Getting handed the new Freebase EP is a bit like being handed a cold can of Colt 45. You almost forgot what it was like and after sampling it, you realise you'd forgotten how good and potentially lethal it is. You see when Freebase effectively disappeared without trace in the earlier noughties they were right at the head of the UKHC table. Having released two storming albums in the shape of 'Nothing To Regret' and 'My Life, My Rules', they effectively disappeared without trace, having gone on a hiatus, which threatened to be terminal.

But, fuck me, if original members Mark and Nick haven't shaken the cobwebs off of Freebase, recruited ex-Stampin' Ground bassist and drummer Ian Glasper and Ade Stokes and ex-Assert guitarist Ryan Evans, and released an EP that's set to make up for lost time in no uncertain terms.

Mixing two new songs with three re-recordings from the aforementioned 'Nothing To Regret', 'From The Basement' is a short, sharp and very brutal statement of intent. The revamped tracks 'Respect', 'Sympathy Vote' and 'Run Me Down' sees three songs, which were shit-hot in the first place, given a new set of armour and serves as a timely reminder of how good the band were and indeed still are. The two new songs 'Scars (Cut From Your Lies)' and 'Welcome To Hell' just show that the band have no intention of letting their standards of old drop any. In fact they should have more than enough power to blow any doubters straight through the nearest wall.

If you never had the pleasure of Freebase the first time round ("why not for fuck sake??") then don't let this second chance pass you by. And if you thought Agnostic Front's 'My Life, My Way' upped the current hardcore ante immeasurably, wait until you hear this beauty. Let's seriously hope they stay around long enough this time to reap the rewards of their efforts.

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