Spider Crew
'Still crazy but not insane' CD
WTF Records
It's been ages since I last reviewed a NYHC related album... It's obviously not my cup of tea nowadays, even though I still enjoy listening to the classics and giving a chance to newbies playing from the heart and abstaining from the macho / a-political attitude that is usually a vital part of this specific scene...
Well, Tim / What The Fuck Records (based in Netherlands; also home for Still Screaming, Human Demise and Bulldog Courage, among others) sent me the new Spider Crew CD a couple of weeks ago.
To be honest, I thought that the band had called it quits, but the reality belied me.
For those who are unaware with the band, Spider Crew is a 6-piece hardcore band hailing from Austria's capital, Vienna, and they feature current or ex-members of Only Attitude Count and Bust The Chain, while their 2 vocalists come from New York city. They were formed in 1999 and they have a bunch of releases since then, in labels like I Scream Records and Swellcreek / Superhero Records.
'Still crazy but not insane' is their new record, after a long period of silence, and it was released in late September 2011, including 12 songs in the classic Spider Crew hardcore style. That means a mix of NYHC with a strong oi! / street punk flavor. Bands like Agnostic Front, Blood For Blood, Wisdom In Chains, Discipline and even Cock Sparrer are definitely among their influences. In my humble opinion, their style is very similar to Only Attitude Counts' one; both representing the Vienna Hardcore Style.
The lyrics cover classic NY topics like the hardcore movement / scene, beating up your enemies, blue blood warriors, against authority and even prison bound. I consider their lyrics kinda macho, so I am definitely not into some of them. I am not a hippie, but this violent thing some NYHC bands demonstrate has nothing to do with the hardcore I have in my mind and try to sustain. Don't get me wrong, I know that there are a lot of bands out there using macho lyricism and I can accept that some of them live what they say and probably Spider Crew do so, but in the current political / social climate I'd prefer the anger to be exposed in the real enemy which is the system and its components.
'Nough with preaching, I guess.
Check out the Spider Crew's new record if you are into NYHC. After all, NYHC is not only Madball and Agnostic Front...
www.myspace.com/spidercrew
www.wtfrecords.eu
