Legacy
Madball - a pummeling staple of New York Hardcore since the band’s inception in 1988 – is one of the few groups that can lay claim to achieving high marks in regards to all of the above, while also maintaining an undying spirit that, to many, represents the heart of what hardcore is all about.   Originally coming to fruition as an Agnostic Front side-project, featuring a junior-high aged Freddy Cricien – younger brother of legendary Agnostic Front frontman Roger Miret - on vocals, Madball quickly established a reputation as being one of the hardest-working and most visceral hardcore bands in the scene, which still holds true to this day.  In fact, Madball has shared the stage with nearly every reputable hardcore and metal band of the past decade, and even after years of existence the band can still outperform most of its contemporaries.  In celebration of the group’s 15 plus years of influential existence, Madball recently inked a deal with Ferret Records and with it comes the band’s most ambitious release to date, the aptly titled Legacy.  Produced by renowned heavy-music specialist Zeuss (Hatebreed, Shadows Fall, Throwdown), Legacy is a continuation of all of the standards that any fan could expect from the group:  bruising rhythms and riffs, commanding vocals and an overall confidence that most hardcore troupes couldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole.   "It’s like our last record, Hold it Down, times ten!" longtime bassist Hoya beams.  "We’re definitely stepping up our sound, but we’re still a hardcore band.  It’s not like we’re a jazz-fusion group or anything.  We do what we want to do--the sound is up to date, but we never base what we do on any kind of trend.  I think we’re a band that can hang with anybody.  We’re representing New York hardcore and heavy music all around."    While Legacy is reminiscent of the best of Madball’s past material, the sound of the new record also finds the group expanding its horizons a bit. One of the stand-out points of Legacy is its simple yet effective title, which touches upon a profound theme throughout the history of the band in more ways than one. "Legacy means a lot of things to us," the enigmatic Cricien states.  "A lot of the bands we grew up listening to passed on their legacy through hardcore.  We feel like we’re doing the same thing—we’re carrying on the legacy of hardcore, but we’re also passing it down to the younger kids.  This is definitely something that has played a big role in our lives.""I want to continue to take the band to another level," Cricien says with excitement in his deep voice.  "I want to knock down the borders but still represent what the core of what Madball has always been.  We still feel as strongly about Madball as we ever have."