Hardcore punk is very dear to our hearts. There’s something about the combination of rage and joy captured in this music that makes us feel at home. It always feels like we’ve entered a happy bubble when we’re at a hardcore punk show. Hope you enjoy this list as much as we do. And as always – support these bands!!!
FIFTEEN – MALCRÍA, El Reino De Lo Falso
Malcría have created a furiously awesome record in El Reino De Lo Falso. This one kept us fighting in 2019!
FOURTEEN – SCOWL, Scowl
What do you listen to when you want to shotgun a beer before you punch an evangelist in the grill? The answer is SCOWL.
THIRTEEN – MASS ARREST, Power
MASS ARREST aim their flamethrower in the face of white supremacy and let rip on it, incinerating its sickly smiling face until there’s only a decrepit, burnt skeleton left behind. This shit is hyping me up to punch some nazis/developers/politicians/real housewives!
TWELVE – CLOUD RAT, Pollinator
CLOUD RAT came out with a couple of releases this year, but Pollinator grabbed us by the throat and spit in our faces and we agreed to put it on the list so it wouldn’t crush our windpipe.
ELEVEN – PIG CITY, Terminal Decline
Pig City must have money set aside for all the reconstructive surgery that they’re responsible for, because Terminal Decline is nose-breaking music. Residing in Phoenix, these purveyors of “Copper State Crust” provide furied, in-your-face d-beat, crust, grind, and straight-up hardcore. Their debut, continues the virulence of their self-released EP, Polemics, produced by Jirix-Mie Paz (Burnout, Gay Kiss, Humiliation). Listening to Terminal Decline on headphones in the supermarket means balling your fists and snarling at children in shopping carts.
– Evan MC, CVLT Nation
TEN – GOON, Natural Evil
GOON is knocking, and you better answer the door! If you don’t, their new album Natural Evil might bury you under your floor. Did I tell you how fucking awesome this record is? Their blown-out, spastic hardcore is highly addictive and catchy as fuck. Every tune is a banger and gets all up in your face. GOON’s songs are equal part rage and equal part chaotic melody infused with a healthy dose of don’t give a fuck!
– Sean, CVLT Nation
NINE – IRREAL, Fi Del Mon
Fi Del Mon makes me think I’ve walked into a waking nightmare and I’m trying to find my way out but I keep crashing into mirrored images of myself and I’m starting to lose my mind with anxiety and terror. That’s a really good thing.
EIGHT – GAME, ‘No One Wins’
GAME is sick! The ‘No One Wins” LP is sick! The vocals are scathing and the music is seething. Listening to this really makes me want to go to an underground hardcore show in London.
SEVEN – HALSHUG, Drøm
Drøm is, simply put, the bands best work to date. Halshug has successfully incorporated altered tempos, longer songs and more audible lyrics into their sound all while maintaining the intensity that is much sought after by punk and hardcore audiences. While that last sentence likely sounds like pretentious music snob language (largely because it is) it is so unbelievably difficult for bands to move past their early material without pissing off fans and labels in the process. Halshug’s early days consisted of raw d-beat and not much else. Drøm, however, stays true to these roots while finding the space for Dark-Wave and Industrial elements to be included with the band’s already aggressive approach to song structures.
– Dylan, CVLT Nation
SIX – OHYDA, Koszmar
OHYDA straight up fucking RULES and if you didn’t know that, now you KNOW! What I love about this band’s music is how urgent it is, but at the same time it’s a total mind fuck. They are not afraid to mix very dark psych into their game-changing Hardcore. Every second of Koszmar is killer with no filler.
– Sean, CVLT Nation
FIVE – PROTOCOL, Bloodsport
PROTOCOL is here, and Hardcore Punk better get with the program! Damn this band is not fucking around, and over the course of their five song 12 inch you will hear why they are the shit!
– Sean, CVLT Nation
FOUR – SHOW ME THE BODY, Dog Whistle
Show Me The Body is one of most important bands creating music right now because they are not bound by any sort of sound. Their new record Dog Whistle (out now on Loma Vista Recordings) is an URGENT album that will have you hooked after just one listen! I can’t even put into words how sick this band is…something about them reminds me of unreal nights I had roaming the streets of New York. The city moves to a certain rhythm of chaos, and Show Me The Body’s sound represents that to the fullest.
– Sean, CVLT Nation
THREE – MURO, Ataque Hardcore Punk
I didn’t get to see MURO when they came to Vancouver, but Sean came home from their show sweaty and happy and they ended up playing two nights in a row here. All I have is this record Ataque Hardcore Punk, but it’s fucking sweet so I’m good until next time.
TWO – BAD BREEDING, Exiled
This band means so much to me because they create intense, urgent peace punk that sounds so fresh but brings me back to my youth! When I listen to their new album Exiled, I get fucking chills. BAD BREEDING’s songs punch me in the skull the same way blasting Rudimentary Peni’s Death Church did in the 80’s! This record drips with pure passion and anger that is directed at those who want to exploit us.
– Sean, CVLT Nation
ONE – GAZM, HEAVY VIBE MUSIC
Unholy awesomeness, I have been waiting forever for this band to put out their full length, and all I can say is that it is so worth the wait! Every song on this record is a raging Hardcore Banger that has the furious riffs to hang with mad metal bands! The vocals are such a call to arms that I scream “YES!!” at my computer screen.
– Sean, CVLT Nation
