The new year has kicked off just as strongly as 2023 finished, with already a number of standout releases dropping from the whole spectrum of -core related genres. It's always a challenge come December at comparing these January releases to newer albums that you've only had weeks or a month to digest, yet I think it's fair to say I wouldn't be surprised to see a few of these stand the test to make some end of year lists. The -core side of metal is thriving and showing no sides of slowing down, and neither will we. -Trent Bos The Wall of Death Knoll - As Spoken (blackened deathgrind)  Ten ..read more

Your favorite everything-core column is back, wrapping up some of the best of September (and a sneaky August) releases. This was a pretty stacked month for the genre and obviously we weren't able to get to everything, so we shined some light on a few releases that may have flown under your radar. There were big names like Harms Way (which does kick ass) and Polaris (eh), but the more memorable ones seemed to come from the underground, and particularly internationally this time around. The standout feature this month has to be given to the excellent comeback from experimental grind masters Gri ..read more

The dead speak! (bad Star Wars reference). Yes, Rotten to the Core is back after a summer hiatus with a new editor (hello), to wrap up some of our favorite -core releases from June and July. Shoutout former editor Calder for his amazing work steering this ship over the past three years. Moving forward, we’re looking to get things back to the same monthly schedule you’re used to, as August already has delivered some heavy hitters we’ll get to soon. Oh and don't sleep on the The Circle Pit list at the bottom. There were too many releases in the past two months to cover in one column, and certai ..read more

2017’s Hatred came and went with little to no fanfare, and that itself is a crime against music. We didn’t cover it here, so more fool us. Not this time though. Undercurrent, the new record from Japanese hardcore miscreants Friendship, demands the attention that Hatred might have gathered, were it not just a little bit too much of every genre tag available to it. Friendship’s debut was noisy and crushing and diabolical, sure, but there was an air of “almost” about it. The sludge was almost just right, the blasting barrages almost clinically devastating, and so on. Maybe the band felt that them ..read more

January didn’t have an edition of Grind My Gears because yours truly was up to his nuts in boring, boring life bullshit. There’s little point in fixating on it – that wouldn’t be very grindcore, after all – so we’re slamming back into reality with a journey through the halls of noise, scuzz, and furious blast beating. You’re getting some new shit, a quick review of the fantastic Slave To The Grind documentary, and a brief look back at one of grind’s most terrifying records – because it’s one of my favourites and I’ve been listening to it a lot. It’s been a while, so let’s hop to it, you scummy ..read more

Beaten To Death are more interesting than your favorite grindcore band. I’m not sorry. Actually, I’m sorry for assuming Beaten To Death wasn’t already your favorite grindcore band. (They’re definitely in my personal top five, probably tied for spot #1 with Full of Hell and Discordance Axis.) If you’ve listened to them, you know exactly what about them makes them one of the most creative bands in the wacky world of grind, but if not, here’s a little elevator pitch for you: imagine the technical aptitude of the aforementioned Discordance Axis or Maruta, but with the emotional and melodic sensibi ..read more

Branding is a weird concept when it comes to death metal. How does a band ensure their sound is instantly recognisable in a world full of Soundalikes, all trying to blast faster, groove harder, and shred more than the rest? Fuck knows. If you really need the answer to that question – ask Sven de Caluwe. The throat destroying goretrepreneur has been front of stage for Aborted for nearly 25 years, building teams of wildly talented musicians around his brand and creating some of the most consistently pulverising death metal going. This year’s TerrorVision is no different, instead ..read more

Sometimes anger is the only natural, justifiable response to a situation. Like early this morning, for instance, when I was awoken abruptly from a dead sleep by the sound of gunshots emanating from a car driving down our normally peaceful block, apparently aimed straight in the air like it’s the fucking O.K. Corral. Dealing with frightened renters, an understandably concerned wife, and three scared pups well into the morning due to someone’s reckless, dangerous dysfunction will really bring out the wrath in a person. On my walk to the train to get to work this morning, I was fuming, and all I ..read more

There are times you just want to listen to music that’s going to decimate your frail mortal shell. There are also times you want music that will dazzle you with technicality, blowing your brain clean out of your dirty mind’s windshield. When you get a wild hair up your ass you might even crave some abrasive electronic noise with drum and bass breaks that makes your right eye twitch a little. You want all three at once? Lucky for you, the new Sectioned record, Annihilated, checks all of these boxes. When you put on the opener and title track “Annihilated,” the first thing you hear is a qui ..read more

Australia is absolutely killing it right now. The past few years, I have lost count of how many times I’ve asked myself, “Huh, I wonder where they’re from?” about an amazing new band I’ve discovered just to see Australia and go, “Oh, yeah, okay that makes sense.” From now defunct acts like VALJEAN and Cursed Earth to my 2019 obsession with post-metalcore darlings Thornhill (please do yourself a favor here) and 2020 blackened death-doom dark horses Earth Rot and Snorlax, the land down under is churning out some of the best of the best in heavy music. It should come as no surprise then that comm ..read more