat close. EP’s, Demos, Cassettes, Full Lengths, 7”s…All fair game. 

1. TAKE OFFENSE "UNDER THE SAME SHADOW" EP (REAPER RECORDS)

A no doubter for my #1 spot since I have played this EP inside out all throughout 2012. Being that it is only 4 songs is a slight drawback but the production is insanely good and I still stand by my prediction that these guys are part of a coming wave of hardcore greatness with a new album due out in 2013. 

KEY TRACKS: ALL

2. THE RIVAL MOB "MOB JUSTICE" CASSETTE 

It was almost like having to gain access to a secret club to actually get this “promo” to their upcoming LP on Revelation Records. Almost a rarity in that they take the late 1980’s hardcore sound and come off sounding fresh and new.

KEY TRACKS: “MOB JUSTICE INTRO/MOB JUSTICE”

3. KIDS INSANE "ALL OVER" CD (THIRD TIME LUCKY REKORDS)

An awesome surprise out of Israel…not traditionally a hardcore hotbed but who cares? Diversity is this band’s strength and they do it well. Getting known outside of Israel will be a tall order for these guys but In Effect’s got ‘ya back Kids!

KEY TRACKS: “LOVE”, “SAME SHIT, DIFFERENT SCENE”

4. ALL FOR NOTHING "TO LIVE AND DIE FOR" LP (GSR MUSIC)

This album owned me for a few months earlier this year and in late 2012 this album still holds up strong. Excellent production which captures this bands pure energy led by female front woman Cindy who can throw down on the mic with most of the boys out there today.

KEY TRACKS: “DEAD TO ME”, “TWISTED TOUNGES”

5. YUPPICIDE "AMERICAN OBLIVION" EP (DEAD CITY RECORDS)

Comeback player of the year award? Although some of these were re-worked “oldies” Yuppicide roars back like a mother loven’ rhino on crack with catchy tunes and smart lyrics. Live set still on point after all these years away.

KEY TRACKS: “DEAD INSIDE”, “AMERICAN OBLIVION”

6. TWO MAN ADVANTAGE "DYNASTY" LP (DRUG FRONT RECORDS)

This may have snuck up a few spots cause it is just came out and is on constant rotation right now but damnnnnnnnn. The Two Man deliver after an almost 4 year gap since their last LP with catchy punk rock tunes that have melodies out the ass.

KEY TRACKS: “ROOKIE SEASON”, “HOSERS”

7. SUPREME COMMANDER "PAPER TIGERS" LP (BASEMENT RECORDS)

Catchy DC based band with one helluva album that just showed up in the mail one day. Clean sound, excellent vocals and some witty lyrics that all caught my attention right off the bat and still holds it late in the year.

KEY TRACKS: “SLOW BURN”, “THE WOODSHED”

8. WISDOM IN CHAINS "THE MISSING LINKS" LP (I SCREAM RECORDS)

One of the realest and best bands on the hardcore scene today. This IS hardcore music circa 2012. I was high on this when it came out, kind of let it fall through the cracks for a second but now have it back on heavy rotation.

KEY TRACKS: “GHOST OF BUDDY”, “THE MISSING LINKS”

9. STRIFE "WITNESS A REBIRTH" LP (6131 RECORDS)

FUCKING FIERCE! Strife return with a winner that will propel them to the forefront of the hardcore scene. Late entry or this might have snuck up a few spots.

KEY TRACKS: “TORN APART”, “THE DISTANCE”

10. EXPIRE "PENDULUM SWINGS" LP (BRIDGE 9 RECORDS)

The least played album on this list and I sit hear listening to it and keep asking myself... Why?

Plain and simple…. these guys ROCK. Amazing production compliments Expire’s heavy and fast style which sees not 1 song going beyond the 2 minute mark.

KEY TRACKS: “JUST FINE”, “ABYSS”

KNUCKLEDUST "BLUFFS, LIES, ALIBIS" (GSR MUSIC)

Hardcore bands are usually on some kind of budget constraint when it comes to making a video which leads many to make the live setting type of video where the producer may or may not capture the energy of the band. Knuckledust totally knocked this one out of the park mixing my pick for song of the year with a full on raging live set in a small London bar. Mix in the side story of the girl having some financial issues and hitting the bottle and you got the In Effect video of the year on your hands. 60K views on You Tube at the time of writing this as well… Enough said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDLievXt-3s&feature=share

It’s hard to lose when there isn’t much competition but regardless this is one helluva film done the right way by director Drew Stone of NY’s Antidote. It is mind boggling to try and comprehend how much work went into this film. From the extensive interviews with Boston’s early hardcore alumni to old and new live footage, “All Ages” covers all angles for Boston Hardcore circa 1981-1984 and the quality effort all around is what makes this the best of the year. 

