Best of 2011

My personal favorites of the year:


Despise You/ Agoraphobic Nosebleed
And On and On
Relapse Records

Over the past year or so, I've delved pretty deeply into the west coast powerviolence scene of the 1990's - a group of bands with a similar sound led by names like Capitalist Casualties, No Comment and Crossed Out as well as about a billion other bands that may have only existed for a few months. I've found Despise You to be the best out of this batch and when I heard they would be putting out a new record, my ears perked. When I heard that album would be a split with Agoraphobic Nosebleed, I flipped shit as I am a bit of a sucker for anything Scott Hull touches.

Weigh Anchor interview

Florida's a huge state and I love the fact that every nook and cranny of the state has a band or two to its name. Weigh Anchor is that band to Plant City, a little stretch of farmland and highway between Tampa and Orlando. I like that these guys aren't genre worshippers, so to speak (not that that's a bad thing either). It seems like a shit ton of bands are trying to imitate a very particular sound, where as Weigh Anchor is pretty stright forward hardcore that I can't quite pin down. Kind of droning at points, chaotic at others, agressive all the way through. Take a listen for yourself or better yet, catch them next time they play around Tampa or elsewhere in Florida. This interview is with their vocalist Garrett.

Back to Back Records interview

I've never been to Wilkes-Barre, PA but it seems like a hardcore utopia. A short list of bands that have formed in the relatively small city over the last decade include Title Fight, Cold World, Dead End Path, Bad Seed, Stick Together...I could go on and on. Back to Back Records has only put out a handful of releases but they're representing Wilkes-Barre and the rest of the state in a big way (and soon to be taking on the worldwide scene). Instead of a band interview, I thought it'd be cool to get the perspective of the guys who aren't on tour every night but working just as hard to support hardcore. The interview is with Neil, who is one half of Back to Back Records.

Punch interview

I first heard Punch when they toured in support of Ceremony last year. Unfortunately, some tour complications occurred and they couldn't make it to the Tampa date of the tour. A couple months later, I wandered into a house show in downtown Gainesville and to my surprise, Punch was raging to a sweaty crowd packed into a living room like sardines. An incredible set ensued. Maximum Rock N Roll described their music as something along the lines of "powerviolence youth crew" which I think sums it up really well. Blasts beats, 1000 mph riffs and tons of feedback but also those octave runs and chugging parts that bands like Judge or Youth of Today made famous. Screeching, screaming female vocals run the show and make for a very chaotic experience. They just got signed to Deathwish so keep an eye on this band.

Bust It Interview

Bust It! plays aggressive, chaotic, 80's influenced, not-quite-youth-crew-but-sorta (and definitely minus the positive attitude) style hardcore. In other words, it's fast as fuck but still coherent and immediately gives me visions of show spaces erupting. They've been together for a few years now and are currently on a big ol' tour of the country. Florida kids, check em out at a free show in Orlando. This interview is with Coy, who plays guitar.

Magrudergrind interview

Magrudgergrind is the soundtrack to the apocalypse. Through a few full lengths, two EP's and a billion split records with bands like Shitstorm and Godstomper, these guys have pretty much declared themselves as the seminal grind band of the decade. They've got a new EP out called Crusher, check that out and come out to see em at The Fest in October. This interview is with Avi, who sings/ self-mutilates his vocal chords for the band.

Twitching Tongues interview

Twitching Tongues are the bitter break-up and heart break band of decade. While they definitely fit under the umbrella of hardcore, their music sounds like no other band going. They play heavy as fuck yet melodic hardcore that they compare to Type O Negative. Sounds like Stone Temple Pilots to me but who's counting. They're embarking on a pretty extensive tour very soon with fellow Californians Soul Search, Expire and Minus, so check em out if they're in your town. This interview is with Colin, who sings in the band. And damn, that boy can sing.