the Top 10 Hardcore Albums of 2023

Much like punk, hard-core finds itself in an interesting place in this angry world,  There is no shortage of people claiming to play it, but to find real hard-core that is not afraid to point the finger at all sides while refusing to conform is a harder aspiration, given the masses' willingness to conform.   These albums captured the true spirit of hardcore by doing their own thing and bringing the anger.   After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. 2023. The very fact these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 Hardcore albums of 2023.

10- King Yosef - 'An Underlying Hum" 

this guy is an artist I have been on the fence about. Was not into the collaboration he did with Youth Code, as I just wanted another Youth Code album and not the kind of noise he was bringing to the table. Now it's hard for him to catch a break as everyone is comparing this album to Code Orange's "Underneath" album which is a high bar to measure it by. This album serves as a reminder that nu-metal came out of the 90s hard core scene. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/king-yosef-underlying-hum.html

9- Graf Orlock- "End Credits" 

This hard-core band has made a concept album of sorts that pays homage to post-apocalyptic science fiction. This is not done in a grandiose fashion, uses the grit they normally offer. A well done and honest album that deserves to be here as it goes above and beyond in so many ways. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/graf-orlock-end-credits.html

8- Gel- "Only Constant" \

This band is like a cross between the Plasmatics and GISM , but with more metallic aggression, mixed with the drive of rock attitude. They managed to win me over with the apocalyptic feel of their songs. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/gel-only-constant.html

 

7-Ken Mode -"VOID" 

This time they are returning to their noise rock roots by lashing out as they open the album with a blistering hardcore banger. The drumming propels the second song in a more punk direction. This might not be as dark, but I appreciate the feel of the late 90s hard-core capture with the more melodic moments

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/11/ken-mode-void.html

 

6- Jerome's Dream - "The Gray In-between" 

This album falls more on the screamo side of the equation. These guys know what they are doing, I think they accomplished what they set out to do with every ounce of their souls invested in it. If you like screamo this is a must.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/jeromes-dream-gray-in-between.html

5-Mouth For War-"Bleed Yourself" 

With their name, I was expecting more Pantera influence. Instead, it is the kind of metalcore I like that places the emphasis on the hardcore side of the equation and has little to do with Myspace. The thrash grooves gave this a great deal of replay value and it was certainly one of the heaviest hard-core albums to drop this year. 

 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/mouth-for-war-bleed-yourself.html

4-Death Pose-"Midnight Society" 

 This Chicago band is being marketed as noise rock when they are a hard-core band. There is a more angular dance with the riffs, but the vocal narrative has the mic out in the crowd, along with the explosive energy that pervades the song. They are likely a hard-core band that is into math rock, or a noise rock band with a hard-core singer, though the latter does not explain the punchy manner they attack their songs. This is their debut album, so they could still find themselves settling into who they are. Once they bring the breakdowns the debate is settled.    

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/death-pose-midnight-society.html

3- Svalbard - "The Weight of the Mask" 

This marks the third time these guys have made My Top 10 Hardcore  Albums of the Year list. This time around they were almost moving in a more black metal direction,  They retained the crusty side of what's going on here with hard-core influenced accents. More often than not a furious tempo, that is more explosive than dark or cold sounding, thus making it hard-core once more, while they have not forgotten the atmospheric elements like the vocals of  Serena Cherry. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/svalbard-weight-of-mask.html

 

2- Will Haven - "VII" 

They hit you with hammering hardcore and manage to pack in a dense atmosphere. The syncopated chugs create the apex of breakdowns.  If you grew up listening to nu-metal but matured into metallic hardcore, then this is the album for you. Really if you like heavy music colored by atmosphere this album is also for you as well. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/06/will-haven-vii.html

1-Harm's Way - "Common Suffering" 

After being convinced to check them out upon hearing the "Undertow" single featuring the singer of King Woman, I was surprised by the rest of the album, which hits in the way that I typically want my hardcore to slap me. Harm's Way has a gritty musculature to the riffs, and the vocals punch in all the right places to rally the head bob inducing syncopations shift with a groove. There is a great deal of emotion to the construction of the songs that paints things in a bleak shade of gray rather than just being the macho in-your-face beat down you might expect this to be

