OVERPOWER - Overpower 2022

Location: UK

Release: Self-released, 2022

OVERPOWER from South West UK presented last year their 5-song debut EP and it's the bomb! I remember hearing their promo 3 years back and held high expectations for them. It was an easy pick for the All Things Old School 2022's best of selection, another true hidden gem for all crossover maniacs out there.

Many new groups claim their sound is Thrash hardcore nowadays but in reality they're delivering beatdown-ish metallic dull hardcore. Don't be fooled, accept no substitutes, here you really get what's advertised, only the real deal, OVERPOWA!

DOWNLOAD [+ Promo]

INFORTUNO - Decadent Vindication

Location: Piracicaba, Brazil

Release: Self-released, 2023

Artwork: Marcio Blasphemator

Ladies and gents, hailing from the land of capybaras enters INFORTUNO, right on time for carnaval, the feast of the flesh festivities official soundtrack is here!

Comprised by 2/4 of CLOBBERIN' TIME, these dudes released just recently Decadent Vindication, a short but sweet debut 5-song EP. Different from what was expected from that crew INFORTUNO delivers death/doom-inspired hardcore that surprises not only for the heaviness but also for the recording quality given the DIY/basement circumstances it was recorded.

Fans of Xibalba, Fuming Mouth and Immolation should find this a delight. Fav tracks: Martelo da Retribuição e Ghost Of What I Could Be, such beautiful song names.

ALL THINGS OLD SCHOOL AWARDS - The Best Of 2022

The All Things Old School Awards is back one last time! Yes sir, set up your living room, it's time for some serious slam dancing and couch diving as this year gave us plenty of heavy music to mosh by, as old school as this website can be, these are the 2022's highlights plus the BEST OF playlist at the end. For that, I had to move back to Spotify because YouTube has been deleting my ass ruthlessly.

SKULLCRACK - ADDICTED TO THE UNDERGROUND (Indecision Records)

Hats off to Indecision Recs for their continued work with old and fresh new bands! Here they've teamed-up once again with Californian SKULLCRACK to deliver an insanse 11-track album, fast as hell! If you haven't heard about them begin by the art cover, it's the labor of love, very appealing.

They've been on my radar for awhile but Addicted To The Underground made me do several elbow drops from the couch and had me going to the nearest skatepark to steam off some of that heat entering my nervous system. Redbull can suck it go with SKULLCRACK anyday! FFO: Vitamin X, Second Opinion, WWF.

WEIGHT - VIOLENCE OF THE DIVINE (The Essence/Control Records)

Ohh yeah, NYHC hardcore by the way of OLSO CITY. The dudes in the WEIGHT got their shit together and finally brought us this masterpiece in late 2022, read more about it here.

COMBUST - ANOTHER LIFE (Cash Only Records)

COMBUST is the synthesis of All Thing Old School the difference is that they only get better with time this blog don't. Another Life is probably the hardcore album I listened the most last year.

FIREWALKER - DEMO 2022 (Self-Released)

Why everyone wasn't talking about this? I feel most people totally missed this one. Anyway, if this is the demo, whatever comes next will rule the galaxy! Sick SUBZERO cover btw.

BLOODSUCKER - SELF TITLED EP (Blindsided Records)

BLOODSUCKER (formerly known as Vexation) is the perfect breed between Best Wishes' era Cro-Mags and Only Living Witness, this is exactly the type of sound of why I still do this blog shit. Dutch hardcore represented big time in this short and sweet EP. Its release year is blurry to me, similar to the DEAD LAST album but I decided to add both in '22.

FORESEEN - UNTAMED FORCE (Quality Control HQ)

If you look through new releases with persistence you will find A LOT of great stuff, so to even make one last highlight of the year is tough but for those who are checking this blog for a few years or less may have a hint that I have a soft spot for Thrash and these Finnish guys do it with mastery. Being a trendy style or not I've been following FORESEEN's work for over 10 years already and after catching them live in Europe moshing to S.O.D. (plus the fact that recently they received the seal of approval from Max Cavalera for their previous stuff) Untamed Force was a natural choice to be featured here. Mosh like it was 1986!!

Worth mentioning here also is the consistent work of UK based Quality Control HQ, 12 years in activity never compromising with killer releases this past year i.e. TS WARSPITE, ANTAGONIZM, MASTERMIND, ARMA X... the list is long. The Queen may have passed away but I hope this label go full strength for another decade at least! One of the best in the game right now, if not THE best.

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My final considerations are regarding the damn streaming playlist which consolidates thousands of hours of listening (again), this edition ended up being the most comprehensive, diverse and lengthiest while trying to make it cohesive to what this blog represents: bullshit-free underground music made from the chest. From heavy tunes to melodic ones reaching the dirtiest alleys of the planet, including even some hardcore-related Traditional Heavy Metal by the likes of ETERNAL CHAMPION (ex-Iron Age/Powertrip) and SUMERLANDS (ex-War Hungry). Other fun aspect while reviewing 2022 was seeing the girls stepping in in the Crossover zone which seems more male dominated than hardcore, bands like PEST CONTROL, S.O.H. and DENIAL OF LIFE are repping the gender with prime!

