Vlad of Delayed Gratification Records joins us to talk about his label's past, present, and future. Then, we argue for which Mental release is better: 'Get An Oxygen Tank' or 'Planet Mental.' Buy vol. 2 of the Violent Treatment zine: https://violenttreatment.bigcartel.com/product/violent-treatment-fanzine-2 https://delayedgratificationrecords.bandc…

Writer and Endless Scroll co-host Miranda Reinert joins us to look back on "the wave" of post-hardcore from the early 2010s: Touché Amoré, La Dispute, Defeater, etc. and how all of those groups helped filter our generation into hardcore. Buy Miranda's magazine: https://www.twoflatpress.com/shop/p/portable-model-issue-2?ref=aplan.fyi Subscribe to Mi…

It's just the two of us this week as we tackle a few new releases: Jivebomb's 'Ethereal,' Ingrown's 'Idaho,' and the D-Bloc/Bad Beat split. Then, we dig into the archives and review the 1989 Dischord Records comp, 'State of the Union' -- feat. Fugazi, Shudder to Think, Scream, and many other D.C.-area groups. Intro song: Ingrown - "Bullet" Outro so…

Michael of new Pittsburgh hardcore band Madman joins us to talk about some late-career albums by classic hardcore bands: Black Flag, Bad Brains, Warzone, Integrity, and Sick of It All. Intro song: Bad Brains - "Long Time" Outro song: Warzone - "Countdown"

It's just the two of us this week as we spend the majority of the episode reviewing new music by Identity Shock, Combust, Final Resting Place, The Massacred, and Disguised. Then, we dig into some of Converge's early material by assessing the 'Caring and Killing' comp. Intro song: Identity Shock - "Traces of Life" Outro song: Converge - "Fact Leaves…

With United Blood returning later this spring and hardcore from the early 2010s coming back into favor, we had Jack Cooper (What It Takes blog, Collective Action band) and Vince Guglielmi (Daily Snob writer, Violent Treatment producer) join us to draft bands from the UB 2010 lineup. That year of the fest is a really great timestamp of where capital…

Scott from the Mundane Moshers fanzine joins us to discuss the state of zines in hardcore, and then fire off some hot-ish takes about where things are at in the genre. Buy the Violent Treatment zine: https://violenttreatment.bigcartel.com/product/violent-treatment-fanzine-1 Peep the Mundane Moshers bigcartel: https://mundanemoshers.bigcartel.com/ F…

We're back in the new year discussing our time at FYA 2025, speculating on hardcore's near future, and reviewing some fresh releases from Godskin Peeler, Crush Your Soul, Demonstrate, and Coreuption Records. Order Issue No. 1 of our 24-page zine, feat. interviews with G.O.O.N., Splitknuckle, and Instill, as well as scene reports and other hardcore …

It's the end of the year, so we made lists. We're joined by Brooklyn Vegan editor Andrew Sacher to count down our respective hardcore top 10s of 2024. Pick up Violent Treatment's first-ever label release, tapes for Chicago hardcore upstarts Majesty: https://violenttreatment.bigcartel.com/ Keep up with Andrew on Twitter: https://x.com/llllbfgllll In…

We're 20 years out from 2004 -- a great year in hardcore. To celebrate, we're joined by Nick Birtles (If It Rains, The Next Level, Ultimatum, etc.) and Dan Schultz (Worn, Fatal Wound) for a big 'ole draft. We build teams of five albums each, chat about everyone's picks, and then leave it to the listeners to decide which player assembled the best gr…

In the 2000s, Kids Like Us were torchbearers for Florida hardcore of the Lockin' Out variety, doing splits with Down to Nothing and the Mongoloids, and playing shows all over the U.S. After breaking up in 2012 and playing one one-off gig in 2017, Kids Like Us will be reuniting at FYA in 2025, and they've just reissued their crucial 2005 LP, 'Outta …