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/harms-way-common-suffering.html

Svalbard : "the Weight of the Mask"

This British band has graced the top ten hardcore albums of the year twice, in 2020 and 2018. Now with their first album for Nuclear Blast, things have continued to change for the band.  Their hard-core side is fading into the past, as the band lashes out with a simmering black metal feel. Sure there is a crusty element to what is going on, and some of the accents are hard-core influenced. The songs race at a faster and more furious tempo. It's explosive, not as dark or cold sounding  Toward the end of the second song things get into more of a deliberate stomp to create more of a breakdown feel.  Some of the atmospheric elements like the vocals of  Serena Cherry. This album is not as shoe gazing, there are more blast beats, and it finds them on the black metal side of things perhaps more than hardcore. Though the barked gang chorus feel to the vocals at times tips the balance the other way as well. 

While Lewis Johns is still producing these guys, there is a marked difference in how they captured the sounds, as well as how things are mixed. The guitars sound brighter and use fewer effects.. Cherry's spoken word vocals going into the more introspective "November" prove to be effective and the dynamic turn this album needed. I find myself having to give this one multiple listens to fully absorb what is going on here. Things are more melodic and you can not fault the band for it as there is no mistaking how they have grown as songwriters. Mental health is a common theme on this album "Lights Out" has the powerful line "I am too depressed to show you / how depressed I really am " . This is a heavier topic than any color-by-numbers obligatory attempt to be esoteric other bands try to fool you with. 

"How to Swim Down" is more of a shoe-gazing affair, though handled really well. They do not follow the typical formula for this sort of thing, owing little to the bands you might assume to be their influences in this regard.  The brisk aggression of "Be My Tomb" does less to set them apart and it could be one of many modern black metal bands. "Pillar in the Sand" hovers under clouds

until the stormy sound of depression being turned into to form violence bubbles up. On the last song they race off toward oblivion. I guess the last song is more blackened hardcore, there is some great nuanced passages of guitar work on this one. I will give this album a 9.5, which edges out the previous albums, the most tangible thing I can attribute this to is the raw honesty of the lyrics forces the music to bring an equally impassioned performance. 

the Top 10 Punk / Hard-core Albums of 2020

Given the state of 2020 it might be surprising that punk was more atmospheric than angry this year. Not that I am into political punk. Those albums I gave up on after two songs.  These albums have more passion to them.  Ok now that that is out of the way , much like in years past sort through the genre lists before making the overall top ten of the year list. I know many of you are ready for 2020 to be over with. Hate to break it to you but nothing is getting better next year. As far as 2020 goes there is only a couple new bands on this list.

The fact these artists made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Sure you can bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list. However I listen to five new albums a day so yes I heard your favorite album and was not impressed. No I do not care what you think about it .I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top punk / hard core albums of 2020

10-Eyes- " Underperformer" -

Danish hard core with a metal sneer to the beating they throw at your ears. Riff wise they have more in common with Converge than not. I can live with metal core if this is what it really is and not some type of  Suicide Silence bullshit. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/09/eyes-underperformer.html

 

9-Coma Regalia - "Marked" 

This band from Indiana is more screamo than Eyes . That is not to say they do not have their fair share of hard core to them as they do. They offer more mood and melody than Eyes , which is why they are number 9.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/09/coma-regalia-marked.html

 

8 Svalbard - "When I Die , Will I get Better?"

The dark hard core out fit from Bristol still has plenty of shoe gaze to cushion the break neck speed of their sonic thrashing. Coma Regalia is pretty melodic this guys take both ends of the spectrum and make them more dynamic. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/09/svalbard-when-i-die-will-i-get-better.html 

 

7- Infantisland - "Beneath" 

One thing I have noticed so far in this year's top 10 is atmosphere is a bigger factor from hard core. These guys have it , but they are also more chaotic than Svalbard. Sure screamo factors into what these guys do as well but they have their own twisted spin. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/08/infant-island-beneath.html

6- Spice- "s/t:

