Overpower, the best active UK crossover band.

I have always made it very clear , sometimes rather embarrassingly to them directly that I firmly believe Overpower are the best current UK crossover band with next to no competition in their tier. (With honourable mentions for Grove street and Inhuman Nature)

Having been familiar with a few of the faces from previous UKHC bands such as Strikeback I've followed OP from early. Their discography so far from start to finish has no brakes no filler and riffs for days and in the build up to their latest release I thought it was worth detailing the attributes that make them so good. 

Their 2022 release along with Becoming the Tyrant both provide a decent level of blood on the hilt of their swords, few crit 20 rolls and a fuckin side to side or two to get the blood pumping and the sweat dripping inside your armour. This band is for the sweaty nerd and the macho man alike and I truly do not know how anyone who is into thrash/crossover could ever dislike this band. 

Their latest single Terminus has a massive nod to seasons of the abyss era Slayer and that middle riff got me feeling like blasting Angel of death for sure. 

The vocalist wears chainmail , the guitarists have solos and riffs for days and they sound like an amalgamation of early thrash big four style with mosh parts to make anyone break out of their own skin. Do I really need to sell this band any further. 

Music for me is just a part of why this band are making the waves they are , these are some of the hardest working people in UKHC right now and continually do it with a smile. I have booked Overpower personally multiple times and they never leave anything to be desired all round , would happily have them any and every time they want to be back up in Middlesbrough. 

As a testament to the hard work just in 2026 you could have seen Overpower at Foe fest ( Bristol ) , Crossbreaker all dayers ( Glasgow ) , Bloodstock , our annual fest ( Middlesbrough ) , Boom ( Leeds ) , Incineration festival ( London ) , Return to strength fest ( Germany ) and that’s just to name a few. With more headline shows around the country and festival lineups to be revealed I’m sure make no mistake about

the graft these lads are putting in to bring Overpower to the people that need it. 

All around 10/10 band for me clearly the best active UK crossover band and I will unashamedly glaze them until they make it big and stop playing mosh parts to ( never gonna stop playing mosh parts surely ) . 

Book Overpower for your town or go catch them on the road, you wont regret it. Just check out what other people had to say about them. 

Iron will Promo - ' They absolutely killed it (Headline Derby show) , every one of them are lovely lads and its obvious how much work theyre putting in. Gonna be a huge couple of years for them for sure. Also they incited the first circle ever Iron Will circle put, which shouldnt even be possible in that room. 

Local scene gremlin (Jess) - ' Overpower dont miss do they, put that in ya review'

Photos of Overpower playing the Rhapsody Records Annual all dayer by @KLGcreation

World Peace , hosted by Industrial Coast in Middlesbrough

First of all I'd like to applaud Industrial Coast for managing to bring out a crowd for a mixed bill show in Middlesbrough on a Wednesday night. Promoting for underground events can be tough and this show brought a little bit of what I'd like to see in the world to my home town.

Unfortunately I missed Diall due to fatherhood duties, but can confirm that that band rip. The rest of the night in the lead up to World Peace was filled with what I would describe as noise acts. One of these acts resonated with me the most 'Seb Hewison'. Their set would be what I would relate to as an emotional and potentially drug fueled crash out , with Seb literally tying themselves in knots with the microphone wire and getting in and amongst the crowd. Even though the audible words weren't specifically present I really think this set told a story of , pain , confusion and potentially loss. 

As World Peace came to stage the crowd was incredibly quiet, like they were about to witness something spectacular and the anticipation was correct. The venue (Auxilliary space, Mbro) was a perfect backdrop for their strobe lighting and all black outfits and created an eery yet powerful vibe. Usually when a band lines up with 2 bass players and no guitarist you would expect them to sound massive and World Peace did not disappoint. 

I would describe their sound as apocalypse worthy powerviolence with a sort of metallic doom edge. Vocalist was nothing but visceral and overall as a band the best word I could use to describe them was explosive. There was no conventional mosh at this show but it did not take away from the event. Although maybe hard to dance to, each one of World Peace's tracks provided a sense of unnerving surprise that kept you guessing in the best sense possible. 

Massive bass tones, incredible drummer, powerful singer. Everything you would ask from a band of this style. Overall I was super impressed with all 9 minutes of the set, while I would have liked to watch them for longer, all of that time was filled with something special. 

They didnt talk or fuck around, got on with the task at hand and really made that journey from the US worth it in 9 minutes. Something that a lot of bands fail to do at all, never mind in such a short space of time. Wicked band. 

Overall real fun show and a change of scenery for us! Big ups all involved in putting it together. 

Pictures by @tomw19

Lights Out – Fall on your sword (2026) - REVIEW

Lights Out – Fall on your sword (2026)

Fall on your sword above all else has attitude, stays far away from the overproduced bullshit and hits right where you need it to. 

You're immediately made aware within the first two tracks that this band is for a sweaty dingy room and not for your corporate playlist and I say that in the best way possible. Its not trying to be too clever but purely because its got the style to back itself. Ultimately this project has a lot of grit in the teeth.  No excess, no distractions—just solid UKHC that does exactly what god intended. 

