Cerebral Ballzy
Taking influence from Black Flag, Dead Boys, Bad Brains, and Thrasher magazine — as well as pizza and beer –Cerebral Ballzy were formed by five Brooklyn skaters who were nostalgic for early-‘80s speed metal and hardcore punk. In 2010, Mel, Honor, Mason, Jason, and Abe started getting together to play music as fast as humanly possible, and while doing so in their practice space, they came up with songs like “Underage Drink Forever,” “Puke Song,” and “Skate All Day.” Cerebral Ballzy’s debut 7″, You’re Idle, was released on Article Records and came packaged in a sandpapery sleeve (à la The Return of the Durutti Column) made of hand-stenciled skateboard grip-tape. After playing for only six months together, the band inked a deal with Vice Records, who released their self-titled full-length debut in 2011. Receiving positive reviews for their brattish take on classic ’80s hardcore, the group headed out in support of the record, taking on a full tour of the U.S. as well as dates at key European festivals such as Pukklepop, Roskilde, Reading, and Leeds. Returning to the studio in 2013 with TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek, the band set about recording their sophomore release, Jaded & Faded. Preceded by the 2013 singles “Another Day” and “City’s Girl,” the album itself was released in June of 2014.