MADBALL Begins Recording New Album

New York hardcore legends MADBALL have entered the studio to begin work on their eighth full-length release, their first since 2010's "Empire". The band is recording basic tracks with Ken Susi (UNEARTH) at System Recordings in Grafton, Massachusetts. Additional recording will take place at Pinecrust Studios in Miami, Florida with Jonathan Nuñez at the helm. The CD will be mixed by Chris "Zeuss" Harris, who previously worked with MADBALL on "Legacy" (2005) and "Infiltrate The System" (2007). The as-yet-untitled effort is slated for a mid-summer release.

MADBALL's latest EP, "Rebellion", was released digitally in 2012 via The BNB Label, a brand extension of vocalist Freddy Cricien's Black N Blue Productions group. The six-song effort contained four new tracks and newly recorded versions of two cuts from the band's legendary 1989 seven-inch single, "Ball Of Destruction". The CD was recorded at Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersberg, Florida with producer Erik Rutan (HATE ETERNAL, CANNIBAL CORPSE, MORBID ANGEL).

"Rebellion" marked the first MADBALL recording with former UNEARTH and THE RED CHORD member Mike Justian, who had served as MADBALL's touring drummer for a couple of years.

"Empire" sold around 1,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 15 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.