The US power metal band Seduce announced the sad news of the death of guitarist David Black. Black had been in the band since its formation in 1980. Read moreâŚ
This year, streaming services are tackling the problem of AI-generated music. In January, Bandcamp announced they were banning it; in March, Apple Music introduced AI transparency tags. Today, Tidal revealed its plan, which is closer to the latter than the former. However, along with AI music being identified with badges, it won’t be able to be monetized.
âMidâ-year? Not if youâve been listening to the right stuff it isnâtâor alternatively if youâve been paying attention to the general state of everything youâll probably agree that the world is a fair way below mid at the moment⌠But anyway, musicâs good init. We did one of these as a whole team last year but due to differing capacities this time around Iâve been let loose to cover a load of punk and hardcore business and hopefully make up for the fact that we picked a âjazzgrindâ record as our collective number one core album this time last year (look, Iâm aware it qualifies in technical terms and a voteâs a vote at the end of the day but no-oneâs doing stage dives to that are they??).
As the title promises Iâve grouped things into a number of subgenres that all fall to some degree within the realms of punk and hardcore. Some are quite clearly defined and others are more vibe based. To make things slightly easier for myself I also imposed a hard ban on demos as I cover them plenty enough elsewhere in my Demolicious Derby series and I have another entry in that coming soon. If you have a problem with the placement of anything please direct your complaint UP YOUR ASS WHERE IT BELONGS.
I am unkillable.
Hardcore for Hardcore
What the fuck else? Hardcore that doesnât need a âmetallicâ or a âmelodicâ or anything else stuck in front of it even if some of these picks may brush up against that sorta thing. Obviously Terror makes the cut for reasons I hopefully made clear enough in my full review of their album. Iâve also gone for a Rebirth Records twofer with Philadelphiaâs SuicideEyes and New Jersey/Pennsylvaniaâs Hindsight both drawing from a similar set of influences like American Nightmare and Carry On but playing with different ratios (Suicide Eyes lean very heavily on the AN side of things basically) and adding their own flavours to come up with relatively distinct but equally raging results.
Throwing things back to a similar time give or take a couple of years, Compete from Vienna channel classic Lockinâ Out vibes into a bunch of bouncy youth crew bangers on their Win and Lose EP, while to round things out Iâve pushed things about as far and as fast as I think I can get away with here and gone for the scorching sophomore LP from Milwaukeeâs World I Hate.
(Real) Metalcore
Not sure I could give you an exact science on when something is (real) metalcore and not just metallic hardcore but itâs one of those things you just know when you hear (or maybe Iâve just bent the rules to include more sick bands, die mad). Edge/vegan/mosh metal definitely counts and actually dominates this section with releases from Salt Lake Cityâs xforever warx, Ecotage from Finland and Temple Guard from the UK, all of which bring the pointy guitar riffs and often even more pointed lyrics. Shout out the latter for their unflinching take on the genocide in Gaza on âThe Weight of Undying Shameâ especially.
I was always gonna go for a Converge pick too, and at the moment it has to go to Love is Not Enough if only because Iâve had more time with it than Hum of Hurt and gun to my head I think thereâs a few more instant bangers on it. Lastly, On Times of Promising End⌠by Hamilton/Torontoâs Godâs Last Wish is one of the sickest things Iâve heard this yearâa clinic in metalcoreâs time-honoured balance of staggering violence and striking melody, with crazy leads dancing all over it to make for a particularly fitting tribute to the life and memory of their guitarist Josh Agnoletto who passed away before it was released. No Bandcamp link yet but you can pre-order the CD here.
Metallic Hardcore
Realistically one of these is gonna be my AOTY. Itâs probably Killing Pace with their ass-beating HCPM LP, but their fellow Richmondians Division of Mind are running pretty close in both approach and quality with Exoterror, and I do also just love the style and swagger of that Crush Your Soul record. Iâve said a bit about all three of those in their corresponding monthly round-ups (here, here and here) and will no doubt be saying even more in December.
Elsewhere, the latest EP from Londonâs King Street is an instant Rucktion Records classic in my opinion, bringing together their best set of tracks yet, an absolutely massive mix courtesy of Anthony Burke of Magnitude, and a solid contender for artwork of the year by @iamanartistyouknow. To complete the set Iâve gone with the debut full-length from Brisbane, Australiaâs Half Man, which like its creatorsâ homeland is basically just full of stuff that wants to kill you: death metal riffs, powerviolence blasts, Sepultura-sized grooves and knuckle-dragging beatdownsâall confined to a tight 16 minutes.
