BASTARD IDOL plays four tracks of bombardment-grade D-beat raw punk on their 2025 demo tape. Frequency-shredding guitars blast aggro psych atop a precision rhythm barrage, while deep, full-throat vocals deliver raging rebukes. At time of writing, there are only two copies available through Broken Skull (with proceeds going to Solidarity Across Borders), so hurry and scoop one.
A skull-bludgeoning follow up to their 2024 EP Catholic Guilt, CELL DETH is back with ten tracks of raging hardcore punk. Cues have been taken from classic USHC sources, like JERRY’S KIDS and the F.U.’S, but there is something else in their DNA that isn’t as obvious. While I wouldn’t call them fastcore, they certainly do play fast as fuck, and have tapped into the uncanny GAUZE-like ability to impart a sense of speed and velocity into their songs even when the actual tempo isn’t so elevated. This innate sense of urgency is the band’s superpower, and when folded in with some tasty riffs, seething vocals, and a chainsaw raw recording quality, the resulting EP is a standout record in a year jam-packed with noteworthy hardcore records. Ten songs on seven inches, with the longest cut landing at one minute, thirteen seconds. Fuck yeah!
Montreal freak punx follow up their 2023 demo and, yeah, DUREX still fucks. Ripping hardcore punk that flirts with Scandinavian punk, but lands somewhere between KREMLIN and DETESTATION. Fierce and angry, yet perhaps not taking themselves too seriously which makes this both savage and fun. Eight direct cuts of go-for-the-eyes noisy punk. Blast this loud!
DURS COEURS have booted down a door (and perhaps a wall) to fuse proto-metal, post-punk, and street rock. Melodic without being overtly pop-influenced, gritty and tough yet not impenetrable. The instrumentation across these eight cuts is impressively tasteful. They keep things wound tight and in the pocket when it counts, and sprinkle in the right amount of flourish when called for. As the opening track foreshadows, there’s a surfy twang splashed across the album that adds a buoyancy that lifts DURS COEURS to level beyond many of their peers. Fans of CAMERA SILENS in particular will want to take note.
EULOGY is a Montreal based five-piece who released their inaugural recording in late 2025. Their six-song Demo ’25 EP is a whirlwind of D-beat-driven raw punk with the bulk of influence being drawn from DISCHARGE. EULOGY uses a brutal rhythm section to maintain a bass-heavy attack, while the lead guitar shreds psych-punk riffs just above a gravelly, full-throat vocal delivery. In other words, an absolute must-listen if you’re an aficionado of loud, fast punk.
If you like rabid, no-holds-barred, raw D-beat noisecore punk, then you need to listen to the NOT out of Montreal. Scathing lyrical criticisms squall over blown distortion with intermittent breaks for wild but captivating displays of feedback, squelch, and rhythm shifts. If you like ZYANOSE, ENZYME, and PHYSIQUE, this is for you. Personally, I want to hear a whole lot more from the NOT.
There must be something in the water in Buffalo, and whatever it is, it’s responsible for some of the best hardcore in recent years—this is no exception. VIPERS feature members of COKE BUST, SCIENCE MAN, and BROWN SUGAR, and I am stoked to say they sound nothing like any of those bands! It’s menacing hardcore punk delivered at breakneck speed with intense vocals and a dash of straight-up rock’n’roll guitar-playing. “Preferia” sounds like SOA colliding with early SEPULTURA, topped off with a guitar solo that would make Wayne Kramer proud. “Coxinha Motherfuckers” is a standout for me, blending CIRCLE JERKS-style riffage under a savage scream of “I have no patience / Coxinha Motherfuckers / You’re driving me insannnne.” I thought he was talking about chicken! Absolutely bonkers. Play it loud!
For most punks, the word “zeal” has something of a bad connotation, as it might remind one of that excruciatingly annoying colleague who would do anything to be noticed, praised, and rewarded by the boss. We’ve all had coworkers who groveled their way to the top and would have sold their mums if it meant they could garner a small pay raise. Fortunately, ZEAL does not partake in this kind of capitalistic zeal, as they are hardcore enthusiasts instead. The Illusion of Peace LP is a crucial reissue of their tape released in 2024, an absolutely brilliant recording that ticked a lot of highly cherished boxes. ZEAL is from Ottawa and delivers high-intensity, seemingly unstoppable hardcore punk that takes inspiration from the good shit: mean, gruff käng and triumphant Japanese hardcore. The band reminds me of DESTRUCT in terms of relentlessness—listening to this LP makes me feel invincible and just happy to be there (the feeling never lasts long, but you know what I mean). The power of ANTI-CIMEX or DRILLER KILLER gets the front seat with epic Burning Spirits hardcore bands like BASTARD or DEATH SIDE close by. I am not always a sucker for the trademark “gang chorus,” but they do take the intensity up a notch here. I am also hearing mid-’00s studded bands like Portland’s BLOOD SPIT NIGHT or GUIDED CRADLE from Czechia. We are drowning in bands these days and there’s a fancy American novelty hardcore band supposedly reinventing the genre every fortnight, so hyperboles have become the norm in how we talk about punk. Still, you can believe me when I claim that this is a fantastic, impactful hardcore punk album that deserves a lot of attention.