 A side project of the members of Ceremony that heavily embraces the indie rock / post hard core sound of the 90s. The singer of Ceremony lends his voice and does some of the best singing  of his career. to this and his singing is much better than it was on the last Ceremony album. It is more emotive. He comes much closer to singing. When it comes to the sound , they nailed it , but also care about the songs.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/07/spice-st.html

 

5- Pigs x7 -" Viscerals"

This band is influenced by sludgey metal , but at the end of the there is more Black Flag than Sabbath in their veins , if it confuses you then you just need to do more drugs. Because these guys are clearly high as hell. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/04/pigs-pigs-pigs-pigs-pigs-pigs-pigs.html

4-Cro-Mags -" In the Beginning" 

Harley is helming this incarnation. He picks up where they left off with "Best Wishes". Even with their shit show drama , the Cro-mags will always be my favorite 80s hard core band. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/06/cro-mags-in-beginning.html

 

3- Higher Power - "27 Miles Underwater"

Ok so this album might not be for the zine reading punks with Integrity tattoos. This British band is like the love child of Snapcase and Sunny Day Realestate. It goes places that your normal hard core albums won't. That is because most of your normal hard core albums are boring . These guys bring new life into familiar old sounds.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/higher-power-27-miles-underwater.html

  2- Metz- " Atlas Vending" 

There is Am Rep quality of the 90s set against a more Stooges like swagger. Lots of attitude and angst but they still really care about the songs. I never really paid a great deal of attention to these guys before , but they have my attention now as this album really grew on me .

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/metz-atlas-vending.html

1- Coriky-"s/t" 

Not the fastest punk album of the year. The anger is filtered through the wisdom of age. Some might cry out wait this is not punk and to them I would say... shut the fuck up this is Ian Fucking Mckaye...he eternally punk. This album is almost the second coming of Fugazi.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/07/coriky-st.html

Svalbard : "When I Die , Will I Get Better ?"

 

They throw a lot at you in the first song. It is a hybrid of hard core and shoegaze. More atmospheric than the last album. The hard core is even more in the forefront on the second song. The female vocals are better than the screamed male ones . Their is a higher guitar creating more of a sonic texture over all of this and not allowing it to become run of the mill hard core. The hard core side of the band bull dozes the shoegazing . The screamed vocals bear to wear on me with their uniformity. I do not remember that being a complaint for the last album. 

The male vocals go into a more sung part that breaks things up. It seem all three members of the band sing  There is a more rock feel to " Silent Restraint" .  The lyrics to the shouted vocals can  take form with more clarity. The yrics seem pretty pissed. "What Was She Wearing" is more commited to being shoe gaze It also benefits from being a more nuanced song.  It does build up into the kind of atmospheric hard core they have been pounding us with so far .  They blast out in anger with "the Currency of Beauty"  .

I do remember last time noting how they sometimes share a similar sonic space as Deafheaven and that is what " Pearlescent" gets built up into. There is a poppy post rock opening before the explosion which creates a nice contrast. I like how the atmosphere has been dialed up on this album. I will give this one a 9 and see how it sits with me/. 

the Top 10 Hardcore Albums of the Decade

The decade began before this blog was started , I can not just rely on sorting through previous reviews. I am just embedding video clips to support the reasoning for these albums to be listed as such, since I already did a best of the year list for each sub-genre. I broke up what was the punk / harcore list and made them two seperate lists. With most lists I am saying I am not going for the heaviest or fastest but  for what has the best songs . That is still true , but for harcore, I do lean toward the more mean spirited and the darker the better . There still has to be a melodic quality that makes this  worth listening to again and again.  Maybe these are not the hippest albums of the decade when it comes to this genre, but what matters more is the fact these are the albums I listened to the most when it came to this sort of thing. ; Any ways here are the Top 10 Hard core  albums of the decade.


