Hardcore Has Been in my DNA Since I Was 7 Years Old
I find comfort in constant themes, threads that tie my childhood up to the present day. Take Thrice, for example. I first saw the post-hardcore vets in the summer of 2000. I was 7 years old when my Dad took my brothers and me to a small basement show at Jerry’s Pizza in Bakersfield, California. Deeply confused by the concept of a “show” in a pizza restaurant, I didn’t know what to expect. But you never forget your first DIY show. The volume. The intensity. The disregard for social norms. It felt like rules were being broken and everyone was okay with it. It lit my brain up. Adrenaline shot through me when a crowdmember asked me to hold his merch so he could circle pit. I had no idea at the time, but the spirit of hardcore was engraving itself in my DNA.
When I first put on “Albatross,” the latest single from their upcoming album Horizons / West, I felt at home. It has all the traits of a signature Thrice song. Gritty bass lines and rock-solid rhythms from the Breckenridge brothers. Teppei Teranishi leads that bury themselves deep in your eardrums. And, of course, soaring choruses carried by the warmth and texture of Dustin Kensrue’s vocals. From that first basement show to now, Thrice has remained a steady thread in my life for 25 years. And I’m grateful the story isn’t finished yet.
That same search for constants—music that clearly references it's past—is what connects all the tracks I’ve been playing lately.
While some fans on Reddit gripe about the slower pacing of Spite's new track “LIGHTS OUT,” I think it’s a showcase of precision and power. At 2:25, guitarist Alex Tehrani delivers one of the most crushing 15-second bridges I’ve heard in a deathcore song. And when you’ve got a vocalist like Darius Tehrani, you don’t need to live at 220 BPM to dominate a track. He slides between piercing highs, Randy Blythe-esque mids, and guttural lows that seem almost inhuman. It commands your attention with restraint, not overindulgence. Spite Cult, forever.
On the metalcore front, Dying Wish continue refining their sound with “Revenge in Carnage.” The riffing instantly reminded me of ’90s Swedish melodeath—think At the Gates or In Flames—but with modern production giving it a crushing edge. The riffs are thick, the melodies haunting, and the whole song feels as ominous as the name implies. Their new album Flesh Stays Together drops September 26 on Sharptone Records, and if this track is any indication, it’s going to hit hard.
If you’re craving something more straightforward, End It just delivered with Wrong Side of Heaven. Their first full-length clocks in at 23 minutes of pissed-off, fast, traditional hardcore. It throws back to the 2000s era of bands like Donnybrook! and Allegiance, a refreshing counterpoint to the current wave of wannabe slam bands dominating the scene.
Baltimore’s Ousted are carving a different lane with their upcoming How Do You Cope EP. The latest single "Reflections" sounds dark in a way that feels refreshing for hardcore—foreboding without relying on breakdowns or half-time chugs. It’s heavy, but through atmosphere and tone. Keep your eyes and ears open, I'll be talking about this band a lot this month.
And finally, No Apologies have dropped a full-length that’s pure crossover thrash energy. Life is fast, reflective, and unrelenting—a reminder that hardcore is at it's best when it sounds urgent and alive.
That was my listening this week. What about you?
