Don't Give Up Hope

Growing up in New England, hardcore has always been really special to me. Ever since the first time I heard Bane and American Nightmare I’ve been interested in this subgenre. Punk’s dirty, unkempt little brother is pretty popular where I’m from, to say the least. Just a couple hours from where I’m sitting right now is the Worcester Palladium; my favorite venue and the site of the annual Metal and Hardcore Festival: the biggest gathering of heavy music on the east coast. In recent years, hardcore has seen a major resurgence in New England, spurred by increasingly impressive rosters from Deathwish Inc. (owned by Converge frontman Jacob Bannon) and Bridge 9 Records. Two of the bands that emerged from that scene and spearheaded the aforementioned movement are Boston straight edge warriors Have Heart and Providence political dudes Verse. Verse and Have Heart collectively released 5 of the greatest hardcore albums in recent memory and toured all over the world, often times together. Unfortunately, now both of these bands have broken up and there is some talk of who will go on to carry the flag for our 6 states. Here are my candidates for the future of New England Hardcore:
I will start off in my own home state. Salem, New Hampshire's Trap Them have released 2 full lengths and one EP full of blistering sludge infused grindcore, most recently 2008's Seizures In Barren Praise. The band features former Backstabbers Inc. vocalist Ryan McKenney and former Unearth drummer Mike Justian. They are currently on tour opening for Napalm Death. For those just getting into TT, I would recommend the Seance Prime EP, out now on Deathwish.

Next up is Massachusetts' own Shipwreck A.D. The band is known around the area for their adrenaline infused live shows and their mysterious connection to Vitamin Water. These guys are like old school tough guy hardcore with thinking man's lyrics. Right now you can pick up their full length, Abyss, on Deathwish, and Shipwreck are currently hard at work looking ot bring you another full length by the end of 2009.

Cruel Hand are probably the best band to ever come out of the state of Maine. They signed to Bridge 9 last year and released their second album, Prying Eyes, on the Boston based label. Cruel Hand have been touring a lot lately so it shouldn't be too long before they come through your town. I suggest you pick up a copy of Prying Eyes and head down to the show.

Another excellent Massacusetts band on Deathwish, The Carrier, are te most enigmatic band on this list. They have released one out of print full lenght, One Year Later, and one excellent 7-inch, No Love Can Save Me, in the last year. This is a band that doesn't tour that much and I'm not sure when they're planning on getting out another record, but they are AWESOME and everyone should head over to www.myspace.com/thecarrierhc and take a listen to "Hello Uncertainty".

Last but not least, we have Defeater, Formed from the ashes of Masscore band Sluts, Defeater feature producer turned vocalist Jay Maas on the bands Bridge 9 debut, Travels. Travels is an absolute masterpiece of an album, chronicling the life of a man from birth to death. Halfway through the album there is a straight up Conor Oberst acoustic guitar ditty. No joke. Buy Travels, because Defeater are the future of hardcore. Maas knows his way around the genre: he's produced albums for Cruel Hand, Shipwreck A.D. and Verse.

Of course, New England isn't the only place in the world with cool hardcore. Check out Philadelpia's Reign Supreme and Baltimore's Ruiner, in addition to these 5 fine bands above. Hardcore still lives!