Nick Acosta of New Morality Zine joins us to recap some recent shows, chat about his label's eclectic output, discuss shoegaze's association with hardcore, and speculate on hardcore's cooked-ness. Intro song: Si Dios Quiere - "Roll the Dice" Outro song: Dime - "Phases" Buy the first ever Violent Treatment zine: https://violenttreatment.bigcartel.co…

We're back with a guest, and this time it's Mike Shaw, guitarist of Mindforce, Fatal Realm, New World Man, Sentinel, Collossal, and many other bands. Since Mike has almost never been interviewed about his work, we take some time going through his hardcore story and talking about his many bands, including his take on Mindforce's wild trajectory. The…

Just Hugo and Eli this week, as we tear through a mega-episode of different hardcore happenings. First, we recap some recent shows we saw by Jivebomb, Destiny Bond, Cicada, Invertebrates, Public Acid, Speed, Candy and more. Then, we review new releases by Fentanyl, Cicada, Hindsight, and Chopping Block. And finally, we review a 1990 edition of the …

In this special episode of SteamStories by MrSteam, we are privileged to celebrate the retirement of Martha “Mrs. Steam” Orellana – who has been a foundational pillar of our company for over 40 years. Join us as we embark on a heartfelt journey through her extraordinary legacy with MrSteam, starting from the moment Martha and Dan first met. During …

In this insightful episode, we will explore wellness suites, home steam integration designs, and the impact of steam on resale value. We will also highlight the importance of steam awareness with insights from Jack Meyer of Del Mar Construction in Nevada. Jack is a developer and homeowner specializing in luxury residential and commercial constructi…

It'd be hard to deny that From Within Records' One Scene Unity compilations are the definitive hardcore comps of the 2020s thus far. The Florida-based DIY label has released four editions of their genre-wide series, and we had From Within head honcho Carter Holmes (also of the bands Statement of Pride, Payback, and more) join us for a discussion ab…

In this fun podcast episode, we will discuss how to develop renovations starting with steam, the art of listening when developing renovations, and how to make steam work for any price or space with Angela Poirrier of Acadian House Design & Renovation, a family-owned home design and renovation company based in Baton Rouge, LA. With their team of awa…

In this exciting episode, we discuss the world of luxury hospitality with Jenna Record, the VP of Marketing of Zislis Group, and Daniel Vidales, the General Manager of Shade Hotel! Shade Hotels, located in stunning spots across Southern California, offer an unparalleled experience for travelers seeking true luxury. Each hotel features beautifully d…

Michael Thorn of Razorblades and Aspirin joins us for a primer on the history of Richmond, VA hardcore. For a mid-size city of its kind, Richmond has had a thriving scene since the birth of hardcore, and we traced its lineage with the help of someone who lives there now, and has had one leg in the scene for decades. From White Cross and Honor Roll …

In this insightful episode, we will explore an inside look inside manufacturers reps and steam showrooms with Tim Morales and Kim Costner of Tim Morales Inc. & Associates. Tim and Kim join us to share their insights into steam from the manufacturers’ reps side, going into how the steam shower industry has grown over the years, what factors excite t…

In this fun podcast episode, we will discuss fitting steam into existing structures, balancing aesthetics with functionality, trends in home wellness, and gaining awareness of steam options with Camia Brown with Camia Brown Interiors. CBI, an Interior Design Firm located in Brooklyn, NY, skillfully blends timelessness, modernism, and whimsy to crea…

It's time to check in on this thing we love. We're almost halfway through the 2020s, and hardcore is beginning to feel different now than it did at the beginning of the decade. We remark on how the vibes have shifted (for good and bad) since the post-COVID lockdown boom of summer 2021, and think about how 2024 has felt like a strange transitional y…

In this episode, we’re excited to speak with Christy Waztke, the Spa Director of the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans! Nestled at the edge of the iconic French Quarter, Christy manages the largest spa in New Orleans – which is also renowned as the leading luxury spa in the southern United States. Christy’s extensive experience in the wellness industry allo…

Andrew Vacante of Combust, Steamroll, Downfall, and more joins us to talk about NYHC from a modern New Yorker's perspective. We get into how the identity of NYHC has changed over time, the drought of native NYHC bands in the 2010s, and how Andrew's bands have helped change the tenor of the scene. Plus, many other digressions on hardcore minutia. Ba…

