In the loud music world the genre lines have greatly blurred over the last decade. Hardcore, punk, metal and emo have collided and left many bastard children. But where does that leave bands that cling to their core? The name groups of hardcore that have avoided adding the metal-, post- or emo- prefixes are few and far between.

But they are out there. Reintroduce yourself to Bane. What began as a side-project, Bane has had a respected 10-year career that has added a chapter with The Note. Their newest release, The Note shows just why the band has gotten that respect.

Bold guitars row through an ocean of rhythms and riffs while Aaron Bedard’s vocals bellows the return of an ideal, a sound ... hardcore. The Note isn’t filled with the usual testosterone-filled wild punch and kick metalcore. Instead, the 10 tracks leave a feeling of hope while making you pick up change and even skank for a half hour.

Melody infuses several tracks (“Pot Committed”, “End With An Ellipse” and “Swan Song”) making the album more accessible to those who avoid the usual rank-and-file hardcore. Where “Pot Committed” could easily garner play on music television, “My Therapy” is a sure yell-along classic at shows. Lauding the healing and empowering powers of hardcore, the track is a call to respect and remember the music because of all that it has done for you. It is a perfect song for the hardcore outcast in the polo shirt world and Bane is the perfect band to play it.