Recent years have seen a rise in the interest in “dark hardcore,” especially with the incorporation of this sound into bands like Nails, Trap Them and Black Breath. But while these bands take the hardcore spirit and inject it into a death metal aesthetic, there are others who stay true to the sound of Anti-Cimex, Toxic Narcotic, Citizen’s Arrest and Driller Killer.
Among bands like Coke Bust and Sectarian Violence, Haymaker is one of the chief purveyors of this abrasive, pessimistic and violent style of hardcore. Even with all the progress humankind has made, there’s still plenty of things to shout, rage and scream about. And with loud and vicious bangers like “Propaganda Machine,” “Not My World” and “Green Scam,” Haymaker lends a voice to the neuroses, contradictions and suffering inherent in our post-modern world.
Haymaker will join Integrity, Ringworm, All Out War and a plethora of other hardcore masters for this year’s installment of “This is Hardcore” in Philadelphia on August 5th. The opportunity to hear “Condemned to Suffer,” “Hollow” and “Built to Destroy” all in one night, under one roof?! How any Philly-area hardcore fan could pass that up is beyond me.
Check out the full stream of the new Haymaker album (their first full-length in 15 years) below:
