Hardcore – Page 20 – Wonderbox Metal

Raised Fist – From the North (Review)

Raised Fist are from Sweden and play Hardcore. This is their fifth album.

This is the kind of infectious, energetic Hardcore that I used to love back in the 90’s. This album could easily sit nicely alongside classics by Sick of it All, Biohazard and Pro-Pain.

It’s heavy but still catchy, angry but still accessible, song-oriented but still nuanced. It’s damn impressive. These tracks have an edge to them but are still largely uplifting affairs.

The songs are upbeat, bouncy and have enough hooks to endanger the average passer by. Not content with throwing out massive grooves when they want to, the band also have a good repertoire of melodic licks and tricks that add a depth and longevity to their compositions that probably wouldn’t be there without them.

The singer has a very energetic high voice that is both unusual and charismatic. This kind of music would be lessened by a generic vocalist and Raised Fist have anything but.

This album has made me both nostalgic and excited. There’s a lot to enjoy here and Raised Fist are, ultimately, just incredibly good at what they do.

Great stuff.

Cowards – Rise to Infamy (Review)

Cowards are from France and this is their second album. They play a brand of Hardcore that’s a blend of Sludge and Black Metal.

This is the kind of discordant, ugly, abrasive, extreme Hardcore that I absolutely love. Throw in a Blackened Sludge influence as well and you’ve a love affair just waiting to happen.

Well, actually it’s been happening ever since I discovered their début album really, but this new one affirms it.

Cowards incorporate interesting ideas and riffs into their aural assault and every song brings something slightly different to the table.

The granddaddy of this style is, of course, the mighty Converge. Cowards take the template laid down by the masters and dirty it up with Sludge and Black Metal influences until it’s firmly their own. I like a band that stamps their own identity on the style of music they choose to play; Cowards do this with jackhammers.

Toweringly slow, blisteringly fast, chuggingly heavy, Blackly aggressive, sadistically spiteful…I could go on. Suffice to say that Cowards have created an album that’s heavy and extreme in all of the right ways.

And have I mentioned the riffs? There are some choice ones on here. Slow, fast, atypical, angular, you name it.

The singer is appropriately intense throughout. This kind of music needs a singer who sounds like he’s about to lose it and explode into a fit of violence and this is what we get.

Great stuff. If you like music that’s heavy and aggressive you’ll love Cowards.

Slander – The Rush (Review)

Slander are from Italy and play Hardcore.

Short and to the point, this is just under 8 minutes of Punk-infused Thrashcore that’s recorded well and wastes no time in hitting the spot.

The band have energetic riffs and lively shouted vocals that power the short tracks along. The Thrash component to their sound is a little more noticeable in the guitar department than it is for some bands like this and Slander manage to get that Crossover feel just right.

I like this as it’s not done in some ridiculous retro-humour-style as is so often the case, instead the songs are tight, infectious and mean business.

Definitely a band to check out. Have a listen to them and let the music flow.

Tharsis They – Formless/Shapeless (Review)

Tharsis They are from the US and this is their latest EP. They play Hardcore.

I’ve enjoyed this band’s previous work and this short EP is no different.

This is a band who take their cues from classic early 00’s bands like Converge, Botch, Coalesce, Nora, Zao, Most Precious Blood, etc. and combine both Metal and Hardcore into destructive behemoths of pure heaviness.

Here we have 4 tracks lasting just under 9 minutes. As such, it’s short, sharp and straight to the point like a red-hot branding iron.

The first track Wicked Response kicks off with angry guitars and equally angry vocals, snarling at the world, before the blast beats come in and the band begin a full on killing spree. Angular riffs and aggressive attitude dominates proceedings.

Suitable Appellation boasts equally demented riffing and some nightmare melodies. The singer sounds thoroughly pissed and gives a generally great performance across all of these songs. A guitar solo makes its first appearance and is backed up by some chunky rhythms.

New World Vultures is the shortest track here at a minute and a half. Consequently it wastes no time in getting to the meat of the matter and it’s abrasive heaviosity from the get-go.

They end the EP with The Felling, which once again ramps up the speed and intensity. The dynamics are strong and so is the writing. Winner.

I love this kind of Hardcore. Excellent work!

Listen to them here.

Nesseria – Fractures (Review)

This is the second album from French band Nesseria. They play Hardcore/Grindcore

I’m a fan of their previous work so it’s good to see another round of explosive, violent Hardcore from this talented band.

Nesseria have a sound that’s dense and heavy. If you take a band like Converge as your starting point and mutate it with violent Metal and Grind then you’ll have an idea of the angry space that Nesseria inhabit.

This is intense music that’s not for the weak of heart. Like Converge though Nesseria are not all about the brutality and violence; there’s enough subtlety, nuance and emotive riffing here to give the band a real sense of dynamics and lend the songs a keen emotive edge despite the crushing nature of the music.

