What's new?

My intention is to get a review in for each of my "Best of 2024" picks before the passage of time renders them all irrelevant (this space not safe for Greg the Builder, but how boring a world it would be to let a calendar dictate yer tastes! Eye digress: destroy time!). I arranged that list all alphabetical-like as to avoid some sorta hierarchy, but I'd be lying if I said this wasn't my #1. Word on the street is SHARP PINS carries a heavy GUIDED BY VOICES influence, a claim supported by their G...

New demo from four young Chicago go-hards who dropped a music video before a demo, but if that makes yer vision go red, you should take up a hobby. Knitting, kayaking, get the blood pumping for chrissakes! As for pumping blood, "violent by nature" is one of the more straightforward hardcore punk releases I've enjoyed in some time, but goddamn is it good. I snagged the tape at a somewhat ill-fated gig at the Orphanage back in January. Live, I felt like there was a little more d-beat influence th...

We added 2 more printable zine PDFs to the Zines page. No Brains #4, featuring interviews with TRAIDORA and NAPALM RAID and the latest Maximum Rocknroll reviews digest for issue #502. Check them out, download them, print them out and start a distro!...

Print issue #5 of The Counterforce is here, collecting everything published so far in 2025. Download the PDF on our zine page (along wish past issues, and many other punk zines) to print and distro some copies! Now in A4 for the rest of the world and with beautiful cover art by our own contributor Ghas Attack....

There's something to be said about being an active band for 7 years, consistently putting out music and honing in on your craft all this time; meanwhile touring literally everywhere, taking no shortcuts. The proof is in the pudding: this record is undeniable. COMBUST never strayed from their initial sound and identity, they are the quintessential modern New York Hard Core band in my opinion. These guys are students of the game and deliver a high-quality record packed to the brim with NYHC bonanz...

This Montreal band is a secret gem. I had never really delved into their recorded output before, as I assumed it would not live up to the feeling of their live shows, often delivered through copious amounts of amps and pedals. Well I guess the joke's on me because this new album is impressive. The recording itself is outstanding, and they really capture the essence of what the band is about without any gear gluttony on display. You still get volume, tone and the feeling of being wrapped-up in a ...

I checked out this album when I heard that the bass player from END OF A YEAR/SELF DEFENSE FAMILY had a new band and it quickly became a recurring listen. I keep noticing cool parts and details I hadn’t before, which is rare for a straight forward punk record. LIFE ABUSE are from Albany, NY and they remind me of the type of bands that would be on something like Havoc Records, or that I’d read about in Heartattack Fanzine. Which is not surprising considering the members are veterans of that scene...

Montreal's DUREX is Alex (vocals), Kelly (drums), Hannah (bass) and Felix (guitar). They just released their second tape "SHAME". Interview contributed by DJ Buckingham Palace....

If you follow what's new in contemporary crust, you will have heard of Montreal's PORTAL TOMB and their Last Frost Demo released on Sore Mind last year. I started a Signal group with Aíne and Ava to chat about the band. ...

Slime punk, egg punk, egg. Chain wave, chain punk, and, eventually, inevitably, similarly, just chain. Does this help? Make more sense? No no no, just keep throwing some shit at the wall so every review sounds like a sales pitch and every band is a camel comprised of diametric sonic interests. D-beat, kang, raw, D-beat raw, UK82; female fronted, fast hardcore, fastcore; Devocore (that's a thing! The author's sweating!) Oh, good grief, let's not turn this first outing of mine into a referendum o...

CONDUMB’s S/T debut ep does something that I think is nearly impossible: sound very good and very noisy at the same time. Everything is balanced and shines while a layer of high gain covers the whole thing. Trish, who also plays guitar, did a great job recording this (as well as everything else of hers that I’ve heard). The bass is punchy and helps drive the entire ep, the drums are solid and straight forward in a way that props up the riffs instead of distracts from them. When I sent this to a ...

BRUTE is a very appropriate name for this band. Hardcore leaning into powerviolence from Vancouver that sounds like it was written by primitive humans and I mean that in the very best way. Is it recorded perfectly or horribly, you have to decide for yourself. Based on the artwork I assume this is or will soon be out on tape and honestly I'd be a bit afraid that the tape will destroy my tapedeck from too much sand in the casing. Caution the intro to BBG may have a drastic effect on your ability ...