Dawg in You Type Shi
I reckon Hold My Own is the best place to start here as much like the Chicago/New Jersey bruisers debut LP this category is not just about the beatdowns but itâs also not not about the beatdownsâthink more mosh count and less cardio than the last batch basically. Bloodsport from Edinburgh, Scotland are on that real psycho shit, evoking the meanest of 90s beatdown with a sick death metal twist for good measure, while Londonâs Impermanent play some variation of the shun dun dun dun shududun dun dun Suffocation riff on pretty much every track on their Forging Eternity EP and it hits every time.
There also seems to be something particularly malevolent stirring just across the channel from me, and for once Iâm not talking about their national football team⌠Paris tracksuit skinheads Take It in Blood bring the negativity on their debut LP Exit From Life, again with a potent strain of 90s beatdown in the mix thatâs made pretty clear by a guest spot from J.R. Glass of Baltimore legends Next Step Up, while Rennes evilcore outfit Days of Revelation deal not only in murder music but also in moody and menacing interludes that evoke videogame loading screens between bouts of crazed FPS violence.
Have You Considered Punk Music?
Changing tack significantly and hoping that the whiplash will stop you noticing another sizable dollop of hardcore in what Iâm billing as my punk section. The Dogs from Wales are definitely beating the hc allegations at leastâtheir latest EP is â77 af and cool as hell. Iâve also already gone on record about my love for the new albums from Brennesâ Prisonnier du Temps and Washington D.C.âs Seclusion, both of which present urgent and gritty takes on Oi! with a little bit of their own secret sauce and very different vocal styles especially to set them apart.
I would also be remiss not to acknowledge that one of the key influences on the development of my taste for this sorta thing over the past year or so has been the fantastic 185 Miles South podcast. One of my favourite recent recommendations of theirs is the debut LP from Tokyoâs Raw Distractions, who play super catchy UK82 style punk with hooks coming not just from the maniacal vocals but also often the killer lead guitar work. The podcastalso taught me the term line-stepping, which I believe is what Iâm gonna do by having Los Angeles hardcore punk ânâ roll outfit Sweat in here, but like I said, die mad. The album rocks and âTensionâ is a top three track of the year for me.
Melodic/Adjacent Gang
If the metallic hardcore section has my AOTY on lock then this one definitely has my EPOTY covered. Itâs gonna go to Sharp Decline by Holy Dose from Tampa, Floridaâpure, perfect stage dive music from members of Contention and more with roots in 90s alternative rock and lyrics about how life under capitalism makes you wanna fly a plane into the ground. Feel it. Buffalo, New Yorkâs Autoignition are running a close second, their super two-steppable Saves the Day-coded pop-punk also leading me nicely enough to the stunning sophomore LP from Stony Brook, Long Islandâs Koyo, which somehow lives up to the meteoric expectations I had set for it off the back of a predecessor that on most days Iâll tell you is my current album of the decade.
Moving more firmly into the melodic hardcore wheelhouse, Stockholm, Swedenâs Feels Like Heaven have had their place here locked down since the first day of the year, which admittedly was a strange time to release an album that feels like it was made to be blasted in the summer with the windows down. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum I wasnât entirely sure where I should put Final Gasp but I knew I wanted them somewhere and their cold and gloomy brand of deathrock definitely has some elements of hardcore in it which I believe makes it literally hardcore adjacent even if it may not sound like a lot of what people generally think of when they hear the term.
Itâs a Great Day for Being Sad
Wrapping things up with some emo, screamo and post-hardcore picksâwith most of these actually tipping into more than one of those at a time. Boston outfit The Saddest Landscapeâs breathtaking double LP and first album in ten years definitely encompasses a bit of all three and proves particularly expansive and emotionally hefty as a result. Youth Novel from Ann Arbor, Michigan blur lines as well, their sound rooted primarily in screamo but often also venturing into that kind of post-hardcore/metalcore grey area where you might have found a band like Underoath or The Bled ironing their skinny jeans about 20 years ago.
If youâre looking for a purer strain of screamo then Knumears from southern California are the shoutâI cited the likes of Saetia and Orchid and pageninentynine in my mini review of their debut album back in Aprilâwhile a trophy wife from Newcastle, UK put more of a Midwest twinkle on a similar set of touchstones on their lip-quivering self-titled debut EP. Last but definitely not least Iâve gone with the debut full-length from Ghent, Belgiumâs Feverchild to play this whole thing out like some kinda coming of age film with a load of wistful 90s emo vibes. Glorious.
