Album Review: Madball - For The Cause

Once upon a time Freddy Cricien was the (very) youthful face of New York hardcore. These days, he, Jorge "Hoya Roc" Guerra and whoever else happens to be in Madball are the absolute OGs of the genre (barring Agnostic Front).

Not surprisingly, album number nine delivers everything we expect from the Madball crew: thick grooves, pummelling tempos, gang chants and barked lyrics about keeping true to 'the cause'. Despite this 'sameness', this scribe would go as far as to say that this is probably Madball's best record since bursting back onto the scene in 2005 with the masterful Legacy platter. I'm not sure exactly where this additional spark comes from, but we should definitely note Tim Armstrong's (Rancid) punchy production and Matt Henderson's session work on guitar that gives the band an extra intensity as well as Ice T's guest spot on Evil Ways, which add a delightful vitriol to yet another tune about urban injustice.

For The Cause isn't going to change the mind of anyone who abhors the chest beating and machismo of the New York hardcore scene, but this was never a record designed to change hearts and minds. From the title down, this is one for the faithful and if you consider yourself to be part of that group then there's a lot here to like.