Now entering feather-ruffling territories with the hardest of the cores :
1.) Zulu - "A New Tomorrow" :
A vibrant patchwork of African-American music styles sewn together by the common thread of hardcore, beatdown and powerviolence.
"A New Tomorrow" feels like both a protest and a celebration while shedding light on some much needed, and welcome representation within the scene.
2.) Soulkeeper - "Holy Design" :
Futuristic and relentlessly unhinged, "Holy Design" has to be one of the strongest debut LP's this year. Another brilliant case of modern hardcore done right, pushing the genre further with experimentation while keeping the fundamentals intact for a fun and refreshing spin on it.
3.) Jeromes Dream - "The Gray In Between" :
"Umm, actually this isn't hardcore but scramz post-hardcore emoviolence".
We get it, you're so cool; but not as cool as this absolute return to form, holy shit.
Managing to balance the raw emotion of screamo with the angular grittiness of early mathcore and even flirting with some blackened hardcore vibes, this just might be Jeromes Dream best material yet and that much can't often be said about other bands with 20+ years of existence and after over a decade long hiatus.
4.) EYES - "Congratulations" :
EYES further improve upon their nihilistic brand of hardcore influenced by noise rock, sassy mathcore, no wave and a bit of black metal for good measure. Truly a miserable experience that paradoxically makes you want to get up and get down in the pit, or alone at home, you do you.
5.) Johnny Booth - "Moments Elsewhere" :
A chameleonic take on chaotic hardcore that is as catchy as it is intense.
While it may not reinvent the name of the game, it still has its fair share of fun, surprising moments while also having perhaps one of my favourite "harsh" voices in the genre.
6.) Chamber - "A Love To Kill For" :
Another entry that could have perhaps featured on my upcoming mathcore toplist instead but the way I see it, Chamber's surgically precise screechings and beatdowns are more akin to hardcore than its zestier cousin.
Last year's EP, "Carved In Stone" set some super high expectations for me and even now I somehow feel like I preferred the EP's material but I'm honestly not even sure why.
Don't get me wrong though, the precision, frantic pace and technicality of this new LP remains dizzying and further cements Chamber as one of the newer essential players in the chaotic hardcore field.
7.) Jesus Piece - "...So Unknown" :
A bludgeoning from beginning to end and potentially the most brutal entry on this list.
However, its brutality, as well crafted and performed as it is, is perhaps a little too one-dimensional, which is why I didn't rank it higher.
That being said; in a world where people complain as soon as their favourite heavy bands start "experimenting" with cleaner sounds for broader appeal, I can appreciate a band that continuously only delivers beatings...a bit of seasoning on the knuckle salad would be appreciated though.
8.) END - "The Sin of Human Frailty" :
I'll be transparent, the main reason behind the lower ranking is mostly due to the fact that I only just recently caught up with the chaotic hardcore supergroup's second LP.
That being said, although I really liked the more industrial sound design which the band had hinted at with their last year's split with Cult Leader, I did feel like it slightly suffered from a similar ailment as Jesus Piece did.
9.) Incendiary - "Change The Way You Think About Pain" :
After a much anticipated comeback on my behalf after the formative and influential 2017 "Thousand Mile Stare", Incendiary's return mostly felt like more of the same.
More of a good thing is never a bad thing however, and the album does have some genuinely memorable moments, especially lyric-wise.
10.) Drain - "LIVING PROOF" :
Easily the most fun and care-free entry on the list, Drain's crossover hardcore thrash makes you want to do dumb rebellious teenager stuff and just let loose.
From its inception, hardcore has always been a politically and socially charged genre of music with a strong idea of purpose behind it.
But sometimes, part of that purpose is just finding some joy and having a bit of fun in a world that often finds ways to marginalize and put you down, and "Living Proof" definitely does just that.
Shit, I'm not even sure why I didn't rank it higher. Probably because I'm slowly but surely becoming a grumpy old man.