The biggest Honorable Mentions here goes to HIGH COMMAND (which seems to be present in almost every edition), the chilean Crossover act INSECURTY that brought a truly late 80's nostalgic sound, the australian OUTRIGHT that came back with the boldest album yet Keep You Warm, THE FLEX and BURNING LORD for keeping it real and EXHIBITION and HEAVY DISCIPLINE for the sickest promos. Also, props to many big names in the Thrash scene for putting new music out this last year, namely TANKARD, KREATOR, VIO-LENCE, TOXIK, XENTRIX, RAZOR, SODOM and even VOIVOD. Be sure to give a listen, Thrash till death.  

D2C RECORDS - Discography

Location: Badlands, California

Throwback to 7 or so years, the California-based DOWN 2 THE CORE (D2C) label existed briefly (2014-2016) but they were on it, always in touch with promising new west coast groups of that period, filling the void left by labels like 6131 Records that quit dealing with hardcore punk bands around that same time.

They often partened with another small independent Cali label Outlast Records throwing gigs and co-releasing stuff. Some of the bands under the D2C hoster were already featured here before and some were just affiliated bands. I will list first the ones that are already on All Things Old School and follow with the remaining titles with extras.

HIGHER LEARNING - Triumph Of Innocence (Outlast - 2014)

REVISION - Demo (D2C - 2014)

NO AUTHORITY - Hard Times (D2C - 2015)

LOST CAUSE - The World Is Yours (Outlast - 2015)

COOLSIDE - Be Cool EP (D2C/Outlast - 2015)

One of the bands that really made me do this discography was ELEPHANT SKIN from Tehachapi, possibly named under the Belgium's Justice song/album? They clearly had that 2-step sound Justice were known for but with a more Right Brigade feel to it. After a demo and a promo ELEPHANT SKIN quit and left behind a very promising unreleased EP, it never got mastered or properly mixed so it sounds a tad muffed down. What you can hear next is the 2-song promo for that EP with proper production.

The other highlights of this discography are probably COOLSIDE with their debut EP and the first demos from STEP FOR CHANGE and SOUL POWER that later signed with React! Records.

ELEPHANT SKIN - Demo (D2C - 2014)

COLD TRUTH - No Rules EP (D2C - 2014)

OUTRAGED - Demo (D2C - 2014)

STEP 4 CHANGE - Demo #1 (D2C - 2014)

SURPLUS - Demo ((D2C - 2016)

SOUL POWER - S.D. Straight Edge Demo (D2C - 2016)

DRUG CONTROL - Promo Tape (Outlast - 2016)

BONUS TIME! The following are unsigned bands that shared the stage with D2C/Outlast groups and didn't have a label to call home (from the exception of OVERSIGHT that later released a promo on IOU Records).

DOWNLOAD [D2C Discography + Extras]

WEIGHT - Violence Of The Divine

Location: Oslo, Norge

Release: The Essence / Control Records, 2022

I can finally check this one out of my "please release a damn LP already" list of bands I wanted to hear in 2022. Norwegian WEIGHT presented last week their debut full-length after 3 years teasing us with singles.

Started in 2019 with ex-members from some of my all-time favorite nordic hardcore groups like Common Cause, Shipwrecked and Eyeball, WEIGHT kept up with the highest expectations in Violence Of The Divine with that NYHC groovy formula inspired by the likes of True Blue and The Icemen.

This is one of those albums that demands a repeat after you go through it, the recording production turns everything into a silky smooth bang! into your ears.

DOWNLOAD

BUY LP Belgium / United Kingdom / Spain

V/A - Welcome To Pittsburgh... Don't Move Here

Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Release: Cruel Noise Records, 2021

Yo check out this killer compilation that came out last year which I became aware just recently while visiting NO TIME's bandcamp. Welcome To Pittsburgh is one of those cool still photographies in form of a musical compilation, showcasing some of the best punk acts of a specific location and time. Also nothing like an off-the-radar compilation to get to know more bands, 2/3 were new to me here and the ones I already knew (i.e. Loose Nukes, S.L.I.P. and Heavy Discipline) were convincing enough for me to go after the whole LP.

Physical copies of this comp are nowhere to be found any longer, a second press would be more than welcome. All 14 tracks are supposedly exclusive to this release but the NO TIME track was also featured in their rare 2017 Tour Tape. Also HEAVY DISCIPLINE is back with a new frills-free 2022 promo.... and in case you missed, Sorry State Records did a similar thing with the North Carolina scene back in 2019 with the comp American Iddlys and just recently Feral Kid Records covered up the Hattiesburg (MS) scene in Big Big Wave, both filled with obscure local punk acts. 

DOWNLOAD [+ extras]

THE WORST - The Worst Of...