The first time I ever booked this band they had no music out and it was based entirely off of a glowing recommendation from a friend. Approx. a year on and that friend has put out their latest EP Fall on your Sword on a fresh Teesside label, Unit-E Records. Aside from the fact that this EP can run with the strongest its wicked to see the homie's team up here. 

Still to this day the best band I've ever witnessed in the hell hole that is Disgraceland (TS1) , some of the dopest guys on the planet and heavily, heavily slept on as we move into summer 2026. Go fuck with what they do before you regret that you didn't! Stream the full thing below. 

INTERVIEW WITH PRIMAL MEDIA

Words on violent participation at shows, root inspiration and bands that surprised them live with Joe from Primal Media. 

What is it about this sub/underground culture that really drew you towards it ? Is there any band or show you can note ?

Obviously the music comes first but secondary to it has to be just the culture of shows in general. Most people are friendly and regulars of hc shows understands the vibe so I feel it’s a great opportunity for people to just be themselves.

What turned that into eventually starting Primal Media ?

I’ve always loved filmmaking so as I imbedded my self more into the hardcore scene, through going to more shows and starting my own band. I just tried to see if I could combine the two really.

I think documentation in hc is super important at any level for the scene to continue to thrive and for people to look back on , what’s your take ?

I couldn’t agree more, I wouldn’t be shooting videos if I wasn’t influenced by people doing it before me. Even watching videos from like 20/25 years ago for inspiration.

Can you name a band that you’ve watched that really surprised you , and why ?

Headstone, mainly because I hadn’t listened to them before I filmed them at a show in Sheffield. Just an incredible band that I know are going to do big things. And Nelson street, just not what I was expecting before I listened to them but they just tick every box for me. Groove, riffs and unexpectedly heavy breakdowns. Incredible live band.

What have you got to say to people who believe that violent participation in hc is out of place and ‘ wouldn’t happen at a show if they were there ‘ ?

Get in the bin. Orrr, leave your ego at the door, take a backseat at a show and come to the conclusion that it’s not just people meeting up for a scrap. Talk to people, “most” people just want to have a good time.

Clockface - ST EP 2026 - REVIEW

Clockface - ST EP 2026

Clockface are a fresh band out of Chicago Illinois/Detroit that cite themselves as 'hardcore that sounds like hardcore' and I couldn't love that notion any more. 

They've been at it since 2024 and while their original demo maybe didn't make a wave on the wider scene I really think this EP is one that's worth its salt. There's no frills and no gimmicks here while keeping the quality levels high. 

As soon as I heard this EP I knew it was going to be one for me , and it didn't lose my attention throughout the entire project. 'Opposite and true' is a real hard hitter, its got the fast visceral start before snowballing into a breakdown that would bring you out of mosh retirement. 

This isnt a project that boasts a tough guy aesthetic and viewing the lyrics it manages to remain emotional while maintaining a certain level of stank face that every good HC project truly needs. 

'Blot' is probably my favorite track on this EP , the main riff being something indicative of an early NYHC banger or even comparable to some Combust material. This track shows that the clock has many faces and isn't confined to any boxes you would maybe put certain hardcore bands in. 

Its evident to see how hard this band have been working over the last couple of years from the amount of material they've put out and I think they've given themselves a massive platform to jump off of with this release. Would love to see them across the pond in the UK one day.

Check them out on Instagram @clockface_hc and check back in with this band, even if they don't blow the way I expect then well worth keeping up with either way. They're rocking with another one of my personal favorite's Jivebomb in Detroit on March 27th and I wish them the best of luck in the future. 

Break Them – To the Death (2026) - REVIEW

Break Them – To the Death (2026)

Straight away this record is giving UK’s answer to early Hatebreed/Smash Your Enemies. No peace for my enemies feels like a clenched fist militant anthem.

If you needed something to put the stomp in your step this record is for you. My favourite track across the EP is ‘Trench raid’ the mid track stomp section has got to be killer live and I am still yet to catch Break Them!! I think there’s a lot more to come from this band and have seen them and their team working hard for their local scene and surrounds for a number of years. The hard work is definitely paying off with this one! Go check out Break Them at the East Anglia takeover in Lincoln , hosted by Fenland hardcore on Friday the 10th of April.

Nylon – Single Shot (2026) - REVIEW BY @JDPROSHO

Nylon – Single Shot EP

Single Shot by Rhapsody favourite Sheffield Stormtroopers Nylon is exactly what it sounds like: fast, filthy, and fired straight from the wrist with no regard for recoil. It’s four tracks of pure Steel City chaos, an audio bruise that reminds you why Nylon are at the top of the Uk Hardcore tree.

Since their 2024 acclaimed Chariot of the Gods, Nylon have spent basically all of 2025 doing the touring equivalent of a triathlon — sprinting between cities, festivals and any space that will have them, including a couple of shows up in Teesside. Single Shot feels like a postcard from that road‑worn mission: battered, grimy, and absolutely vibrating with the adrenaline of dozens of shows’ worth of crowd‑kill energy.

