Massachusetts’ DEFIANT HEARTS are a hardcore band that straddles the line of “old-school” territory, but never walks through the door. Caught up in a mix of melodic racing guitars, aggressive percussion, and dramatic lead vocals, the band rises far above the rehash that most modern hardcore has become. The frame around DEFIANT HEARTS’ press is [...]

Deathwish Inc. has been steadily building one of the most impressive rosters of heavy music around. Releases this year from MODERN LIFE IS WAR, EMBRACE TODAY, KILL THE DREAM, and BLACKLISTED have reverberated extremely well throughout the hardcore community. The label has also been particularly active in promoting its music by letting people listen to [...]

If you take the melodic steadiness of a band like SPOON and you cram into it the ultra-disciplined, spiraling rhythms of FUGAZI, you may end up with something that’s a close approximation of THE SHACKELTONS. These guys share their strengths in two vivid patterns. The noisy, sometimes tuneful theatrics of lead singer Mark Redding yelp, [...]

VENEREA Names: Dana, Mike, Martin, Andreas Positions in the band: Dana (guitar), Mike (vocals & bass), Martin (drums), Andreas (vocals & guitar) VENEREA sounds like: Fast melodic punk rock close to the harder edge of the EpiFat sound The best thing about our label (Bad Taste) is: They’re really dedicated and work hard, and good [...]

As a straight-up hardcore release, there’s nothing fundamentally wrong about TOO PURE TO DIE’s Confidence and Consequence. The music is aggressive, loud, and conservative in its approach to songwriting. It’s as rewarding as ordering a hamburger medium-well at your local bar and grill. Unfortunately, the line-cook tried to dress up your burger by sticking a [...]

This past April, Jade Tree Records’ THE LOVED ONES hit the road with THE EXPLOSION for nearly a month of tour dates, and LOVED ONES’ bassist, Michael Cotterman, was kind enough to keep a tour journal of the voyage and pass it along to Pastepunk for publication. Check it out. CAST OF CHARACTERS: Dave, Loved [...]

Canadian hardcore punks CAREER SUICIDE have three new songs posted from their Cherry Beach EP. You can download the songs here. A version of the EP was recently launched as a tour-edition thing for the band’s UK run. The group is still writing and recording the remaining material for a later version.

- EMOTIONAL hardcore. One of Second Nature’s finest releases.