Browsing Tag

post hardcore

trueandtrue dialled up the rancour with their seductively clever post-hardcore single, Blindfold

Posted on 11 November 2023
trueandtrue

After a prelude of grungy no-wave with a spoken-word delivery of deadpan poetry, the latest single, Blindfold, from the post-hardcore outfit, trueandtrue, dials up the rancorous momentum that hits with the same impact as some of the most seminally unforgettable singles from Alexisonfire and At the Drive-In. The visceralism is one thing, the seductive way the instrumentals overlay their progressively exhilarant melodicism between the stripped-back interludes and tumultuous crescendos is another entirely.

Blindfold will officially release on November 10th ahead of the forthcoming debut EP, Back Into the Quiet. If the rest of the EP shares the intricately clever juggernautic volatility of Blindfold, trueandtrue has exactly what it takes to hold dominion over the post-hardcore scene.

The Norwegian post-hardcore powerhouse said:

“Blindfold is a catchy yet energetic song that has continually grown during recording and production. Here, instrumentals and vocals go hand in hand to guide you through an emotionally charged lyric about getting people or situations right up your throat. From emotional lines like ‘How do I keep up when it’s empathy I lack?’ to the aggressive chorus ‘Drown me in your words,’ you are taken through the narrator’s emotions and mood swings.“

Stream Blindfold on Spotify, and follow the band on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with the drop of the EP.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

LOOK ALIVE quaked the Calgary metalcore scene with the visceral vehemence in their single, Scum

Posted on 8 November 2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePZqf-mHKso

LOOK ALIVE ripped up the roots of hardcore and implanted them within their latest behemoth of a single, Scum, which is set to put them at the vanguard of the Calgary metalcore movement. Savage and intricately intelligent, the powerhouse efficaciously succeeded in its strive for a distinct sound that shatters the confines of hardcore.

From the first blisteringly tumultuous beats and savagely cataclysmic guitar licks, LOOK ALIVE drags you into their adrenalized-with-aggression realm; expect to collide with a universe drenched in wild hues and intricate layers and Jeremy Richardson’s raw, unmatched vocal prowess.

Before the scummy protagonists in your life lead you to a breakdown, embrace the cathartic vehemence in the gnarled breakdowns and put Scum in your sonic arsenal. Crafting every tune, visual, and concept off the back of their own visceral volition, LOOK ALIVE emerges as an outfit few should dare to rival.

The official video for Scum premiered on October 27; stream it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

A Desolate Light printed the ticket to transformation in his alt-rock debut single, Suppressor

Posted on 16 September 2023
Suppressor by A Desolate Light

The Sparks, NV alt-rock artist, A Desolate Light, got his forthcoming debut LP, To Knell and Vanish, off to a scintillating start with the first single released from the concept album, Suppressor.

Starting with the solitary strike of a gong, the spirituality of the release asserts itself from here and unravels further through the Jungian and Zen-inspired lyricism throughout the evocatively high-octane progressions. The instrumentals find themselves in the middle ground between gunge and post-hardcore to stoke the fires of a blazingly hot brand of ingenuity that is uniquely finger-printed to the solo artist.

A Desolate Light is a one-man project fuelled by the enlightened innovation of Sam Spivey (ex-Authmentis); aside from the percussive work, Spivey is putting all the finishing touches on his upcoming 13-track album, which is being fan-funded via his Patreon page and Bandcamp pre-orders of the record.

Suppressor was officially released on September 8th; it is now available to stream and purchase via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The emerging outfit, Hound, is spectre hunting in their debut post-hardcore-meets-pop-punk hit, Ghost in the Grey

Posted on 31 August 2023

Here to prove that emo isn’t a phase is the antagonistically enticing up-and-coming outfit, Hound, with their nostalgia-driven post-hardcore anthem, Ghost in the Grey.

The debut single is – almost – enough to tempt you to chop your hair into a side fringe and whip out the checked sweatbands, skinny jeans, and studded belts. Failing that, you’ll get to relive the glory days when Hawthorne Heights, Dashboard Confessional and Senses Fail reigned supreme in the alternative music charts, and it only felt like your internal sanity was failing instead of society as a whole.

Describing themselves as five 30-somethings with dodgy knees and broken dreams scarcely does their heavy pop-punk/emo mashup justice, especially with the sharp hooks, tight instrumentals and choruses that you will want to scream as though you’re performing your own exorcism. But it just goes to show how committed the powerhouse is to providing an escape from modern maladies and melancholy by creating pretension-less atmospheres in their music and at their live shows.

Ghost in the Grey riled up the airwaves after its debut on August 21. Stream it on Spotify.

 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Norway’s most experimental post-hardcore outfit, trueandtrue, is viciously rapturous in  ‘This is the Last Time’

Posted on 23 August 2023

To orchestrate their latest installation of intellectually crafted post-hardcore visceralism, the Norway-residing four-piece, trueandtrue, enlisted vocalist Tobias Osland (HAMMOK / SLØTFACE) to drive up the decibels in their heaviest single to date.

After a rancorous prelude that delivers all the frenetic chaos you would expect from any self-respecting post-hardcore release, This is the Last Time utilises stripped-back melodic increments with spoken with vindicating words verses to make the cataclysmic crescendos all the more viciously rapturous.