Single Shot doesn’t waste time — or even acknowledge the idea of time. From the first snare crack, Nylon come in swinging like they’re trying to shake the rafters of whatever building you’re listening in. Their signature cocktail of brutish punk aggression and chugging, hardcore breakdowns remains fully intact, only now it’s been marinated in endless tour miles and shows a band shaped by their experiences out on the road.

The guitars scrape and grind with that classic UKHC grit — like a rusted buzzsaw held together with duct tape. The rhythm section sounds one minor inconvenience away from full structural collapse, what’s interesting about Single Shot, though, is the subtle shift beneath the carnage. Nylon are letting melody seep into the cracks of their sound — not via any singalong hooks, but in the sense that something more expansive is bubbling under the surface of the chaos.

If this EP is a pulse check on where they’re heading for 2026, the outlook is wild: bigger ideas, bigger swings, and possibly the most melodic direction they’ve attempted yet. Just South Yorkshire hardcore at its rowdiest, and a warning shot for what they’ve got cooking over the next year.

Eight minutes. Four tracks. Zero pretension.

Written by @jdprosho

Indigo Ice – No Closure (2026) - REVIEW BY @JDPROSHO

Indigo Ice – No Closure

Indigo Ice’s new offering No Closure arrives like a steel‑toed boot to the temple; it’s seven tracks of mathcore‑meets‑deathcore chaos.

A kind of sonic panic attack that acts as a phenomenal follow up to their 2023 record Phantom Limb which flirted with the established rules of the genre, whilst No Closure is the moment the band snaps those rules over their knee. This is Indigo Ice doubling down on their own identity — less mimicry, more mutation.

It’s still recognizably mathcore, yes, but now it feels like they’ve redrawn the blueprint in their own image entirely.

The first thing that hits you is the drumming — Spencer Brown’s fast, pounding, borderline‑cardiac rhythms form the backbone of the album. His kit might as well be a tectonic plate, everything else violently shifting around it. Each blast beat sounds like it’s trying to escape its body.

Then there’s Cliff Aubut, who doesn’t so much provide vocals as he does exorcise whatever demons lay deep within. His screeches and guttural screams feel physically unsafe, like they were recorded in violation of several workplace safety regulations.

Hovering above and occasionally detonating beneath everything is Mike James, whose multi‑instrumental contributions feel like he’s speed‑running a lifetime of musical training in real time. He shifts between twiddly intricacy and blunt‑force deathcore with the confidence of someone who has nothing left to prove and no concerns about whether your speakers survive.

“Death Diva” is the show-stealer — a writhing, concussive onslaught that grabs your nervous system by the shoulders and screams directly into its face. 

“Progenial Martyrdom” and “Your Celestial Drift” are other stand out tracks with heavy breakdowns and enough traditional hardcore DNA to satisfy the old heads looking for something familiar to lose themselves in. These tracks keep the record tethered to the genre’s roots, even as Indigo Ice gleefully shreds the rulebook.

No Closure is a short, savage, deeply considered assault that will satisfy fans of Car Bomb and Johnny Booth equally. It marks Indigo Ice not just as mathcore disciples but as innovators ready to carve their own serrated path forward.

Written by @jdprosho

Phasma – Purgatory (2026) - REVIEW BY @JDPROSHO

 Phasma – Purgatory

Greek deathcore group Phasma’s new offering ‘Purgatory’ is easily their most hostile, dissonant, and deranged work to date — a record that feels less like a collection of songs and more like a psychological event.

Phasma have never been subtle, but Purgatory makes their earlier material sound almost polite by comparison. This is a violent reimagining of their sound: darker, dingier, and saturated with the kind of chaotic songwriting, the guitars no longer riff as much as they grind, scrape, and collapse into each other. The vocals sound like they’re coming from someone who has lived in the walls of an abandoned building for several months. Everything is detuned, decaying, and deliberately uncomfortable.

This is deathcore, yes — but only technically. Purgatory is less concerned with genre allegiance and more focused on how many different sonic encounters it can cram into a single release. There are breakdowns, but they’re warped and contorted, landing like steel beams dropped from a great height. There are blast beats, but they disintegrate into black‑metal tremolos, industrial noise, and sludge‑soaked grooves. It’s pure genre‑melding chaos.

What makes it compelling rather than just punishing is the sense of intention beneath the madness. Phasma aren’t so much throwing paint at the wall — they’re meticulously arranging their sonic debris into something that feels ritualistic. Nothing on Purgatory is clean. The production is smeared and grimy, the edges intentionally frayed, like the mix itself is decomposing. But the clarity comes through in the choices: the sudden drops, the jagged transitions, the moments where they let silence hang just long enough for your pulse to spike before launching back into violence.

Lyrically, the themes match the music: desolation, spiritual rot, internal purging, the slow collapse of the self under pressure. Even at its most atmospheric, Purgatory feels like it’s trying to drag you somewhere you don’t want to go.

Where many deathcore bands polish their brutality into something digestible, Phasma refuse that path entirely. Purgatory is rough, uncomfortable, and genuinely unsettling — and that’s the point.