âMidâ-year? Not if youâve been listening to the right stuff it isnâtâor alternatively if youâve been paying attention to the general state of everything youâll probably agree that the world is a fair way below mid at the moment⌠But anyway, musicâs good init. We did one of these as a whole team last year but due to differing capacities this time around Iâve been let loose to cover a load of punk and hardcore business and hopefully make up for the fact that we picked a âjazzgrindâ record as our collective number one core album this time last year (look, Iâm aware it qualifies in technical terms and a voteâs a vote at the end of the day but no-oneâs doing stage dives to that are they??).
As the title promises Iâve grouped things into a number of subgenres that all fall to some degree within the realms of punk and hardcore. Some are quite clearly defined and others are more vibe based. To make things slightly easier for myself I also imposed a hard ban on demos as I cover them plenty enough elsewhere in my Demolicious Derby series and I have another entry in that coming soon. If you have a problem with the placement of anything please direct your complaint UP YOUR ASS WHERE IT BELONGS.
I am unkillable.
Hardcore for Hardcore
What the fuck else? Hardcore that doesnât need a âmetallicâ or a âmelodicâ or anything else stuck in front of it even if some of these picks may brush up against that sorta thing. Obviously Terror makes the cut for reasons I hopefully made clear enough in my full review of their album. Iâve also gone for a Rebirth Records twofer with Philadelphiaâs SuicideEyes and New Jersey/Pennsylvaniaâs Hindsight both drawing from a similar set of influences like American Nightmare and Carry On but playing with different ratios (Suicide Eyes lean very heavily on the AN side of things basically) and adding their own flavours to come up with relatively distinct but equally raging results.
Throwing things back to a similar time give or take a couple of years, Compete from Vienna channel classic Lockinâ Out vibes into a bunch of bouncy youth crew bangers on their Win and Lose EP, while to round things out Iâve pushed things about as far and as fast as I think I can get away with here and gone for the scorching sophomore LP from Milwaukeeâs World I Hate.
(Real) Metalcore
Not sure I could give you an exact science on when something is (real) metalcore and not just metallic hardcore but itâs one of those things you just know when you hear (or maybe Iâve just bent the rules to include more sick bands, die mad). Edge/vegan/mosh metal definitely counts and actually dominates this section with releases from Salt Lake Cityâs xforever warx, Ecotage from Finland and Temple Guard from the UK, all of which bring the pointy guitar riffs and often even more pointed lyrics. Shout out the latter for their unflinching take on the genocide in Gaza on âThe Weight of Undying Shameâ especially.
I was always gonna go for a Converge pick too, and at the moment it has to go to Love is Not Enough if only because Iâve had more time with it than Hum of Hurt and gun to my head I think thereâs a few more instant bangers on it. Lastly, On Times of Promising End⌠by Hamilton/Torontoâs Godâs Last Wish is one of the sickest things Iâve heard this yearâa clinic in metalcoreâs time-honoured balance of staggering violence and striking melody, with crazy leads dancing all over it to make for a particularly fitting tribute to the life and memory of their guitarist Josh Agnoletto who passed away before it was released. No Bandcamp link yet but you can pre-order the CD here.
Metallic Hardcore
Realistically one of these is gonna be my AOTY. Itâs probably Killing Pace with their ass-beating HCPM LP, but their fellow Richmondians Division of Mind are running pretty close in both approach and quality with Exoterror, and I do also just love the style and swagger of that Crush Your Soul record. Iâve said a bit about all three of those in their corresponding monthly round-ups (here, here and here) and will no doubt be saying even more in December.
Elsewhere, the latest EP from Londonâs King Street is an instant Rucktion Records classic in my opinion, bringing together their best set of tracks yet, an absolutely massive mix courtesy of Anthony Burke of Magnitude, and a solid contender for artwork of the year by @iamanartistyouknow. To complete the set Iâve gone with the debut full-length from Brisbane, Australiaâs Half Man, which like its creatorsâ homeland is basically just full of stuff that wants to kill you: death metal riffs, powerviolence blasts, Sepultura-sized grooves and knuckle-dragging beatdownsâall confined to a tight 16 minutes.