Location: New Jersey, US

Release: Parts Unknown Records, 2004

Recently, while going through the now defunct Parts Unknown back catalog, the ones responsible for putting stuff out by the likes of Omegas, Iron Boots, The Gate Crashers and so on, I decided to give a go on a discography CD release by a band called THE WORST. The name itself put me off many times in the past because there's a LOT of bands named after this but trust me when I say this is the best The Worst out there!!

RADIO RAHEEN, famous for re-releasing obscure first-wave hardcore stuff gave them the deluxe vinyl treatment last year with as 12-page booklet, the only difference from the Parts Unknown release is that they left off the 7-song unreleased LP from 1984, which is a pitty coz those rock hard, following the sabe vibe as their previous work from '82 and '83 EPs. FFO: F.U.'S, Jerry's Kids, Adolescents demos.

 

DOWNLOAD [ CD Version]

HARDCORE NEWS 16 "Demo Zone 2.0"

Demos (and promos) are the essence of Hardcore/Punk, the rawness and lack of pressure by external demands (like label contracts) allows a band to go loose, risk free, not rarely rewarding us with the wildest creations. In some cases a demo turns straight into a Debut EP which I believe is the case of NEW WORLD MAN or FUGITIVE, new "super" groups that are bringin' the ruckus... or sometimes a band needs a second demo, like the dudes in BURNING LORD, to improve the group's tightness on the slightest just to score a record deal or simply to keep that rawness (DIY vibe) on cassette format for another touring season.

The following are what caught my attention in the first half of 2022 in Demo Zone styled news:

DEFECTIVE CHAIN - Demo

Hard not to appreciate a band coming out of the blue with a strong solid demo such as this one by DEFECTIVE CHAIN, reminds me of some killer productions from Painkiller Records and Mosher's Delight back catalog. A.C.A.B.!

NEW WORLD MAN - EP

When a side project like this appears I'm always prone to think it will become their main thing, maybe not like Turnstile accomplished but the competence factor is surely there. Led by the Rhine duo from Life's Question, they borrowed the guitar talents from Regulate and Mindforce and drummer from Invoke to form NEW WORLD MAN. Streets Of Hate promptly came along to release this on cassette and gave them the best description "FFO: Crumbsuckers & Nuclear Assualt".

DOOMSDAY - Promo

Bay Area Crossover still bustin' in 2022, newbloods in DOOMSDAY dropped earlier this year one hell of a promo Riff City, including an Iron Age cover, full-length to come out on SLAM Records / Creator-Destructor.

FUGITIVE - Maniac

The selection of bands listed here are almost all Crossover ones or related to Thrash Metal at a certain level, but what can I say? The absolute majority of new demos/bands coming up recently are 90's "chug-chug" metalcore/beatdown... AGAIN! Therefore FUGITIVE was an easy pick, with Blake from Power Trip leading this pack you get riffs for days, joining forces with other dudes coming from Skourge, Creeping Death and ANS you get a legit new Texan Crossover act about to invade boomboxes worldwide.

THE EXECUTED - Demonstration

Formed by 2 dudes from Arizona with a grindcore background, THE EXECUTED bring some mean hardcore with nods to Oi!/Street Punk, this a short but very promising demo!

The drummer also plays in SYCOPHANT in case you're in the need of some UK82 kick, impressive D-Beat hardcore that came out last year. 

FORCED DOWN - Demo

Trevor Vaughan is back in all its MA Glory, after he ditched Peace Test and let it have it's own life without him, it wouldn't take him long to start another project. In fact, you may not like his work but you've gotta reckon his prolificacy, a true non-stop music machine! Sonically FORCED DOWN floats around Straight Razor and Peace Test, a must check for any 625 Thrashcore/Sound Pollution fan.

But... if you're really into that Rival Mob/Straight Razor sound then you may dig STONE FLEET, another project with Tyler from Caught In A Crowd that came out last year through Blind Rage Records.

DOWNLOAD [all demos]

LAWFUL KILLING - The First Division

Location: London, UK

Release: Self-Released, 2022

Artwork: Jack Hamilton 

Sorry for the lack of new content folks, I got sidetracked by personal issues but these dudes put me back on track, LAWFUL KILLING and their debut full-length on... no label whatsover? That was weird, I would sign them on a heart beat. (In fact, that has always been a dream of mine, to start a label).

Judging by the art cover it's clear their love for late 80's Crossover, even if you're not familiar with their sound if this art doesn't appeal to you (a possible fan of the genre) I don't know what would, they nailed 100%.

Soundwise, in The First Division you get what has been expected, riffs galore, well-composed melodies, real punk lyrics (no occultist bullshit) and lots of speed, you go through tracks 1 to 5 in one single slab! The record also features 3 re-recorded songs from previous singles and it got mixed by Scott from Blind Authority. 

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IMPOSTER - '22 PROMO

Location: Brighton, UK

Release: Brainrotten Records, 2022

The IMPOSTERS are back with 3 new joints but this time they came angrier than ever, armed to the teeth, ready to gut anyone in sight. These are short and mean tracks Mongrel stylee!!

Cassette tapes are already available here through this promising new label Brainrotten. The full-length will hopefully appear later this year on Quality Control HQ. 

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