For fans of extreme music, Purgatory is a reminder that chaos, when done right, is its own kind of beauty. It’s a record that doesn’t ask for your attention so much as demand it, grab it by the throat, and hold it against a wall until the final seconds fade out.

Written by @jdprosho

King Street – Parting Shots (2026) - REVIEW BY @JDPROSHO

 King Street – Parting Shots (2026)

London hardcore has been experiencing one of its periodic explosions—new venues, new faces, new bands insisting they’re the next great export. 

But even in a scene this crowded, King Street have always had an aura of inevitability. The capital’s long‑running beatdown specialists have earned a reputation for weaponizing chaos, turning every show into a controlled demolition. And yet on Parting Shots, their new six‑track EP and first release since 2024’s full‑length War Scrolls, they manage something few veteran bands ever do: meaningful evolution without losing any of the fight.

King Street have always been heavy but this record is different. The aggression is still there, thick and unavoidable, but the delivery is noticeably more refined. Parting Shots feels structured, intentional, even strategic. There are riffs everywhere but they’re organised this time rather than flung at your head all at once. It’s the band’s most self‑assured release so far, and the moment where they stop being “one of London’s hardest bands” and become one of its most important.

The EP’s identity is inseparable from the city that shaped it. London hangs over these tracks like smog over the Thames. The themes—generational struggle, political hostility, fractured families, the slow grind of trying to find meaning in a place that takes more than it gives—are all pulled straight from lived experience. Hardcore bands often claim authenticity; King Street don’t have to claim anything. It’s baked into every section, every barked lyric, every groove.

Even the artwork reinforces the point. The EP’s demonic, frenzied visual identity, created by iamanartistyouknow, looks like something found spray‑painted on a derelict South London underpass. It matches the music’s tone: raw, urban, and unsettling in a way that feels earnestly local rather than curated for international cool.

The production deserves special recognition. Engineered at Persepolis Studios in Chelmsford by bassist Matt Darby, the EP sounds like a live show trapped inside a studio—tight enough to highlight the band’s evolution but volatile enough to still feel dangerous. King Street’s gigs have always been a spectacle of bodies and noise and Parting Shots captures that energy unnervingly well. It moves fast, it hits hard, and it doesn’t waste time.

Their résumé includes sharing stages with hardcore pillars like Terror and Madball—acts whose influence is still audible but no longer overpowering. King Street aren’t imitating anyone anymore. They’re writing with the confidence of a band that understands its own mythology and is ready to build on it.

Across its six tracks, Parting Shots positions King Street as a defining presence in an increasingly competitive London hardcore scene. It’s the sound of a band that knows its strengths, confronts its weaknesses, and emerges sharper, heavier, and more purposeful.

 

Written by @jdprosho

Without Love – Diminishing Returns (2026) - REVIEW BY @JDPROSHO

Without Love – Diminishing Returns (2026)

Diminishing Returns, the new 17‑minute blast from Yorkshire‑rooted hardcore collective Without Love, is sharp, tightly‑wound, and somehow still scrappier than half the bands trying twice as hard.

Clocking in at eight tracks, the record barely gives you time to get your balance before ripping it away again. It’s the band’s first release since signing to US hardcore institution Indecision Records, and you can hear the shift immediately — not in a compromising way, but the sound is cleaner, tighter, more deliberately shaped. Yet the same grit that’s made them a staple of modern British hardcore still bleeds through.

Lyrically, Diminishing Returns hits the familiar emotional trinity that fuels most great hardcore: frustration, resilience, and the kind of community‑minded collectivism that can only be born from years of criss‑crossing the continent playing all manner of towns and venues. There’s anger here, sure, but it’s not nihilistic. It’s the kind of anger that wants the scene to be better, not burn it down.

The standout moments arrive fast and frantic. “The Forever War” is the band at their most feral - it’s got the speed‑run urgency of Youth of Today and the melodic bounce of Gorilla Biscuits, which is fitting considering Without Love will be sharing UK stages with GB soon.

Then there’s the more anthemic “With Hands Tied,”. It leans heavier, a little darker, flirting with emo in the way early Have Heart could without ever compromising intensity.

Fans of Bane, early Comeback Kid, and more melodic hardcore which blends emotional honesty and two‑step‑ready riffs will feel right at home here. The record never overstays its welcome, but it also never feels rushed. That’s particularly impressive considering Without Love’s history of short, chaotic releases including their 2021 split EP release with hardcore stalwarts Time Heist.

The production is the unsung hero here. It’s crisp enough to showcase the band’s increasingly mature songwriting, but raw enough to feel like it was recorded in a room with condensation dripping from the ceiling.

Diminishing Returns might be short, but it’s the most fully-realized thing Without Love have ever released. It’s a reminder that modern British hardcore doesn’t need to mimic its American influences to be world‑class — but when it draws from them, it can go toe‑to‑toe with the best. It’s urgent, memorable, and quietly massive.

