Richmond, Virginia means something to anyone who has ever been involved in hardcore punk, but even more so in a modern sense. You say Richmond, Virginia to a straight edge kid and I’m pretty sure he will be able to give the names of some of Richmond’s finest bands, not only straight edge bands, but modern hardcore bands for that matter.

I don’t know what it is about Richmond, whether it’s the environment or just something in the water, but some of the best modern hardcore is from Richmond. For the most part, they’re straight edge hardcore bands, well the ones I know of anyway.

Enter Break Away, and yeah, you guessed it, they’re a Richmond based straight edge hardcore band. This being said, this is probably some of the heaviest stuff I have heard in a while, especially in 2015. The band recently made their LP titled Face Aggression on React Records available for streaming and digital download via bandcamp. Face Aggression is a pretty heavy hitter as it has some incredible riffs and just creates an atmosphere and energy that you’d want from a straight edge hardcore band with something to say and these dudes will definitely have their say, whether you like it or not.

I feel that the LP has that modern hardcore feel to it where it combines faster and mid-tempo rhythms that flows like something I feel has been lacking in recent hardcore releases. It’s not overly focused on breakdowns, which is a refreshing change from the tried and tested modern hardcore that has become somewhat predictable. There are some incredible leads and the breakdowns are positioned well throughout the record with regards to overall composition and structure, which gives it that fullness. But then again, it wouldn’t be modern hardcore you could slam to some heavy breakdowns, but don’t worry, there is a healthy amount of that going out throughout Face Aggression. The faster tracks has that aggressive American hardcore feel to it, which is almost nostalgic.

Overall it’s a good blend of modern hardcore whilst sticking true to the more conventional American hardcore punk of the 80’s. This kind of culmination definitely forms a very formidable LP and Face Aggression delivers the goods.