BARCODE

Well, I sure as hell regret not finding out about Denmark's' BARCODE sooner. "Showdown" is the band's fourth full-length album. They've also released a few splits and appeared on several compilations. Now that I've been punched in the mouth by "Showdown", I'm ready to check out the earlier material. Based on the signing of AGNOSTIC FRONT and now these Danish bruisers, it's clear that Nuclear Blast understands what quality hardcore is all about: blood, guts, and conviction.

The East Coast hardcore of AGNOSTIC FRONT is a good starting point because BARCODE creates equally violent anthems, and at this point I would even go so far as to say that "Showdown" is a better album than "Another Voice" (and I dig the hell out of "Another Voice"). Comparison-wise, you might as well toss MADBALL, MINOR THREAT, and SICK OF IT ALL into the mix. I even heard a pinch of the CRO-MAGS in parts! I'm stunned at how these 16 songs (34 minutes) fly by without let-up, making me want to start at the beginning and experience it all over again. Gang vocals galore, infectious shout-along choruses, killer riffs, and the thick-n-thunderous Tue Madsen mix and Dr. J (guitarist) production should put "Showdown" right at the top of the year's best (real) hardcore albums. When the band isn't kicking posers and hypocrites in the teeth on tracks like "Rise to Dignity", "Fanatics", and "In the Pit", they're busting out catchy nuggets like "Drinkslinger" and "No Lust for Life". The cover of ACCEPT's "I'm a Rebel" is given the BARCODE work-over and made into a damn fine tune with a classic gang-vocal chorus.

You can debate about what's heavy and what's not, who's real and who's a pretender, and anything related to the confusion and disillusion spawned by many of today's 'core bands. What must be understood is that when it comes to hardcore, BARCODE is as real as it gets. This is the hard stuff.