Madball working with Erik Rutan for new album

Djabthrash

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http://puregrainaudio.com/news/madball-to-release-empire-this-fall-in-studio-with-eric-rutan

MADBALL to Release 'Empire' this Fall; In-Studio with Eric Rutan :

New York City hardcore legends Madball are set to release their Good Fight Music debut this fall, appropriately entitled 'Empire'. The record is tentatively set for release in late September or early October of 2010. “Empire will play off of the name,” points vocalist Freddy Cricien. “Madball has come a long way from being street kids to becoming very established in our genre, and even beyond the music. We're finally at a point in our life where we're taking control of our things, where as before we didn't have control of some things or didn't choose to have control. We have the feeling that we've built a little empire for ourselves with our band, brand, and different endeavors.”

We get this reference that we're kings of New York...” adds Cricien. “There are plenty of awesome bands that have come out of the city. Agnostic Front are the godfathers of New York hardcore, Sick Of it All are one of the undisputed champs of the scene... we were always known as more of the bad guys, but now people are calling us the kings. It's not a title we gave ourselves and it's not that we call ourselves that, but it's just a term of endearment and respect that people use and it plays into the name 'Empire'.

Madball are currently finishing the writing process, and will enter Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida to record in July. Behind the boards on Empire will be seasoned producer Eric Rutan (Misery Index, Cannibal Corpse, Goatwhore). “I think [having Eric] is a good dynamic,” states vocalist Freddy Cricien. “We did the last couple records with a different producer, he was busy, so we were looking for an alternative and his name was suggested. I got to talking to him and I found out he has a hardcore background, and he’s a big fan of ours. I was really sold at that point because although he does a lot of death metal, he's really eager to approach this in a certain way.

Freddy is also looking forward to utilizing Eric’s rich history in production with metal artists, and his fresh outlook on producing Empire. “He's going to use bigger production, and I like that, but he’s not going to approach it like a Cannibal Corpse record because the vibe is different, and sometimes that dynamic works. He’s a guy that’s used to working with different things but he knows how we want our stuff approached. Eric wants to make a statement with doing a Madball record because he's so into the death metal background. I'm really psyched about it, really excited. If he was totally oblivious to who we were and what hardcore music was, I’d be skeptical. But that's not the case at all. He's more diverse than his resume shows, at least from speaking with him personally. He's a solid engineer and he has the ear.”

Fans of Madball should expect the sound that they have always loved, but some evolution as well. “There's a certain sound that we’re known for, and as much as we want to evolve with the times, we also have to keep in mind that there’s a certain standard and integrity with Madball, and we have to preserve that,” mentions Cricien. “Real deal hardcore kids totally appreciate that. That said, the foundation always has to be a certain sound, but we always bring new elements into our sound. There has to be some evolution. It might appeal to people outside of the hardcore realm, but in the end, it’s going to be a Madball record.”

For more information, please visit: www.myspace.com/madball



I'm stoked ! I was very surprised at first since for me Rutan is like Mr Brutal Death, and Madball are total NYHC, but i think Madball could use a change after their last Zeuss-produced records, which were definitely quality but could use more fatness and more attitude/agressivity in the production, when Zeuss latest production with clicky kick drums and fat rock-ish snares fitted more bands a la The Acacia Strain IMO.

Can't wait to hear that new album and see studio reports and whatnots.

EDIT : new song, entitled "R.A.H.C", is out on myspace :

http://www.myspace.com/MADBALL
 
Off topic: I saw them live two days ago in a very small venue in front of 70 people or so and they were good. Twelve years ago I saw them the first time and it was very cool to see them play in a small place again. Freddy even did not bother to blend with the crowd etc. They have a new drummer which played amazing!
Great band.
 
Off topic: I saw them live two days ago in a very small venue in front of 70 people or so and they were good. Twelve years ago I saw them the first time and it was very cool to see them play in a small place again. Freddy even did not bother to blend with the crowd etc. They have a new drummer which played amazing!
Great band.

Wow Madball in front of only 70 people ? Sounds weird considering how popular they are...

Saw them last summer and they were amazing. Seeing them in August again, can't wait !

Btw i agree about the new drummer (he's canadian, ex-Throwdown), but they've always had killer drummers (especially Rigg Ross and Mackie Jayson) anyway :)
 
Wow Madball in front of only 70 people ? Sounds weird considering how popular they are...

Yes, it was really special. From what I heard they come over to play two bigger festivals and just chose to play this little show the day before by short notice.

Btw i agree about the new drummer (he's canadian, ex-Throwdown), but they've always had killer drummers (especially Rigg Ross and Mackie Jayson) anyway :)

Yes they were great. In my book Mackie is just the best, followed by Pookey Mo. Unfortunately I have not heard him play in AF yet. Did you know that the new guy is the son of Bruce Springsteen's drummer? Supposedly he filled-in for his father sometimes. Madball and Springsteen...
I bet this guy needs just one day in the studio, delivering some fine first-takes.
 
Yes, it was really special. From what I heard they come over to play two bigger festivals and just chose to play this little show the day before by short notice.

OK makes perfect sense then.

Yes they were great. In my book Mackie is just the best, followed by Pookey Mo. Unfortunately I have not heard him play in AF yet. Did you know that the new guy is the son of Bruce Springsteen's drummer? Supposedly he filled-in for his father sometimes. Madball and Springsteen...
I bet this guy needs just one day in the studio, delivering some fine first-takes.