10-Oathbreaker- "Rheia" -2016




 





9-Svalbard- "It's Hard to Have Hope"












8-Hexis-"Tando Ashanti"-2018 









7-Enabler - "Fail to Feel Safe" - 2015










6 -Birds in Row- "We Already Lost the World" - 2018





 






5-LLNN- "Deads "- 2018 












4-Phobia- "Generation Coward" -2019






 






3-Nails - "You Will Never Be One of Us"- 2016 












2-Code Orange - "Forever"












1-Converge - " The Dusk in Us"-2017





 

the Top 10 Punk / Hard-core Albums of 2018

It is that time again. It seems hard core is making a come back, though when we say hard core here we are not sticking to just bands that sound like Agnostic Front, but also crust, screamo and some acts that are more metallic than others including those influenced by black metal, which finds it's influence seeping into every genre these days. The score from my reviews to help determine the ranking , but also how many times Last FM told me I listened to each album.

An album can have all the critical acclaim in the world but if it does not inspire multiple listens then how good can it actually be ? This year there seems to be a changing of the guard as only once act goes back to any length of time and even then it's the 90s. So not to say more well established acts haven't been putting out albums, not warrant being on this list. Rather than posting media of a track from each band I am leaving a link to the review, which will contain Bandcamp or Full Album Streams. Ok enough talking about it, the time has come to dig into the top 10 hard core and punk albums of 2018.

10- Axegrinder- "Satori"


It would be a shame to let this gem go over looked .There are a few touches of almost 90s rock shoveled into their sound. If this is the definition of crust punk then it's a genre I like more than I normally think because it doesn't rely on speed

.
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/07/axegrinder-satori.html

9- Will Haven- "Muerte"


Proving they were more hard core than they were nu-metal. This album is aggressive as fuck, with a that is guitar sounds darker and more dissonant than ever. In With turns of atmosphere that make things pulse in a way that is sonically heavier. They haven't changed with the times the times changed to them.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/03/will-haven-muerte.html


 

8- Fucked Up - "Dose Your Dreams" 

 This album was two years in the making. It's like their version of the wall. Despite the fan fare that opens the album they remind you from the beginning that this is still very much a punk album. It's like if Murder City Devils has been happy and not dark, depressed suicidal devil worshipers. Overall these guys get props for making some punk rock, that includes the rock n roll in the equation and takes chances that pay off more often than not.


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/11/fucked-up-dose-your-dreams.html

7-Gouge Away- "Burnt Sugar"

 This angular screamo band carries a touch of hard core thanks to their lead singer who is a very pissed off young lady. They are very aggressive, but have more of a jangle to their guitar sound. Their are plenty of more straight ahead punk moments . While there is a female vocalist, I don't think that is what defines them. Her gender is some what neutralized, until she goes into more of a singing voice.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/09/gouge-away-burnt-sugar.html

6- Sunflo'er -"No Hell"

 This New York band blends almost as many takes on punk / hard-core as the Refused used to. Angry and metallic angular passages and jerking motion that keeps things frenetic. the attention to detail they give things is more than most punk and hardcore bands do these days.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/08/sunfloer-no-hell.html

5-Young Mountain-"Lost Tree"

 Upon hearing the first single  "Vacant Eyes"  you might assume the hardcore stomp is a variation of Deafheaven used to do. The the actual album paints a different picture. There is still the post-rock haze of gazing, but with more of an explosive tension. If you are into atmospheric hard core then this is your jam.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/08/young-mountain-lost-tree.html

4-Svalbard- "Its Hard to Have Hope" 


 A British band named after one of the coldest parts of Norway and they are not a black metal band appropriating this , but a hard core band with a chilling sense of isolation to their sound. The album is filled with the sweeping passages help expand the definition of hard core. This is not drill Sargent tough guy shit, but every emotive and delicately sung female vocals balancing out the more anguished bursts of rage.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/11/svalbard-its-hard-to-have-hope.html

3-Birds in Row- "We Already Lost the World" 

 This album is a matured take on what we once called emotional hard-core. I think kids are calling it screamo these days. Call it what you want it comes across much more honest in intention than the emo of the early 2000s . Despite it's melodic set up when the album gets going it explodes with hard core anger and then rages with the desperation of punk after. Overall this album returns to the days when emotion and hardcore fit perfectly together. Sometimes some of the album abrasion is a temper tantrum it has to work through, but enjoyable non the less.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/07/birds-in-row-we-already-lost-world.html

2- Drug Church - "Cheer"


This band features members of Self Defense Family which got me in the door, it's the 90s flavored post-hardcore that keeps me listening. The vocals are gruff yet melodic. Somewhat in the vein of Hot water Music. The opening track is more in your face punk flavors without relying on speed and a more powerful drive. There is a dense sonic quality " that offsets what would otherwise be left of center punk rock.It reminds of the days before emo became a bad word and punk seemed to be entering an exciting new time, that would get watered down by Myspace.


