Written by Ellis
Yo sorry this one’s already a bit late because my son had an ear infection but I showed him the Disgrace Tied Down set which seemed to help a bit. Without further ado then, round three: ten of the best hardcore demos from the third quarter of the year (that’s July to September if you’re not good at months or maths or something).
Barricade – Demo 2025
Kicking off with something fast and true. Four songs, four minutes, Fo(u)r-tress Records. South Florida Straight Edge. The second track “Rule of Thumb” is one of the best hardcore songs of the year full stop.
Before I Depart – Demo 2025
Angel statue metalcore from Omaha, Nebraska. Sick At The Gatesy riffs, irresponsible breakdowns all round, and a proper apocalyptic char that should hit the bullseye for anyone who likes stuff like Arkangel and Contention.
Coexist – Demo
UK Straight Edge is getting stronger and stronger at the moment and Coexist are one of our very best. Swagged out and fired up youth crew vibes on Liverpool’s wonderful and prolific Counterculture Records.
Critical Damage – Demo
Scorching stuff from Syracuse, New York. Hard, fast, heavy and mad as hell—everything hardcore should be init. Bonus points for a vocalist that sounds like this whole thing is causing them a great degree of physical pain.
Final War – Demo ‘25
This one’s literally just an intro and one song proper but it still goes absolutely obscene. Bleak, desolate, big riff shit from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The intro lyrics are just “No Justice / No Law / Just Dust”. Fire.
Hitman – Demo 2025
Here’s your obligatory Breakdown worship pick—well, kinda. New York/democore vibes from Virginia Beach with a bit of a metallic gallop to some of the riffing to give it its own edge. Hopefully there’ll be a Bandcamp link soon, but with immense gratitude to whoever runs the Brutal Youth YouTube channel in the meantime…
Master Killer – Demo ‘25
No prizes for guessing these guys’ favourite band. Hailing from Örebro, Sweden, Master Killer clearly worship devotedly at the altar of one of the best to ever do it (Merauder if you’re lost here), while also namechecking the likes of Morbid Angel and Obituary to add some swamped out death metal to the mix in case it somehow didn’t go hard enough for you already.
STAB – Demo ‘25
Maine’s STAB play a kind of Tony Hawk soundtrack-ready brand of melodic hardcore that will make you wanna grab your mate by both ears and belt the lyrics into their face, flecking their cheeks with spit and sweat as your own go bright red and your lungs beg for mercy… so yeah, uh, pretty good.
Subversive Intent – Demo
Rebirth Records basically haven’t missed all year (or maybe ever) and they certainly don’t start on this demo from San Diego’s Subversive Intent (co-released with Camel Clutch Records). Raw and raging stuff with a load of D-beats and guitar solos that should definitely appeal to fans of bands like Discharge and Poison Idea.
Telltale – Demo
Another one from Counterculture Records, albeit something a lot meaner than the aforementioned Coexist demo and some of the other great stuff they’ve put out this year from bands like Fallaway and Big Problem. This one from Manchester’s Telltale is gruff and chuggy and crushing af and sounds like it was inspired by a load of the same bands as the UK’s finest Despize.
No Spotify playlist this time around. Fuck Daniel Ek, obviously.