Written by @jdprosho

 Rhapsody Records All Dayer Review

A Properly Chaotic Day in the Pit: Hardcore Takes Over Play, Middlesbrough

There are worse ways to spend a Saturday in Middlesbrough than being systematically flattened by a dozen‑plus hardcore bands in a brewery. Play, a fantastic ‘jewel-in-Middlesbrough’s-crown’ venue usually home to craft IPAs and pop culture‑adjacent quizzes, transforms into a sweat‑slicked pressure cooker as Teesside’s hardcore faithful descend for an all‑day festival that’s less “gig” and more “spiritual cleansing by violence.”

From the moment doors open, the room fills like a tinderbox. The crowd isn’t just here. The crowd is ready — caffeinated, cartilage‑loose, and spiritually aligned with the sacred art of swinging fists at strangers who will apologise after.

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DISARMED:

Disarmed open up proceedings to an already sizeable crowd. They’re still technically “early career,” but Middlesbrough has already adopted them with the kind of feral loyalty usually reserved for the football club and parmos.

“Price to Pay” spits pure venom, a punch‑drunk takedown of the world’s current nonsense, and before anyone has time to blink, the Terror cover (“Keepers of the Faith”) detonates the first proper pit of the afternoon. A few punters wrench the mic from vocalist Jack’s hands and fill the air with a guttural reverb and sparks limbs to strike out at all around — and it’s perfect.

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SECONDS OUT:

Seconds Out fight through early‑afternoon energy like they’re trying to wake the undead. It works — the queue for loaded fries evaporates as people stumble back inside for something heavier than carbs. More sludgy than speedy, more scowl than sprint, the Newcastle upstarts warm into their set and eventually coax the first crowd‑wide “FUCK ICE” chant, which feels exactly right for 2pm in a former brewery.

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NOTHING PURE REMAINS:

Rebrand? What rebrand? NPR (formerly RICO) launch their “new era” by exploding all over the stage like they’ve been starved of oxygen. Frontman Jo swings between crowd‑embracing messiah and human wrecking ball, baptising the faithful in sweat and chaos. If this is their rebirth, the aftershocks are just beginning.

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FLIPSIDE:

Flipside step up like they own the joint. Fast, fun, feral — the Middlesbrough stalwarts sprint through their set with the kind of chaotic sincerity you can’t fake. James snarls, the band thrashes, and the whole room gets a reminder of hardcore’s only real rule: no gatekeeping, no bullshit — just turn up and mean it.

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EMANCIPATION:

Emancipation have travelled farther than anyone else so far, and the crowd is quick to show their appreciation to the boys from the East Midlands. Their blend of doom‑tinged breakdowns, metalcore muscle, and atmospheric dips gives Play its first taste of full‑body heaviness. When the floor opens up, it feels less like moshing and more like being swallowed whole.

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AGGRIEVED:

Then it’s time for heartbreak.

Aggrieved — bona fide TSHC legends — take the stage for one last dance. It’s emotional, it’s chaotic, and mid‑set, someone brings out pizza like it’s communion. People rip the mic out of Jack’s hands and scream the lyrics back like their lives depend on it. Thi set probably shaved five years off everyone’s lifespan. If you’re gonna go out, go out swinging.

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PROZPEKT:

Most bands would crumble following a farewell set. Prozpekt are not “most bands.” They’re the gravitational centre of Teesside hardcore, and when Cal Leach stalks the stage, the room collectively straightens up like schoolkids caught messing around.

Tracks like “Brain Constraint” and “Tees Valley” hit like precision‑guided spin‑kicks to the chest as the floor turns into a full‑scale battleground. Leach conducts the room like he’s been ordained by the Pit Gods. If hardcore ever needed a mayor, he’d win by landslide.

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MAELSTROM:

South Wales’ Maelstrom bring a set polished sharp from constant touring — tight, furious, and engineered to make strangers punch each other lovingly. Beatdowns drop like concrete blocks. Bodies fly. The walls shake. Play is one step away from declaring structural damage.

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HUMAN DECEIT:

Human Deceit arrive with the intense energy that has followed them around in recent times and marked them out as torch bearers for UKHC. Frontman Matt stalks the room, screaming like he’s settling personal scores with each individual audience member. Teesside eats it up. The pit responds in kind. Middlesbrough may have a new favourite band.

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TEST OF PATIENCE:

It’s their first time in TS1, but Glasgow’s Test of Patience act like they’ve been coming here for years. Frontwoman Gem snarls her way through a set that radiates purpose and absolute fury. There’s something cathartic in the air — a sense of communal exorcism. The applause when they finish is thunderous. This better not be their last visit.

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LOST TO LIFE:

Lost to Life proudly announce they’re the first Irish hardcore band ever to step foot in Middlesbrough. True or not, the crowd happily two‑steps themselves into oblivion to celebrate. Fast, punk‑tinged, and dangerously catchy, they nearly shake the paint off the walls.

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OVERPOWER:

As the day teeters into its ninth hour, Overpower hit like defibrillator paddles. Sharp, technical, ferocious — their fusion of thrash and hardcore is the adrenaline shot the room needs. Matt Howson storms around in his chainmail headpiece like he’s preparing for war, while the dual‑guitar assault from Lewis and Casey feels illegally good.

