If there’s one thing Freddy Madball is NOT, it’s one-dimensional. Most notably known as the front man for New York Hardcore stalwarts, Madball, a venture into the Hip Hop culture he grew up admiring has led him to take that admiration to the stage and on record. In 2009, Freddy released his debut solo Hip Hop record, Catholic Guilt which saw him gain praise and much credibility outside the comfortable confines of fronting a Hardcore band — a bridge not too many artists can gap well. July 14th at Gramercy Theatre NYC, Freddy Madball (featuring DJ Stress) will once again hit the stage in support of Jedi Mind Tricks and La Coka Nostra to prove once again, regardless of the musical medium, there isn’t a stage FMB can’t not destroy.
New York hardcore legends MADBALL recently spent five days at the Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersberg, Florida with producer Erik Rutan (HATE ETERNAL, CANNIBAL CORPSE, MORBID ANGEL) recording their new EP, “Rebellion”, to be released later this month via The BNB Label, a brand extension of frontman Freddy Cricien‘s Black N Blue Productions group. The six-song effort contains four new tracks and newly recorded versions of two cuts from the band’s legendary 1989 seven-inch single, “Ball Of Destruction”.
“Rebellion” marks the first MADBALL recording with former UNEARTH and THE RED CHORD member Mike Justian, who has served as MADBALL‘s touring drummer for the past year.
Speaking to AOL‘s Noisecreep, MADBALL vocalist Freddy Cricien stated about the process of re-recording 23-year-old material, “I was 12 when we did that original recording, and I don’t have the best memory when it comes to a lot of things, but I do remember that session.”
He added, “We recorded ‘Ball Of Destruction’ at Don Fury‘s studio on two tracks, live, with no overdubs. You went there, paid him a few hundred dollars and bang everything out. That session had me, Vinnie Stigma (AGNOSTIC FRONT) on guitars, my brother Roger (Miret, AGNOSTIC FRONT) on bass and Will Shepler (ex-AGNOSTIC FRONT) on drums. We also had Craig Setari (SICK OF IT ALL) and Mark Ryan (SUPERTOUCH) on backing vocals. As gritty as the original recording was, it was cool to be able to go in and re-record a couple of the tracks for this new EP.”
“Rebellion” EP track listing
01. Reap What You Sow
02. The Beast
03. Get Out (“Ball Of Destruction” re-recording)
04. Rebellion
05. My Blood
06. It’s My Life (“Ball Of Destruction” re-recording)
According to Cricien, “The Beast” “is about going through the trauma of an anxiety attack. It’s something a lot of us have unfortunately have had to deal with, me included. It’s a different kind of song, lyrically, for MADBALL, but it’s just like anything else we’ve written about… it’s very real.”
An eight-minute video clip featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the “Rebellion” recording sessions can be seen below.
As previously mentioned, Agnostic Front will be taking pair in the upcoming CBGB Festivals with brother band, Madball on July 5th at Webster Hall in New York City. Rounding out the bill will be Murphy’s Law and Maximum Penalty.
Tickets for this show available here and for a discounted 2 day pass that will also gain you access to the Sick Of It all / Cro-Mags show the following day check here.
The extremely limited and custom guitar built by Artist Series Guitars, for Madball, is now available. Be sure to check out the company roster, as they have custom guitars for Agnostic Front, Sick Of It All, Adolescents, Death By Stereo and many other great underground punk, hardcore and metal bands.
More specs and ordering information can be found here.
Later this month, New York City hardcore vets Madball will be issuing a special EP entitled Rebellion. The 6-song affair features four new tracks and newly recorded versions of two cuts from the band’s legendary 1989 7″, Ball of Destruction. “I was 12 when we did that original recording, and I don’t have the best memory when it comes to a lot of things, but I do remember that session,” Madball vocalist Freddy Cricien tells Noisecreep, walking us down memory lane.
“We recorded Ball of Destruction at Don Fury’s studio on 2-tracks, live, with no overdubs. You went there, paid him a few hundred dollars and bang everything out. That session had me, Vinnie Stigma (Agnostic Front) on guitars, my brother Roger (Miret, Agnostic Front) on bass and Will Shepler (ex-Agnostic Front) on drums. We also had Craig Setari (Sick of it All) and Mark Ryan (Supertouch) on backing vocals. As gritty as the original recording was, it was cool to be able to go in and re-record a couple of the tracks (“Get Out,” “It’s My Life”) for this new EP,” says Cricien.
Cricien then reveals the inspiration behind “The Beast,” one of the four new tracks Madball recorded for Rebellion: “That one is about going through the trauma of an anxiety attack. It’s something a lot of us have unfortunately have had to deal with, me included. It’s a different kind of song, lyrically, for Madball, but it’s just like anything else we’ve written about… it’s very real.”
Check out Noisecreep’s exclusive premiere of “The Beast” HERE.
Madball’s Rebellion EP will be released digitally on June 14 and vinyl later in the month via The BNB Label.
Track listing:
1. “Reap What You Sow”
2. “The Beast”
3. “Get Out” (Ball of Destruction re-recording)
4. “Rebellion”
5. “My Blood”
6. “It’s My Life” (Ball of Destruction re-recording)
The CBGB Festival which will be taking place July 4th-8th in over 20 venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn have announced a July 5th Webster Hall show with NYHC legends, Agnostic Front alongside brother band, Madball. Tickets for this event go on sale June 1st at 10am.
Madball front man, Freddy Cricien had the follow to say;
“Yeah yeah I know, we said we wouldn’t play the city (not NY!) again this year. That was our intention. Until of course, our brothers from AF put us on the spot to do this CBGB’s festival show! We couldn’t pass up an opportunity to play with Fam and also be a part of what will surely be…a history making show!! So, don’t hold it against us and if you didn’t come through the first time… definitely don’t miss it this time around! AF and MB together doesn’t happen as often as you’d think. You’ll lose a lot of your HC cred if you miss out on these series of shows… haha. FMB.”
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