I didn't know Pokey had played in Madball... i've seen him play with Agnostic Front two months ago and he SLAYED (and Rigg Ross, who was playing with Skarhead at the same concert, was doing praise gestures at the end of the set :) ).
Pokey is awesome as well, i've been listening to a lot of Leeway lately, and his drumming is just amazing. And the fact that he played on Merauder's Five Deadly Venoms just make him better in my book.

I didn't know that story about the current Madball drummer... that's crazy :)

EDIT : actually i'v ejust found out that the Canadian guy is an ex-drummer already and that Jay Weinberg, the guy you mentioned, is their new drummer (since June 2010) and is gonna be recording the new album. And i found this on his wikipedia page :

"In 2010, Weinberg began playing with Madball, a legendary hardcore band based out of New York City.[15] In June of that year, it was announced that he would become the drummer for their upcoming album Empire and associated tour"

"Jay Weinberg (born September 8, 1990)[1] is an American drummer and the son of drummer Max Weinberg. He plays with the punk band The Reveling[2] and toured in 2009 as a drummer with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, substituting for his father.[3] In 2010 he became the drummer for Madball."

HOLY SHIT THE GUY IS ONLY 20 YEARS OLD !!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Weinberg
 
AFAIK Pokey never played in Madball. I just needed to mention him, as you seem to have good taste in hardcore! ;)
I'm curious if Jay Weinberg will add something special to the next Madball record. I think it's not easy to shine in their style, apart from playing ultra tight and grooving at the same time, you know, one can't imagine a Madball song with spacy drum fills etc.
 
AFAIK Pokey never played in Madball. I just needed to mention him, as you seem to have good taste in hardcore! ;)

ok héhé :)

I'm curious if Jay Weinberg will add something special to the next Madball record. I think it's not easy to shine in their style, apart from playing ultra tight and grooving at the same time, you know, one can't imagine a Madball song with spacy drum fills etc.

Yeah i don't expect spacey drum fills or anything crazy but at least good solid grooves and a little bit of creativity, like the previous drummers did.
 
Talked with Mitts yesterday at the H20 show in Paris (he was doing 2d guitar for them), he told me MADBALL just finished recording the album and that the collaboration with Rutan was killer. Also told me that Rutan wanted to show that he could also do hardcore and not only brutal death metal kind of stuff.

H20 killed it yesterday by the way. And Mitts is a killer guitarist. You people go listen to the Rag Men album right now !
 
Talked with Mitts yesterday at the H20 show in Paris (he was doing 2d guitar for them), he told me MADBALL just finished recording the album and that the collaboration with Rutan was killer. Also told me that Rutan wanted to show that he could also do hardcore and not only brutal death metal kind of stuff.

H20 killed it yesterday by the way. And Mitts is a killer guitarist. You people go listen to the Rag Men album right now !

Rag Men KILL! Love that band haha.

BTW - What'd you think of God is I? Some good stuff I myself thought
Did you see them when they were in Europe?

Wish they'd come to Australia!
 
Rag Men KILL! Love that band haha.

BTW - What'd you think of God is I? Some good stuff I myself thought
Did you see them when they were in Europe?

Wish they'd come to Australia!

Rag Men is one of the most underrated bands IMO :)

Their self-titled album is a masterpiece IMO. By the way check out the Insomnia cover i did :

http://www.netmusicians.org/?section=id&value=5999
http://www.netmusicians.org/?section=id&value=6001

I think God is I was great overall, even if there's a bit too much of modern moshcore stuff i find a bit annoying. So it's like 3% of this record is a bit average/annoying but the rest is killer.

My fav. Merauder album is Five Deadly Venoms so far. Perfect blend of the early slayerized gang soundtrack that is master killer, with some badass hardcore/melody a la Leeway/Madball, and some sludgy/groovy/heavy stuff a la Pantera. Too bad the album release was just some demos being released and not a real album recorded in proper conditions.

Never saw Merauder live, this is like THE band i love and i've never had the chance to see yet. I hope i will see them someday soon.
 
Madball studio update :

http://www.goodfightmusic.com/news/

"New York City hardcore legends MADBALL have issued an in-studio update, intending to bring fans up to speed on the recording of their upcoming GOOD FIGHT MUSIC release, Empire. The record will hit stores on October 12th, 2010. “The recording process has gone smoothly. Hopefully I won’t screw it up,” jokes MADBALL vocalist Freddy Cricien. “I’m actually going in to track vocals today and I’m looking forward to it. And besides the interesting story of a manatee sitting by the place we stayed in, we’ve been dealing with the usual goofiness that comes with recording a record.”

MADBALL are currently recording at Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida. Behind the boards on Empire is producer Erik Rutan (Misery Index, Cannibal Corpse, Goatwhore). “Erik has been great to work with,” states Cricien. “He’s definitely a perfectionist, which I have no problem with. It’s going to benefit us in the end! He’s got his own techniques like everyone does, so he’s going to bring a different dynamic into the sound/mix. I’m excited for people to hear the finish product. I predict it will be very HARD!”

MADBALL recently announced the addition of seasoned drummer Jay Weinberg to their line-up. “Playing with Madball for the past several months has been an incredibly rewarding experience, in terms of both the music and the friendship we’ve made,” affirms Weinberg. “From the touring we’ve done so far in 2010, to writing and recording Empire, I couldn’t be happier with the way things are going. I think it’s safe to say we’re all eagerly anticipating the release of the new album, and the touring we’re going to be doing in support of it!”"