Freddy Cricien started Madball at 12 years old with guidance from Agnostic Front — his older brother Roger Miret was the band’s frontman, and Cricien was already touring with them by age 7 or 8. Ten albums and nearly four decades later, the Lower East Side hardcore he built is still the same machine.
About the Show
Madball brings Not Your Kingdom to Empire Underground on Saturday, March 27 at 6:30 p.m., with Year of the Knife, Brick By Brick, and Dysentery in support. Not Your Kingdom is the band’s tenth studio album, released July 24, 2026 on Nuclear Blast. The lineup is Cricien on vocals, Mike Gurnari on guitar, Mike Justian on drums, and Paul Delaney on bass.
Cricien grew up on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, where Madball took shape, and later co-founded Black N’ Blue Productions to keep NYHC culture alive beyond the stage. The band’s catalog includes Spanish-language tracks reflecting their Latino roots, a consistent thread across a career Nuclear Blast describes as “an unrivaled force” in the genre.
The 14-track Not Your Kingdom was recorded at The Boneyard Studios in Nashville with producers Andrew Baylis, Aiden Thompson, and Grady Saxman. Nuclear Blast frames the album as the band’s trademark intensity turned inward: survival narratives that probe the human condition in familiar street-level language. Lead single “Rebel Kids” was the first track Cricien wrote for the record, completed roughly two years before the release. He co-directed the music video with Dave Causa and called the song’s message the catalyst for the album’s direction. “Tethered,” the opening track, was the last one written; Cricien described it as capturing a nostalgic 1990s NYHC feel that still sounds fresh.
Year of the Knife, out of Newark, Delaware, holds down the support slot with the band’s hardcore and metalcore blend on Pure Noise Records. Madison Watkins handles bass and lead vocals; the act has festival bookings at Brutal Assault 2027 and Wacken Open Air 2027. Dysentery and Brick By Brick also play.
Venue & Logistics
Empire Underground is the downstairs room at Empire Live, 93 N. Pearl Street in Albany. Madball headlined Day 2 at the inaugural Born Dead Fest here in September 2023, sharing a weekend with Hatebreed, Bleeding Through, and Integrity. The show is part of the capital region’s broader hardcore calendar. Show kicks off at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets
Tickets start at $35.85. Buy tickets