It’s hard to believe that we’re already halfway through 2026, so I wanted to use this opportunity to go ahead and give some credit to a few releases that I’ve loved. These aren’t all strictly “hardcore” (hence the asterisk in the title) but they’re all from the greater hardcore scene. Hooray.

1. Sacred – Demo

Ay, y’all like Shipwreck A.D.?

This demo comes from UNITY! Records, a newer label out of Omaha, NE, that’s been putting out a steady stream of bangers from the midwest (and soon, according to their Bandcamp page, at least one band from just a bit farther).

I was lucky enough to start going to shows in the mid-2000s as a melancholy thirteen year old kid, which primed me perfectly to be ensnared by a band like Shipwreck AD, whose lyrics were a far cry from the youth crew revival of the time, and whose imagery was closer to doom metal and folk horror than the bright primary colors and block lettering of Revelation or Bridge 9 Records bands (bands that, to be clear, I also loved).

That’s the vibe that Sacred captures in this demo: both the driving riffs, as well as the dirging heaviness, of bands like Shipwreck AD and Integrity. Take for instance the haunting, ringing chords towards the final measures of “Empty Vessel” shifting into the stomping intro of “Echo” (a track which is a full movement in itself), and the unabashedly melodic “Charity Case”, complete with protracted outro.

There’s no shortage of great hardcore demos that come out every year, but Sacred’s is one that will stay with me. Its sheer earnestness and thoughtfulness at a demo level is truly inspiring.

FFO: Shipwreck, Integrity, Verse

2. No Paradise – Filed Down

Fist City. RVA. Richmond. The Promised Land of dark, groovy, bass-heavy hardcore.

I actually know very little about this band, except from what I’ve heard from my friend Marcy (of Torment/Category 3, whose output I can’t recommend enough), but goddamn do they ever get “it” on a level most bands don’t.

It’s heavy, it’s fast, and it’s got pissed off-yet-thoughful lyrics. I don’t fully know where I’d place them in a hardcore chronology, but I think they’re triangulated somewhere between Striking Distance, Think I Care, and 86 Mentality, but with the aforementioned bass-heavy swagger of Richmond predecessors like Down to Nothing and Bracewar. But, honestly, anything I say in a “FFO” would be a disservice to the band, because this EP is a short-fast-loud burst of spiraling energy that’s so vastly different than a lot of what’s coming out right now.

“Bury my body / Burn my fucking image”

FFO: Hardcore

3. Battle of Blair Mountain – S/T

A screamo band? On my hardcore blog? It’s more likely than you think.

I would say I’m a closet screamo fan but that’s not really true. I came out of that closet years ago and, brother, I’ve never been happier.

Battle of Blair Mountain plays in a really interesting mode of screamo that’s deceptively OG Level Plane Records styled, but with plenty of hidden eccentricities. There are a few (artfully added) Some Girls-esque falsegrind parts, there’s a nice little gang vocal chant before a breakdown (one which leads directly into a jazz break), and there’s no shortage of softer interludes sprinkled throughout. The interesting thing about the interludes, though, is that–in a sort of Circle Takes the Square fashion–these “soft” parts actually do less to diffuse tension than they do to establish a baseline of anxious freneticism. And as a lifelong lover of freak shit, I appreciate that.

My favorite bands are generally ones that defy clean comparisons, and BoBM is no exception. I think a lot of screamo gets lost in nostalgia, which is easy to do when bands like Portraits of Past exist, but being able to meld grindy, ugly emoviolence with stunning, soaring instrumentation (like the closer “Optimism of the Will”) with a deft hand is no easy feat.

FFO: Ampere, The Gentleman Homicide, Orchid

4. Care Free – 7 Songs AND Formal – S/T

What the fuck is in the water in Wichita?

“Hey, no fair. You can’t use two bands for one spot!” Well, Formal and Care Free are almost (if not all?) the same band members. And they both came out this Spring. And they’re both extremely fucking good. And both releases combined are shorter than most of the entries on here. So I’m doing it. Thanks for your concern.

Care Free

To start, I wanna shoutout Care Free for putting out their demo in November of last year, and then putting out an absolute heater EP just over 6 months later. In a world of people calling anything and everything “real deal hardcore” ad nauseam, Care Free is… well, real deal hardcore.

Care Free plays the type of shit that was huge when I got into hardcore–Mental, Righteous Jams, the formative Lockin’ Out style–so this is a nice hit of good nostalgia, but it’s more than only that. It’s thoughtful, well-crafted, and authentic hardcore that’s also fun as hell.

FFO: Mental, RJ, Rival Mob

Formal

If Care Free is the more positive, Mental/Righteous Jams style of early 2000s Boston hardcore, then Formal is the other side of the same coin: darker straight edge styled after bands like Stop and Think or No Tolerance. Sort of a Lockin’ Out vs. Painkiller Records situation.

To start, “United in Pain” is such a good fucking name for a song, and the EP only gets better after that. From the stomping “Dying with Pride,” to the shredding solo of “Nothing to Lose,” to the very last seconds of “Hardpoint,” Formal never fucking stops. 5 Tracks, 8 minutes. “Face it, you never fucking cared.”

FFO: Stop and Think, No Tolerance, DFJ

One last thing I want to mention about both bands is how much they truly give a shit. They’re passionate, fired up kids who are as interested in putting out quality hardcore as they are in putting on for their own community. Members of both bands are responsible for (what seems to be) most of the DIY booking in Wichita, and they’re constantly promoting other bands in their scene. That’s quite literally what it’s all about.

5. Suffering Unseen – S/T

Before I ended the label, this EP was one I had scheduled to put out. Then life got in the way, of course. But this is a truly incredible debut EP from Suffering Unseen.

SU play metallic hardcore that’s reminiscent of non-Integrity holy terror bands like Day of Mourning, Pale Creation, and Withdrawal. There’s a lot I could say about the band personally, as I do love them very much, but it’s mainly just awesome to see them doing a style that not many bands have done–and killing it. Thematically they just nail it: apocalyptic imagery; tight and technical, but massively heavy guitars; menacing vocals.

It’s got everything you’d want in a metallic hardcore band, in my opinion: whether you’re a brooding holy terror fan listening at a coffeeshop, or a hype beast mosher practicing spin kicks in your living room, this EP is for you.

FFO: Day of Mourning, Pale Creation, Withdrawal

Honorable Mentions

Vindictive Punishment / Grotesque Abdication Split

Twin Cities Death Metal [Thumbs up emoji]

xCalderax – Ring of Fire

North Florida straight edge metallic hardcore. Very good. They have an Integrity candy bar rip shirt. I have one. It rocks.

Extravasate – Promo ’26

Omaha, Nebraska. Some good friends and members of other good bands (Before I Depart/Peril). This is very good NYDM style shit.