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/11/drug-church-cheer.html

1- LLNN- "Deads"

 Hard core might be at the beating heart of this monster. What I like most is the sonic intensity. They are brutally aggressive, but don't stop there possessing a wider scope of dynamics.Not unlike bands such as Nails or Hexis, where many different sub-genres collide. This band is powered by a dark metallic hard-core draped in cinematic ambiance.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/03/llnn-deads.html

Svalbard : "It's Hard to Have Hope"

It's weird that a British band named themselves after a part of Norway, but there is a coldness to their music that is isolating as the region. The album starts off with the kind of fast punk styled riffing you would expect from a hard core band. Things don't get interesting til "Revenge Porn" it has faster hard core burst balanced out with clean vocals sung by the female guitarist, which is something that is volleyed back and forth through out album from this point on. "Feminazi" races into a very sweeping metallic place that kind picks up where the previous song left off.  "Pro-life" is more interesting as the bass line finds a groove and the sung vocals provide a wider dynamic.

There are some elements of the way they attack some of these rapid tempos that gives this the feel of blackened hardcore, but black metal from more of a Deafheaven school of thought than Burzum.  It's important for things like the sung vocals at the end of "For the Sake of the Breed" to balance this out. "How Do We Stop it " works off an angry blasting speed that this album has no shortage of. I do enjoy the more sonic intensity this song holds. They dial it way back into the ambiance of "Try Not to Die Until Your Dead". They do blast into the more aggressive hard core sections, as they should since hard core is supposed to be angry, but I appreciate the layers they are giving to do so. "Iorek" indulges in a more post-rock moment. It does build into something heavier which is cool.

"Open the Cages" rages more than it relishes the atmosphere. The guitars do contract to create some tension and the chords rings out with a great deal of melody on what would be the chorus. I'll give this a 9 as the more sweeping passages help expand the definition of hard core. If you like metallic hard core that is not just drill Sargent tough guy shit, then these guys are worth your time.

Svalbard : "One Day All This Will End"

What will metal look like in a post- Deafheaven world? That is one question I found myself asking with this album.  These guys are a British band that is a little post-everything. The vocals are shouted in more of a hard core style and the punk in the drums points to the fact that might be where there hear is really at. While there are some more melodic moments, the opener is still more powerful than "Disparity" that follows. Really I am having trouble figuring out what is being done here that bands like Cave In and Converge haven't done better before. Sure there might be a slight more post rock in these guys guitar sound, but I'm not hearing blackened anything anywhere. Black metal is more of a feeling than a way to scream or a blast beat pattern. This is there debut album, which means one of two things, either they are still fine tuning who and what they are or this is culmination of years in the making.


They get a little more shoe gazey in places on "The Vanishing Point" point that doesn't make them Deafheaven. Then they take off in a more screamo direction.  They continue down this rowdy road for the brisk post- hard core pacing of "Expect Equal Respect". This is something I would have really dug in 2001, but my tastes have grown past this making these guys not seem all that heavy. Sure you can do a good hardcore jig to this and the riffs are catchier than most. "Unrequited" has a little more stomp but it feels like an extension of the previous song to me. The tremolo guitar that opens "the Damage Done" is much more interesting to me. While the song has a unruly punk propulsion it seems more honest than the song before it. "Unnatural Light" might have a more sonic attack to it's frantic jangle, but it is yet another moment where it sounds like I heave heard this all a decade before. They take a lighter more sonic post-rock meets shoe gaze tone on the closing song "Lily". This turns out to be an instrumental and its one of the better songs on the album so I am not sure what that says about the vocals. This album is decent just proves nothing is new under the sun and for young kids I am sure this is next level shit, I have heard it before and liked it better when Cave In did it so I'll give it a 6.