Hardcore
Punk in the Park 2021 U.S. Festivals to Feature Pennywise, NOFX, The Vandals, Face to Face, and More
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-14T19:03:07+00:00“>April 14, 2021 | 3:03pm ET In another sign that things are opening up on the festival front, a pair of events dubbed Punk in the Park will take place this May and November in Arizona and California, respectively. Each will feature a lineup of notable punk bands. Originally, the two-day California edition, Punk in the Park – Orange County, was set to be the inaugural version of the new fest, but pandemic restrictions led organizers to move the original 2020 dates to April 2021 and then again to November 6th and 7th at Oak Canyon Park. That makes the one-day Punk in the Park – Arizona event, taking place May 29th at Big Surf Water Park in Tempe — the first stagin...
Lamb of God Cover Bad Brains’ “I Against I” with Fever 333’s Jason Aalon Butler: Watch
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-09T16:12:04+00:00“>April 9, 2021 | 12:12pm ET Lamb of God have teamed up with Fever 333 singer Jason Aalon Butler for a spirited cover of the Bad Brains classic “I Against I”. The quarantine performance follows the recent release of Lamb of God’s deluxe edition of their self-titled 2020 album. It’s no secret that Lamb of God singer Randy Blythe is a huge Bad Brains fan. In fact, he even fronted the legendary hardcore group during a few songs at a handful of gigs in 2017. Lamb of God recorded “I Against I” for their 2018 covers album Legion: XX, which they released under their original band name, Burn the Priest. Blythe was “blown away” by Fever 333’s performance at the 2019 ...
Consequence’s Under the Tracks on Vans’ Channel 66 Goes Skate Punk on New Episode
Consequence’s bi-weekly livestream program Under the Tracks rides back to Vans’ Channel 66 on April 5th. This week, Host NNAMDÏ welcomes guests Pete Wilson of Pete Wilson & The Rooks and Cafe Racer to carve out the history of Chicago’s skate music scene. Each artist will put together a unique 45-minute DJ set that drops in on the punk, hardcore, and garage sounds that have soundtracked The Second City’s skate culture throughout the decades. A visual artist in addition to being the vocalist and guitarist for The Rooks, Pete Wilson brings the sublime sensibilities of recent videos like “Look at the Skull in My Face” to his group’s experimental rock sounds. Together with his fellow bandmates drummer Corin and bassist Kevo, his group’s focus on the weird and overlooked align...
R.I.P. Rob Vitale, Singer of New York Hardcore Band Black Train Jack Dies From COVID-19
Rob Vitale, the lead singer of New York hardcore band Black Train Jack has tragically died from COVID-19 complications. His death was confirmed by a number of figures in the NYHC scene, including Sick of It All. “Our hearts are heavy tonight,” wrote Sick of It All on Facebook on Sunday night. “We lost our friend to COVID. Thinking of all the shows, the tours all the good times and laughs we shared. Rest In Peace Rob.” Sick of It All drummer Armand Majidi added, “Tonight we honor a truly good man who departed this world far too early. Rest easy Rob. It was a pleasure touring with you and sharing many fond moments. @bobeatsbtj you were loved by many and will be missed dearly.” Black Train Jack got their start in the early ’90s and landed a record deal with Roadrunner Records. They released t...
R.I.P. Corey Steger, Founding Underoath Guitarist Dies in Car Accident
Guitarist Corey Steger, one of the original members of Florida metalcore act Underoath, has died in a car accident. The tragic news was reported by Dallas Taylor, another founding member of band. Steger joined singer Taylor, guitarist Luke Morton, bassist Rey Anasco, and drummer Aaron Gillespie in Underoath’s original lineup in 1998, remaining with the band through 2001. He appeared on their first two albums, 1999’s Act of Depression and 2000’s Cries of the Past. Taylor, who parted ways with Underoath in 2003, shared the devastating news of Steger’s death on Instagram, writing the following: “I don’t know how to type this. I’m without words. Yesterday 3/17/2021 at around 6:00 p.m. Corey Steger one of the original founding members of Underoath was rear ended in a car wreck, and went home to...
Fiddlehead Announce New Album Between The Richness, Share “Million Times”
Back in 2018, Fiddlehead made waves in the hardcore scene with their terrific debut album Springtime and Blind. Now, the melodic hardcore band that features members of Have Heart and Basement have announced its follow-up, Between The Richness. It’s won’t arrive until late May, but they’re previewing it today with an excellent lead single called “Million Times”. Although the members of the band come from the hardcore scene and play a style of music that can more or less be described as such, Fiddlehead don’t make fast, rowdy, or angry music. Their songs are often energetic and loose, but they pull a lot from the Revolution Summer emotional hardcore wave of the mid-to-late ’80s: bands like Rites of Spring, Dag Nasty, and later Fugazi and Dischord Records. These aren’t songs for mos...
