Browsing Tag

post hardcore

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

Homebody went all in on the retrospective introspection in their post-hardcore hook-filled hit, Hindsight

Posted on 11 February 2023

Following the success of their 2022 LP, Stranger to Yourself, the Alabama duo, Homebody, comprising of Austin McQueen and Jonathan Lollar, have added even more weight to their monolithic breakdowns in their latest single, Hindsight.

Don’t let the grungy melodicism in the intro fool you; this stellar slice of post-hardcore hits hard enough to leave speakers black and blue. Keeping the raw and visceral emotion in the lyrics at its core, Hindsight is an evocatively charged hook-rife hit that doesn’t need your permission before submerging you into high-octane catharsis.

As the lyrics and vocals fiercely lament the people that leave destruction in their path, the cuttingly contemporary production will provide the ultimate escapism as you lose yourself in the interstellar world of Homebody’s ingenuity

Stream Hindsight on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chicago alt-metal originators, Dust Biters, expose their bleeding post-hardcore heart in ‘Progeny’

Posted on 30 January 2023

With a tumultuously rapturous sound that could only have stemmed from Chicago, Dust Biters’ lead single, Progeny, from their album, Guilt, is a viscerally maniacal feat of tightly off-kilter ingenuity.

As Nick Kinsley dynamically volleys between hitting all the right vocal notes, he throws plenty of evocative punches along the way. In the same vein as Against Me! Dust Biters heighten their sound to the nth degree through a combination of instrumental prowess and bleeding post-hardcore heart.

In the space of three minutes, Progeny moves through as many tonal shifts as some bands do in an entire LP. Yet, with the way that the uninhibitedly wild progressions bind together with melodic adhesion, it’s always easy to follow their raw groove-led lead.

If they make it to the UK, I will be the one with a near-broken neck at the front.

Check out the Radio Cut of Progeny on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Luna Falling – The End: Bio-Mechanical Post-Hardcore

Posted on 9 January 2023

If Blue October hailed from 100 years in the future, their fervid firestorms would resound with the same pioneering panache as the hits from the Ohio-based outfit, Luna Falling.

The End relatably signifies the collective state of discontent in a time when we’re all sick of the threat that the curtains could close at any given moment. The futuristically thunderous drum sequences rail across the synths that give this feat of post-hardcore a potent shot of bio-mechanical flair while creating a glitchy platform for the cascades of aching emotion that are all too easy to resonate with.

Will Carlson notably knows how to pull a massive production together. Hit play, and you will be consumed by the tightly melodic kaleidoscopic furore.

The End is now available to stream on Spotify. Follow Luna Falling via Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Post-hardcore goes electro-pop in I was the ocean once’s latest single, Heavy Love

Posted on 19 October 2022

Post-hardcore underwent an electronic renovation in I was the ocean once’s latest single, Heavy Love. After a scratchy turntable intro, a Deathstars-Esque sense of discord and heavy electro angst feeds into the pretty hate soundscape that toys with elements of electro-pop and hip hop. I say ‘toys’ think of Pinhead with a puzzle box!

It’s a scathing feat of experimentalism that won’t be for everyone. But for those inclined to dabble in vehement driven schizophrenically electric records, delve right into this cathartically raw outpour of visceral ‘love’. It is sure to hit the existential spot.

Heavy Love is now available to stream on YouTube.

Check out I was the ocean once via their official website, and follow them on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Less Miserable – The Dentist: Meet the Icons of Self-Depreciating Post-Emo Pop-Punk

Posted on 27 September 2022
43 Chinook by Less Miserable

Post-emo pop-punk outfit, Less Miserable took expression to the next level in their 2022 standout single, The Dentist. The visceral track explores the intricacies of depression by making a series of proclamations that everyone who has ever felt inadequacy loom along with the bark of the black dog will relate to.

With killer lines “the sun on my face feels like a cheap insult that I can’t ignore” and the chorus hook “If you want me to see a dentist, you’ll have to kick me in the teeth, I can’t ask for help unless it is an emergency” to a backdrop of progressively off-kilter post-hardcore rancour, The Dentist will break your heart through resonance. Before mending it through the affirmation that you’re not alone in the insecurities you feel in loving relationships and the tendency to neglect self-care when you don’t see yourself as something worth investing in

Without a hint of hyperbole, I’ve just found a new favourite artist in the Alberta-based outfit who specialises in self-deprecating anthems made to drink cheap beer to and shout along to in sweaty basements. It’s almost enough to make me buy a plane ticket to Calgary to party with the candour-gifted lyrical visionaries.

The Dentist is now available to stream and purchase via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast