“TAKE HOLD! GAIN CONTROL!” – BEHIND THE SCENES OF MADBALL’S REBELLION

Continuing a release tradition that appeared, for a time, dormant, Madball are readying the release of a six-track EP of new material and re-recorded Ball Of Destruction-era cuts. Yet unlike prior works — which have appeared on labels like Roadrunner, Epitaph, and most recently, Good Fight — the Rebellion EP comes courtesy of The BNB Label, a brand extension of frontman Freddy Cricien’s Black N Blue Productions group.

The above promotional video offers a glimpse of the band–which still includes longtime members Mitts and Hoya Roc–at Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersberg, FL with Eric Rutan, whose production credits are lengthier than his work in Hate Eternal. Back in 2010, Rutan produced their last full-length Empire (read my review here), promises a more “raw” sound on this record, though the clip only offers brief snippets of the material. Notably, Rebellion marks Madball’s first recording with former Unearth and The Red Chord drummer Mike Justian, who has been gigging live with the band over the past year or so. After the Max Weinberg incident, it’ll be interesting to hear how Justian works with the band.

The unanswered question, for now, is whether this means that Madball’s relationship with Good Fight has ended. There’s no mention of a “co-release” with Good Fight or distributor E1, and the absence of that suggests the two may have parted ways. Cricien even goes so far as to say, “It’s basically self-funded, self-promoted, bringing back the whole D.I.Y. thing, you know, but still on a professional level.” It’s possible, of course, that their arrangement with the label gives them to freedom to record and release singles and EPs elsewhere, which they did with the R.A.H.C. 7″ for Reaper back in 2010. No matter what, new Madball music is always welcome for lovers of metallic hardcore.

Rebellion EP tracklisting
01. Reap What You Sow
02. The Beast
03. Get Out (Ball of Destruction remake)
04. Rebellion
05. My Blood
06. It’s My Life (Ball of Destruction remake)

-GS