Pummeling hardcore out of LA that throws in some notes of death metal and powerviolence. For the most part though, this one is a mosh-inducing beatdown from chug number one. Now, metalcore isn’t normally my favorite style, but these breakdowns are so tough that even I’m feeling the urge to start throwing some karate kicks and punching the floor. The overall theme of embracing death cause life sucks comes off pretty well, too. I say give it a spin!
Band of Philadelphia veterans (KISS IT GOODBYE, CAVALRY, the CURSE, loads more) team up for a supergroup of sorts, and drop a debut that sounds like a band made up of…well, a band of seasoned veterans. Emotional intensity reminiscent of MOSS ICON or NAVIO FORGE, delivered with a gritty, heavy guitar-driven attack that actually feels like an attack—guitars right up front and fighting through the speakers for the chance fight you, while Singer (DEADGUY, KISS IT GOODBYE) fucking writhes his way through the words. It’s an astonishingly mature initial release, even considering the members’ collective pedigree.
Ferocious outta-the-gate hardcore from Kansas City. Definite Japanese ZOUO-like influences, as well as contemporaries like GAG, S.H.I.T., and CONCEALED BLADE. Trippy, slowed-down soundbites in between songs. Works well on songs like “Obsession and Disorder,” “D.O.T.M.,” and “God Off,” and it’s mastered really fucking loud. Never been much of a fan of the echoey reverbed vocal style, but hey, that’s just me. See you in the virtual pit.
Vicious mad blasts of retro-crust hardcore fueled with defiance and rage. Recalling the sounds of REACT, CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE, LOGICAL NONSENSE, AUS-ROTTEN, BOILING MAN, focused on themes of veganism, animal liberation, and a strict stance against the capitalist corporate masculine hypocritical system. Several shared furious vocal duties nail-gun through each track, which clock in under a couple minutes each on average, a brief harsh slap of reality like DROPDEAD. A few songs explore into the three- or four-minute range, thinking of ANTISCHISM, PROVOKED, ZERO HOUR but for the most part, on this 22-track LP laced with several unsettling interludes, the band delivers their message concisely. FUCK IT… I QUIT! is the sound and constitution of the inherent punk culture fight and the uncensored non-metaphoric, straight-to-the-point voice we need again.
A powerful unit with members hailing from Vancouver and Seattle, PUNITIVE DAMAGE drops three all-too-brief bombs on this bright yellow 7”. This is some heavy and tight hardcore with a classic sound and a rabid singer that is absolutely pissed. If that murderous opening track “Legacy” doesn’t get your attention, don’t even look at me. More, please.
Fucking huge sounding, super energetic D-beat-based hardcore, what the fuck is not to like here? Hard to decide what to highlight first, the sick vocals or the crazed drumming or the raw riffage. While there’s a bit more of an experimental spirit in the margins here compared to their earlier releases, confined to some trippy song intros and breaks, please rest assured that the backbone of pure fucking hardcore remains firmly intact. San Diego’s THERAPY are exemplary of the DIY spirit in 2020: performing a ton, putting on gigs, and always hustling for both their band and their scene. It is a tremendous comfort to me that while over-hyped mediocre trend bands will come and go, there will always be bands like THERAPY keeping it real where it counts. Mandatory for fans of the style and for hardcore lifers in general.
Stockholm’s AXE RASH have, and always will, it seems, provide straight, simple, raw, and heavy metallic D-beat to the masses. This, however, is a similar merge with American hardcore as we’ve seen with bands à la WARTHOG, and the lyrics to each of their two songs are humorous, particularly on the opener “Ostrich Man.” Great stuff. THERAPY from San Diego, while providing some great music as well, doesn’t have quite the force that AXE RASH has in their songs, but nonetheless is a promising band. The first couple of their songs lack a bit, but “Power” is mental. I really felt I was being transported to seeing the band in person via this song, which few records can accomplish. Ultimately, the truly exciting aspect lies in the A-side, but it’s still worth taking the time aside for a full listen.
For some reason, VERBAL ASSAULT is one of those bands that has eluded my ears for years. In fact, it wasn’t until very recently that I’d even seen one of their records with my own eyes, and of course, I immediately purchased said record (the Learn EP, to be exact). So to see these two releases be reissued is phenomenal. Now to be perfectly clear, this is not the straight-up hardcore that was prevelant on the afformentioned record. These songs were originally released as two separate EPs in 1989 and 1991 respectively. With that, the face of hardcore had or was changing drastically at that point, and these songs, while still hardcore songs, have a bit more depth. There are times when I can hear the elements that likely influenced bands like INTO ANOTHER, etc., like phaser pedals and such, but it’s not overdone and adds layers to the cake. A solid reissue of some essential material here.
Debut LP from Chicago’s WRONG WAR, this HC album is fast, tight, and angry. The socio-political tension can’t be missed, from the band’s moniker to each and every song. The opener “Words Were Mere Words” shouts in its chorus, “And how I / Long for / Those days when / Words were mere words. / And how I—let it align.” A reckoning with cancel culture, as in we should be responsible for what we write and say and how it makes one another feel? Or an actual desire to not be accountable? Although the lyrics are all shouted, they are clear and you don’t need the liner notes to make them out—that said, the messages are vague and trope-y…the war machine (“Count the Days”), religious falsehoods (“Direct Function”), foolish patriotism (“Escape Clause”). But I don’t know, maybe I’m just oversaturated with being reminded of how shitty everything is, was, will be, etc. Anyway, if this fuels your rage, they released a second LP (Once Upon a Weapon) earlier this year, and I can only imagine what they’ve got to say since this release came out in 2020.
