Guttural shit-punk with clicky metal drums, pimply-faced guitar solos, and a MENTORS-caliber sense of “humor.” The songs that don’t glorify misogynist violence are just stupid.
Legendary Brazilian band that merges hardcore and thrash, delivering fastcore and crossover mayhem all around. Active since 1993, they have the energy and blasting fury of skate punk from the early ’90s but with a fiercer grip on the hardcore side, in addition to being political and compromised with Brazil’s reality. There’s carioca breakdowns mixed with speedy fastcore. Recommended as a reference example of this wave of hardcore punk that took over Latin America like 30 years prior, full of energy and relentless tupa-tupa to pogo ‘til you drop. Favorite track: “Respeito É Bom E Conservas Os Dentes” (that translates to “Respect is Good and You Get to Keep Your Teeth”). Bom pra caralho.
Angry-as-hell four-piece hardcore group from Los Angeles. This is their second EP, following 2021’s Dear Heroes, and this double A-side cassette offers a litany of social and political critiques and downright condemnations. Themes of consumerism, billionaires, racists, homophobes, and sense of place get highlighted and torn apart during this five-song basher. Pretty straightforward HC musically, but I think the lyrics shine through and are really poignant. Lines like “It all leads back to shopping centers, touch screen skies / I’m terrified that we’re in denial / But we love the lie” from “Venetian Hotels” and “I looked up to my cousin / He beat me with a shovel and passed a bit of wisdom / Stop being such a girl” from “Man Up / Down” stand out to me, blending a sense of self into the issues at play. Not something you’re going to put on, snap your fingers to, and have a good time, but rather, it will enliven your sense of rage (if it’s not already at its max). Wake up!
Self-proclaimed AARP hardcore! Thrash-inspired one-man punk act out of the Southwest. Biting satire, not only aimed at nationwide issues seen in songs like “Get Shot” and “Corporate Job,” but also on a personal level with tracks like “My Neighbor is a Dickhead” and “I’m in a Foul Mood.” I can definitely relate with those last two. Charisma here is infectious, and his vocals are absolutely built for punk music. Very strong and in-your-face! Lots of attitude and confidence. You can tell this dude just loves having fun, making music, and cultivating his scene at large. I did a little research here and his social media presence is nothing but PMA. Love to see it. The kind of guy you’d love to get a beer with. Well worth a spin, especially for all you old fogies!
Ahhh…this is a tough one to review. I’m not certain that this is a solo project, but in many ways it sounds like one. This is stylistically all over the map. There’s lots of shreddy guitar work and tons of tempo changes throughout the nine songs on this disc. Some of the tunes are rooted in punk, but there are grind parts, metalcore parts, and even some hip-hop thrown in for (not) good measure. I’ll just come out and say it: I did not enjoy listening to this. The guitar tone is frankly excruciating, and everything sounds very synthetic. I can’t quite suss out if the drums are electronic, but they are really shrill and tinny. Ordinarily, I’d have zero reluctance with my criticism, but there is an aspect of this release that has to be mentioned. Shortly after this project was completed, one of the band members (maybe the only band member?) passed away, and all the proceeds are going to his family to support his young child. While I can’t necessarily recommend picking this up for the tunes themselves, it sounds like a cause worthy of support given the tragic circumstances.
The latest album from Richmond, Indiana’s (not Virginia’s) RIOT DIVISION. Artwork looks like an obscure energy drink, or locally-produced beef jerky package you can get at a desolate gas station in the middle of nowhere America. The sound isn’t too far off from that: some early crossover thrash metal and death metal influences that probably had some sort of weird impact on the creation of nu metal, but that’s not too important. For fans of Monster Energy, Full Throttle, No Fear, etc.
SHIT TAX seems to be a band that has been going for more than ten years, but only bothered to release something last year. To each their own pace, I guess. The moniker gave it away a little: SHIT TAX is a punk-as-fuck band playing direct, punk-as-fuck music. I am reminded of ’90s US anarcho-punk bands a lot, like RESIST, BROTHER INFERIOR, or DEPRIVED. Fast and snotty punk rock with lyrics against the pigs, religion, and consumerism, and about trying to survive in a violent society without going insane. It’s not bad, but with all the songs sounding a lot like each other, I found myself losing focus halfway through the tape. It is not so easy to keep the listener engaged with such a straightforward punk rock sound, and I think the EP format would have suited SHIT TAX better. They must be fun live, though, and I’m sure the local studs-and-spikes brigade are into them. And they’ve got a raptor playing the guitar on their Bandcamp, which is a definite yes.
Split effort with four tracks per band. Nebraska’s RIVER CITY REJECTS execute classic hardcore punk flirting with anthemic street punk, fierce, fast-paced, and straight-to-the-point with a twist of irony, and even some palm-muting trances to continue the fast drum beats. Live vibes all around on “Blacklisted,” filled with angry vocals that remind me of GG ALLIN from time to time. On the B-side, there’s Georgia’s TRIANGLE FIRE delivering some kind of crust powerviolence with faster blastbeats and high-pitched, doomy vocals, and then some fast-paced classic hardcore punk with a formula of singing to the beat. Depending on the track, it gives a feeling of some crazy crossover—sometimes it is a demon from hell, and sometimes it is Beki Bondage from VICE SQUAD. Perhaps too much of a mixed cocktail on this side.
Ripping hardcore from Michigan that goes hard from start to finish. These five tracks blast by with lyrics commenting on corruption, organized religion, racist punks, and martial law. I have a feeling the members of UNABOMB have some classic thrash records in their collections because they have riffs, and when the Big-Four-style, palm-muted, galloping power chug starts up on songs like “Blind Patriot” and “Old,” the songwriting arrangement soars past the confines of your everyday one-minute HC song. The vocals surge into a blackened holler at times, and the drumming is locked-in and super tight with a high-pitched snare tone that blazes through the buzzing guitars and ups the intensity. Also cool is the simple line-drawing cover art, which looks like the background setting for an EXTORTION record.
