Ten Hardcore Bands That Do Actually Get It

I posted an article last week about misogyny in hardcore and just the general lack of respect for fellow human beings that’s running rampant throughout the scene at the moment. There’s certainly a lot of that going on. In honesty, my piece refers mostly to the mainstream – the branch of particularly popular hardcore bands that are dominating the magazines and the social networks at the moment. There’s a lot of bands out there that aren’t subscribing to this at all, that are striving for a community again, that are promoting a very healthy attitude at shows and through their music. Loosely based around the hardcore genre, but with a smattering of punk and metalcore, this is just ten of those bands promoting a better future for the scene. There’s a few more mainstream and a few more underground acts here, and these are the people we should be throwing our weight behind.

1) Finish Him!
Our favourite Coventry partycore lot know what’s going down. A Finish Him! show is always a ridiculously fun experience for everyone – everyone gets involved, everyone keeps each other safe. You’re far more likely to end the set in a massive group hug than with a punch in the face (although that’s mostly just to keep yourself standing after some intense moshing!). And many of their song names are references to classic kid’s shows and video games, which is always a bonus.

2) We Came As Romans
Everyone’s new favourite synthy metalcore band, they don’t have a bad word to say about anyone. Their albums are all about positivity, and their recent slot on the Take Action tour in support of the ‘It Gets Better’ campaign couldn’t paint them as any more angelic. If you’re ever feeling down, listen to Understanding What We Came To Be and you’ll instantly feel better about life.

3) Parkway Drive
Okay, ‘Romance Is Dead’ might be about wanting to choke the life out of a former loved one, but we can all say we’ve had those moments at one point or another. Otherwise, Parkway Drive take their anger out on more noble causes, such as our rampant destruction of the Earth. Atlas is all about the potential demise of our planet if we don’t buck up our ideas. Parkway are also massive fans of the circlepit, but only if you treat each other with respect. And we will, Winston and co, we will.

4) iwrestledabearonce
Ever been to an IWABO show? You’re doing yourself a disservice if you haven’t. Me and Kate threw many a pencil sharpener and a few egg and spoons the last time we were in the general vicinity. It’s also super rad to see such an incredible female vocalist in play in both cases – Krysta’s screams were utterly sublime and I figured there’d never be anyone who could replace her, but Courtney has done pretty admirably, bringing just as much flair and insanity to their live presence as Krysta did. It’s pretty hard to make out exactly what they’re saying though sometimes, so pick up a lyrics booklet and appreciate.

5) The Smoking Hearts
Victory! is a great record. It’s a real snapshot of life in the 2010s, but without subscribing to the bullshit. There’s plenty of stuff in there about standing up tall and rising above, but THS aren’t afraid to party on down with the rabble either. Sick guitar solos aside, THS bring it in every way possible in a live format, but while being perfectly pleasant to everyone around them. Top lads.

6) Sick Of It All
Have you ever listened to a Sick Of It All album and thought ‘well, I can see where they’re coming from but I just can’t identify with this in any way, shape or form’? I thought not.

7) DARKO
Skatepunk enthusiasts DARKO blend the Duracell bunny energy of that 90s sound with technical hardcore for an unbeatable thrill ride. From Trust To Conformity has a lot of anger and frustration in it, but it’s pointed in all the right directions, and a lot more poetic than you might first think. Get listening, get excited.

8) Attack! Vipers!
I literally can’t express my love for Attack! Vipers! enough. Completely standup guys with an explosive live show (high risk of human pyramids included) and stupidly talented musicians to boot. Feeling bad about popular hardcore and its shitty attitude? Have a scroll through the Attack! Vipers! Tumblr page and you’ll see posts speaking out against discrimination and injustice, in the scene and wider. Great stuff.

9) Empire
Shedding Skin is a slice of crashing, beautiful melodic hardcore. The desolate landscapes that it describes and the feelings of discontent and fear are ones that are applicable to all of us. Back in the early 2000s, most of the bands doing this kind of thing were writing songs crying about how girls had wronged them. Empire take a far different approach and we love them for it.

10) Not Right
Definitely more punk than hardcore, but it’d feel wrong to write a piece about solidarity and community without including Not Right. Queer riot grrl noise with a focus on trans issues, general activism and, in their own words, “the politic of people before profit”. And well, they definitely play loud and fast enough to fit in on this list.

Ashes of Maybelle – We Are In Stasis [EP]

The Coventry scene like to keep themselves busy. New projects seem to be born every five minutes, and most of them are pretty spectacular. Ashes of Maybelle are one such band. Not content with being in several other bands, this bunch got together to craft one absolutely mind-blowing EP.

We Are In Stasis kicks off with a realm of terror generally associated with black metal. Absolutely frenetic from the opening, with blood curdling vocals, ‘Black And Grey’ is a fantastic way to begin a record. Although it’s certainly far simpler than some of the other projects that the AoM members have taken part in, it loses none of the brutality and none of the vitality. Not content with just heavy heavy breakdowns, the clean vocals that kick in towards the middle take the track in an entirely new direction.

