If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Kat Nijmeddin "The Weapon Pt.II" is Mizery's first release since the passing of their drummer, Cayle Sain, in 2023. The band understandably took some time off, but are back. The new song is a fantastic mix of hardcore punk and thrashy metal and hard rock. It's loud and fast, with guitars that sound like they belong more in a Living Colour song than your typical hardcore rager. The song is an absolute powerhouse, and if you love hardcore or metal from the early 90's, you're going to love "The Weapon Pt.II." This one is reminding me a lot of the songs on the Judgment Night soundtrack. Sure, it's not a hip hop song, but there are some rap elements in Jose Luna's vocal delivery. Crank this one up, and you're going to love it. You can watch the video for "The Weapon Pt.II" below. Mizery's self-titled EP is due out March 20 on Flatspot Records, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Mizery, check out the band o...

Photo by Kenny Savercool We last heard from Baltimore hardcore band End It last month when they released the blistering "Optical Delusions." Now they're back with a cover of Maximum Penalty's "Could You Love Me?" The cover is quite true to the original, and is much more melodic than the last song we heard from End It. It sounds much more like 90's post-grunge alt-rock, albeit heavier than that genre and time period. "Could You Love Me?" is a much different sound than "Optical Delusions," and we always enjoy hearing a different sound from a band, and it has us wanting to check out Maximum Penalty's music, too. Although this isn't what I picture a hardcore song to be, there is plenty for hardcore purists to love, especially a relatively laid back breakdown. You can watch the video for End It's cover of "Could You Love Me?" below. Wrong Side of Heaven is due out August 29 on Flatspot Records, and is available for pr...

Photo by Kenny Savercool Baltimore hardcore band End It just released a new single that's just as short as it is not sweet. "Optical Delusions" comes with a Celebrity Deathmatch inspired video that clocks in at one minute, thirty-nine seconds. Almost thirty seconds of that is an intro announcement, so that leaves a little over a minute for the song, but End It pack a ton into that minute. The song just bursts straight in with a fast and furious intro, but then morphs into different varieties, including a breakdown before slowing it down a bit for a guitar solo. There is even some melody towards the end, without losing any of the fury of the previous portions of the track. "Optical Delusions" should come with a warning label for the whiplash it might cause. You can watch the video for "Optical Delusions" below. Wrong Side of Heaven is due out August 29 on Flatspot Records, and is available for pre-order here . For more on End It, check out the band on I...

Photo by Patrick Moore Pig Pen, the Canadian hardcore band with The Bear 's Matty Matheson on vocals, is back with a new single. "Rabid Beach" is fast and heavy, which you would expect from a hardcore band. But Pig Pen ratchet it up a few extra notches from the typical song of that genre. If anything, the song is louder and noisier than usual, and far louder than you'd expect from a band featuring an actor as a lead singer. At one point, it's almost as if the standard hardcore breakdown is trying to happen, but the noise and aggression overpowers it into something new. There's also an insane guitar solo that almost gets overshadowed by a drum break, with both instruments battling it out over dominance. Yeah... Pig Pen are pretty great. You can watch the video for "Rabid Beach" below. Mental Mentality is due out June 27 on Flatspot Records, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Pig Pen, check out the band on Instagram .

Photo by Patrick Moore Before I discuss the latest single from Pig Pen, I do have to mention that the lead vocalist is Matty Matheson, who you will probably recognize as playing handyman Neil from The Bear. "Mental Mentality" does not sound like the type of song you'd expect from an actor and TV chef. This is pure, no nonsense hardcore. It's loud, and heavy, and thrashy, and all around great. The song is fast with killer breakdowns and gang vocals, landing right on the line that will allow it to be appreciated by both metalheads and punks alike. Buckle up for this one, and get your stretches in before listening. Matty Matheson says of his band's new single: “You can be having a beautiful day, surrounded by friends,  and your brain can continuously ruin it. No matter how good or bad your life is, you can still hate yourself. I've got to ask myself why am I feeling the ways I'm feeling?” You can watch the video for "Mental Mentality" below. Mental ...