Calling this a zine is an understatement because at 144 pages it looks and feels more like a book. Eric Weiss started up Rumpshaker a long time ago and revived it in 2012 with this (issue #6). The thing that makes Rumpshaker stand apart from the crowd is the combo of great content and presentation. Eric could interview a deaf sasquatch on meth and I would read it. Instead he interviews Mike Judge, Chris from Bridge 9 Records, Walter from Gorilla Biscuits (and Walter’s mom as well) and a bunch of others. Still available so seek this out for a few weeks of good reading.

RAYBEEZ WARZONE TRIBUTE AT THE BNB BOWL MAY 19, 2012

Overall the BNB Bowl 2012 was an amazing event but what stole the show that day was the tribute to Warzone’s Raybeez who passed back in 1997. Whoever came up with the idea to get a mix of Warzone’s past members (Todd Youth, Vinnie Value, Todd Hamilton, and Jason Lehrhoff) to back up various scene veterans singing Ray’s lyrics deserves a gold fucking medal! Freddy Madball, Toby from H2O, Youth Of Today’s Ray Cappo, and the one and only Vinnie Stigma of Agnostic Front were among the people on the mic as NYC’s Webster Hall went absolutely insane for a good 35 plus minutes as the Warzone red white and blue “Iron Cross” logo and various photos of Raybeez flashed on the big screen behind the stage. One for the ages…

THIS IS HARDCORE FEST PHILLY AUGUST 2012

If you can go to only one show a year there isn’t much doubt this is the one you get your ass to no matter where you live. Pick a day… any day out of the 4 that this show runs and you’re guaranteed to see something special. I hit day 3 on a hot as balls Philadelphia Saturday afternoon. The Rival Mob out of Boston made my jaw simply drop in awe as they busted out their intro and had a couple of hundred kids up front just destroy each other in a way that can only happen at a hardcore show. I saw a bunch of other bands that day but they were the ones that impressed me most being that they simply bring it as does this festival which is totally done the right way. We all have been to shows that while you're experiencing it you know it is something special and the reason you keep coming back again and again. Day 3 of TIHC 2012 was one of those for me.

I always used to make mixtapes when I was growing up. My car would have multiple mixes laying around and you would just grab one and toss it in the deck and see what was on it. Finding the one under the seat that you forgot about was always a good score. This list is in not in an order where it is best to worst, but rather a mix where I tried to get certain styles grouped together and it’s a pretty damn good list of songs. 

01:  The Rival Mob "Intro/Mob Justice" from "Mob Justice" Cassette

02:  Modern Pain "Reality Of The Pain" from "Reality Of The Pain" EP

03:  Strife "Torn Apart" from "Witness A Rebirth" LP

04:  Knuckledust "Bluffs, Lies, Alibis" from "Bluffs, Lies Alibis" LP

05:  Yuppicide "Dead Inside" from "American Oblivion" EP

06:  Plead The Fifth "Cast Away" from "Life Sentence" EP

07:  Last Call Brawl "Beer And Violence" from "Let's Get Ready To Stumble" CD

08:  The Mob "Back To Queens" from "Back To Queens" 7"

09:  Antidote "Conspiracy Of None" from "No Peace In Our Time" LP

10:  Supreme Commander "The Woodshed" from Paper Tigers" LP

11:  Two Man Advantage "Rookie Season" from Dynasty" LP

12:  Expire "Abyss" from "Pendulum Swings" 

13:  Madball "You Reap What You Sow" from "Rebellion" EP

14:  Vice "Teenage Nightmare" from "You Made Us This Way" CD

15:  Olde York "Fall Of Man" from "Shallow World" LP

16:  Sai-Nam "At The Mercy Of The Wicked World" from "Crush" CD 

17:  All For Nothing "Dead To Me" from "To Live And Die For" LP

18:  Fire & Ice "Not Of This Earth" from "Not Of This Earth" LP

19:  Zero Progress "Here We Are" from "The Void" EP

20:  Kids Insane "Same Shit, Different Scene" from "All Over" CD

21:  Killing California "Now I'm With You" from "No Pentagrams, No Crosses" LP

22:  Take Offense "(We All Live) Under The Same Shadow" from "Under The Same Shadow" EP

23:  Abject! "Ass Backwards" from "Try Again" CD

24:  Backfire! "My Broken World" from "My Broken World" LP

25:  BroLoaf "Freedom Lover" from "Patriotic Fight Songs Volume 1"

26:  Hounds Of Hate "Pound Of Flesh" from "Cassette 2012"

27:  Wisdom In Chains "The Missing Links" from "The Missing Links" LP

Figured it would be fun to get some other people’s opinions on what their favorite albums etc were for 2012 so I went out and got THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE! Out of this group the comment I got the most was how hard it was to go back and pick just 5 for the year.