The DEMO ZONE is back one last time folks, hitting hard on the chin with another batch of freshly angry old school demos/promos from the first half of 2023. It seems the Florida scene is planning a worlwide assault, invading the boomboxes of many hardcore knuckleheads out there, crude music for crude people:
CALIBER - Demo (Fortress Records)
Wow! If you are longing for the next Painkiller Records release, pressing F5 on their page constantly, FORSTRESS RECORDS may be the medicine you're looking for. Straight forward mean and fast hardcore is what is ahead of you here, zero bullshit.
COLLATERAL - Demo #1 (Fortress Records)
Whatever I said above, South Florida BUST IT! Cope tapes here.
YIELD TO NONE - Demo (Core Club)
More Florida hardcore, what's going on in there lately? They are eating BREAKDOWN songs at breakfast and OUTBURST at lunch to then deliver us some glorious old school music, more pleazz. (Also from Tampa, check the amazing DIFFUSE).
SUBMIT - Demo (Rebirth Records)
Okay, enough with the FLHC right? Wrong! As I was writing this, looking up from where SUBMIT are based out of... bam! Pensacola. They play even faster than the previous bands here, taking cues from Boston hardcore.
DEAD TO RIGHTS - Demo (Northern Unrest)
Scottish hardcore... for a change. DEAD TO RIGHTS bring to the table that late 90's/early 00's urgent sound, I dare to say they play a mix of Floorpunch and Right Brigade. Promising AF.
CONTEMPT - Demo (Advanced Perspective)
Chicago straight edge back on track! These dudes already got the attention from Revelation Records, don't sleep on this.
INTIMIDATION - Promo 2023 (Mr. Face Records)
Good ole Oi!/Street Punk done right in 2023. With members hailing from NJ to NYC, they are cooking up their debut EP to be served still this very year. The 2-song promo is one hell of a teaser and features a Bruisers cover.
SMASH N' GRAB - Promo (Yuga Dharma Press)
The Buffalo soldiers of hardcore are back with a 3-song promo, featuring members of EXHIBITION and VIOLENT WAY. Tapes can be ordered here soon. (For more Buffalo underground music and Violent Way side projects, check BIG DOG)
TIME X HEIST - The Odds Against Tomorrow (Crimewave Records)
There's no proper Demo Zone without a sick Youth Crew debut and Colorado's TIME HEIST delivered it big time. They hit the ground running as this is their first output, is it a demo turned into a 12" EP? Anyway, it gives me total Youngblood/React! Records vibes.
SENTINEL - Promo (Raven Records)
Dudes in Mindforce, Age Of Apocalypse, Restraining Order and Mutually Assured Destruction gave birth to SENTINEL in 2021, playing thrashy-dark-hardcore with superb production and above the cut musicianship, new full-length to come out through Colorado's Convulse Records.
DOWNLOAD [all of the above]
There's plenty more going on, killer newcomers are popping every week, for instance the French in MENTALITÉ 81, the Australians in RAT BAIT, the Germans in MORTAL FORM and WONDERFUL WORLD (the latter a little more on the new school side), Indiana's COLOSSAL MAN and Tony Foresta's new thing HEAVEN'S GATE made quite an entrance for themselves. There's also this hot new compilation that just surfaced by SCHEME RECORDS that for me it's the Memories Of Tomorrow equivalent to this decade - Scheme Until It's Your Reality!