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LIFESICK:

Lifesick close the night out with a set that’s heavier than the emotional baggage everyone’s carrying from the Aggrieved goodbye. The Danish bruisers tear through material from Loved By None, Hated By All, flattening what’s left of the crowd with ruthless breakdowns and pit‑summoning riffs. Nicolai leads with total command, preaching unity, community, and catharsis — the same values that held this entire day together.

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By the time the lights come up, Play smells like sweat, spilled lager, and collective liberation. Teesside Hardcore didn’t just show up today — it showed off: its heart, its chaos, its community.

No egos. No gatekeeping. Just family.

FTHxBTH

Show review by : James Prosho @jdprosho

Bind - War in Heaven (2025) REVIEW

 Bind - War in Heaven (2025)

Intro is huge. Wasting no time in getting right into the real mouthguards in type shit. 'And There Was..' is a visceral introduction to War in Heaven and while this style isnt normally my cherry on the cake Bind are hitting the sweet spot. Throughout the EP the vocals are mega ignorant while still maintaining the prowess in their overall sound. I can hear Vein in there, I can hear 2000's metalcore but most of all I can hear a real refined sound that I think will carry this band a long way. Ultimately if your looking for a release that gives you a sense of dread while maintaining the ability to hit your PB's in the gym look no further. Visually/lyrically this projects hits too. With artwork reminiscent of a Hieronymus Bosch painting and track titles such as 'the cost was always flesh' not only are they hitting the theme but they remain consistently TOUGH throughout. I have been aware of this band for a little while but I believe this project represents a new level for Bind.

Nelson St. - Speed and Power (2025) REVIEW

Nelson St. - Speed and Power (2025)

If you fuck with OG Turnstile (I know you do) and havent listened to Speed and Power then you have seriously been sleeping. This is hardcore in its purest form: short fuse, dance riffs , solos that rip and a vibe that I personally believe hasn't been done enough in modern HC. 

The opener hits like a sucker punch. Jeremy Clarkson followed by a four-count, and suddenly you’re in a full sprint. The riff is simple but nasty, built for the two step within you. It sets the tone immediately: this EP is about impact but also finesse.

As the project progresses it leans harder into the groove.  It’s the kind of EP that proves the band isn’t just playing fast — they know how to make heavy feel fun. The track 'Poison' while keeping with the foundations that this band is built on gives a real sort of 90s feel. Stomps big enough to pop the bubbles in your 95s. 

Production-wise, it’s raw but not sloppy in the best way possible. 

What makes this EP work is attitude. No crossover polish, no metal posturing, no radio-friendly hooks. Just hardcore punk played the way it’s meant to be: fast, loud, and honest.

Speed and Power isn't dressed up like something its not meant to be — it just tries to hit hard. And it does. If your idea of a good time is ringing ears, sore shoulders, and chaos that holds its nerve, this EP earns a spot in your rotation.

I would love to bring this band to Middlesbrough and really believe they could be ready to do something big in the UKHC space. Why this band arent talked about more is beyond me.

Regress S/T (2026) - REVIEW BY @JDPROSHO

 Regress – Self-Titled EP (2026)

London’s hardcore underground has always been a pressure cooker and the latest bright upstarts Regress have just ripped the lid clean off with their self-titled debut EP on Rucktion Records. Mixed and mastered by Lucas Kilpatrick, this 5 track EP record is hostile and an absolutely relentless 15-minute offering from our capital’s underbelly.

Regress proudly fly the power violence beatdown flag, but don’t mistake that for simplicity. The guitars weave between jagged riffs and tectonic chugs, while the drums oscillate from calculated menace to full-on blitzkrieg. Vocals from Marcy Turner are guttural battle cries, spat like shrapnel straight from the diaphragm of someone who’s seen too much and wants you to feel every ounce of it.

Standouts? Until the End and Soaked in Betrayal are sonic rollercoasters—violent, unpredictable, and offering zero respite. They don’t just hit hard; they hit deep, rattling your ribcage and pounding your chest. This isn’t background music. It’s a full-body experience, the kind that leaves you sweaty, bruised, and craving more.

Regress make noise—ugly, beautiful, cathartic noise. And if this EP is any indication, London’s hardcore scene just got a new mouthpiece.

Catch Regress on a couple dates with the dawgs in False Reality and Overpower throughout April. 

9/4/26 - London
12/4/26 - Manchester

Written by @jdprosho

INTERVIEW WITH CALLUM OF EMANCIPATION

Words on the meaning behind some of the songs on their latest EP, breaking out of the hometown and their local champions. 

What personal or cultural influences shaped the music and lyrics on your latest EP (like When The Heavens Opened…Bodies Fell)?

Mostly frustration coming from lots of things, internal and external. It’s hard to pin point one thing because each song deals with its own issues. But I’d like to say that even though it can be pretty negative at times there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, we tried to convey that idea in the music.

Are there particular messages or experiences you want listeners to take away from Forsaken Cause or other tracks? A recurring theme of the EP most evidently in Forsaken Cause is the feeling of not being good enough to live up to your own standards, which I think a lot of people can relate to. Also questioning the reason we’re here in the first place and why we all choose to get out of bed everyday to make the most of it.

