MADBALL was caught at the last year’s Furnace Fest by Monster Energy, who asked the band about festivals, small vs big shows, and introducing the American audience to hardcore, a genre that bassist Jorge “Hoya Roc” Guerra compares to a “cool uncle that just got out of jail.”
If you know, you know, but in case you don’t, Madball is an original New York hardcore band that infuses their classic old-school sound with a modern, metallic twist. Formed in 1988 as a side project of Agnostic Front, featuring vocalist Freddy Cricien, who is the half-brother of the frontman of Agnostic Front. Madball later established its own group of band members and gained recognition for their relentless touring and release of iconic albums.
The Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, Alabama hosts an annual festival that attracts fans of punk, hardcore, emo, and post-hardcore. This year’s event is scheduled for September 22-24, and promises to be the most impressive lineup yet since the festival’s revival in 2020, following its original run from 2000 to 2003.
The 2021 edition was postponed due to the pandemic, but the festival returned in full force this year, featuring a stellar collection of musical acts across numerous genres, including pop punk, punk rock, hardcore, metalcore, death metal, and more.
