Hardcore Superstar - HCSS

I have been a fan of Hardcore Superstar for a very longtime, and even though I still love the music... the absence of Thomas Silver to me is a big one. Don't get me wrong Vic Zino is a great guitar player... maybe even more technical than Silver, but it was the Sleaze Rock tone that the former guitarist gave to the band that I really enjoyed on their records. Saying this I was really excited about the album 'HCSS' and wondered what delights it had in store for me. The fist thing I noticed about the record was the brilliant brightly coloured CD cover that could have come straight out of White Zombie or Gwar's back cataloge, Yes! the CD cover is really striking and makes you really want to purchase the album. 

The album start off with the very Backyard Babies Esq. single 'Don't mean S**t', which also has a little bit of a European AOR Rock feel to it. You can listen and see the video for this song at the bottom of this page. Also I think that this track goes back a little more to the bands older material than the songs on the previous few albums. The guitar solo on this track is also epic and shows that Vic Zino has finally fitted perfectly in his place in the band. I am really impressed by his use of licks on this songs. Also Joakim Borg's vocal and punching and to the point making this a great Punk Rock track.

The next track 'Party 'Til I'm Gone' comes in with Joakim's distinctive scream and a Rock Blues riff that could have been lifted straight from a Lenny Kravitz record. Yes! 'If you want to go my Way' Esq. before hits in light seductive licks before launching back into Joakim's cries and steady musicianship. At times the riff in this song is a little too obvious and simple for me, but what can a band do when they have been around for so many years. Yes it does sound like previous material a little bit, so nothing really new. 

'The Cemetery' in comparison is a very different track from the awesome Black Metal Esq. drums at the beginning to the stomping easy riff that just brings you into the story they are trying to tell you with the riffs. You can hints of bands like Hanoi Rocks and 80's AOR again in it, maybe they have been listening to some of the new material by the band H.E.A.T because on some tracks you hear a more commercial edge to them. 'The Cemetery' is a very commercial Rock friendly type of track.

New single 'Off with their Heads' takes hints from the Classic Rock genre like it is was recorded a long time ago. I also think that this is a very mainstream friendly track and the harmonies in the singer between all the band members sounds really nice, and again the guitar solo is short and too perfection. 'Fly' is one of the slower tracks on the album and comes from Blues and Stoner influences and possibly the love for bands such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, this is not one of my favourite tracks but it does give a different edge to the album and shows the real diversity of the band.

The album continues on with the soft melody of the beginning of 'The Ocean' which suddenly get's heavy, fast and really catchy. This is by far one of the best tracks on the album. It's just built for the live stage and you can see the crowd in your mind just going crazy for it. 'Touch the Sky' is one of the first songs I heard off the new record, it has a stoner vibe for it and again sounds like it could have been recorded years ago, well if the production wasn't so good on it. This is already a fan favourite and you do wonder why it is so late on the album.

'Growing Old' I think is a great track but it comes too late again on the album and maybe is a little too similar to some of the other tracks so might get over looked a little when people listen to the album. It has a nice breakdown half way through, which I think is the best point of the track and the fact that Joakim's vocals do sound a little different in places. Also their is some intelligent drummer going on, courtesy of Magnus "Adde" Andreasson who is very consistent throughout the whole album.

The album is only ten tracks long but seems very long, so by the time you get to 'Glue' and 'Messed up for Sure' your fully with the Hardcore Superstar vibe and understand what they are doing. Even though 'Glue' is a track I would not recognise as a track by them if I heard it on it's own. I don't think 'Messed up for Sure' is the best track go out with, but it ends things off a little different. It has hints of Nu-Metal / Blues / Rock and even pays tribute to Iron Maiden on some guitar parts. 

I think this is a great album by Hardcore Superstar and well worth the purchase, all the tracks are really good and their is some kick off songs that would sound great live. But I don't really has the anthems of their self titled record, Like 'We don't celebrate Sundays, Wildboys' and the infamous 'My good Reputation' which are songs I will remember forever. But if you want great Rock tracks you can't go wrong with this album.