What has been your biggest challenge in reaching new audiences outside your home turf, and how are you tackling it? Giving people a reason to care, there’s a lot of talent in UKHC. The biggest challenge is creating your own niche, giving a reason to check out your band. Naturally people like to give opportunities to their mates rather than some randoms, which is understandable, but it means have to be active in the scene to make those connections.

How do you guys view your local scene and are there any main players in the game you think deserve a shoutout? Nottingham is thriving shoutout The Tura (RIP), Torn Apart, Mindhold, Human Deceit. East mids OGs Full Contact, Built Upon Hatred and No Witnesses.

Stream Emancipations latest EP out on The Coming Strife below 

INTERVIEW WITH NICOLAI OF LIFESICK

Words on early influences, Copenhell, and Hatebreed with Nicolai of Lifesick ahead of their appearance at the Rhapsody all day fest January 31st. 

Do you remember the bands or records that first made hardcore click for you? How do those early influences still show up in LifeSick?

For most of us, our first experience with the sound of hardcore was through Hatebreed. At the time, we were just taking in all kinds of aggressive music and didn’t really know what “hardcore” actually meant. That changed before we started going to a festival in our hometown called Fredericia Hardcore Festival. We were all around 14 years old, and that year—if I remember correctly, 2007—the lineup included bands like Madball, Municipal Waste, and others. There was a mix of punk, metal, and hardcore, and from that point on it became a huge part of our lives: what we listened to, how we dressed, how we moshed—everything -  And bands like Hatebreed are still a huge inspiration for LIFESICK—we have a lot of working titles on riffs and songs simply called “Hatebreed riff.”

What’s your take on the current hardcore scene where you’re from and globally?

The genre is definitely becoming more “accepted” and has seen a huge rise—especially in Denmark, where heavy metal, black metal, and death metal have traditionally dominated. Because so many bands mix genres these days, the word “hardcore” isn’t as dangerous as it once was. I can only speak for Denmark, but when the festival Fredericia Hardcore Festival existed, it was great. Then there was a gap of about ten years where it just kind of sucked.

These days, we have an even bigger festival called Copenhell, which now invites quite a lot of hardcore bands. The festival is attended by more “normal” people who mainly listen to rock and similar genres, and that helps open things up and makes hardcore more accepted.

Globally, it feels like the genre has taken a step back toward its roots, drawing more inspiration from older hardcore. And with bands like Terror still keeping it alive all around the world, it’s just amazing.

Is there a particular track in your catalogue that you feel defines your identity as a band? Why?

We tend to change the setlist from time to time, but there’s one song simply called “LIFESICK” that we’ve always played. No matter what kind of show or set it is, it’s always been a part of the setlist. The song was on our first album/EP—it’s built around one riff with a few catchy vocal lines, and it’s just easy to get into.

Where do you see LifeSick HC heading in the next few years — musically or as a scene participant?

Not sure, to be honest. LIFESICK has been around for about 10 years now, and it’s always just been five friends playing and having fun—that’s probably our main motivation. We still love playing shows and getting out there.
We definitely have some goals we want to achieve, and one of the main ones is to tour the US, since we’ve never done that. Besides that, we want to create hardcore music that inspires people, especially the younger generation. I guess we’re on the edge of becoming “old heads” now that we’re entering our 30s, so we obviously want to stay relevant and keep pushing the genre without becoming too corny or gimmicky.

How do you want people to feel when they leave a LifeSick show?

Exhausted but hungry for more. We always keep our sets short so we don’t bore the listener. Our music moves at a fast pace, and you don’t want too much of it.  

Do you approach smaller DIY shows differently from bigger festival stages?

Yeah, for sure. We always care a lot about our live shows and adapt them to the type of audience and show we’re playing. At bigger festivals—especially metal festivals—you obviously need a different kind of stage presence. That’s mostly the singer’s job: not calling for violent mosh pits, but maybe encouraging a circle pit, if you know what I mean. Stuff like that.

We also don’t want to use too many gimmicks, but when playing a festival like Copenhell, we had to bring in pyrotechnics and bigger banners to fit the atmosphere.

Nicolai / LIFESICK

Catch Lifesick at the Rhapsody Records all dayer 31.01.26 Play Middlesbrough. Stream their single on Metal Blade Records 'Legacy of Misery' below :

SIDEWINDER, KING ABYSS, LAST WITNESS @ CAFE ETCH DEC '25 , SHOW REVIEW BY JD PROSHO

Mad Friday Mayhem: Teesside Hardcore Turns Café Etch Into a Warzone

Café Etch is slowly morphing into Teesside’s unofficial hardcore embassy. Tonight, it’s hosting the year-end blowout for Rhapsody Records, and the timing couldn’t be more chaotic: the last Friday before Christmas Eve—known in the UK as Mad Friday or, if you’re feeling spicy, Black Eye Friday. Originally NHS and Police jargon for “the night everyone gets obliterated,” it’s now a cultural institution: the final knees-up before festive purgatory. Translation? Middlesbrough’s hardcore kids have one last chance to throw themselves around a 60-cap room like it owes them money.

