On July 24th, NYHC icons MADBALL return with their tenth studio album, Not Your Kingdom, via Nuclear Blast. Seamlessly bridging the gap between old-school grit and the modern heavy music landscape, MADBALL remains an unrivaled force. Not Your Kingdom pairs the band’s trademark tales of street survival with a deeper, introspective edge, cementing the fact that hardcore still runs deep in their veins.
MADBALL has unleashed their second single, ‘Tethered.’ The track serves as an unapologetic, deeply personal reflection on everything the band represents. Dissecting pivotal moments from both past and present, frontman Freddy Cricien proclaims: “I’m bound to all the things / That I’ve done and seen / Tethered to everything / All the good the bad / That made me.” Delivering the classic, high-octane groove that serves as the genre’s lifeblood, the track is paired with a music video directed by Freddy Cricien and Dave Causa who handled filming—a visual love letter to the streets of New York City where the band first took root.
MADBALL‘s Freddy Cricien comments, “‘Tethered’ is the opening song on the record and that’s ironic because it’s one of the last ones written for the album. I love the vibe, very bouncy groovy NYHC that really transported me back to the 90’s – hence the lyrics/theme. To my ears, it has a “nostalgic” feel but still manages to come across as something new for us! Made sense for it to be the second single to demonstrate the diversity of the album – the whole thing is a story, a ride of sorts and this one as the opener really sets a good pace sonically and lyrically.”
Stream ‘Tethered’:
https://madball.bfan.link/tethered
Not Your Kingdom was tracked at The Boneyard Studios in Nashville, TN, with additional interludes recorded by Jeff “Stress” Davis and Chuck Treece at Chop Shop Studios. The album was produced and engineered by the team of Andrew Baylis, Aiden Thompson, and Grady Saxman, with final mixing and mastering handled by Lee Rouse. The striking cover art features photography by the legendary Cornell Capa, courtesy of Magnum Photos and the Cornell Capa Estate
Decades in, MADBALL remains the gold standard of New York Hardcore—proving they are not just survivors, but masters of the craft. Their live performances are a masterclass in controlled chaos, dripping with a ferocity and raw integrity that most bands can only hope to emulate. They’ve stayed sincere, stayed dangerous, and stayed at the top. Ain’t nothing changed.
Pre-order/pre-save Not Your Kingdom:
https://madball.bfan.link/not-
