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Throwdown.
 In the late 1990s the name Throwdown began gaining recognition within the underground hardcore movement, despite the band only releasing a few discs through small Californian music label Indecision. It wasn't until the group released 'Haymaker' in 2003 that they really started to happen. Fortunately this momentum has continued and bassist Dom Macaluso insists their up-coming release 'Vendetta' is their most brutal recording yet.
"This album is a natural progression for Throwdown, a lot of people who were into the 'Haymaker' release will be into this, but it's got more of a metal element to it, and it's also a little thrashier," he explains.
"There's just a few elements which we've tried to step up a notch, but there's really no denying that this is still a typical Throwdown album and I would say it is the best recording we've done so far. I know that must sound a little redundant coming from artists, as I'm sure that you hear it all the time," he laughs, "but really, this is the best album we have ever done!"
For this recording the group worked with renowned metal producer/engineer Zeuss (Hatebreed, Shadows Fall). "I will just come out and say it, but my experience with engineers in the past has always been really flaky," Macalusostes says bluntly. "People in the music industry don't tend to like structured jobs so a lot of them tend to procrastinate a lot, but Zeuss is very much about getting down to business. He showed up on time every day, he had a great work ethic beyond just the creative side of what he does, and as far as we're concerned we would love to work with him again in the future."
The band's current lineup has only been together for about a year, much of which was spent fulfilling a rather intense touring schedule. As Macaluso explains, this is the first time that Throwdown has actually had the luxury of being able to invest quality time into sitting down as a complete unit to put an album together.
"We've been able to establish a good chemistry with all the members through a lot of touring which was beneficial, but really this is a first for us, rather than just putting songs together here and there whilst we've been on the road," he remarks. "Dave [Peters], our vocalist, had been writing a lot of riffs and things over the past year, and coming up with ideas for songs, which meant we were able to get to the studio and start cranking out songs fairly easily. We did have a little bit of a lull in the middle; because we wrote the first three or four songs fairly quickly and we felt that they were so strong and so good that songs maybe from five to seven were slowed down a little bit because we wanted to make sure that there was no filler on the album. It means that 'Vendetta' came out sounding a lot more structured and a lot more focused as a result, and I think that will really translate through to our audience."
The conversation turns to the hardcore scene, something about which Macaluso has a lot to say. "In the scene at present there are about seven different sub-genres, and a lot of bands that are starting to get really popular here in the States are the screamo-fashion bands. I don't have a bone to pick against those bands, but there really is a little bit lacking in terms of substance. It almost seems that if you can pick up a couple of members and one can sing and one can scream, you're almost going to be an overnight success," Macaluso sighs. "It's a really confusing time for hardcore at the moment, there's so many things going on and I still see this segregation between the metal and the hardcore worlds. But being a band that is able to play Ozzfest alongside Lamb Of God, and being able to introduce these kids to a variety of metal bands and the hardcore scene in general, is definitely a good feeling for us."
Adam Hood
 | Throwdown play an all-ages show at Fowlers Live on Wed 25 May with Taking Sides and From The Ruins. |
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