Dawg in You Type Shi
I reckon Hold My Own is the best place to start here as much like the Chicago/New Jersey bruisers debut LP this category is not just about the beatdowns but itâs also not not about the beatdownsâthink more mosh count and less cardio than the last batch basically. Bloodsport from Edinburgh, Scotland are on that real psycho shit, evoking the meanest of 90s beatdown with a sick death metal twist for good measure, while Londonâs Impermanent play some variation of the shun dun dun dun shududun dun dun Suffocation riff on pretty much every track on their Forging Eternity EP and it hits every time.
There also seems to be something particularly malevolent stirring just across the channel from me, and for once Iâm not talking about their national football team⌠Paris tracksuit skinheads Take It in Blood bring the negativity on their debut LP Exit From Life, again with a potent strain of 90s beatdown in the mix thatâs made pretty clear by a guest spot from J.R. Glass of Baltimore legends Next Step Up, while Rennes evilcore outfit Days of Revelation deal not only in murder music but also in moody and menacing interludes that evoke videogame loading screens between bouts of crazed FPS violence.
Have You Considered Punk Music?
Changing tack significantly and hoping that the whiplash will stop you noticing another sizable dollop of hardcore in what Iâm billing as my punk section. The Dogs from Wales are definitely beating the hc allegations at leastâtheir latest EP is â77 af and cool as hell. Iâve also already gone on record about my love for the new albums from Brennesâ Prisonnier du Temps and Washington D.C.âs Seclusion, both of which present urgent and gritty takes on Oi! with a little bit of their own secret sauce and very different vocal styles especially to set them apart.
I would also be remiss not to acknowledge that one of the key influences on the development of my taste for this sorta thing over the past year or so has been the fantastic 185 Miles South podcast. One of my favourite recent recommendations of theirs is the debut LP from Tokyoâs Raw Distractions, who play super catchy UK82 style punk with hooks coming not just from the maniacal vocals but also often the killer lead guitar work. The podcastalso taught me the term line-stepping, which I believe is what Iâm gonna do by having Los Angeles hardcore punk ânâ roll outfit Sweat in here, but like I said, die mad. The album rocks and âTensionâ is a top three track of the year for me.
Melodic/Adjacent Gang
If the metallic hardcore section has my AOTY on lock then this one definitely has my EPOTY covered. Itâs gonna go to Sharp Decline by Holy Dose from Tampa, Floridaâpure, perfect stage dive music from members of Contention and more with roots in 90s alternative rock and lyrics about how life under capitalism makes you wanna fly a plane into the ground. Feel it. Buffalo, New Yorkâs Autoignition are running a close second, their super two-steppable Saves the Day-coded pop-punk also leading me nicely enough to the stunning sophomore LP from Stony Brook, Long Islandâs Koyo, which somehow lives up to the meteoric expectations I had set for it off the back of a predecessor that on most days Iâll tell you is my current album of the decade.
Moving more firmly into the melodic hardcore wheelhouse, Stockholm, Swedenâs Feels Like Heaven have had their place here locked down since the first day of the year, which admittedly was a strange time to release an album that feels like it was made to be blasted in the summer with the windows down. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum I wasnât entirely sure where I should put Final Gasp but I knew I wanted them somewhere and their cold and gloomy brand of deathrock definitely has some elements of hardcore in it which I believe makes it literally hardcore adjacent even if it may not sound like a lot of what people generally think of when they hear the term.
Itâs a Great Day for Being Sad
Wrapping things up with some emo, screamo and post-hardcore picksâwith most of these actually tipping into more than one of those at a time. Boston outfit The Saddest Landscapeâs breathtaking double LP and first album in ten years definitely encompasses a bit of all three and proves particularly expansive and emotionally hefty as a result. Youth Novel from Ann Arbor, Michigan blur lines as well, their sound rooted primarily in screamo but often also venturing into that kind of post-hardcore/metalcore grey area where you might have found a band like Underoath or The Bled ironing their skinny jeans about 20 years ago.
If youâre looking for a purer strain of screamo then Knumears from southern California are the shoutâI cited the likes of Saetia and Orchid and pageninentynine in my mini review of their debut album back in Aprilâwhile a trophy wife from Newcastle, UK put more of a Midwest twinkle on a similar set of touchstones on their lip-quivering self-titled debut EP. Last but definitely not least Iâve gone with the debut full-length from Ghent, Belgiumâs Feverchild to play this whole thing out like some kinda coming of age film with a load of wistful 90s emo vibes. Glorious.
