Berthold City

Reviews

Berthold City A Moment in Time LP

Featuring veterans of the L.A. hardcore scene, BERTHOLD CITY takes every element of straightedge/youth crew and packages it neatly here on A Moment in Time, a collection featuring their first two 7”s, three new songs, a CIRCLE JERKS cover, an INSTED cover, and a comp song. I really don’t have much to say here other than this would be a great entry point for someone interested in getting into this style. They aren’t exactly reinventing the wheel, but it is a pure expression and representation of the sub-genre. I mean, they’re named after the font used by everyone from SSD to JUDGE; you can tell what you’re going to get based on that alone.

Berthold City When Words Are Not Enough LP

I’ve been following this band since early on in their career and own both of their EPs, so I was beyond stoked when an LP was announced—as hoped, it does not disappoint. Angry, fast, no-frills, classic straightedge hardcore that will always stand the rest of time. Unlike some bands that attempt this style, BERTHOLD CITY fucking nails it. A lot of the time, bands in this style overdo it with the gang vocals, or for whatever reason get overly metal with the guitars. None of that here, though. The gang vocals are inserted in the perfect places and there’s no hint of metal guitar parts anywhere! To me this is a near perfect hardcore record that, if I did one, would certainly be near the top of my year-end top ten list. This record fucking rips. My only gripe would be that the first run of vinyl sold out before I could grab a copy.