Bane
"The Note"
Equal Vision

Chris: Bane is back with a vengeance. It seems like it has been forever for these hardcore vets to release a new album. But in 2005, Bane is back to take the scene back from the hipsters, jocks and assholes.

"The Note" offers up ten typical Bane songs. You get everything in this Bane release that you would expect, anthems,sSing-a-longs and Aaron Bedard's horrible vocal range. Lets be honest, we all know his singing is God awful, but it's part of the reason why their songs are still really good. It's just a guy letting loose and not caring one bit, because he knows we'll all be in front of the stage singing along to every word.
Bane gives its fans a ton of opportunities on this CD to get up and be apart of gang vocals and pileups.

Between "Hoods Up" and "Swan Song," you've got to want to scream each chorus as loud as you can.
With 10 songs clocking in at just under a half hour, I think it's the perfect length for an album like this—we've gotten an album that could rank as one of the years best.

The strongest song on this is by far "Swan Song." With the help of guitarist Zach Jordan, who also moonlights as frontman for Silent Drive., this is just a great song. Passionate lyrics, awesome repeated chorus at the end of the song. Dare I say this song sounds epic in a way. Just give it a listen and you'll understand.

I love this album for the fact that today, 90% of hardcore is judged solely based on what the band is wearing and how many breakdowns they have per song. Bane doesn't care about any of that and their music reflects their ethic and love for the scene. There's no room for kickboxing at their shows, hopefully people will listen to this and realize that.

Adam: I always thought that Bane was a by the books hardcore band with a competent rhythm section and an annoying singer. But if you’ve ever seen one of this band’s live performances you know that their real energy lies in their show. Kids go apeshit over them. “The Note” is Bane’s strongest effort to date (and the first in four years!)

Bane still has a little bit left after all these years. Lyrics and sing-a-longs throughout the record are very youth crew-ish. The music is compromised of slow breakdowns and fast, chaotic hardcore just when you need it. “The Note” harkens back to the days when Floorpunch, Ten Yard Fight, and Ensign were all the rage. Many kids are really connected to this band through their lyrics and will likely be right at home with songs like “One For the Boys” and the album’s best track “My Therapy."

True hardcore doesn’t come around that often anymore and despite being a mediocre band in the past, Bane have truly developed into one of the best veterans of the scene. This would make the old farts from Judge and Chain of Strength proud. Catch them on tour this summer with Cursed, Evergreen Terrace and Verse.

Reviewed by: Chris Buehler & Adam Circumstance
Reviewed on: June 6, 2005