Eye for an Eye drummer Thos Niles joins us to discuss his band's come-up in late Eighties Boston, an odd transitional period for one of the most important scenes in hardcore history. We talk a lot about Eye for an Eye's short yet sweet first go as a band, and paint a pretty vivid picture of what hardcore was like leading up to the Nineties post-har…

Prolific Pittsburgh hardcore musician, podcaster, and writer Gem Fair joins us for an episode about albums that are important to our experiences with hardcore. Not our favorite hardcore albums. But releases that opened us up to new sides of hardcore, got us into the genre, helped frame what we want out of it, etc. Bands we talked about: Terror, Cer…

Convulse Records owner Adam Croft (who also drums in Destiny Bond) joins us for our first label profile episode. We talk to Adam about the eclectic DIY empire he's building with Convulse, his personal canon, the Denver hardcore scene, bands he wishes he could release music by, and more (including a preview of some unannounced Convulse material). ht…

Chance Allen of What Counts, Full Stride, Velocity, RTR Tapes, and the Gulch Brigade joins us to discuss youth crew, Indiana's poppin' hardcore scene, his many bands, and more.

Hunter Winstead of Through N Through Printing joins us to talk about a bunch of recent shows we've attended. To start, we give a thorough first-hand account of the first Torture tour, and why that band's ascent in hardcore is so unprecedented. Then, we share our experiences seeing Velocity, Drain, Gatecreeper, Spy, and more. Intro song: Torture - "…

Have Heart are reuniting to play some shows this summer, and the band's debut seven-inch 'What Counts' turns 20. So we talked with Have Heart frontman Pat Flynn about the band's pre-LP days. His teenage disillusionment with the attitude of hardcore, the Massachusetts scene he came up in, early 2000s hc minutia, and Have Heart's early days slogging …

Friend of the pod David Anthony returns to dig into the state of "adjacent" sounds in hardcore. We spend a lot of time talking about death metal's current place in the genre, and wonder whether "hardcore kids making death metal" is good for either hardcore or death metal. Then, we look at the more melodic side of the spectrum: Koyo, One Step Closer…

We're joined this week by Nick Birtles and Evan Stein of the bands Anklebiter, Broken Vow, If It Rains, Attrition Rate, Ultimatum, and Pummel (RIP). First, we roundtable our three favorite hardcore releases of 2024 thus far. Then, we talk about each of the guys' bands, their influences, the current state of New England hardcore, and much more. Intr…

Last year, we read Samantha Sansone's new oral history of the Pittsburgh hardcore scene, 'Through Our Eyes' — and we finished the book with more questions than answers. So, we had Pain Clinic frontman Ty Dawson join us to fill in the gaps. What was it like seeing No Retreat and Built Upon Frustration back in the day? What are the defining features …

In this insightful podcast episode, we will discuss the intricacies of steam installation, building space to include steam, and the common misconceptions about steam with Adrian Barr, founder of Wellnesswares, a company located in Australia aimed to educate and simplify, transforming the "why" into a resounding "why not." Wellnesswares mission is t…

The catalog of Lockin' Out Records is having an unavoidable resurgence right now, so we went deep on the label's stamp on hardcore history. We're joined by Matt LaForge, guitarist of the LOR signees Mil-Spec, who had a key vantage point to the rise of Lockin' Out, and spoke to us in great detail about how the label's flagship bands — Mental, Righte…

In this insightful podcast episode, we dive into detail about steam installation with Tom and Michael Yianilos, founder and co-partner of Waterbrook Builders, a company specializing in the construction of luxurious single-family homes in the prestigious Fort Lauderdale waterfront market since 1996. In this episode, we explore: Emerging Trends in Im…

In this exciting podcast episode, we delve into the misconceptions of steam and integrating steam into your designs with Cheryl Kees Clendenon and VP of "everything”, Liz Lapan of In Detail Interiors, and their podcast Damn Good Designer (DGD). In Detail Interiors excels in new construction, remodels, renovations, furnishings, and kitchen and bath …

