Jivebomb

Jivebomb are a five-piece hardcore band from Baltimore, Maryland that formed in 2021. They put out a demo that same year, which was followed by their debut EP in 2022 via Flatspot Records. Jiveomb continue Flatspot's unparalled run of hardcore releases in recent years,  coming out the gate with their sample-laden demo. Their sound is fast and ferocious, with bursts of noise occassionally coming through their raw, power chord heavy attack. It's hardcore in its purest form, that scratches the same itch that something like Negative Approach does. Highly recommended, enjoy!

JVBM (2021)

1. Cereja

2. Ironclad

3. Wise Choice

4. Cidade Charme

5. Burning Question

6. Jivebomb

Primitive Desires (2022)

1. 86

2. Primitive Desires

3. Steel

4. Illusion Of Choice

5. Ditz

The Extermination Vol. 4 (2023)

6. Jivebomb - American Rule

Ethereal (2025)

1. The Impact

2. Estrela

3. Survival Ain't Taught

4. Wise Choice

5. Fates Domain

6. Rhythm Zero

7. Charm

8. Mistaken

9. Seraphim (Marina's Song)

10. Disfigured Identity

Bandcamp

Spotify

Apple Music

Instagram

Flatspot Records

Praise

Photo by: Farrah Skeiky

Praise are a five-piece melodic hardcore band from Baltimore, Maryland that formed in 2009. Thus far, they've released three full-lengths and a handful of EP's, mostly through React! Records and their latest LP through Revelation. I just have to say, I have been sorely missing on this band for years now. This is so up my alley that I'm kicking myself for not having checked them out sooner. In the most basic terms, they pay homage to the huge, bright distorted and chorus-laden work of Hüsker Dü with heavy influence from DC acts such as Embrace, Dag Nasty and One Last Wish that first incorporated melodic elements into hardcore. It's an incredible blend that still manages to sound truly modern, with some top-tier musicianship to boot. That's unsurprising, given that this band includes members of Turnstile, Angel Du$t, Mindset, Give, and a ton of other incredible projects. I cannot recommend this enough, I highly, highly suggest checking it out if you're as late to the punch on this as I am. Enjoy.

Growing. Changing. Healing. (2010)

1. Caught In A Cycle

2. I Believe

3. Peace Is The Solution

4. Healing

Two Songs (2011)

1. Afraid To Ask

2. Autumn

Lights Went Out (2014)

1. Accept

2.Safe Place

3. Lights Went Out

4. To Be Me

5. Reach Deep

6. Write It Down

7. Give Me The Pain

8. Afraid To Ask

9. Restless Minds

10. Weight

Leave It All Behind (2016)

1. Makes No Sense

2. Crash Into My Life

3. Settle Down

4. Leave It All Behind

5. Song For You

6. Walk To The Edge

7. We All Fall Down

America's Hardcore Volume 4 (2017)

3. Return To Life

All In A Dream (2022)

1. All In A Dream

2. Return To Life

3. Hotline To Memory

4. Suddenly Human

5. Peace Of Mine

6. Limited Sense Of Possibility

7. Eyes In The Dark

8. Life Unknown

9. Keep Hanging On

Spotify

Apple Music

Bandcamp

Facebook

Twitter

Be Well

Be Well are a five-piece melodic hardcore band from Baltimore, Maryland that formed in 2019. This project was founded by vocalist  Brian McTernan, who was previously best known as a member of the legendary Battery and as a producer, working with bands including Thrice, Hot Water Music, Bane, and a ton more. Rounding out the line-up of Be Well are fellow hardcore veterans, including bassist Aaron Dalbec (Bane, Converge), guitarist Mike Schleibaum (Darkest Hour), guitarist Peter Trsouras (Fairweather), and drummer Shane Johnson (Fairweather). Based on the pedigree of their previous work, you can anticipate the excellence of Be Well right out the gate. Though certainly rooted in hardcore energy, this band's sound is more melodic and introspective, blending the sounds of all previous acts mentioned into more matured and nuanced instrumentals and lyricism that benefits from its hindsight perspective. Highly recommended, enjoy.