By finding the perfect balance between evocative lyrical triggers and experimental explorations that stamp down their ensnaring sonic signature that has more teeth than a whale shark, trueandtrue stayed true to the form of their moniker in their third release. We can’t wait to hear what follows.

This is the Last Time hit the airwaves on August 18th; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The maters of monolithic metal, Bridging Oceans, are back with vengeance in their sophomore single

Posted on 10 July 2023

After the success of their debut single, Not Lost, the up-and-coming monoliths of the metal scene, Bridging Oceans, unleashed their rancorously rabid eponymous sophomore single.

After the intro threw us right back to when Job for a Cowboy dominated the death metal scene in the early 00s, a more melodic side to the international outfit started to break through the blast beats and technically frenetic grooves laid down by the crunchily distorted guitars.

For the same reasons I can’t help but return to acts such as SCUMFUCK for the highest-possible-octane catharsis, I’ll want to sink my teeth into the blisteringly hot ingenuity in this release, which promises even greater things in the international pipeline.

With the drummer and lyricist, Stuart, hailing from Brisbane and the vocalist and guitarist, Stanis, residing in Kyiv, Ukraine, Bridging Oceans stay true to their moniker by being the first-ever Ukrainian and Australian metal band. When the war is over, Bridging Oceans will be prepared to celebrate.

Stream Bridging Oceans’ latest single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lunacy Commission created a a riff-roaring ride of hard-hitting euphoria with their debut single, Shadow of a Doubt

Posted on 12 June 2023

With touches of Stone Sour and Foo Fighters around the razor-sharp post-hardcore/pop punk hybrid hooks, the debut single, Shadow of a Doubt, from New York’s freshest outfit, Lunacy Commission, is a riff-roaring ride of hard-hitting euphoria.

Any fans of Downstrait, Papercut Massacre, and the Veer Union won’t want to hang around before implanting Shadow of a Doubt on their playlists and saving a spot on their radar for Lunacy Commission.

Their juggernautically strong debut may have set the bar high, but we have no doubt that the best is yet to come from the instrumentally stitched tight outfit, which finished cutting their teeth while playing in the punk band The Show-Offs during middle school before remerging on the airwaves in their new outfit formed during lockdown.

Shadow of a Doubt hit the airwaves on the 2nd of June; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

TITVN reached the height of visceral volition in their Nu Metal take on Deathcore, The Alpha One

Posted on 17 March 2023

The Cali aural aggravators, TITVN, reinvented the wheel as much as their own signature sound in their amalgamation of Deathcore and Nu Metal in their bruisingly dominant hit, The Alpha One.

Slipknot may have left the heavier instrumentals behind them in their last few albums; TITVN picked up the discarded weight and amplified it to the nth degree in their gutturally juggernatic hit that puts as much volition into the vocals as it puts into the expertly timed blast beats and future-embracing metalcore breakdowns.

Even as no stranger to the metalcore icons that reigned supreme at the turn of the century, the energy in The Alpha One is enough to leave Lamb of God, Architects, and As I Lay Dying sounding weaker than Nickelback (sorry Chad).

The official music video for The Alpha One will officially premiere on March 17th; prime your speakers for it before you hit YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chicago punk three-piece, Torch the Hive, delivered relatable hardcore rancour in their latest single, deku

Posted on 11 March 2023

The Chicago-hailing punk three-piece, Torch the Hive, is fresh from the release of their latest feat of relatable hardcore rancour, deku. Never ones to shy away from the facets of society that are like paint-stripper to sanity, Torch the Hive are staunch advocates of mental health awareness in an era which laces the atmosphere with off-kilter dejection.

The lyric, “just make it go away, I don’t want to feel constrained, I swear I’m not insane”, stands as an undeniable testament to the fact that if you’re not disillusioned at this point, you’re the flawed one for your inability to see the obscurity that is sending even the most resilient to the brink.

Sonically, deku leaves nothing to be desired. The jangly indie rock guitars in the intro lose their angular form when the grungy chorus kicks into full momentum, but the punk pioneers saved the best for their colossal breakdowns that hammer home the extent of frustrated friction. Torch the Hive have exactly what it takes to become the Fugazi or At the Drive-In. We can’t wait to hear where they take their sound next.

deku was officially released on February 24th. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Strange Authority stretched their wounds in their hard-rock heavy-hitter, L’Appel Du Vide

Posted on 15 February 2023

Amplifying the anticipation amassing around their debut LP as much as the high gain guitars, the New Jersey powerhouse Strange Authority delivered us from hard-rock monotony with the unveiling of the third single, L’Appel Du Vide, from their upcoming album, Aftershock.

With a touch of James Hetfield to the vocals before they descend into Still Remains-Esque guttural furore and instrumentals that push their hard-rock sound far from classic territory, the exploratively volatile release embraces the future of post-hardcore while keeping familiarly heavy riffs at its core.

If it has been a while since you’ve heard lyrics as impactful as the instrumentals, strap yourselves in for the high-octane multi-faceted resonance.

L’Appel Du Vide is now available to stream on Spotify. Stay tuned for the release of the LP, Aftershock, which is in the pipeline and ready to drop in late Spring 2023.

Review by Amelia Vandergast