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I have been sitting on this review for a while but have been, for whatever reason, repeatedly putting off finishing it (I'd like to say it's because I've been too busy, but that is a shit excuse retrospectively). Alas, today I called in sick to work, which felt like the perfect time to focus on this review instead of more pressing important things I should actually be doing. I have now finally gotten my lazy ass to click the upload and save button to this website, finally leading me four months ...

FATAL REALM straight up restored my faith in hardcore guys doing death metal. In a world that is now overrun by everyone trying to be the next TORTURE and bands stealing DYING FETUS breakdowns, FATAL REALM delivers a great take on death metal. The demo is 5 songs in 9 minutes. The whole demo is basically all mosh parts while still being very much a death metal demo. Nonstop riffs. Makes your brain feel like the drawing on the artwork. Also, I keep seeing people online use the term “spinkick deat...

HELLSCAPE ended up on my radar due to this 7” being released by Advanced Perspective, a label that I feel consistently puts out really good shit and to no surprise, this is extremely good shit. The band cites some of their influences as CHRISTIAN DEATH and VOODOO CHURCH which is pretty obvious as soon as you listen to the first song. HELLSCAPE takes their goth and deathrock influences and uses them to make totally ripping hardcore punk. It’s fast, loud, and fucking pissed. Deathrock with mosh pa...

You don’t need to be super plugged in to realize that Denver, Colorado has been having a moment in the last few years. A lot of it revolves around the label Convulse Records (GEL, MSPAINT, MILITARIE GUN…) and that scene birthed some awesome bands such as PUBLIC OPINION, DIRECT THREAT, CANDY APPLE and now AMERICAN CULTURE. The album opens with local ambient-pop artist MIDWIFE, whose ethereal vocals are unmistakable, featured prominently on the song. A surprising choice and not her only appearanc...

This new EP came out of nowhere and was a good surprise. Unrelenting Hardcore of the punk variety out of Norway, by longtime students of the game who cut their teeth in amazing bands such as DEATH IS NOT GLAMOROUS, OKKULTOKRATI, BLOOD SUCKERS, URBANOIA… This is no frills, in your face Hardcore. Equal parts POISON IDEA and NEGATIVE FX, that would play nicely with most current releases on Quality Control Records. I would describe the vocals as ugly and nasty if the band wasn’t fronted by the ultim...

I love getting caught off guard by that fast intro that breaks into a super cool rocking/lead part, setting the tone here for unconventional song structures in the often boring genre that is youth-crew adjacent Hardcore. For the uninitiated, the term "democore" came from the 2010s boom of willfully amateurish bands who swore by third-rate/obscure late 80’s NYHC (see the defunct Moshers Delight Records). Admittedly late to the party, ONE TRACK MIND from Montreal carves their name alongside that w...

Weirdo Hardcore-punk on the eggier side of things that combines chorus-drenched noisy guitar and fast frantic drumming; but what made me fall in love with them are the super snarky vocals. Some songs are in English and others are in French (I believe the singer is from Luxembourg and the band is based in Germany). The lyrics are quite vile but the vocal delivery has a candid touch that makes the songs all the more catchier. It’s as no-bullshit as it gets and the drums are barrelling through the ...

Anonymous submission This won't mean anything to most of y'all, but Bill Korecky passed away at the beginning of August.  Bill ran Mars Studios in Cleveland, Ohio. Through the late 1980s and 1990s, he recorded all the records by Cleveland hardcore bands (INTEGRITY, RINGWORM, FACE VALUE, and... more than one band that doesn't deserve to be named), not to mention bands from outside Cleveland like CATHARSIS and UNDYING. He recorded the "Firestorm" EP by EARTH CRSIS. He even fixed the guitar sound...

A new, possibly recurring, photo feature from Slim Bolt. This installment features THE NOT, BIG LAUGH, ZEAL, and EXTENSIVE SLAUGHTER....

I probably should have wrote this down the minute I was on my way back to Montreal, but let's argue that the high speed blur of bands, friends, merch and exotic gas stations is better hazy and half-remembered. This was my first time attending and my first time in Pittsburgh, but I had been hearing about it for years as most of us have—always considered as the top of DIY punk fests with psycho lineups and generalized chaos throughout. Not to cut suspense in the first paragraph, but it obviously d...

Crasher crust trio EXTENSIVE SLAUGHTER from Vancouver certainly live up to their name on this latest release. Pummeling drums, chainsaw riffs and guttural vocals wash over 5 tracks clocking in just over 9 minutes, truly the perfect length to leave your ears ringing for more. There isn't a moment to catch your breath on any of these tracks, just the way it should be! The final track "Extensive Slaughter" features additional vocals à la legends like DISRUPT and NAUSEA, a trend I hope they pursue o...

NYC's beloved new crust band. My take is that this is metalcore disguised as crust. For fans of MORNING AGAIN, CHOKEHOLD and NAUSEA. Maybe I selfishly read it this way because I am always looking for that perfect crossover of two things I love, crust and breakdown 90s metalcore. Crust and metalcore are just closer than you think but they really belong together. Love/Compassion Crust/Core. Political lyrics to make you angry over heavy chugs to hype you up. There's even a blink-and-you'll-miss-it ...