How many hardcore zines/podcasts/blogs are glazing punk records uploaded in one track to their label Bandcamp AND streaming-only bands with x’s, area codes and Kickback references in their names? Hopefully a few. Our genre’s in such a cool spot right now. The post-pandemic monoculture is done. Very few people like “everything” these days. To quote a “regular hardcore” band named after a Death Threat song: “no more unity”.
That type of division, while highkey annoying to deal with on a social level, probably breeds better music. Nobody’s trying to impress everyone. The references go deeper. The beef tracks get a little more vitriolic. Sometimes hardcore’s better when we’re not all trying to hold hands and sing Kumbaya.
Unless we’re talking about Division of Mind, of course. Everyone likes that shit, right?
Will to Power 313 - Man Will Always Fail (Self-released)
The Kickback-aissance is in full effect, and this Detroit band brings some hometown flavour to their version of the classic European export. If it worked for pizza, why not hardcore? Despite their name resembling a Total Supply Board handle, they breathe hardbody mosh energy into 90s-inspired crossover riffs. The songs are structured like modern heavy hardcore a la Detain or D-Bloc, with a few obvious nods to the band who inspired their name. Pedants may be quick to point out that this doesn’t really sound like Kickback. They’re right, but who cares? Listen to Forever War if you want that. Despite some very on-the-nose aesthetics, this band lands in their own lane. It’s not completely novel with stuff like Rekrucify popping up across the world. Still, like D-Bloc or Anhedonia, WtP has potential to be the beloved version of this emerging trend for a region with deep roots and reverence for heavy hardcore. This band could really win me over with a killer live set. So please come to Canada!
xforever warx - Upon the Weak and Broken (Life Sentence)
This SLC band sounds much less like Kickback than their name implies. They pull more from the concurrent Italian “edge metal” milieu — bands like Reprisal, From the Dying Sky and Sentence (who they cover). That stuff is name checked a lot these days, but rarely truly evoked. Even Contention and Unmoved, two of the best modern bands trying this, have so much flair of their own that they deliver quite a different product from the classics. xforever warx, for better or worse, comes closer to faithfully recreating that era of Italian metalcore. The source material meanders and often devolves into a riff parade. xfwx aren’t beating those allegations, but these tracks have direction, or at least memorable moments. It’s not like the most punishing Reprisal material where nothing happens over a four-minute song. The production on this EP helps. It’s heavy and sharp, which may push this into your good books if you like All Out War but feel tepid on their innumerable European derivatives.
Division of Mind - Exoterror (Triple B)
This Richmond band is exalted in my friend group for their clever songs and brutal riffs. As an avowed Lockin’ Out enthusiast, a band with no two-steps isn’t something I reach for naturally. Their self-titled 2019 LP never cracked my rotation, and I was the only person in hardcore not champing at the bit when the new singles dropped in March. Four or five listens lets me understand and appreciate why seemingly everyone else loves DOM. This record takes me back to a time when nobody in their right mind thought BDM was “hardcore adjacent” and 2003-style sing/scream vocals put you squarely in the uncanny valley. In that sense, it doesn’t break continuity in DOM’s discography despite a seven year gap. This is heavy hardcore designed to activate your lizard brain, not swing a dick in your face and call you a bitch. Still, 2018 was chock full of bands who sound dated now. This feels timeless. The songs are too good. DOM are hardcore’s San Antonio Spurs. Impeccable fundamentals yield greatness.
Brainwash Victims - Brainwash Victims (Unlawful Assembly)
The only thing I know about this is that it’s probably from the Midwest and features Mark Winter from The Coneheads (etc). Add the fact that Unlawful Assembly uploaded it to Bandcamp as a single track and I’m sure you get the vibe. It’s inscrutable to the point of annoyance, but otherwise unassailable. I still don’t get “egg punk” but it’s hard to deny that scene’s OG bands knew what they were doing and did it well. BV are by no means eggy. I would put them in the same “d-beatish” hardcore punk lane as Bootlickers or Warthog. Still, I’m not surprised bro from Coneheads is in this. It’s ripping and catchy but retains the pebble-in-your-shoe style snottiness that either immediately endears or wholly alienates listeners. As a Kickback-pilled CTE victim, I need tracks (or at least riffs) for the “hehe look how weird I am” schtick to land. This band has both in spades. In those cases, the mysterious guy shit usually elevates a solid effort. No exception here. I also love how they dropped and went on tour right away.
Subversive Intent - Subversive Intent (Rebirth)
After decades kicking around in the scene, going to shows and playing in bands, most real mfs realize there’s only one way to play hardcore. You know exactly what to expect from note one of this San Diego band’s LP, and if you don’t like it, you’re reading the wrong Substack. I’m proud of myself for picking up the Battalion of Saints meets Final Conflict vibes before reading this record’s accompanying press material. It leans heavy into early US d-beat but is catchy and snotty in the vein of first wave California. Most OG USHC was not brain off caveman music. It was riff and melody oriented. Punk at 1.5x speed. Subversive Intent gets a little moshy, but in 2026, who doesn’t? Those moments are where the mid-80s influence (Final Conflict/Agnostic Front) shine. Unlike Brainwash Victims, who are basically doing the same thing, this is devoid of all artsy cuteness and simply rips. If it was recorded more shittily you could tell me it came out in 1984 and I’d be none the wiser. Every song bangs. AOTY contender.
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