ALBUM REVIEW: Not Your Kingdom – Madball
Over the last few years, hardcore has been seeping its way into the mainstream. The likes of TURNSTILE and KNOCKED LOOSE are two of many bands responsible for this. However, when it comes to hardcore, you’d be hard pressed to find any band that wouldn’t state legends MADBALL as a key inspiration. Since 1994’s Set It Off, the New York quartet still continue to set the world on fire with their boisterous music. 2026 sees the release of their latest and tenth album, Not Your Kingdom. A record that honours the band’s legacy whilst exploring roads less travelled for the band.
There’s no grand fanfare to start this album. It’s a burst of energy as soon as it begins. Tethered opens the record in an awesome style with what feels like a combination of hardcore punk and a little dash of hip hop. The pulsating and driving riffs create a delectable bounce that makes it almost impossible to keep still as the drums create a colossal feel to it. Frontman Freddy Cricien brings a flow to his delivery which combines perfectly with his growling lyrics and leaves you feeling battered and bruised, and we’re only on the first song. Flammable follows suit in a more traditional style of hardcore as it bruises through its minute long run time. The guitars are unforgiving and the blast beats rattle to your core as you can almost feel the heat of seeing this song in a small sweaty venue. Rebelude works as a fun little interlude as it noodles its way through in a calm manner before evolving into the juggernaut of a track Rebel Kids, which is an early highlight of the album. It’s a pump your fists in the air sort of song as it begs the listener to find their own road in life rather than follow the one which seems easiest whilst telling us to think our own thoughts as well. It’s an effective track and if you’re gonna listen to anyone to tell you what to do out of a hardcore punk band, or a politician, or influencers, it’s easily going to be the hardcore band any day of the week.
Another short burst of energy is Don’t MisStep, a swirling storm of noise that helps you feed off the energy it creates as it tells us not to lose our way in life before bleeding into another album highlight with What Say You, which is one of the more anthemic tracks on the album. The driving nature of this song is a sound to behold as it tackles the themes of billionaires and maybe a certain president with the phenomenal line and album namesake, “not your kingdom” and how they feel like they own everything and are in charge but the power of many is more powerful than the power of a few. It gets you hyped up and ready to start a rebellion. With MADBALL on the front lines, it doesn’t seem like a bad idea.
The madness continues in Stab Wounds which brings a metal vibe to the party but that distinct MADBALL energy remains with a circle pit inducing maelstrom of noise that is honestly just beautiful. Sunrise provides us with another bit of respite amidst the madness in the guise of someone skipping through radio stations before launching into Life’s A Mural, another banger. A track that takes aim at the hypocrisy of those who comment on others actions despite their own morals being shit and how all their actions are remembered on the mural of life and that they can come back to haunt them. Family First is a wonderful riff centric song that bruises its way through its run time, you can jump up and down to it, bang your head or change up with the song as it descends into wonderful madness that makes you want to two step along to those sweet riffs that bring the stankface as it goes hand in hand with Clockwork.
IWI may be short, but it still packs a punch in its thirty second run time as it bleeds into penultimate track; The Ride, which is yet ANOTHER highlight on this wonderful work of art that drives us to the Not Your Kingdom’s finale before evolving into the one last track with Chase a Dream. These final two show there’s no holding back from MADBALL even after fourteen songs. The heaviness and madness remains until the final notes of the album and genuinely makes you feel like you’re in a battle ground as it becomes an all out assault on the senses. It goes through wild and frenetic verses before slowing down with a brooding bass line that takes us to one final burst of noise before bringing this album to its very satisfying end.
Even after the eight year wait for new music, it feels like MADBALL never went away. Not Your Kingdom shows why this band has the legacy it does and how they continue to lay the path down for up and coming bands. This isn’t just an album, it’s a MADBALL album. It lets us rage, it lets us feel, it brings catharsis and most of all, it lets us loose and brings us a hell of a lot of fun in fourteen songs. Long may they reign.
Rating: 9/10
Not Your Kingdom is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.
Like MADBALL on Facebook.