Hold It Down

Since first emerging from the ashes of New York hardcore legends Agnostic Front, Madball have been ploughing a similar furrow of wholly uncompromising, full-throttled aggro rock with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. With their sixth blazing collection, it's pretty much business as usual. Freddy Cricien's throat-tearing vocal assaults intone bludgeoning anthems of strident self-assertion and full-blooded belligerence. It would, of course, be refreshing to report that Madball are creating a riot of their own by moving their hardcore remit into new stylistic territory. However, despite an introductory passage that toys with hip-hop devices, Hold It Down is simply another example of drab, monochromatic austerity. That said, if you like a bit of precision punk bluster toughened up with metal menace and the politics of brutal intent, you could do a lot worse than avail yourself of Hold It Down. --Ian Fortnam