Nesseria’s songs have depth and longevity that belies songs as aggressive as this. The album has a good flow though so that the blasting extremity is offset by slower Doom/Sludge sections as well as lighter moments. The ambient menace of the title track allows the listener a bit of breathing room in the middle of the album before the devastations begins once more.

The twisted, rage-filled vocals seem to channel pure anger as they punctuate the Metallic chaos with venom and bile. His is a voice for the ages, heralding in the apocalypse.

Nesseria have produced another album of exceptional merit; a clawing, grinding monster of an album destined to set many a speaker on fire.

Highly recommended.

Climates – Body Clocks (Review)

Climates are from the UK and play Hardcore.

This is melodic Hardcore mixed with a bit of Metalcore for good measure.

The vocals are a mixture of screams and cleans, alternated in the usual style for a band like this. The screams are passionate and the cleans well performed. I like the fact that they’re not high enough in the mix to dominate everything, which gives the music the chance to take centre stage.

The songs are enjoyable cuts of lean Metalcore with good energy. They’re the kind of band that wouldn’t have looked out of place on the old Trustkill roster back in this style of music’s heyday, which is a pretty big compliment really.

Angular riffs are thrown out quite frequently and it’s good to see the band not always taking the easy route by using tired or recycled riffs. Instead, they offer up their own take on the genre and some of the riffs are atypical and quite inventive; some even having a bit of a Mathcore twist to them.

There’s a good amount of diversity on display on Body Clocks and the band are confident enough to explore quite a few interesting ideas in the songs. More power to them for this.

This is a quality release from a band who are not only sounding very good in the here and now but are also showing massive potential for the future if they continue to embrace their personality and stamp their identity on their music even more.

A recommended listen. Play loud and get swept away in the pit.

Rash Decision – Seaside Resort to Violence (Review)

Rash Decision are from the UK and play Crossover Thrash/Hardcore.

Fast songs with short tempers; Rash Decision play Hardcore mixed with Thrash in its Speed Metal guise.

I find this style of music can get really stale, really fast, but the nice thing about Rash Decision is they manage to avoid this pitfall.

How? A couple of reasons. The first is the sheer energy and enthusiasm that these songs have. They seem alive.

The second is that although the songs are short they’re still actually songs. The band know how to write a good tune and there are hooks and catchy moments spread throughout this album like bountiful gems.

The vocalist has a good voice with just the right amount of belligerence and charisma.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable release from a band that play with passion and know how to write a good Old-School Hardcore tune mixed with a bit of Speed Metal for good measure.

Check them out and play them loud.

Obliterations – Poison Everything (Review)

Obliterations are a Hardcore band from the US.

Obliterations play Punked-up, rage-fuelled Hardcore that spits and claws its way out of the speakers.

This is violent music that has an angry disposition and a bad attitude.

The Punk riffs are infected with energy and the music is a natural combination of the Old-School and New. The riffs themselves have an older flavour but the crushing production and fiery vocals are much more modern. Taken together they give Obliterations a very enjoyable sound.

Vocally the singer shreds his way through these high octane songs with the passion and intensity of a lifer committed to the cause.

This is a quality release that’s just under 30 minutes of heavy, angry Hardcore. It’s also a great way to start your day.

Play loud.

For fans of Poison Idea, Discharge, Black Flag, All Pigs Must Die and Converge.

Baptists – Bloodmines (Review)

Baptists are from Canada and this is their second album. They play Hardcore.

The band combine violent Hardcore, abrasive Punk and Noise Rock into just over 25 minutes of emotive music.

The vocals are savage and raw, perfectly capturing the intensity and feeling that Baptists wish to convey.

Bloodmines is drenched in feedback, so much so it’s sometimes like listening to Sludge sped up and fed through the Punk grinder. In fact, the Sludge influence/similarity also bleeds through to the band’s sound as it’s dirty, filthy and downright unhealthy. The slower songs cement this feeling.

This is a dark album that does fast, straight-to-the-bone as well as slow-and-malevolent and does them both equally well. Or, if anything it’s the slower tracks that come off even better than the high energy faster ones as the band’s sense of creeping moss-covered horror realises its apogee.

Heavy riffs are the bedrock of this album and there are some juicy dark melodies located among the granite-hard guitars.

This is a very strong release from a very enjoyable band. Baptists are onto a winner here.

Beaver – Cold Hands (Review)

Beaver are from Poland and play Hardcore.

This short 15 minute EP features 6 tracks of emotive Hardcore with Screamo-style vocals.

The Screamo style is not for everyone, of course, but here the vocals are ably performed and don’t cross the line into annoying as they can sometimes do with similar bands. They’re occasionally backed up with more traditional Hardcore gang vocals, although these are rare.

The songs are simple tunes that are written with maximal emotive power in mind rather than heaviness. It works well and the short songs manage to be sugar sweet whilst retaining a bit of bite.

I haven’t heard anything in this style for quite a while so I felt quite nostalgic listening to this release.

Have a listen.