Hartlepudlian debutants Final Witness pick tonight for their swansong, and honestly, they couldn’t have scripted it better. Early nerves? Sure. But once they lock in, Café Etch gets its first wall of noise—and it’s glorious. Think Municipal Waste thrash colliding head-on with Obituary-style death grooves, snarling vocals riding shotgun. For a band barely old enough to rent a van for the short journey south on the A19, their setlist feels seasoned: heads bang, limbs flail, and Middlesbrough suddenly has four new best friends. Bookmark this name—they’re going places.

Derbyshire’s deathcore veterans King Abyss hit the stage like they’re settling scores. Tracks like Fear the Dead don’t just shake the room—they threaten structural integrity. The pit? A demolition derby. Vocalist Dom stalks the floor like a man possessed, while guitarists Sam and Harry flex technical wizardry on Weapons of Mass Delusion, a track that swings between chugging brutality and fretboard acrobatics. By the time Eyes Always Watching closes, the crowd looks like they’ve been through a small war—and loved every second.

Headliners Sidewinder don’t waste time with pleasantries. Their opening mantra— “Respect the venue, don’t respect each other”—lands like gospel, and the crowd obeys with WWE-level aerial assaults. Leeds’ hardcore export delivers a set so fast and feral you barely have time to breathe. Between sci-fi nods (Starship Troopers, Gears of War) and communal whiskey swigs passed around like sacrament, this feels less like a gig and more like a church service. Damo, their preacher-in-chief, screams sermons of rage and release into the faces of his gathered flock, while Incarcerated—an anthem for anyone shackled to a soul-sucking job—hits extra hard on Mad Friday. Responsibilities? That’s January’s problem.

As the last chord rings and the whiskey bottle empties, Teesside spills into the night—some with bruises, some with literal missing teeth, all with stories. Café Etch didn’t just host a gig tonight; it hosted a riot disguised as a Christmas party. Happy Fucking Holidays.

Full Sidewinder set available below : 

Show review by : James Prosho @jdprosho

Paleface Swiss - The wilted EP (2026) REVIEW BY @JDPROSHO

Paleface Swiss - The wilted EP (2026)

When Paleface Swiss emerged back in 2017, their sound was pure, unfiltered beatdown chaos: raw aggression, blunt-force riffs, and breakdowns that felt like a crowbar to the temple. But The Wilted, a brand-new EP from the Swiss noise merchants, is a different animal.

Not softer but smarter, sharper, and riding the same modern metalcore wave that’s been dominating playlists without losing the street-level menace that made them infamous.

This EP feels like the band finally decided to hone their craft. There’s melody here, the production is polished without sanding down the serrated edges, and the song writing flexes a confidence that says: “We know exactly who we are, and we’re not afraid to evolve.”

Tracks hit like a hybrid of beatdown brutality and metalcore sophistication—think surgical breakdowns stitched together with atmospheric tension. It’s the sound of a band refusing to drown in an oversaturated scene, carving out their own space with riffs that still swing like a wrecking ball but now come with a more sophisticated blueprint of the direction they want to head in.

Paleface Swiss aren’t abandoning their roots; they’re fertilizing them with something darker, more calculated. In a genre where everyone’s screaming (literally) for attention, these guys are making sure you hear them above the noise. Ones to watch? Absolutely.

Catch Paleface on tour across Europe with Stick to your guns and Statis Dress. In early Jan through to February : 

Written by @jdprosho

Nuclear Venom – Poisoning the Minds (2026) REVIEW BY @JDPROSHO

Nuclear Venom – Poisoning the Minds (2026) 

There’s a particular joy to crossover thrash when it stops pretending to be high art and just goes—the kind of joy that smells like stale beer, hot amps, and a circle pit that forms before the first snare hit. 

On Poisoning the Minds, Polish thrash/crossover upstarts Nuclear Venom channel that joy with almost weaponized efficiency. It’s a really fun record—emphasis on fun—that blends the speed and whiplash riffing of classic thrash with the tar‑thick churn of sludgy hardcore. The drums sprint, the guitars screech, and the vocals sound like they’ve been left out in the radioactive rain.

If your playlists run from Municipal Waste’s beer‑splash blitz to the serrated crossover punch of Manic Aggression, this EP sits right in that sweet spot: fast, filthy, and ferocious. Nuclear Venom never forget that extremity is entertainment, and they lean into it with the kind of energy that’ll have you price‑checking elbow pads before the second chorus.

The production is perhaps a bit raw at times, with guitars that scrape and squeal before dropping into sludge-laced chugs that feel like you’re wading through concrete and vocals that may be difficult for purists to hurdle over, but this isn’t a record for them - plenty of bands can varnish and fine tune their sound but not all of them are able to convey the fun they’re having making music. Nuclear Venom bake humor into menace without undercutting the heft. 

Poisoning the Minds is the sound of a band who understand that extremity and enjoyment are not opposites—they’re accomplices. It’s fast, filthy, and fun, a blast of crossover thrash that drags through sludge just long enough to make the next sprint feel like lift‑off. Short playtime, zero filler, maximum repayment. 

Ones to add to your radar immediately. And maybe to your health insurance.

Written by @jdprosho