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The m-sixteen saga actually began in November, 2000, when Victor and Jay, survivors of the earliest band, enrolled Renaud and Mike as guitarists. The groups concert debut came in June, 2001. The same year, in October, they cut their first CD, developing a sound reminiscent of Good Riddance or the Satanic Surfers. Although the EP was initially only intended to be a demo, it ended up being a commercial release in January, 2002.

Since then, m-sixteen has been pleasing crowds all over France. They almost always share the stage with punk-influenced bands. Theyve also been billed with French metal scene heavies.

In late 2003, m-sixteen went back into the studio for an evolutionary turning point. They put down some new compositions inspired by the punk-hardcore underground sound which has been alive and kicking since 1980 (see Black Flag to Rise Against). Results of the session are slated for release in April 2004 by STSnetwork, as a split CD with the California band The Missing 23rd. Stronger than ever the band play a lot of gig with some local bands or with foreign one. and hit the stage in front of 5000 people at the furia sound festival, rock all around france during the tour with their friends from Hogwash, with few stops in belgium, germany or switzerland !!

In the beginning of 2005, the band starts to concretize what will become their first album. Preserving their hxc punk roots mixed to an interesting combination of brand new influences never explorated by the band before, m-sixteen has finally find its own individual personality in the french musical landscape. It was obvious that the LOKO studio, that had been entirely renovated and gives more possibilities to the bands, was the perfect place to go back to and record this album. June 2005 was the start of a 2 years recording process. After 2 weeks recording all the instruments, the band came back home without any idea of how the record was going to sound. And after months of hard working, recording vocals at the studio, at home or in some obscure places, the record is finally done on fall 2006.

The first feedbacks from the french/international press and indie scene were really positive. the record was released by 3 labels and distributed in few countries as germany, italy, uk, japan... They toured france couple of time, did 2 european tour with Nine Eleven, toured with the Living Daylights in the UK and played with such band like Strike anywhere, red light flash, Propagandhi, Comeback Kid, Defeater, Big D and the kid table, This is a standoff, In-sane and many many more.

From punknews.org
Guilty. I’m guilty of somehow unconsciously careening into a narrow and dangerous mental path that’s associated new punk solely with the English-speaking Western World. Great Britain, the United States, Sweden (they speak English there, right?) and Australia…those are the only places good punk comes from, no? The swift slap in the face taking these puerile thoughts to task comes courtesy of the French band M-Sixteen on UK label Fond of Life and the Italian Chorus of One label. A thunderous galloping rhythm launches the opening track “Equilibrist” that skits forward with the frenetics of A Wilhelm Scream and razor-throat screams that call to mind a wailing Matt Caughthran of the Bronx fame. As with most of cuts on M-Sixteen, the song screams by faster than expected before meeting a wall of feedback and distortion that closes most of the songs on the album. “The Change” follows and is arguably one of the better numbers along with the gang vocal-laden “Violent Apathy” and angular hardcore of “Monster.” Though the Wilhelm Scream comparisons are both necessary and relevant, M-Sixteen trades in the dicing technical guitar work of AWS for many a furious barrage of chord alternations and more group vocals than the Scream have ever put forth. While the native French speakers clearly don’t have quite the bitter poetics of Nuno, M-Sixteen vocalist Renaud gets his point across more in tone than words, and it suits the whole just fine. In short, M-Sixteen’s style of new-school melodic hardcore is top notch, and if whispers of A Wilhelm Scream and the Bronx aren’t enough to rouse your interest, check it out for yourself.

CONTACT : msixteen@sts-network.net