You don’t get just a video premiere from Canadian doom mongers, Yeti onHorseback, you get a disturbing short filmâdirected by David Hallâthat fleshes out the nearly 14-minute “Drug Addict,” with 11 additional minutes of sampled dialogue and footage preceding it. It is bleak doom metal by any measure, and may not offer a bright start to your week. This quintetâS.M. (bass/vocals), E.T. (drums), S.S. (vocals/soundscapes), R.P. (vocals/guitar), M.S. (lead guitar)âhowever, are here to engage in a discussion regarding drug use/abuse, not brighten your day. Heavy music, heavy visuals, heavy topic.
Traditional Addictions was produced by Greg Dawson who recorded, mixed and mastered it at BWC Studios in Kingston, Ontario. It’s being independently released on vinyl and digitally on July 24. Place your preorder here.
Two members of the band chimed in regarding the new track:
R.P.: “‘Drug Addict’” is the perfect opening trackâa raw, unrelenting representation of addiction. It bites into the vicious cycle of repetition, mirroring the highs and lows you continuously flow in and out of. With a simple story and clear, concise lyricsâwhere are my drugs, I need my drugsâthe track is filled with Easter eggs and a tip of the hat to one of our favorite bands of all time. This is the feel-bad hit of the summer.”
S.S.: “‘Drug Addic’t was primarily R.P.âs lyrics with a few improved studio lines to help send home the message of, ‘I need my drugs.’ This song is the perfect opener: it is a simple, heavy and one-dimensional fixation on the mindset of an addict. I thoroughly enjoyed working with layering vocals and creating soundscapes on this song to help make it sound like a drug-fuelled freak out.”
Rockshots Records is proud to announce the release of the first two full-length albums, “The Iron Curtain” and “Behold A Pale Horse” of the California thrash metal band Parabellum. The announcement marks a new chapter for the young American thrash metal force, bringing two already released titles to a wider international audience. “The Iron Curtain“, originally published […]
The Mincecore Manifesto, the latest EP from California mincecore masters, HAGGUS, is out now on Tankcrimes! Positioned between classic anarcho-punk urgency and the most deranged edges of goregrind, The Mincecore Manifesto cements HAGGUS as the definitive force in modern mincecore. Arriving just one year after their critically adored Tankcrimes debut, Destination Extinction, the freaks are back and theyâre faster, filthier, and more […]
Alanis Morissette looks back on the phenomenal success of her 1995 album Jagged Little Pill in a new interview conducted for the ‘Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso’ podcast, and reflects upon the fact that some of the harshest criticism she received at the time came from trail-blazing female artists and music writers who she admired.
“I think I had these fantasies that I would be snuggling up with Annie Lennox, and Joni [Mitchell] would be massaging my feet,” the 52-year-old Canadian singer/songwriter jokes. “I just had these fantasies of what it could be like… and it wasn’t.”
Introduced by lacerating lead single You Oughta Know, an unforgettable takedown of a toxic ex-boyfriend, Jagged Little Pill, Morissette’s third album, won five Grammy Awards and has sold north of 33 million copies worldwide, making it one of the biggest-selling albums ever. But the phenomenal success of the record was accompanied by some scathing criticism, with some of the harshest critiques, as Morissette acknowledges, delivered by women she respected, Tori Amos, Sinead O’Connor and Joni Mitchell among them.
In an interview with Details magazine, which Fragoso reads aloud, Mitchell commented, “I’m a musical explorer, and not just a pop songwriter or or an occasional writer of a song or half a song like these other women. Alanis Morissette writes words, someone helps set it to the music, and then she’s kind of stylized into the part.”
“Yeah,that’s a that’s a woman who’s been baked in patriarchy, projecting it on a fellow woman,” Morissette responds. “Happens all the time… What a bummer.”
“It’s also inaccurate,” she adds. “That’s the reduction of the patriarchy. A woman can’t possibly fill in the blank.”
During the interview, Morissette also reveals that no-one at her record label, Maverick, wanted to have You Oughta Know, which featured Red Hot Chili Peppers duo Flea and Dave Navarro, come out as the first single from the record, and she had to fight for its release.
“It wasn’t a popular choice,” she admits. “With the inner team, nobody wanted You Oughta Know. They were terrified of that song. I remember having thought at the time that I would much rather come out being maybe misinterpreted, maybe reduced, but starting on a note that is intense. And I am here for it. I can explain anger till the cows come home. “Every woman I knew was pissed, because they were paying attention. How do you not get pissed? You’re inside a patriarchal Truman Show woman-hating dome, and then you say to the feminine, ‘Have fun in there’.”
