We're back, and we're joined in this episode by fellow hardcore scribe Vince Guglielmi. In the spirit of the new year, the three of us look ahead to where we envision hardcore's sound and culture going in 2024. We touch on democore,  deathcore, the identity of the decade thus far, and make a few other predictions based on what we've been witnessing at shows, fests and around the 'net.  Subscribe to Vince's newsletter The Daily Snob https://thedailysnob.substack.com/ Intro song: Collateral - "Collateral"  Outro song: Mile End - "Avarice"  

We talked about our favorite hardcore of 2023 with two fellow hxc scribes, Stereogum Senior Editor Tom Breihan and BrooklynVegan Edtior Andrew Sacher.  We each counted down our 10 favorite hardcore albums/EP's of the year, and had fun discussing the overlap, the mixed feelings, and the outlier picks.  Follow Tom on Twitter @tombreihan Follow Andrew on Twitter @llllbfgllll   Intro song: Buggin - "Get It Out"  Outro song: Militarie Gun - "Do It Faster"   

First, we talk about our favorite hardcore sets we saw in 2023 — from Negative Approach to Vein. Then, in honor of its 40th anniversary reissue, we discuss SS Decontrol's 1982 debut 'The Kids Will Have Their Say,' as well as our more general thoughts on Boston's first important hardcore band.  Intro song: Balmora - "Under the Weight" Outro song: SS Decontrol - "Get it Away"

There're certain metal bands that, for whatever reason, hardcore fans love. Whether its their sound, their iconography, or just their aura, bands like Type O Negative, Bolt Thrower, Sepultura and even Slipknot have become as much a part of the hardcore milieu as actual hardcore originators like Circle Jerks and Agnostic Front.  Eli had Hugo listen to many of these "shirt bands", and we dicussed the quality of their music, their relevancy to hardcore, and why hardcore fans and musicians are so drawn to these capital "m" Metal bands.  Intro song: Sepultura - "Arise'  Outro song: Obituary - "Chopped in Half"  

Agnostic Front's 1984 debut, 'Victim In Pain', is commonly regarded as the benchmark NYHC album. Moreover, if you look at the history of early 80s hardcore, it's the first hardcore release from New York that really "mattered" outside of that city's streets.  Plenty of hardcore scholars talk about the hotbed that NYHC became after 'Victim In Pain,' but for this episode, we wanted to look at some of the releases that were coming out of NY in the years prior. We listened to bands like Urban Waste, Antitode, The Abused, The Mob, Stimulators and more, and came away with some interesting takeaways about the underrated no-mans-land that existed before Agnostic Front put NYHC on the map.  Intro song: The Abused - "War Games" Outro song: Agnostic Front - "United and Strong"  

First, we review new albums from Magnitude and Broken Vow.  Then, it's a late-Eighties NYHC showdown. Hugo loves Killing Time's 'Brightside', Eli loves Leeway's 'Born to Expire'. Which one is better? We discuss, you decide.  Intro song: Broken Vow - "Propaganda of the Deed" Outro song: Killing Time - "Brightside"  

We're joined by blogger Jay Papandreas to talk about melodic hardcore. What is it? Who earns that designation? And which bands that frequently get called melodic hardcore don't belong in that pool?  Check out Jay's blog  https://www.listenupnerds.com/ Intro song: Lifetime - "Turnpike Gates" Outro song: Koyo - "Diamond One"

We listened to all five installments of the America's Hardcore compilation series that Triple B Records have been releasing since 2010. We debate how effective the comps are at capturing the moment of 2010s hardcore, which tracks are best, and what Triple B means to the fabric of contemporary hardcore.  Intro song: Bitter End - "Disguised" Outro song: Mil-Spec - "Time After Time"

After some brief chatter on our recent listening habits, we dive into discussing a handful of albums from throughout hardcore history where bands "sold out" by making metal, pop-punk, or butt-rock records. From SSD, Earth Crisis, No Warning and beyond, we listened to those "failed swing" albums that bands pretend never happened, and see if they're actually as bad as people say they are.  Intro song: No Warning - "Bad Timing" Outro song: Shelter - "Alone On My Birthday"

After seeing one of Bane's reunion shows, we decided to do a dive into their discography and talk a bit about their legacy today. Does Hugo actually fuck with Bane now? Listen to find out.  Then, we switch gears by reviewing the 1993 'East Coast Assault' compilation, which features early songs by Life of Agony, Merauder, Converge and more. It's a hugely instructive time capsule for that era of heavy hardcore, and we had fun going through it all.  Intro song: Bane - "Can We Start Again?"  Outro song: Bane - "Calling Hours"