The Weight And The Cost (2020)

1. Meaningless Measures

2. Magic

3. Strength For Breath

4. Tiny Little Pieces

5. Morning Light

6. The Weight And The Cost

7. Each Passing Day

8. Frozen

9. Aperture

10. Longing

11. Confessional

Hello Sun (2022)

1. Treadless

2. I'll Leave You With This

3. An Endless Loop

4. Hello Sun

5. Only One Wish

6. In the Shadow Of Who You Thought I Was

Bandcamp

Spotify

Apple Music

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

End It

End It are a five-piece hardcore band from Baltimore, Maryland that began in 2017. Since then, they've put out 3 incredible EP's, all of which were put of by Flatspot Records and none of which exceed 10 minutws in length. This band comes in quick and hits hard, pummelling out tracks at incredible paces with heavy lyrical relevance. Sonically, they're indebted to bands including Bulldoze, Stout, and Madball who helped pioneer this brand of hardcore. Their last two EP's in particular are incredible, and Unpleasant Living is required listening for any hardcore fan in 2022. Amazing stuff, enjoy.

End It (2017)

1. Give Up / Vas A Morir

2. Wishlist

3. Blind Faith

4. Apolitical

5. End It

One Way Track (2020)

1. Hardhead

2. Htf

3. Lifer

4. One Way Track

Unpleasant Living (2022)

1. BCHC

2. New Wage Slavery

3. L'appel Du Vide

4. 21

5. Hatekeeper

6. The Comeback

Wrong Side Of Heaven (2025)

1. Wrong Side Of Heaven

2. Pale Horse

3. Exploiter (SYBAU)

4. Billion Dollar Question

5. Cloutbusting

6. Life Sublime

7. Optical Delusions

8. I Lament

9. Used 2 Be

10. Anti-Colonial

11. Future Without A Past

12. Disdain (U Mad)

13. Hookworm

14. Could You Love Me?

15. Empire's Demise

Spotify

Apple Music

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

The Great Unraveling

The Great Unraveling were a three-piece post-hardcore/post-punk band from Baltimore, Maryland that were active from 1995 to 1997. They were started by members of Universal Order of Armageddon and Born Against, most notably Tonie Joy, who was also in Moss Icon. They carried on the post-hardcore sound of their previous bands, but toned down the aggression in favour more noise and math rock elements. They utilized odd time signatures and sharp chromatic-scale riffs, something fans of bands like Unwound would undoubtedly dig. Their LP came out on Kill Rock Stars, while their first EP was put out by Vermiform and second EP by Tonie Joy's own Vermin Scum Records Enjoy.

Space Travel / Left With Only Out (1996)

1. Space Travel

2. Left With Only Out

The Angel Rang Virtue (1996)

1. Burden of Proof

2. Running On Fumes

The Great Unraveling (1997)

1. The Calling Beckons

2. Alien Landscape

3. Demons Linger

4. Possessed

5. Wellness

6. Head For The Hills

7. New Frontier

Bandcamp

No Note

No Note are a three-piece screamo/post-hardcore band from Baltimore, Maryland. From their Bandcamp description, the only thing really known about them is that they played one show and recorded one album back in 2019, which was released earlier this year. With a tracklist that reads like a Red Hot Chili Peppers greatest hits cover album, I really wasn't sure what to expect with this. Spoiler, these are not RHCP songs. Instead, they're 9 tracks of some of the most relentless songs put out all year. I'm not even sure what where to place them sonically, as they are such an amalgamation of genre tropes. They're like a blackened post-hardcore band with heavy screamo influence and hints of sass. Whatever it is, its dark, heavy and noisy, everything you'd want in a hardcore extremity. Enjoy.

If this is the future then I'm in the dark (2020)

1. Scar Tissue

2. By The Way

3. Under the Bridge

4. Suck My Kiss

5. Dani California

6. The Zephyr Song

7. Otherside

8. Give It Away

9. Californication

Bandcamp

Euclid C Finder - Euclid C Finder! EP PREMIERE

Here's one that'll dent some skulls. Euclid C Finder is a one-man Baltimore, Maryland-based mathcore/grindcore project created by Mike Mehl (who was also in Egarra, Kiss The Sky Goodbye, and Neck First). It began earlier this year with the release of his debut EP, A Standard Basis For The Set Of All Discontent, which is now being followed up with this new 6-song EP (titled Euclid C Finder!). This thing is a blissfully chaotic blend of extreme music influences, with throat-shredding vocals, dissonant guitars that sound more like alarms, and rhythms so off-kilter they could cause cardiac arrest with their irregular beats. Fans of bands like Graf Orlock, .Gif From God, Daughters, and Fear Before will particularly get into this.

I'm super happy to share with you this latest EP, which you can stream in its entirety now. Its official release date is slated for October 8th, with tapes available through both the band and Zegema Beach Records. The self-titled EP is on the A-Side, while their debut EP takes up the B-Side, making for twice the gut-punch experience. Check all of that out down below.

1. If You Pray You Get Your Way

2. If You Hope The Answer's Nope

3. A Rumination On Empty Years

4. Dr. Cloudshouter's Secret Weapon

5. Aesthetic Distance

6. Dead Soundboy

Order Tape In The USA

Euclid C Finder

Zegema Beach Records

Order Tape In Canada or Internationally

Zegema Beach Records

Euclid C Finder

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Spotify

Lungfish

Lungfish are a four-piece post-hardcore band from Baltimore, Maryland that formed in 1988, and are still active today. Without a doubt, Lungfish are known as being one of the most seminal, prolific, and definitive bands in the history of post-hardcore.Their output spans over two decades, and almost all of it has been released through Dischord Records. Sonically, Lungfish were known for their angular guitar melodies and droning rhythms, in addition to their sing-spoken vocals. If you ever wondered where Self Defense Family came from, this is it. In addition to them, Lungfish are an undeniably massive influence on post-hardcore, and have been one of the most consistent bands in the genre, putting out solid album after solid album. Enjoy.

Necklace Of Heads (1990)

1. Come Clean

2. Put Your Halo On

3. Ain't No Color

4. Not Only Long Ride Too High

5. Parthenogenesis

6. Devilhead

7. Nothing Is Easy

8. Fambly

Talking Songs For Walking (1992)

1. Friend To Friend In Endtime

2. Broadcast

3. Descender

4. Samuel

5. Kissing

6. Reveal Me

7. My Fool Heart

8. One Face

9. Non Dual Bliss

10. Put Your Hand In My Hand

Rainbows From Atoms (1993)

1. Instrument

2. Mother Made Me

3. Abraham Lincoln

4. Animal Man

5. Fresh Air Cure

6. Creation Story

7. Axiomatic

8. Open House

9. 8.14.2116

10. You Might Ask Me What

11. Seek Sound Shelter

Pass And Stow (1994)

1. Cleaner Than Your Surroundings

2. Straightaway

3. Washing Away

4. At Liberty To Say

5. The Trap Gets Set

6. Computer

7. Highway Sweetheart

8. Astronaut's Prayer

9. Idiot Vehicle

10. One Way All The Time

11. In Praise Of Amoral Phenomena

12. Gorilla Monsoon

13. The Evidence

14. Terminal Crash

Sound In Time (1996)

1. Constellations

2. To Whom You Were Born

3. Jonah

4. Solid State

5. X-Ray The Pharaoh

6. Signpost

7. Sphere Of Influence

8. The Cipher

9. Panic And Hysteria

10. Constellations

Indivisible (1997)

1. Indivisible

2. You Did Not Exist

3. E=FU

4. Urania

5. Organ Harvest

6. Yellow Sun

7. William Fuld

8. Tick Tock

9. Cut To Fit The Mouth

10. Fill The Days

11. Sin To Live

Artificial Horizon (1998)

1. Black Helicopters

2. Oppress Yourself

3. Amnesiac

4. Love Will Ruin Your Mind

5. Ann The Word

6. Slip Of Existence

7. Free State

8. Truth Cult

9. Shed The World

10. Pray For The Living

11. Light For All

The Unanimous Hour (1999)

1. Space Orgy

2. Web Of Mirrors

3. Searchlight

4. Vulgar Theories

5. God's Will

6. Mated

7. Metatron

8. Sands Of Time

9. Return To The Caves

11. Hallucinatorium

Necrophones (2000)

1. The Words

2. The Way

3. Necrophones

4. All Day And All Night Long

5. Blue Sky

6. Hanging Bird

7. Shapes In Space

8. Sex War

9. Cross Road

10. Eternal Nightfall

11. Occult Vibrations

12. Infinite Daybreak

Love Is Love (2003)

1. Love Is Love

2. This World

3. Fearfully And Wonderfully

4. Hear The Children Sing

5. Lay Yourself Aside

6. Nation Saving Song

7. Unfold The Leg

8. No False Suns

9. Peace Mountains Of Peace

10. Child Of Chaos

Feral Hymns (2005)

1. All Creations Bows

2. Time Is A Weapon Of Time

3. Wailing Like Dragons

4. Picture Music

5. You Are The War

6. Invert The State

7. Way Out Is The Way Out

8. Sing

9. Sower Of Systems

10. Sweet Nucleus

A.C.R. 1999 (2012)

1. Eternal Nightfall

2. Symbiosis

3. Screams Of Joy

4. Occult Vibrations

5. I Will Walk Between You

6. Aesop

7. Sex War

8. Infinite Daybreak

9. Hanging Bird

10. Shapes In Space

Dischord

Bandcamp

Cross My Heart

Cross My Heart were a four-piece emo/indie/post-hardcore band from Baltimore, Maryland that formed in 1997 and broke up in 2001. In their few years together, they managed to release two EP's, a split, and one phenomenal full-length. Unfortunately, I only have the full-length and one EP, so if anyone has the remaining split and EP, let me know! Thanks for helping me find the EP! Anyway, in regards to their sound, they played a clean, somber form of indie rock with very mellow chords and depressing lyrics. In terms of musical comparisons, you could say they were in the same lane as bands like Penfold, Christie Front Drive, or even The Appleseed Cast. However, what made Cross My Heart such a phenomenal band was that they didn't purely beat the listener with these overtly depressing subject matters. There was also this articulate aggression underlining their music, giving their material a multi-faceted emotional level. Not to mention, they crafted some catchy melodies and riffs. Basically, if you're looking for something in terms of emo-tinged indie rock, this is it. Enjoy.

Cross My Heart (1998)

1. Dornier

2. It Doesn't Take That Many Pills To Sleep Forever

3. Today I Discovered The World

4. Determination

5. Track Five

6. Secret To Tell

7. The Hypnotist

The Reason I Failed History (1999)

1. No Give Backs

2. Are You Still Happy?

3. Destination Eventually Somewhere

4. The Reason I Failed History

Temporary Contemporary (2000)

1. The Great Depression

2. Tonight We'll Light Ourselves On Fire

3. Paris

4. London Bridge

5. With Bells On

6. Infinity Doesn't Live Here Anymore

7. Self-Loathing Bastard

8. Angels & Gargoyles

9. How Slowly We Forget

Universal Order Of Armageddon

Universal Order of Armageddon were a four-piece post-hardcore band from Baltimore, Maryland that briefly existed between 1992 and 1994, and played a few reunion shows in 2010. Though they weren't around long, they were incredibly influential. Not only as a post-hardcore band, but an early screamo band. They also emerged as one of the most energetic acts in punk as a whole, and an accomplishment like that it's so easily forgotten. Their shows are a thing of legend, often only lasting briefly and featured the band members hurling themselves around the stage in a flurry of unprecedented energy. I guess you could say they were kind of like the Rites of Spring of the 90's, or something like that. U.O.A. were also closely associated with Born Against, who they released a split with and two of their members would also end up playing in for a year. Those two were drummer Brooks Headley and guitarist Tonie Joy, who was also known as the guitarist of the legendary Moss Icon. To return to the topic of Universal Order of Armageddon, below is their discography compilation, which includes all their recorded material. This is with the exception of their demo and one 12", both of which I also included below. It's an incredibly intense listen, so enjoy.

Demo (1993)

1. Painfully Obvious

2. Act II

3. Mud

4. Close To Far Away

5. The Fence Song

6. The Entire Vast Situation Act I

7. City

8. Desperate Motion

Gravity 12" (1994)

1. Longer, Stranger

2. Desperate Motion

3. Four Measure Start

Universal Order of Armageddon (1996)

1. Visible Distance

2. Switch Is Down

3. Stepping Softly Into

4. Clear Set

5. Benedict

6. No Longer Stranger

7. Flux

8. Symptom

9. Painfully Obvious

10. Close To Far Away

11. Entire Vast Situation

12. City

13. Four Measure Start

14. Mud

15. Fence Song