If you believe Hardcore has little to offer outside of the fairly narrow musical alleyway it usually occupies then today might just be the perfect time to take a listen to SpiritWorld. Combining Country Music and bedazzled outfits with Punk aggression and Thrash Metal riffs, the Las Vegas act are a sight to behold and they return with a vengeance on third full-length album Helldorado (Century Media Records).
Tag Archives: Hardcore
EP REVIEW: Iron Form – Cut From Cold Blood – Church Road Records
The new EP from Church Road Records artists Iron Form titled Cut From Cold Blood is a five-piece band showing off their musical influences and technical merit. Another example of a band breaking through genres by just playing what comes naturally to them in their songwriting process.Continue reading
EP REVIEW: Fomented – Bitter And Miserable Beings
If you ever find yourself wanting to listen to something so heavy and disturbingly unhinged that it almost defies description then let this to be your introduction to Fomented. A two piece act from the West Midlands consisting of ex Savage Messiah guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Sy Taplin, and Kieran Scott, the voice behind death metal sluggers DeathCollector, the duo’s independently released debut EP Bitter and Miserable Beings is the musical equivalent of violent nipple torture and ten times more uncomfortable.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Scour – Gold
Trading Louisiana sludge for a more European soundscape, black metal act Scour is the latest project from Phillip H. Anselmo, the former frontman of Texan bruisers Pantera and New Orleans supergroup Down. Although quite some distance away from his usual musical stamping ground, this isn’t the first time Anselmo has turned his hand towards black metal, but where the likes of Eibon and Viking Crown merely laid the groundwork, it’s with Scour where all the pieces have finally come together.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Stress Test – Stress Test
The more uncertain the times, the more violent the reaction. A point proven in the eighties with the explosion of Hardcore and Thrash, and this self-titled debut by Oregon act Stress Test is like taking a step back into that time. A time when everyday existence meant the fear of war, disease and hate; a time when religion and politics were even more corrupt and depraved than certain types of criminals. The sad thing is though, you only have to spend thirty seconds watching the TV or doomscrolling through your news feed to see history repeating itself, only worse and often in more insidious ways.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Killswitch Engage – This Consequence
Since originally forming decades ago, the name of Killswitch Engage has become synonymous with the metal-core genre as a whole. It is impossible to have a discussion of what makes the best albums and artists in the subgenre, without the veteran band being mentioned at least once. Throughout their careers, the band have strived on to create some of the most iconic melodies and songs that could have only come from this band, amongst the thousands that make up metalcore. Now on their ninth studio album, This Consequence (Metal Blade Records), the band are taking it again up another level, according to their frontman Jesse Leach. Can the band fulfill these lofty highs now so far into their career?
ALBUM REVIEW: Open Kasket – Trials Of Failure
You either love Beatdown Death Metal and all its violence-even-though-it’s-carefully-controlled live atmosphere, or you think it’s a bunch of amped-up spinkickers with no respect for their surroundings.Continue reading
INTERVIEW: Mark Scondotto of Shutdown Talks About Their New “By Your Side” EP
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I’ll never forget hearing Shutdown for the first time many years ago and being blown away by the high energy and sense of purpose in the then-young upstart band’s fiery brand of driven NYHC. In very exciting news, the band continue their hot streak with Equal Vision Records and a new EP By Your Side! Learning from the ups and downs in life and building community is what this band has always been about. It was a lot of fun to catch up with singer Mark Scondotto about Shutdown these days.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Stick To Your Guns – Keep Planting Flowers
When Stick To Your Guns are firing on all cylinders, it really is top-notch melodic-tinged Hardcore. And their latest full-length is a shining example.Continue reading
GHOST CULT MAGAZINE TOP 75 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR 2024
Last-minute slinky Norwegian jesters aside, our dedicated and awesome team of writers, photographers, editors, contributors, alumni, designers and what have you, have come together to work through our regular collaborative and demographic confirmation of those albums that tickled our collective pickle in 2024.Continue reading