(Andy Synn presents six short-but-sweet releases from across the Hardcore spectrum)
A book I read recently (and I’m just now realising that “recently” was actually months ago) brought up the topic of “overflow”, particularly as it pertains to the impact – or impacts, plural – of simply having too much information.
And while the original focus of the discussion was more about how an excess of scientific data, leading to a glut of scientific publications, can potentially devalue the resultant perception of the work, the theme also transfers over nicely to the topic of reviews (and, particularly, review scores).
Put it this way, with more and more music being released (and, importantly, made more widely accessible) each year, and more and more reviews of said music being written in response, it’s inevitable that there’s going to be more albums receving higher scores, which will in turn give the audience the impression that reviewers are being too generous and that scores are being devalued… even if the normal distribution remains the same.
It’s a problem, even if it’s not one people think about very often, and one reason I’m glad we don’t do ranked scores here at NCS, as our role is more to curate the vast array of new releases each month and help them find their audience, not put them against one another in competition.
CONTENTION – NUCLEAR SUMMER
If you like your Hardcore both mercilessly metallic and menacingly apocalyptic, then you’ll want to check out the new one from Contention, who follow up their breakthrough/break-out 2024 album Artillery from Heaven with just under seven minutes of abrasive, atom-splitting aggression in the form of Nuclear Summer.
Continuing to channel the savage spirit of late-90s European “edge metal” – think the likes of Arkangel and facedown, only updated with an even punchier, more modern production that still retains the raw, visceral essence of the movement/moment – the two original tracks (the spitefully metallic “Second Sun” and the spikily melodic “Blank Stare”) are about as lean and mean as the band have ever been, with no extraneous elements or excess fat on their respective frames to distract you from the choppy, down-picked riffs,chunky, neck-wrecking rhythms, and charred, throat-scarring vocals screaming lines like “Salvation upon us / an angel wreathed in flame/ press your face to the soil / be not afraid” as if their lives depended on it.
True, the “Boots” sample at the end of the latter, while still very much in character for the band. feels a little tacked on, and would probably have worked better if it had been integrated into the actual track more, but it still sets the stage nicely for the EP’s closing montage of “X On Our Knees X/Upside Your Head” by The Swarm/Knee Deep in the Dead, calling back to one of the band’s primary influences without just turning into a nostalgic “throwback” act (especially since moments like “Who wins when we go through life on our knees?” hit just as hard today as they dd back then).
FROM BELOW – THE DEEDS OF MONSTERS
If you like your Hardcore with a little more Crust than Metal, and a lot more d-beats, then The Deeds of Monsters might just scratch that particular itch, as the EP practically bursts out of the speakers with the aggressive, anti-war protest Punk of “Teratomachia”, whose hard-driving riffs (hefty as they are hooky) and vicious, venom-spitting vocals (including some ridiculously catchy gang vox during the song’s irresistibly infectious, shout-along chorus) make an instant impact that you won’t likely forget any time soon.
The thrashy “Empire’s Deceit” keeps the energy levels high and the d-beats pounding, yet also throws an unexpected curve-ball into the mix with its broodingly melodic bridge, before building to a massive climax built around a humongous, hateful refrain of “Empire!” (just to make sure you’re aware of the band’s feelings towards modern day imperialism), with the even more intense attack of “Feitoria” (transl: “Factory”) doubling-down on this anti-imperialist sentiment with a caustic condemnation of colonialism and the exploitation of other countries to feed the demands of those in power set to a soundtrack of raging riffs and propulsively punky percussive patterns.
Fans of bands like Disfear, Wolfbrigade, Martyrdöd… pretty much anything from the so-called “Stadium Crust” scene (which I think we’ve reclaimed from its critics now, right?) would do well to get this band (which features members of Catharsis, Point of No Return, and Bellafea) on their radars ASAP.
GOD’S HATE – WON’T BE DISGRACED
If you like your Hardcore a bit beefier, designed more for deadlifts than d-beats, then the new one from God’s Hate, the band’s first release since the passing of their beloved brother-from-another-mother Bo Lueders (Harms Way), might just help you get your next personal best.
That being said, the theme of loss hangs heavy over this EP (even if lines like “There is no strength in solitude, because the job is only finished when we pull each other through” provide a welcome call for unity and community in the face of tragedy), which made this a particularly difficult release to write about.
Thankfully, God’s Hate have delivered the goods once again, with the chunky riffs and punchy rhythms of heavyweight anti-suicide hymn “Won’t Be Disgraced” (“In the name of the fallen, who won’t be erased, united & strong, won’t be disgraced“) and stomping, thrashing, chugging Straight Edge anthem “I Am the Cure” (which features a particularly impressive performance from drummer Colin Young, and should appeal just as much to fans of Hatebreed and Obituary in equal measure) being just as good as anything the group have done so far.