Regional Justice Center Break Down New Album Crime and Punishment Track by Track: Stream
In our Track by Track feature, artists guide listeners through each track on their latest release. Here, Regional Justice Center singer Ian Shelton pulls back the curtain on the band’s new album Crime and Punishment. Hardcore act Regional Justice Center have unleashed their new album, Crime and Punishment, out now via Closed Casket Activities. The LP clocks in at a blistering 13 minutes but leaves an impression that lasts far longer. The album shares its name with the legendary novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky and tackles similarly weighty themes of postmodern existence. As RJC vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ian Shelton explains in the remarks below, many real-life events inspired the passionate outbursts of anger and disillusionment heard throughout Crime and Punishment. Shelton previously ...
Hardcore Band Regional Justice Center Announce New Album, Unleash “Absence” and “Inhuman Joy”: Stream
Hardcore quartet Regional Justice Center have announced their sophomore full-length, Crime and Punishment. The band has also shared two fiery songs from the LP, “Absence” and “Inhuman Joy”. The album follows a prolific string of 7-inch splits and EPs by Regional Justice Center, who paired their output with an exhaustive touring itinerary prior to the pandemic. In the meantime, the band’s calculated intensity has grown even more ferocious, as heard on new tracks “Absence” and “Inhuman Joy”. The songs operate in a duality, the former holding to a classic hardcore template of blasting rhythms and urgent lyricism, and the latter pitched down to a bass-heavy dirge. The distinct writing style of vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Ian Shelton shows through on both tracks. In a press release, the...
Hardcore Act Thirdface Announce Debut Album, Unleash Single “Villains!”: Stream
Nashville hardcore group Thirdface have announced their debut full-length, Do It With a Smile, which will arrive on March 5th via Exploding in Sound Records. In advance of the LP, they’ve unleashed the song ‘Villains!” as the first single. For many, this ripping track will their introduction to Thirdface, and a fine introduction it is. As the song title implies, “Villains!” is loud and grinding, anchored by swirling bass work and bold declarations against the oppressive forces of society. “When writing ‘Villains!’ I was watching a lot of [the anime series] Fist of the North Star, which gives the song its title,” vocalist Kathryn Edwards told BrooklynVegan. “I wanted to write a song about tearing some evil down from its pedestal like Ken from FOTNS would do. But decided to speak on reality ...
Singer John Joseph Defends Accuracy of Cro-Mags Shirt in Wonder Woman 1984
Eagle-eyed hardcore fans had some beef with the historical accuracy of a Cro-Mags T-shirt in the new movie Wonder Woman 1984, but the band’s longtime singer quickly put those questions to rest. In fact, it was John Joseph who sent the shirt to director Patty Jenkins for use in the film. The scene in question shows a group of punk rockers walking through Washington, D.C.’s Metro station, sporting Mohawks and band t-shirts. One of the punks is donning a Bad Brains shirt, while another is wearing a tee featuring the artwork from the Cro-Mags album The Age of Quarrel. Problem is the film is set in 1984, but that Cro-Mags LP didn’t arrive until 1986. That led hordes of hardcore punk fans to hit social media to call out the movie for a fashion faux pas. However, Joseph was quick to point out tha...
Every Time I Die Share New Songs “A Colossal Wreck” and “Desperate Pleasures”: Stream
Every Time I Die have returned with the double single, “A Colossal Wreck” and “Desperate Pleasures”. They’ve also announced a livestream event for December 19th. The songs mark the first new music from the Buffalo, New York hardcore act since 2016. In the interim, the band’s lost none of their mathematic prowess and virtuosic precision. If the rest of Every Time I Die’s forthcoming ninth studio album lives up to these tracks, fans are in for another excellent slice of passionate metal. As the titles “A Colossal Wreck” and “Desperate Pleasures” imply, there’s more than a little of 2020 that’s seeped into the new material. Vocalist Keith Buckley stated in a press release that the songs are “two sides of the same reactionary coin.” “While ‘A Colossal Wreck’ looks around at the current state o...
Top 30 Metal + Hard Rock Albums of 2020
Our Annual Report looks back upon the strange year that was 2020 and the music, film, and television that came with it. Here, we present our Top 30 Metal + Hard Rock Albums of 2020. In a year we’d mostly like to forget, the world of heavy music brought us many memorable releases. While we wait for concerts to return, we have a treasure trove of new metal and hard rock albums that amplify the anticipation of seeing our favorite bands return to stages. 2020 has been dominated by a worldwide pandemic, and if anything can provide us with a daily distraction from the suffering and uncertainty, it’s good music. Thankfully, dozens of bands decided to release new albums this year, despite not being able to tour in support of their latest studio efforts. As a reminder that life is filled with comeb...
