Features

Photo: Eric Soucy

If there was something many people find frustrating about the hardcore scene is the here today, gone tomorrow nature of the beast. In this instance, I mean bands that come out with a record and then seemingly disappear a few months later. That's definitely not the case with Hangman.

"We definitely squeezed everything we could have out of A Vile Decree," guitarist Mike Smith tells me about Hangman's 2017 EP. "We did a full US tour with Backtrack, Mizery, and Regulate. We played the pre show for United Blood, and than the fest the next year. We also ran through Mexico with Death Threat—which was so sick—and we did a little run with King Nine. And now we just got back from a run in Europe with Trail of Lies and Regulate.

"On top of all the shows we’ve played, we've had so many awesome one-off shows and just in general received great feedback over the course of the record being released. I don’t think we realized but A Vile Decree ended up being the foundation of the band and we look forward to building on that starting with this new record, One By One."

Photo: Anna Swiechowska

Ah, yes, One By One. The record doesn't arrive in stores until the fall, but No Echo is partnering with Hangman to present the premiere of "New Dawn," a track from the forthcoming collection:

"The Song 'New Dawn' was written at a time when I had little-to-no hope for my future," Hangman vocalist Dan Mulligan tells me. "I was constantly changing my plans and ideas and I basically felt useless. This song was written over a few months and as the song progresses you can see the change in my attitude through the lyrics.

"It starts off feeling low as I ever had and ends with a new view on the topic, hence the name 'New Dawn.' This song is one of my favorites because it really drives home the feeling of hopelessness and the eventual realization I felt at the time."

Mike then tells me about the One By One recording sessions: "We went back up to Greg at Silver Bullet Studios in Connecticut. We built a great friendship during and after the A Vile Decree sessions, so there really wasn’t a question about where we were going to lay these songs down. On top of that he really knows the sound we’re going for and absolutely kills it. We went up a few times and had [Flatspot Records co-owner, Backtrack guitarist] Ricky Singh come up once to throw in some ideas which helped a lot.

And than the final time we met up we had Aaron from Death Threat in with us to put some final touches on the song 'One By One.' I laid most of the strings down including all of the bass tracks, Harold laid his tracks down, Ron and Dan banged their parts out. We showed up prepared and Greg was there to piece all together once again."

I ask Mike about the state of affairs on the Long Island hardcore scene right now. "There are so many top notch bands to be checking out in our area," the guitarist says. "The only thing we are lacking on Long Island are spots to play at. I’ve been driving around looking for venues hoping that will change.

"From Long Island: King Nine, Victory Garden, Regulate, Rule Them All, Out for Justice, Poor Choice, Incendiary, Rain of Salvation, Typecaste. There is also a huge younger generation of kids that are starting their own thing, bands like Sprawl, Flatline, Good Nieghbor, Silenus, so I’m excited to see what all of them do in the upcoming years. "From out of state: Solider Of God, Year of the Knife, Shackled, Buried Dreams, Life’s Question, Zero Hour, MH Chaos, Magnitude, Three Knee Deep, Wild Side, Downfall. Queensway, M.A.D, and Combust."

Stay tuned to Flatspot Records on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) for news on the release of Hangman's One By One album.

Hangman tour dates:

7.27.19 -This Is Hardcore Fest - Philadelphia, PA

8.10.19 - Duke’s Grove - Waterford, NY - Freedom Fest w/ Death Threat, Palehorse, Buried Dreams

8.16.19 - Webster Underground - Hartford, CT - w/ Harms Way, Fuming Mouth

European tour w/ Backtrack & Higher Power:

11.01.19 Netherlands Eindhoven Sound Of Revolution

11.02.19 Switzerland Zürich Dynamo

11.03.19 Germany Karlsruhe Die Stadtmitte

11.04.19 Germany Berlin Musik & Frieden

11.05.19 Poland Warsaw Poglos

11.06.19 Germany Leipzig Conne Island

11.07.19 Germany Oberhausen Kulttempel

11.08.19 UK London Amersham Arms

11.09.19 UK Leeds Brudnell Social Club

11.10.19 France Paris Le Gibus

11.11.19 Germany Hamburg Hafenklang

11.12.19 Germany Frankfurt Das Bett

11.13.19 Germany München Backstage

11.14.19 Hungary Budapest Dürer Kert

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