xAFBx, or the band formerly known as xArmed for Battlex, is approaching 2006 with a shortened name, a reduced line up, and a load of hospital bills, but their metal-influenced brand of straight edge hardcore will ring in the new year seemingly unscathed. The Reno-based band began in 2004 and quickly established themselves as unabashedly straight edge and undeniably brutal. With the fall of Syracuse, NY, as the Mecca for militant vegan straight edge kids in the late 1990s, the Reno/SLC area quickly assumed the role becoming a hotbed for straight edge bands like Unconquered and xClearx. xAFBx is a direct descendant of these bands, while the technical competency of their songs does well to set them apart. xAFBx’s demo CD was released on Seventh Dagger Records in 2005 and quickly sold out of its initial pressing. This demo both solidified the band’s avowed commitment to straight edge and marked them as a heavy force to be reckoned with in an often metal-diluted hardcore scene. The band’s lyrics, although angry and resolute, don’t aptly express the band’s admirable vow to work alongside others – straight edge and non-straight edge alike – to try and combat society’s ills. As Seventh Dagger continued to repress the CD, the band continued playing shows in and around Reno, wasting no time in heading to CA to record their first full-length album Outside of their studio in Oakland, the band was attacked and spent a couple of days in the hospital. But through fractured skulls and broken ribs, band name and member changes, the band marches on undeterred and plans to release their full-length in March of 2006.

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