Written by Ellis Heasley

As if Melinda didn’t give you all enough core with her XXL third edition last week, here we go again with the fourth instalment of Please Sir, I Want Some Core, back to a regular-sized ten records this time around. A couple of these lean more towards noise rock than we’ve had in previous editions, but in the usual spirit of casting the net as wide as possible that’s just the tip of the iceberg. If you haven’t already, make sure you read Melinda’s XXL edition as there is so much quality in there, and keep your eyes out for hopefully one more list before the year is out!

Path Of Resurgence – Blinded By Desire

Released February 19th 2021

Path Of Resurgence are one of a seemingly ever growing number of bands casting their eyes back to a time when metalcore, or metallic hardcore, was arguably at its creative peak. Following on from their 2020 demo, the Swiss four-piece’s debut EP Blinded By Desire is a five-track slice of ‘revivalcore’ at its finest, one full of Gothenburg-style riffing and breakdowns galore. Crucially, if you find yourself put off by the clean vocals that have made their way into a lot of throwback metalcore nowadays, this record is the one for you, with the band’s vocalist opting exclusively for a scorching hardcore bark.

Starve – Nausea

Released 24th March 2021

From a take on metalcore with its feet pretty firmly in the past, to one more in line with the scene’s recent heights, Nausea, the latest EP from Melbourne’s Starve is up there with the best modern metallic hardcore records of the last few years. Sometimes titles are just perfectly low-hanging fruit, and that’s definitely the case here; this is a nauseatingly violent record which mines similar territory to that recent Knocked Loose EP. Its crisp production makes everything sound absolutely gigantic, while tracks like “No One Cares” even see the band take the occasional detour into the sheer crush of deathcore at points.

Colonial Wound – Degradation

Released April 16th 2021

For an EP comprising just three tracks, it’s perhaps surprising how many different places you can trace Degradation’s lineage too. The latest release from Florida’s Colonial Wound has a lot to do with noise rock, but it also seems to draw strong influence from golden era metallic hardcore bands like Botch and Drowningman. As well as this, you could argue there’s a touch of skramz in vocalist Jeremy Atkins’ tortured screams, and there’s definitely a layer of sludge over much of the band’s angular riffing. All told, it results in a chaotic concoction whose 11-minute runtime certainly bears repeated listens.

Leave – Dead Language

Released August 6th 2021

The longest release on this list at 29 minutes, Leave’s debut full-length Dead Language is a tough one to classify. Atmospheric blackened post-hardcore feels like a start, but even that doesn’t quite cover everything. This is a bleak, dynamic record that seems to draw on the chaoticism of legendary metalcore bands like Converge and Norma Jean, only to put this through various sludgy, post and atmospheric filters. Lead single “The Serpent’s Smile” stands out as a visceral centrepiece, while the closing run of “Distance & Time”, “Tragedies” and “Orphan” all reach for catharsis with a sprawling and tortured brand of post-hardcore.

Ingrown – Gun

Released August 20th 2021

Hailing from Boise, Idaho, Ingrown seem to pose and answer the question of what bands like Agnostic Front and Madball would sound like if they had a nasty powerviolence streak. Their debut full-length Gun is exactly that: a mix of meaty crossover aggro injected with a significant dose of blasting grind. The trio razor through its 11 tracks in 14 minutes, flitting from hulking grooves and breakdowns to breakneck thrashing and bursts of powerviolence. Of course, all this comes caked in squealing feedback and that classic HM-2 sound for a record that’s harder than nails and twice as ugly.

Future Trash – The Collector

Released August 20th 2021

Referring to themselves simply as “a punk rock band from Chicago” doesn’t exactly capture the sheer chaos Future Trash conjure on their latest EP The Collector. Comprising six tracks – or more aptly five and a sort of interlude – these make for a manic nine and a half minutes of mathy chaotic hardcore reminiscent of bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Chariot, and perhaps more recently The Callous Daoboys. In something of a rarity for music like this, the bass shines through especially here, its chunky low end locking in with hyperactive drums to underpin angular riffing and a fiercely deranged vocal performance. 

My Fictions – Time Immemorial

Released September 3rd 2021

Making their return with their first release since 2014, My Fictions have absolutely no problems blowing the cobwebs away on Time Immemorial. Launching out the gate with the raging opener “Psychic Readings”, the Boston-based trio proceed to tear through just under 17 minutes of hard-hitting melodic hardcore that’s sure to go down brilliantly with fans of bands like American Nightmare, Have Heart and Defeater. It’s a passionate, emotional record, with pained and personal lyrics delivered by vocalist/bassist Bryan Carifio. The title track stands out in particular, a fiery yet despondent offering that sees Carifio asking “How much of me do I have left?”.

0800-Crunk – Your Call Is Important To Us

September 10th 2021

At their core, 0800-Crunk are essentially a noise rock band, but there’s still enough going on on Your Call Is Important To Us that they don’t stick out too much here. Opener “Once You Pop, That’s Great!” for example shows hints of the punishing mathcore of a band like Pupil Slicer, while second track and lead single “The Cat Formerly Known As Darkness” lands somewhere between Pissed Jeans and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Clocking in at just ten minutes, it’s short, but definitely not sweet, the record’s nasty noisy fare pausing only for the menacingly irate sampled phone call of third track “OTP”.

Razoreater – Purgatory

September 24th 2021

Going back to that low-hanging fruit, of course a band with a name like Razoreater play razor sharp grind. Their latest EP Purgatory is definitely worth checking out if you enjoyed the faster parts of that recent Mastiff record – this one taking the form of 12 minutes of blasting and barking HM-2-soaked violence. Vocalist Mors is agonisingly furious, but it’s arguably drummer Luke who steals the show with their relentless barrage of blast beat barbarity. There aren’t really any breathers in these seven tracks, unless you count the final buzzing moments of closer “There Is No More Hope”.

Grace – Self-titled

September 24th 2021

Hailing from New Jersey, and signed to the excellent Upstate Records, there’s no question Grace are a hardcore band, but it’s also hard not to hear strong shades of death, groove and thrash metal in their Self-titled debut EP. For starters, frontman Jeremy Hamilton often exhibits an apocalyptically tortured bellow reminiscent of Max Cavalera. There’s also plenty of pummelling double kick work from the band’s drummer, and even the odd Slayer-isms in some of the record’s more dissonant and harmonised lead guitar lines. If you’ve come to this list looking for gym fuel, this is definitely the one for you.