It is the clean vocals that are the true highlight of We Are In Stasis – not just because they add a distinctly different flavour to each track, but because this is where AoM’s incredible songwriting talent comes out to play. In order for it to fit into the track, the band blend seamlessly from gut-wrenching riffs to beautiful guitar melodies. They never feel out of place either, which is further testament to the band’s skill. It’s almost like Ashes of Maybelle have no idea what genre they fit in to and give not a single fuck about it, which quite frankly, rules.

There’s still plenty of mental hardcore bits to sink your teeth into at various points. At about four minutes into ‘Drag Out Your Dead’, there’s a stupendous part that’s filled with hardcore sensibilities and a keen sense of how to write a hook. The track as a whole is fear inducingly awesome, especially lyrically – there are moments that, if you’re listening to this on your own, will absolutely make you lose your shit. Don’t worry, it’s all totally worth it for the guitar solo towards the end of the track.

‘The Defeo Mind’ has certainly got a dirgier feel to it – if you’ve not wanted to go stalking through a dead forest in the pitch black, you might well do now. The last section goes on for a bit too long though, and the track loses some of its previous urgency. This is all fully made up for by ‘Among Thieves’. Not only does it have some of the best gang vocals I’ve heard this year in it at the end, but it’s a total call to arms. If you weren’t convinced at the start, you sure as hell will be by the end.

Ashes of Maybelle have crafted a very well produced aural nightmare. If you like your post-hardcore with a touch of sinister, you certainly won’t want to miss out on this.

4 out of 5 high fives!

Finish Him! interview TwoBeatsOff…

Those rascally devils from Finish Him! decided to interview me. Far less illuminating than their video but with more cheesy grins.

Interview with Finish Him! [9/2/11]

Finish Him! are top lads. We’ve got even more footage with them coming up tomorrow.

We Are The Ocean – Kasbah, Coventry [21/1/12]

It seems to be a common theme that nine times out of ten, I feel ridiculously old when I go to a show. Despite being an 18+ show with a club night attached, most of the We Are The Ocean fans there that night were surely underage with clever fake IDs or at least of a lesser mental age than I seemed to be when I was fresh out of sixth form. Maybe it’s because I’m now considered a jaded old punk at the age of 21 (you know checked shirts and bat tats are so last year) and because I’m older than most of the people in the bands I’m now going to see. It seems that increasingly, success lies in bright and youthful eyes and a voice that seems as if it’s wise beyond those years.

That isn’t necessarily an adage that applies to Finish Him!, a local Coventry metalcore/deathcore/partycore/yourowncore (delete as applicable) band. Their voice certainly isn’t wise beyond their years, with song names like “Rosie vs Jim – The Final Showdown” and clips from movies overtly introduced before a particularly heavy breakdown. I tell you what it is though – bloody great fun. There are some ridiculously accomplished riffs and mental time signatures going on within the music as well as a great guttural growl from vocalist Mitchel. There’s clear influences from bands like Emmure, but they certainly have their own sound, and despite looking totally cool, sedate and suited up during the first song, they really went crazy as the set went on, giving their set an intensity to admire without losing sight of having a great time. I’m really looking forward to what these guys have to offer, and with a new record on the way, things are looking good.

Scream Blue Murder looked like, as Kitteh said, they’d just jumped off Myspace. Remember those metal bands who had the flashing backgrounds with dripping blood, a lot of black and red and virtually unintelligible logo? That’d be these guys. They’d gone for some threatening makeup, but just looked as if Black Veil Brides had taken a nap and forgot to get the cleansing wipes out. And they looked like they were only twelve except that one bloke we saw getting a tattoo when I was. Appearances aside, they certainly have some growing up to do. The performance was reasonably tight, but it was boring. Extremely generic riffs, growls with no real tone to them and a pretty average rhythm section. They showed none of the fervour that Finish Him! had, and when they hit upon a pretty good sound, it quickly vanished back into the maws of mediocrity.

We Are The Ocean are the kinds of people that are raised on hardcore but then decide to one-up it and create beautifully melodic songs with all the aggression and passion of the scene they came from. Far be it from me to question the glorious scene that was the 90s emotional hardcore scene, but if we ever wanted to reclaim “emo” from the media and give its original meaning back, We Are The Ocean would be the band to do it with. Their stirring anthems rang out loud and clear over Kasbah tonight with a resonance that other bands can only envy. Despite the room being packed full of dickheads with receding hairlines (I mean, seriously… when it gets that bad, scene hair can’t save you. Shave it.), the room had all eyes on the stage, or occasionally the floor when vocalist Dan Brown decided to take to the pit or the bar himself. We Are The Ocean have so many great singalongs and while the set focused heavily on second album Go Now And Live, the fans knew every word and were happy to show it. You know when you see a performance that leaves you a bit lost for words because it’s more than a bit brilliant? Oh yeah. This was one of those. We Are The Ocean are already doing rather well for themselves, as is evident from the customised plastic bags and yearbooks, but this is going to be their year. Don’t miss them when they come near you.