Here's a little piece an English kid wrote about NEW MORALITY and to me personally it hits the spot. This is hardcore. This is what it stands for and this is why it still is so important to me. I hope to you the reader,  as well!

Tuesday, 22 December 2009
New Morality
Le Pub, Newport 17/12/09

Is hc a product? Do we need more people at gigs wearing more t-shirts buying more vinyl? Does it come down to money at the end of the night? Don't get me wrong, a little bit of money will always make things easier for bands, so keep buying the merch, but DIY effort and self empowerment will give hc its legitimacy and ultimately its ability to last.

So what are live music, split 7 inches and shirt designs if they aren't products? They are energy, ideas and attitudes captured to help communicate the spirit of hc's fight back. New Morality are a perfect example of what live music can show about a band. I went to see them because I knew they would be great live. Cornered had set Le Pub on fire a few weeks ago and my impression is that dutch bands can be trusted to offer honesty, intelligence and passion. Ferdinand plays drums in both bands, Jonne is the bass player in Cornered and the frontman for New Morality. I was expecting something when they stepped up on stage but all of us in the crowd were in a strange mood. It was as if we wanted to be entertained. As if we were asking "What have you got?" This isn't fair because we should be giving our dutch friends an unconditional welcome after their long journey. But we just stood there...we weren't in the mood at all.

"So who is going to a funeral tomorrow?" Jonne asked. No one replied.

("What have you got?")
It's like we are treating the band as a product.
("We've paid our money. We've come out on a cold Thursday night...What have you got?")

And then, as the first chord sounded, we all found out! New Morality have an extra dimension as a live band. Jonne likes to force a reaction out of the crowd. He likes the fight and it is clear he doesn't want the easy life. He enjoys the pressure of challenging people's perceptions. He told me afterwards that he constantly wants to start an argument. An argument in its truest sense, a dialogue, a persuasion. A new morality? Yes, my guess is that his motivation is to inspire people to a fresh way of looking at life. Real values for real problems. Everything that New Morality showed onstage was a call to mobilise against the forces that have squeezed the vitality out of our old ideals. It is time to look at old things with a new clarity and resume the fight with more purpose.

We spoke after the gig about the rise of right wing politics in the Netherlands and the problem of lazy sloganeering in politics that goes unquestioned in the media. There is a danger that the lyrics of our favourite new bands are nothing more than words. They will be if we don't get inspired and get involved. New Morality showed how hc is so much more than a product.

"So who is going to a funeral tomorrow?"

“ Skull Crusher is a simple attempt by obsessed fans of hard music who have done decades of homework to capture that elusive gray area of creative overlap where hardcore, metal, and rock morph into one relentless wall of sound - a place where everything to the listener is somewhat classic and familiar, yet simultaneously fresh and dynamic. The backbone is signature timeless New York Hardcore, but with the appropriate nods given to vintage thrash metal as well as sinister, over driven, dark, hard rock.  In a word:  power.

Reflections will be releasing their debut 12”/MCD “Blinded By Illusion” in February 2010. Check out our website for the complete biography and www.myspace.com/skullcrusherapocalypse for two songs... and get blown away!

NEW MORALITY is working on a lot of stuff at the moment and just announced the following tourdates this coming winter! Go see these guys destroying stages!

UNITED KINGDOM w/ Broken Teeth
Dec 16 - Leeds
Dec 17 - Newport
Dec 18 - Milton Keynes
Dec 19 - TBA
Dec 20 - Nottingham

EUROPE w/ Cornered
Jan 2 - Luxembourg, LUXEMBOURG
Jan 3 - TBA
Jan 4 - Munchen, GERMANY
Jan 5 - Florence, ITALY
Jan 6 - Gorizia, ITALY
Jan 7 - Vienna, AUSTRIA
Jan 8 - Budapest, HUNGARY
Jan 9 - Salzburg, AUSTRIA

Jan 23 - Frederica, DENMARK
Jan 28 - Hengelo, THE NETHERLANDS
Feb 13 - Linkoping, SWEDEN

EUROPE w/ Backtrack
Feb 24 - Ruhrpott, GERMANY
Feb 25 - Wolfsburg, GERMANY
Feb 26 - Weisswasser, GERMANY
Feb 27 - Hengelo, THE NETHERLANDS
Feb 28 - Hamburg, GERMANY
March 1 - BELGIUM
March 2 - Paris, FRANCE

March 6 - Goes, THE NETHERLANDS
May 29 - Arnhem, THE NETHERLANDS
August 27/28 - Greifswald, GERMANY

oh yes. It's been a while since we were so excited about a new hardcore band and we''re very happy they decided to join or roster. That being said... We'll announce the name soon! See it as a Sinterklaas gift.. mostly to ourselves!

“ Having seen the loudest come and go. Having survived trends and fashions. Having entered a scene as kids and grown up to be adults within it. Having lost illusions. Standing united with one single mission: to unleash hell, promote Straight Sdge and speak the truth. Musically, the best soundtrack to this attitude is to combine the musical components we love the most: hammering speed and punishing mosh parts.”

The summer of 2008 saw the birth of Swedish Straight Edge Terrorforce, STAY HUNGRY. The idea behind the band came up when Erik and Goran talked about doing a band with fellow Edgeman AndyH8 on vocals. Shortly after this was settled Staffan was brought in on bass to fulfill the line-up. STAY HUNGRY played its debut show at last year’s Edge Day celebrations in Gothenburg with only a couple of rehearsals under their belst. In December a demo was recorded and Law And Order Records released it in the beginning of this year as a demo 7”. During this spring a bunch of shows have been played, including a last minute timeslot at the Fire & Ice-fest in Linköping. Now, STAY HUNGRY is ready to present their debut 12” to those who embrace The Edge (and ok, also to those who are not opposed to it.. ha!). We have this available in a limited edition of only 500 copies early August. Pre-orders are up now!

Pre-order STAY HUNGRY – No Beginning, No End. 12”
Visit the band's MySpace site at www.myspace.com/stayxhungry