Ned Russin (Glitterer, Title Fight, and many other bands) joins us for a conversation about how hardcore dancing has evolved over the ages. We watched videos of sets ranging from Bad Brains in '82 and Breakdown in '88, to Hatebreed in '94 and Rival Mob in '13, and then talked about the way the crowds behaved during those periods. Ned, being the har…

In this exciting podcast episode, we dive into overall mental and physical wellness, yoga, and the integration of steam with yoga teacher and founder of Mad Yoga, Maddie Ringer. Mad Yoga specializes in bringing fun and authentic yoga anywhere. Their mission is to empower individuals to cultivate a practice that allows them to connect with the bound…

This insightful podcast episode discusses showrooms and how to sell steam with Joel Warners, CEO of Faucets N’ Fixtures, a company with remarkable kitchen and bath showrooms for 40 years. Faucets N' Fixtures has been selling steam in their showrooms since 2007. In this episode, we explore: The type of clients that are a good fit for steam, educatin…

We're only a month into 2024 and there's already a bunch of new music to discuss. In this episode, we're joined by Ace Stallings — frontman of Mutually Assured Destruction and Sentinel, and host of the Forum of Passion podcast — to review a bunch of fresh releases by Apex Predator, Dimension Six, Lethal, Rejoice, and Live It Down. Intro song: Dimen…

In this insightful podcast episode, we delve into the integration of steam as a wellness component in architectural design with Dan Brunn of Dan Brunn Architecture (DBA), a global firm with expertise in commercial and residential projects since 2005. DBA specializes in purposeful modern architecture that harmonizes with the surroundings and encoura…

As we've mentioned on this show before, we're currently experiencing a resurgence in a particular strain of metalcore that's being welcomed under the hardcore umbrella. Bands like Balmora, Since My Beloved, Adrienne, A Mourning Star, Dying Wish and many others. In this episode, we're joined by Balmora frontman/Ephyra Recordings owner Senti, and Fal…

We're back, and we're joined in this episode by fellow hardcore scribe Vince Guglielmi. In the spirit of the new year, the three of us look ahead to where we envision hardcore's sound and culture going in 2024. We touch on democore, deathcore, the identity of the decade thus far, and make a few other predictions based on what we've been witnessing …

We talked about our favorite hardcore of 2023 with two fellow hxc scribes, Stereogum Senior Editor Tom Breihan and BrooklynVegan Edtior Andrew Sacher. We each counted down our 10 favorite hardcore albums/EP's of the year, and had fun discussing the overlap, the mixed feelings, and the outlier picks. Follow Tom on Twitter @tombreihan Follow Andrew o…

First, we talk about our favorite hardcore sets we saw in 2023 — from Negative Approach to Vein. Then, in honor of its 40th anniversary reissue, we discuss SS Decontrol's 1982 debut 'The Kids Will Have Their Say,' as well as our more general thoughts on Boston's first important hardcore band. Intro song: Balmora - "Under the Weight" Outro song: SS …

There're certain metal bands that, for whatever reason, hardcore fans love. Whether its their sound, their iconography, or just their aura, bands like Type O Negative, Bolt Thrower, Sepultura and even Slipknot have become as much a part of the hardcore milieu as actual hardcore originators like Circle Jerks and Agnostic Front. Eli had Hugo listen t…

Agnostic Front's 1984 debut, 'Victim In Pain', is commonly regarded as the benchmark NYHC album. Moreover, if you look at the history of early 80s hardcore, it's the first hardcore release from New York that really "mattered" outside of that city's streets. Plenty of hardcore scholars talk about the hotbed that NYHC became after 'Victim In Pain,' b…

First, we review new albums from Magnitude and Broken Vow. Then, it's a late-Eighties NYHC showdown. Hugo loves Killing Time's 'Brightside', Eli loves Leeway's 'Born to Expire'. Which one is better? We discuss, you decide. Intro song: Broken Vow - "Propaganda of the Deed" Outro song: Killing Time - "Brightside"…