5 New Hardcore Records You Should Hear

It’s a good time to be a fan of hardcore. Not only is it possible to see countless legacy acts on tour and at festivals—the scene is ripe with new music from OGs and newcomers alike. Here are five recommended 2022 releases.

Rabbit – Demo

This group of Brooklyn metallic hardcore punks released their first demo in February of this year. With four songs, two of them under two minutes, Rabbit throw in a little something for everyone: fast powerviolence for the punks, feedback-soaked breakdowns for the moshers, Slayer-esque riffs for the metalheads. 

Gospel The Loser

It’s been 17 years since cult screamo heroes Gospel released their first and only album, 2005’s The Moon is a Dead World, but the band returned on Friday to prove they’d lost nothing in the nearly two decades since. Emotional screamo is married with intricate prog in a way that allows Gospel to pick up right where they left off. 

Warthog – Warthog

Warthog is for the metalpunks. The easiest way to sum up the band’s sound on their third eponymous EP (don’t confuse 2022’s Warthog EP with 2016 or 2018’s Warthog EPs) is “Motörhead playing hardcore punk.” Mastered by Arthur Rizk, the EP hits with an especially-hard punch.


Heriot – Profound Mortality

Something of a cross between the sound of Nails and I Am King-era Code Orange, Heriot released their debut album, Profound Mortality, in April. Throughout the album, Heriot build a sense of foreboding atmosphere and then knock it down with furious HM-2-powered fast hardcore. 

Soul Glo – Diaspora Problems

Diaspora Problems is the best and freshest hardcore record to come out in a very long time. The Philadelphia band have spent years introducing new elements into their sound—screamo, hardcore punk, rap—and on Diaspora Problems, it all comes together. Vocalist Pierce Jordan crams a staggering amount of lyrics into each song, supplemented by some of the most unique features found on a punk album. By the time album closer “Spiritual Levels of Gang Shit” is done playing, Soul Glo have left everything on the table, from brutally honest truths about living as a black man in the United States to brass sections and rap parts. 

Soul Glo performs a hometown show at Metal & Beer Fest next month, so grab tickets for that while they’re still on sale.