another nice tape release for the collection and another release i was happy to just pay under a tenner in order to get it. madball's iconic "set it off" album from 1994 was one of my door openers into the realms of heavy music, therefore the band will always have a special place in my heart. that being said, recent music of them failed to evolve the same excitement in me as their debut did. the last full length that really got me going was "infiltrate the system" from 2007.
i still bought the following albums and e.p.'s simply because it was madball but not really out of earnest anticipation. same thing with "for the cause". when nuclear blast spread the word for the coming record and its pre-order deals, i was more in an inner conflict because i had to extend my monthly budget limit if i wanted the vinyl rather than to be eager to listen to the album. i hesitated to order.
then i saw the tape version up for sale and made the decision to get a copy in that format instead. cheaper and cool as well. i ordered at season of mist because they had a few more nice tapes in stock. what's the record actually like? well, a piece of the better recent madball stuff. great guest appearances by ice-t and tim armstrong of rancid fame. 300 copies on blue shell cassettes. nuclear blast. 2018.