And then there’s the EP’s climactic cover of Harms Way‘s “Warriors Will Reign” – featuring an array of living legends from the Hardcore scene, including Karl Buechner (Earth Crisis), Ray Cappo (Youth of Today), Mark Porter (Floorpunch) – which serves as a fitting tribute to both Lueders (whose own voice can be heard at the end of the track, ruminating on what it means to be remembered after you’re gone) and all of those (including, for example, the band’s ex-drummer Cayle Sain), the scene has lost in recent years.
INITIATE – WITH LOVE // WITH RAGE
If you like your Hardcore on the more melodic and energetic side of things – but still with enough righteous riffosity to get those pits going hard – then the new one from Initiate should be right up your street, especially if you’re a fan of bands like early Svalbard (RIP) and Oathbreaker.
I don’t make those comparisons lightly, to be clear, nor are they based on the fact all three bands have female singers (Initiate vocalist Crystal Park delivers a sufficiently powerful performance on these five tracks, both physically and emotionally, that she deserves to be allowed to stand on her own two feet)… rather they stem from a shared gift for blending keening melody and seething intensity in equal measure, with the likes of blazing opener “Burn After Reading” (with its rippling riffs and riveting leads) and the heavier, even more head-bangable “Delusions” being some of the band’s best work yet.
The latter in particular introduces some Life of Agony and/or Helmet influence into the group’s sound, with the subsequent strains of the melancholy “Shadowboxing” and the jagged, pulsing “Numb the Pain” adding an extra dash of both, respectively (with the latter also benefitting from some unexpectedly soothing clean vocals in its latter stages).
Ending with the soaring melodic majesty of “Future Saving Grace” (which even hints at a touch of latter-day Alexisonfire influence here and there), there’s no doubt that With Love // With Rage is one of the most striking, cathartic short-form releases of 2026 and a shoe-in for any number of “Best of…” lists come the end of the year.
JUDICIARY – STALAGMITE ANGELS
If you like your Hardcore on the thrashier side… or if you like your Thrash with a hefty helping of Hardcore influence (think the likes of Ringworm, Drain, and Doomsday)… then the new EP from Texan troubadours Judiciary should be next up on your playlist.
Wasting no time at all, opener “Wall of Skulls” drops right into a punding groove, before picking up the pace in thrillingly thrashy fashion, marrying some absolutely crushing guitars (especially during the song’s bruising climactic breakdown) and berserker vocals with a couple of unexpected surprises (including an arena-sized, crowd-calling refrain of “Higher!” in the song’s mid-section, which then makes room for, if I’m not mistaken, a goddamn didgeridoo for some reason), before the groovier and more melodic strains of “Sanguine Reality” slow things down just a little to really ground ‘n’ pound the listener.
There’s very little fat or wasted space on this EP – the record keeps on rolling straight into the even nastier chuggery and thuggery of “Hymns of a Calcified Warpath” (which also incorporates some eloquent acoustic guitar work during its final moments) – with perhaps only the slightly mawkish and overly-melodic back-half of “Soul Sutra” over-staying its welcome a little (though Judiciary are far from the worst offenders when it comes to this weird trend of Hardcore bands trying to throw in some arena-ready sing-along moments these days).
Thankfully the almost unrelenting hammering of “Death Knell” – which somehow keeps getting heavier and heavier as it goes on – more than makes up for any minor mis-steps the band might (arguably) have made, and successfully reaffirms Judiciary as a band who are absolutely at their best when they’re at their most uncompromising.
VILE MIND – DOOMED FUTURE
If you like your Hardcore… hell, if you like Hardcore in any way, shape or form, then you owe it to yourseles to check out the new EP from volatile West Virginia quintet Vile Mind, whose music takes the classic sound of bands like Madball and Sick of It All and updates it to match the more modern punch and power of the likes of Mindforce and Haywire.
Firmly grounded in the post-coal collapse and epidemic of addiction still afflicting the Rust Belt, songs like “D.O.A.” and the thunderous staccato stomp of “Incense” (which hits even harder during its hammering finale) are pure venom and viscera, giving no quarter and taking no shit in a manner which also frequently reminds me of the punkier early output of 100 Demons blended with their heavier, harsher later stuff.
Just to reinforce this impression, the wrist-snapping, gatling gun riffage of “Head of the Snake” (a personal highlight of mine, if only for how utterly punishing it is from start to finish) would absolutely fit in perfectly on the new 100 Demons album, showcasing the band at their tightest and most aggressive, while the gargantuan grooves and cathartic gang shouts of “Piece by Piece” make for a song that’s more than equal to anything else the Hardcore scene has produced this year.
Climaxing with the chunky, chugging declaration of self-reliance that is “My Own Two Feet”, Doomed Future leaves absolutely no doubt that Vile Mind are one of the Hardcore scene’s best new bands, and hopefully we’ll be seeing and hearing a lot more from them sooner rather than later!