Hardcore Superstar – HCSS

Swedish Hard Rockers Hardcore Superstar release their latest album ‘HCSS‘ via GAIN Music Entertainment on 22nd April. With ten albums already under their belts (or braces in Jocke’s case) including the 2011 compilation album ‘The Party Ain’t Over ’til We Say So’ since they started the band back in 1994, that’s a fairly impressive one every couple of years. For this latest release they wanted to ‘find the feeling and the vibe that inspired them in the first place’ so went back to some of their early demos from 1994.  Produced by the band and mixed by Joe Barresi (Slipknot, Queens Of The Stone Age, Soundgarden, etc…). 

Hardcore Superstar say “Basically – to reinvent ourselves we had to go back to the summer of -94 when we first started this band and through that get in contact with the feeling and the vibe that inspired us in the first place. That same philosophy goes for the whole album – how we approached the recordings, artwork, choice of the right guy to mix the album and so on. In a way we are backtracking our roots to show ourselves why we once started this band. What we found out is that the very things that got us together in the first place are the same things that still get us going. So this is nothing less than Hardcore Superstar coming full circle by showing our fans where we come from and what we still believe in!”

The album gets off to a classic Hardcore Superstar start with Don’t Mean Shit with it’s screaming riffs and punky aggression it reminded me of Faith No More’s From Out of Nowhere and is bound to convert into a popular live crowd pleaser like We Don’t Celebrate Sundays or Above The Law. The next song Party Til I’m Gone had a flavour of Are You Gonna Go My Way by Lenny Kravitz with some superfast riffage. The Cemetary starts off very quietly and I had to listen really intently until, about fifteen seconds in when, it kicks into a song with a strong drum beat, a few deathly screams and some whispered lyrics to a bass drum beat including ‘It’s about time that I live it up’ which is the last line of the song although back to the usual punky singing style.

The Ocean another song with a gentle introduction before some fast aggressive riffage and a playground style ‘I’ve got a secret’ and I although they don’t actually sing it you can imagine a ‘Ner, Ner, Ner, Ner, Ner.’ Touch The Sky is the latest single released on 9th March, the song which also gave their last tour it’s name has an Ozzy Osbourne’s No More Tears undercurrent running throughout, with elements of Walking on the Moon by The Police and Nine Inch Nails’ Head Like a Hole thrown in to make an interesting mix.

Growing Old has a touch of the Perry Farrell style vocals I’m thinking Just Because (Jane’s Addiction). The penultimate track Glue was the first single from this album released back in October 2014, with a bit more of a Jane’s Addiction vibe this time Stop! Then last but not least Messed Up For Sure another classic Hardcore Superstar song to end this superb album named purely HCSS. I could pull out half of the tracks as highlights and my favourites may well change tomorrow but I’ll narrow it down to Don’t Mean Shit and The Cemetary. HCSS a must have for any HCSS fan, old or new.

Track List:

1. Don’t Mean Shit
2. Party ‘Til I’m Gone
3. The Cemetery
4. Off With Their Heads
5. Fly
6. The Ocean
7. Touch The Sky – Hardcore Superstar Feat. Etzia
8. Growing Old
9. Glue
10. Messed Up For Sure

Band Members:

Jocke Berg – Vocals
Vic Zino – Guitar
Martin Sandvik – Bass
Adde Andreasson – Drums

Links:

Website: http://www.hardcoresuperstar.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialHCSS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialHardcoreSuperstar

Review of Manchester Academy March 2015: http://planetmosh.com/hardcore-superstar-club-academy-manchester-14th-march-2015/