Here at Revolver, we're always on the hunt for new songs to bang our heads to — indeed, it's a big part of our jobs. With that in mind, here are the tracks released this week in hardcore, death-rock, noise-rock and more that have been on heavy rotation at Revolver HQ.
For your listening pleasure, we've also compiled the songs in an ever-evolving Spotify playlist.
Knocked Loose - "Blinding Faith"
Knocked Loose are the biggest band in hardcore not named Turnstile. Therefore, you'd expect that a group as popular as them would start to sand down the more abrasive edges of their sound to be more accessible to their ever-growing audience. Nope.
"Blinding Faith" is fucking pulverizing. Spiky panic chords, dissonant leads, bloody-knuckle breakdowns and shriek-bellow vocal interplay between Bryan Garris and Isaac Hale that sounds downright demonic. They're heavier than ever.
CNTS - "I Won't Work for You"
CNTS, the L.A. noise-punk crew that include Dead Cross axman Mike Crain in their lineup (and are signed to Mike Patton's Ipecac Recordings), are rolling out their first LP since 2019. "I Won't Work for You" is a promising taste.
It's an exercise in tension, built upon a minimalist punk beat and an elliptical riff coated in gnarsty distortion. Eventually, a rippin' guitar solo opens the whole thing up, but then it contracts back to taut stabs, all while singer Matt Cronk emphasizes, repeatedly, that he won't work for you.
Wild Side - "Hardcore Music Machine"
It feels like a generation of hardcore has passed since Wild Side dropped their high-kickin' 2019 LP, Who the Hell Are Wild Side? Their new single, "Hardcore Music Machine," is a dazzling return to form.
Singer Brandon MacFarlane basically just shit-talks over the track for its first minute-and-a-half while the guitarists shred like maniacs. It never really settles down into a coherent structure, and that's what makes it capture the loose-and-goofy spirit of Eighties NYHC in a way many other bands fail to achieve.
Dool - "Venus in Flames"
Dool rule. The Dutch band have spent years honing their unique mix of death-rock, psych-metal and stadium-doom, and "Venus in Flames" feels like a fully-realized version of their curiously catchy sound.
Singer-guitarist Raven van Dorst's arresting vocals steal the show here, as they belt atop the lapping waves of stormy riffage that sound like Mastodon one minute and Killing Joke the next.
Street Power - "Time Is Coming for Us All"
Boston's Street Power caught our ear with their 2023 LP, Threads of Hate, which had the vibe of hanging at a neighborhood bar where some sketchy shit might be going down in the backroom. "Time Is Coming for Us All" isn't any friendlier.
The new joint from their Triple B promo is a stompin' and clompin' rumination on our impending mortality. "Can you feel the reaper breathe down your neck?" the backup (or guest?) vocalist screams at one point. "Time is coming for us all," frontman Chris Cesarini echoes back. Mosh parts ensue.
Domain - "Noix et Boules"
There's an absolute glut of great young bands coming out of the South Florida hardcore scene right now, and Domain are among the best. Their upcoming debut features the vocalists of Indecision and Scarab on a couple tracks, but they go it alone on "Noix et Boules" — and it's madness.
The band play a style of hardcore that's frenetic and technical, but all in the service of delivering punishing mosh sections. There's some crazy-ass drumming on "Noix et Boules," and the stabbing riffage offers more to chew on than most heavy-hitters provide. Fans of Vein.FM and Judiciary should take note.
